The Undercards: Luke Scott, Jeff Niemann Rehab Results Highlight Action

Both Luke Scott and Jeff Niemann continued their rehab assignments Tuesday night, with very different results. Brett Nommensen had an excellent day at the dish as well. Here is this morning’s look around the minor leagues.

Durham Bulls 6, Columbus Clippers 3

The Clippers scored first, putting up a run on Vinny Rottino‘s RBI double in the bottom of the first, but the Durham Bulls came right back. Brooks Conrad tied the game with an RBI double, then Reid Brignac had an RBI groundout to put Durham ahead 2-1. Henry Wrigley homered with two out in the third, and Brignac had an RBI triple in the fourth, extending the lead to 4-1. Columbus trimmed the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Gregorio Petit homered leading off the inning. The Bulls put two more on the board in the eighth, as Stephen Vogt tripled to plate Leslie Anderson, the scored on Conrad’s base hit. The Clippers got a run back in the ninth, but it was not enough as the Bulls won, 6-3. Matt Torra picked up the win, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 in 6.2 innings of work. Anderson was 3-4 with 2 runs.

Montgomery Biscuits 4, Huntsville Stars 1

Omar Luna kicked off the night with an inside the park home run in the bottom of the first, the first for the Biscuits since 2006. The 1-0 score held up until the top of the seventh, when Derek Dietrich doubled to lead off the inning, and scored on Kyeong Kang‘s base hit. Huntsville got a run back in the bottom of the eighth, when T.J. Mittelstaedt homered to lead off the inning, ending the shutout bid. A two out error by third baseman Andy Gonzalez gave the Biscuits two more runs, finishing off the Stars chances. Merrill Kelly picked up the win, giving up 5 hits and a walk in 5 scoreless innings, with 1 strikeout. Brett Nommensen had a phenomenal day, going 4-4 with a double and a run scored.

Bradenton Marauders 5, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4

The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, plating two runs on a single by Philip Wunderlich with one out in the first inning. Bradenton loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs on back to back doubles by Alex Dickerson and Elevys Gonzalez. Charlotte tied the game back up in the top of the fifth, as Luke Scott hit his first home run of his rehab assignment, plating Robbie Price. The Marauders came back in the bottom of the eighth, putting runners on second and third with one out. Gonzalez doubled, plating a run and giving Bradenton a 5-4 victory. Jeff Niemann had a rough start, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3 in 3.1 innings of work. Scott was 2-4 with 2 runs scored, a home run, and 2 RBI. Theron Geith took the loss, giving up 1 run on 3 hits, while striking out 3 in 2 innings of work.

Burlington Royals 8, Princeton Rays 2

The Rays scored first, as Ariel Soriano hit an RBI triple with one out; however, the rest of the game belonged to the Royals. Bubba Starling tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run. Burlington took the lead in the fifth, as Fred Ford hit a two run homer, followed by a solo home run by Mark Threlkeld. Princeton got a run back in the top of the sixth, on back to back doubles by Omar Narvaez and Oscar Hernandez, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Royals scored twice more in the seventh, on RBI singles from Humberto Arteaga and Patrick Leonard. Another two runs in the eighth provided the final margin of defeat, as the Royals beat the Rays 8-2. Eli Echarry took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6 batters in 5 innings. Christopher Kirsch was roughed up, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks over 1.1 innings of relief. Hernandez was 2-2 with a double, an RBI, and a walk.

GCL Red Sox 7, GCL Rays 5

The Rays scored first, picking up a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Benjamin Kline. The Red Sox took the lead in the top of the third, scoring two runs on Jose Colorado‘s double. The Rays tied the game back up in the bottom of the fourth, when Douglas Duran walked, stole second, advanced to third on an error, and scored on a base hit by Clayton Henning. The Red Sox took the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on an error and a balk, only to lose the lead in the bottom of the inning. The Rays scored three times, on RBI base hits by Taylor Hawkins and Bralin Jackson, and an fielder’s choice by Duran. However, the Red Sox tied the game, as Colorado’s RBI single drove in Tzu-Wei Lin, who reached on an error. The Red Sox took the lead in the top of the eighth, using a walk to Kevin Heller. Heller moved to second on a balk, went to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox tacked on an other run in the ninth, defeating the Rays 7-5. Six errors were made in the game, leading to two unearned runs. Carlos Cedeno took the loss, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks over 3 innings. Three Rays had 2 hits each in the defeat.