Triple-A International League: Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (PHI) 6, Durham Bulls 4

It was probably inevitable and it definitely could have been far worse, but it was definitely a little scary to see Alex Torres lose control for the first time in way too long in a 6th inning collapse. With the Bulls trailing 2-0 entering the 6th, Torres had a rough inning, hitting a batter, walking a batter, and allowing two line drive hits, and add two errors to the equation and the Ironpigs had extended their lead to 6-0. That’s the type of outing that could happen to anyone–but in Torres’ case, his control breakthrough was so miraculous that we have to be especially overzealous. On the day, Torres went 5.2 innings allowing 6 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits, striking out 8 while walking 3. For another player, that might be called an “encouraging outing” and it only raised Torres’ ERA to 2.38. He should be fine–certainly not panic time yet. Jeff Beliveau and Kirby Yates gave the Bulls hitless relief the rest of the way, striking out 8 in the last 3.1 innings (although Beliveau walked 3) to give the Bulls 16 strikeouts on the day. Pretty impressive. On the offensive side, Jason Bourgeois made up somewhat for his error to burn Torres by going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and Cole Figueroa went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Speaking of players who have collapsed, Brandon Guyer has really had a rough go for a while now, going 0 for 4 to drop his average to .248 on the year. He’s just 20 for his last 90 (.222). Wil Myers got the day off for Durham.

Double-A Southern League: Birmingham Barons (CHW) 7, Montgomery Biscuits 3

Middle inning collapses are certainly a theme Rays fans have had enough of, but unfortunately that was the case in this inning as well. Jacob Thompson had been pitching well before allowing a walk and 2 singles in the 7th, and then Braulio Lara actually lost the strike zone, walking two and allowing a wild pitch before a Trayce Thompson 2-run single capped the 5-run rally. Thompson’s rough year continues as he went 6.2 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2. His ERA stands at just 6.49 as he has had his moments, having a pair of outings where he has allowed just 2 hits in  6 innings, but remains exceedingly inconsistent on the whole. In terms of the offense, Mark Thomas had the breakout game we’ve been waiting for him to have, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. He’s hitting just .141 on the season and a big part of that has been that he has struck out 21 times while walking just 4 times in 85 plate appearances–but all 4 of those walks have come in his last 10 games so hopefully he’s seeing the ball better and starting to turn himself around. Kevin Kiermaier went 3 for 5 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored for the Biscuits while Greg Sexton went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. While we’re on the topic of players who have come apart, have to mention Cameron Seitzer, who is just 4 for his last 43 (.111) to drop him to just a .244/.355/.344 line on the season. Seitzer’s plate discipline is great as he has managed a 34-22 strikeout to walk ratio, but he just isn’t hitting the ball with any authority, and he has to change that.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 8, Lake County Captains (CLE) 0

Rough day for the Bulls and Biscuits, but at least the Hot Rods will end this minor league recap on quite a positive note. It all starts with Taylor Guerrieri, who put together his finest outing as a pro. Guerrieri went 5 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 10 while walking just 2. The 10 strikeouts shattered his previous career high of 7. Amazing outing for Guerrieri, but amazingly he wasn’t really satisfied with himself after the game.

“I struggled in the beginning, with two walks in the first two innings. After that I tried to stay mentally strong and it worked out for me. I’m fine with my outing. The defense played well for me. The offense really hit well for me. It’s hard to lose when you put eight runs on the board.”

Guerrieri sure has lofty standards, and the Rays are going to do everything in their power to make sure he reaches that level someday. In terms of the run support Guerrieri alluded to, Tyler Goeddel broke out of a slump with a big game, going 2 for 3 with a homer, a double, a walk, and 3 RBI. The homer was his first of the year. It has been tough for Goeddel as he has been switching off between third base and shortstop and dealt with some injury problems, but hopefully he’s getting locked in again. Then there was Andrew Toles, whose 2013 season has been something to behold. Toles went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, swiping 3 more bases in the process. He has now stolen 18 already this year, getting caught just once. Wow. Pair that with a .333/.367/.523 line and you have yourself a top prospect, although his plate discipline (21-5 K-BB) is an area where he really has to improve. Marty Gantt also went 2 for 4 with a run scored, but the most encouraging player of all was Patrick Leonard, who went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. He’s hitting just .155 on the year, but maybe this is the game where the lesser-known piece in the Wil Myers trade starts playing up to his capability. By the way, the Hot Rods tossed a 2-hitter in this game, with the three relievers behind Guerrieri not really impressing, striking out just 1, but only allowing 1 hit. Doesn’t get much better than scoring 8 runs to go along with a 2-hitter, and even more important were the performances of players like Guerrieri, Goeddel, and Leonard.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 7, Syracuse Chiefs (WSN) 1

