The Undercards: Enny Romero Masterful, Durham Explodes For Twelve

The farm system went 6-1 on Thursday, as Chris Gimenez had a career day at the plate and Enny Romero turned in a masterful performance. Here is this morning’s look around the minor leagues:

Durham Bulls 12, Columbus Clippers 2

The Bulls blew a close game open in the fifth en route to a 12-2 romp over the Columbus Clippers. Durham scored twice in the bottom of the first, as Chris Gimenez hit a two out, two run home run to put the Bulls ahead 2-0. The Clippers came back in the top of the fourth, tying the game on back to back home runs by Matt LaPorta and Russ Canzler. Brooks Conrad put the Bulls back on top in the bottom of the inning, leading off with a solo home run to make it a 3-2 game. The Bulls then scored six times in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a three run home run from Gimenez and a solo home run from Henry Wrigley. Durham tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by Rich Thompson‘s two run triple. The Bulls shelled Columbus starter David Huff, tagging him for 9 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks over 4.2 innings. Matt Torra earned the win, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 1 strikeout in 7 innings. Gimenez was 2-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

Montgomery Biscuits 6, Jackson Generals 4

The Biscuits and the Generals battled all night, with Montgomery coming away with a hard fought 6-4 victory. Jackson took the lead in the top of the third, as Brad Miller homered to give the Generals a 2-0 lead. The Biscuits came back in the bottom of the fourth, as Mikie Mahtook had an RBI double, and Oscar Luna drove in a run on a single, with another run coming in on a throwing error. The Generals tied the game in the top of the sixth, as Jesus Sucre walked and scored on a Johermyn Chavez triple. Montgomery took the lead again in the bottom of the seventh, as Mark Thomas homered to put the Biscuits on top 4-3. Jackson tied the game again in the top of the eighth, as Denny Almonte scored on an error by Derek Dietrich. The Biscuits took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning, as Dietrich hit an RBI single, and came around to score on Oscar Luna’s double. Kirby Yates picked up the win, giving up 1 hit and 1 walk in 1.2 innings, striking out 5 batters. Mahtook went 3-4 with 2 runs scored, 2 doubles, and an RBI.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, Bradenton Marauders 0 (6 innings)

Enny Romero was perfect through five, and finished with a rain shortened one hit shutout of the Bradenton Marauders. The game was scoreless into the bottom of the fourth, when Steven Tinoco reached on an error. With two out, Riccio Torrez hit a two run home run, giving the Stone Crabs the lead. Charlotte tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth, as Kevin Kiermaier tripled, and came around to score on a single by Philip Wunderlich. Romero lost his bid for perfection in the top of the sixth, giving up a double to Kirk Singer to lead off the inning. The game was halted in the middle of the sixth inning, before Charlotte was awarded the victory. Romero gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk, striking out 9 in his dominant 6 inning performance. Torrez was 2-2 with 1 double, 1 home run, and 2 RBI.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 10, South Bend Silver Hawks 2

The Hot Rods scored 8 times in the bottom of the second inning, and cruised to a 10-2 victory over the Silver Hawks. The eight run outburst was highlighted by a two run error by South Bend starter J.R. Bradley, and a two run triple by Drew Vettleson. Bowling Green sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, tallying four singles, two doubles, a triple, a hit batter, and a sacrifice fly. South Bend got two runs back in the top of the third, as Tom Belza‘s triple drove in Raul Navarro and Chris Ellison. However, Juniel Querecuto hit a two out bases loaded single, driving in two to put the lead back to eight, providing the final runs in the 10-2 victory. Bradley picked up the loss, getting rocked for 8 runs (7 earned) on 8 hits in 1.1 innings of work. Trevor Shull picked up the win, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4 over 6 innings. Ryan Brett was 3-5 with a run scored.

Hudson Valley Renegades 5, Vermont Lake Monsters 4 (10 innings)

The Renegades and the Lake Monsters battled in a back and forth affair, with Hudson Valley eventually coming away with a 5-4 win in ten innings. The game was scoreless until the top of the sixth, when Bruce Maxwell drove in the first run of the game, giving Vermont a 1-0 lead. The Renegades came back in the bottom of the inning, as Michael Williams tied the game on a two out single, and Leonardo Reginatto‘s two run single gave Hudson Valley a 3-1 lead. Vermont came back in the top of the seventh, using a double, a single, and an error to put together a three run inning, giving the Lake Monsters a 4-3 lead. Hudson Valley tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, as Justin O’Conner doubles, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on a wild pitch. The game went to the tenth, when Charles Epperson led off the bottom of the inning with a triple. After two walks loaded the bases, O’Conner singled, driving in Epperson with the winning run. Ryan Garton picked up the win, giving up 1 hit and striking out 2 in his inning of relief. O’Conner and Williams each had 2 hits in the victory.

Bluefield Blue Jays 3, Princeton Rays 0

Tucker Jensen no-hit the Rays into the sixth inning, combining with two other pitchers to defeat Princeton 3-0. All three runs scored in the top of the sixth, as Christian Lopes doubled in the game’s first run. Lopes came around to score on Seth Conner‘s home run, giving the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead. Jensen, meanwhile, was masterful, not allowing a hit until Brandon Martin singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth. The Rays had back to back singles in the bottom of the seventh, chasing Jensen with runners on first and second with no outs. However, Colby Broussard got out of the jam without any damage. Tucker Jensen picked up the win, allowing 3 hits and striking out 1 in his 6+ innings of work. Martin was 2-4 for the Rays in the loss.

GCL Rays 7, GCL Red Sox 6

The Rays came from behind 3-2, and held on to a 7-6 victory over the Red Sox. The Rays struck first, with Bralin Jackson hitting a two out RBI single to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Rays tacked on another run in the fifth as Migeul Beltran was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single, and scored two wild pitches. The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the inning, on two RBI singles and a wild pitch with two out. The Rays tied the game in the top of the sixth, as Johnny Eierman tripled, and scored on a wild pitch. Eierman gave the Rays the lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single, and hit another RBI single in the top of the ninth. With the Rays ahead 7-3, the Red Sox mounted a comeback. Miguel Rodriguez hit a two run double, and came around to score on Ishea Conklin’s sacrifice fly. However, the Red Sox were kept in check the rest of the way, as the Rays escaped with a 7-6 victory. Matthew Ramsey picked up the win in relief, giving up 2 hits and striking out 1 in 2 innings. Eierman was 3-5 with 2 runs scored, a triple, and 2 RBIs.