The Undercards: A Series of Disasters

Understatement: it’s hard to win when your pitchers post an 8.00 ERA- especially when your offense is averaging under 4 runs a game. Take out the one win in the Rays system on Thursday and the ERA spikes to 9.67 and the runs per game to just 2.33. Not a pretty night on the ballfields in the Rays system.

Triple-A International League: Syracuse Chiefs (WSN) 5, Durham Bulls 1

Matt Torra went 7 innings, allowing 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. Unfortunately, half the hits he allowed were home runs, leading to 5 runs, as the Bulls lost to fall to 12-23 on the season. The Bulls got 8 hits, 3 of them from Leslie Anderson, but couldn’t get a single RBI, with their only run scoring on an error as they went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 8.

Double-A Southern League: Chattanooga Lookouts 11, Montgomery Biscuits 1

In the 7th, Kyeong Kang doubled and later scored on an Omar Luna single. That’s the extent of the Biscuits’ highlights in this game- in fact, those their only hits in the game! Joseph Cruz had another terrible start, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings, striking out just 2 while walking 4. Merrill Kelly made the deficit much worse by allowing 4 runs in 1 inning of work, and Alex Koronis allowed 2 more in 2 innings to finish off the Lookouts’ scoring. The story of this game with Lookouts starter and Dodgers prospect Ethan Martin. Martin carried a no-hitter into the 7th inning and finished having allowed just 1 run on 2 hits in 7 innings, striking out 7 while walking 2. The Biscuits fell to 16-19 on the season with the loss. Everyone has a clunker this time, and in this one the Biscuits were overmatched in every facet of the game.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Daytona Cubs 3

This was one game to smile about. Albert Suarez pitched extremely well, allowing 1 run on 6 hits in 6 innings, striking out 3 while walking none, and he was backed up by some nice offense. What has gotten into Mayo Acosta? He went 2 for 4 for the fourth consecutive game, doubling, driving in 2, and scoring a run. Mikie Mahtook went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. And Riccio Torrez went 1 for 4 with his second homer in as many days, a first inning 3-run shot. All smiles for the Stone Crabs on Thursday as they improved to 16-18 on the year.

Low-A Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) 13, Bowling Green Hot Rods

Ryan Carpenter had a disaster start after his sparkling start to the season, and you won’t find worse lines than this: 2.2 innings, 9 runs on 14 hits. NOT A SINGLE RUN CAME ON A HOME RUN! He just allowed hit after hit after hit. Hilariously, he struck out 3 while walking none. Hopefully Carpenter can shake this off and get back to the great season he was having before.

Especially considering they were facing off against two of the Blue Jays’ best pitching prospects, the Hot Rods had a nice night. Justin Nicolino and Aaron Sanchez combined to allow 5 runs on 8 hits in 8 innings, striking out 8 while walking 2. Three of the Hot Rods’ best Rays prospects in this game gave them all they could handle. Ryan Brett 2 for 5 with a stolen base and a run scored, although he was also caught stealing and picked off, but the stars in this game for Bowling Green were Josh Sale and Tyler Goeddel once again. Sale continued to impress, going 1 for 2 with his first homer of the season, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored while Goeddel went 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Joel Caminero also went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. The Hot Rods drop to just 17-17 on the season after a 12-5 start. Hopefully with Sale and Goeddel hitting their stride, this team can get back on a tear.