After seeing just how good he was last season for the Rays, everyone knows how talented Chris Archer. But early on the season for Durham, Archer’s performance lagged far behind what you would have expected for a pitcher who was supposedly big league-ready as his ERA was just 6.84. But after the way Archer pitched on Tuesday, any concerns are gone. Archer dominated the Chiefs for 6 sharp innings, allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 while walking 2. He also managed a 7-3 groundout to flyout ratio, showing great command of his fastball and slider and blowing hitters away. It had to be nice for Archer to get some run support right from the start, with the Bulls getting him 1 run in the top of the 1st and another in the 4th before they broke they game open with 4 runs in the 6th. Central to that offensive effort was Wil Myers, who ignited the 6th inning rally with a leadoff home run, his third of the season. Leslie Anderson also went 3 for 5 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored, Brandon Guyer went 2 for 5 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, and Craig Albernaz had a double and 2 RBI. Great all-around effort for the Bulls, the exact opposite of what the Rays did on Tuesday.

High-A Florida State League: Lakeland Flying Tigers 7, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5 (10 innings)

Devastating loss for Charlotte as they went from leading 4-3 after 8 innings to allowing 2 runs each in the 9th and 10th to lose the game. Ryan Carpenter got the start for the Stone Crabs and was OK, going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2. He allowed a homer each in the 1st and 2nd but did a nice job limiting the damage from there. Behind him, Lenny Linsky was great, going 2 shutout innings allowing 2 hits while striking out 1. He got 3 of his outs on the ground. Linsky has a 3.68 ERA and an 11-3 strikeout to walk ratio to begin the season, and maybe he’s finally making progress after his career got derailed by a shoulder injury. Austin Hubbard and Eliazer Suero, though, blew the game in the 9th and 10th to lead to the Charlotte loss. Hector Guevara had a huge game for the Stone Crabs, going 2 for 4 with a homer, a double, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Jake Hager went 2 for 5 with a stolen base, and Brett Nommensen and Richie Shaffer also has multiple hits. Shaffer has not hit in 4 straight games and collected multiple hits in 2 straight as he appears to finally be breaking out after he started slowly in his first full year as a professional.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 8, Peoria Chiefs (STL) 0

Dominant effort by the Hot Rods as this one was never close. The Hot Rods 3-hit Peoria in the game, and that was started by Jeff Ames, who went five 1-hit innings striking out 5 while walking 1. Ames has been unbelievable all season, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 22-2 strikeout to walk ratio in 5 starts and 25 innings pitched, and he’s emerging as another interesting pitching prospect for the Rays. Brandon Henderson followed Ames with 2.2 perfect innings before Ryan Garton allowed 2 hits over the final 1.1 IP as he finished the shutout. On the offensive side, Tuesday’s game marked Tyler Goeddel‘s first game since going down with a hamstring injury, and he looked as good as ever despite missing five days, going 1 for 2 with a triple, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Goeddel has been huge to begin the year, managing a .286/.378/.443 line with 3 doubles, 4 triples, 9 RBI, and 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts. Goeddel also was great to begin 2012 with Bowling Green, but this time his plate discipline is vastly improved as his strikeout to walk ratio is 10-10, and a promotion to High-A should come relatively soon if he keeps this up. The only question should that happen will be where Goeddel fits in as Shaffer currently slots in as Charlotte’s third baseman. Which one would move off of third base first? Goeddel had a great game, but the star of this one was Luke Maile, who went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a homer, 4 RBI, and a run scored–quite a game for a player who hadn’t hit a homer entering Tuesday. Ryan Dunn and Granden Goetzman also had multiple hits for the Hot Rods, who stand at 18-6, the best record in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 4, Toledo Mud Hens (DET) 3 (11 innings)

Two major rallies won this game for Durham as Cole Figueroa delivered a game-tying RBI double in the 9th before Jason Bourgeois won it with a 2-out walk-off single in the 11th. J.D. Martin got the start for Durham and pitched very well, going 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 3 while walking 1. Steve Geltz struck out 4 while walking none in 2 innings in relief of Martin, bringing his strikeout to walk ratio in his last 3 appearances to a ridiculous 13-0 in 6 IP, but he allowed a go-ahead home run by Tigers top prospect Nick Castellanos in the 8th inning before the Bulls found a way to tie it and when it. Kirby Yates gave the Bulls 2 perfect innings with 4 strikeouts and Josh Lueke worked around a hit with 2 strikeouts in the 11th for the win. Martin struck out just 3 in 6 innings before Bulls pitching struck out 10 in the next 5 innings. On the offensive side, the two big hitters for Durham were Chris Gimenez and WIl Myers as Gimenez went 3 for 4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored and Wil Myers went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Exciting win for the Bulls as both their pitching and hitting clicked as exactly the right time to beat a tough Toledo team.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 4, Tennessee Smokies (CHC) 3

A spotty effort by the Biscuits bullpen overshadowed a strong start by Enny Romero, but everything changed in the 9th as Montgomery got 3 in the 9th to win 4-3. Romero went 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2 before 2 runs allowed by the bullpen gave the Smokies a 3-1 lead entering the 9th. However, the Biscuits went to work against Trey McNutt, with Cameron Seitzer drilling a game-tying 2-run double before Riccio Torrez finished the job with a go-ahead single. Seitzer was the hero in the game, going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, as his jump from Low-A to Double-A has gone about as well as anyone could have expected.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, St. Lucie Mets

Entering his start Tuesday, Roberto Gomez‘s numbers were absolutely horrific. His ERA had never been below 6.75 in any of his first three starts and his strikeout to walk ratio was just 10-9. But matched up against Mets top prospect Noah Syndergaard, Gomez finally showed the ability that helped him managed a 2.48 ERA at Low-A last year, going 6 innings allowing just an unearned run on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1. Gomez and Syndergaard dueled to a draw, but with Syndergaard also allowed an unearned run, but the Stone Crabs got a run each in the 7th and 8th to come away with the win. Austin Hubbard struck out 4 in 2 perfect innings of relief for Charlotte. In terms of the bats, Luke Scott, making his first rehab appearance, delivered a huge hit, an RBI single in the 8th that wound up being the winning margin in the game, and Kyeong Kang went 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 runs scored, slamming a go-ahead solo shot in the 7th. Had to be exciting for Scott to be involved with a Rays-style game in Charlotte, and him coming up with a big hit just made it even more fun.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 12, Fort Wayne TinCaps (SDP) 6

Not much offense in the last three games we talked about. That was most certainly not the case here. Before we get to the bats, though, let’s talk about Jeff Ames, who went 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2, before Nick Sawyer allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk in 2 innings of work, striking out 4 in the process. You can certainly do worse than that, and given the Hot Rods’ offensive outburst, it was plenty. Tyler Goeddel had a huge game, going 3 for 4 with a triple, a double, a stolen base, an RBI, and 3 runs scored, Andrew Toles went 2 for 5 with 3 stolen bases and a run scored, Tommy Coyle went 1 for 2 with a solo home run, 3 walks, a stolen base, and 4 runs scored, and Justin O’Conner and Marty Gantt both went 2 for 3 with a double, with O’Conner driving in 2, scoring twice, and stealing a base while Gantt stole 2 bases and scored a run. The Hot Rods’ lineup certainly flexed their muscles in this one, scoring at least 1 run in every inning (other than the bottom of the 9th, which didn’t happen because they had already won), and the result was a dominant win.