The Undercards: Ramos Battered as 4 Homers Not Enough for Bulls

Just 5 games on the slate for Rays affiliates with the Montgomery Biscuits getting rained out, but that didn’t stop a heartbreaking day with injury adding to insult on 2-3 day.

Triple-A International League: Charlotte Knights (CHW) 9, Durham Bulls 6

The Rays decided to stretch out Cesar Ramos to see if he was a legitimate starting option for them moving forward. The experiment had decidedly not gone well as Ramos has managed just a 5.83 ERA along with a 5.55 FIP in his 6 starts after his disastrous outing on Monday night. Ramos lasted just 5+ innings allowing 9 runs, 6 earned, on 8 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2 and posting a 5-3 groundout to flyout ratio. His Achilles’ heel was 3 home runs allowed, and none of them were lucky shots. Ramos’ overall groundball to flyball ratio, counting pop-ups and line drives as flyballs, was a horrific 7-13 as Ramos allowed a lot of balls in the air and the Knights made him pay. The Bulls did everything they could to try to pick Ramos up, with Tim Beckham and Cole Figueroa slamming 2-run homers and Henry Wrigley and Leslie Anderson contributing back-to-back solo shots in the 4th, but the hole that Ramos dug them was just too much as Charlotte won 9-6. Old friend Dan Johnson went 1 for 5 for Charlotte while Rich Thompson (3 for 5, 2B, SB, run) and Jesus Feliciano (2 for 4) provided the Bulls offense other than the home runs, which were the only hitsof the day for all four players that hit them.

Low-A Midwest League: South Bend Silver Hawks (ARI) 6, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

This game was an absolutely nightmare for the Hot Rods. Trevor Shull started for Bowling Green and mostly struggled, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, in 2.1 innings, striking out 2 while walking 2, although he did post a 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio, but he only lasted just 2.1 innings because he left with an “arm” injury. Shull was a 19th round pick by the Rays back in 2008. But Shull wasn’t the only injury of the game for the Hot Rods as third baseman and top prospect Tyler Goeddel was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance and had to leave this game. It remains to be seen what the statuses of Shull and Goeddel are moving forward.

Andrew Bellatti went 3.2 innings in relief of Shull and allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits, striking out 3 while walking none, before Stayton Thomas allowed just 1 hit in the final 3 innings, striking out 2 while walking none. D-Backs top pitching prospect Archie Bradley, the 6th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, dominated for South Bend, going 6 shutout innings allowing just 4 hits, striking out 9 while walking 2 and posting a 6-2 groundout to flyout ratio. The Hot Rods strung together their only other hits of the game along with a walk in the 9th inning, with Joshua Sale notching an RBI single and Ryan Brett driving Sale home with a double for the Hot Rods’ only 3 runs as South Bend won 6-3. Cameron Seitzer went 3 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored for the Hot Rods, while Jake Hager stole his 12th base of the season after replacing Goeddel.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 2, Lowell Spinners (BOS) 1

At least the Renegades are playing well, having won 5 of their last 6 after his win over Lowell. Eduar Quinonez started allowed 1 run or fewer for the 8th time in his last 10 appearances, going 5 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1. His groundout to flyout ratio was just 5-4. Reinaldo Lopez followed with 3 perfect relief innings, striking out 2 before Ryan Garton got a strikeout and 2 groundouts in a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th for his 4th save. On offense, Joey Rickard drove in both runs for the Renegades, leading off the game with a solo shot before doubling home Marty Gantt in the 3rd. Ryan Dunn also went 2 for 4 with a double while Justin O’Conner went 1 for 4 with his first stolen base of the season.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 6, Danville Braves 1

Alex Keudell was sharp and the P-Rays slammed 2 home runs as they breezed by the Braves. Keudell, the former University of Oregon ace, had easily the best outing of his pro career, going 6 innings allowing just an unearned run on 2 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2 while forcing a 9-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Interesting that Keudell started and impressed on the same night that Jeremy Hellickson did the same up in Tampa Bay, as Keudell is another pitcher who stands out for his great changeup. Keudell, like Hellickson, also got a nice amout of run support, with Brandon Martin leading off the game with a home run, Omar Narvaez going 3 for 4 with a solo shot of his own along with 3 runs scored, and John Alexander, Reid Redman, and Julian Morillo driving in the other runs for Princeton.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 1

Not much going on here for the GCL Rays as there were few highlights in their loss to the GCL Twins. Alex Torres started in a rehab appearance and was hit hard, allowing allowing 4 runs on 3 hits in 2.1 innings, striking out 3 but walking 2. He did post a 4-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Matthew Ramsey followed with 1.2 innings of 1-hit ball, forcing a 4-1 groundout to flyout ratio, before Lucas Goodgion tossed 4 shutout innings to end the game, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 2. In terms of the bats, well, there wasn’t much hitting to be found as the GCL Rays got just 6 hits, all singles. Jiminson Natera was the only Rookie Rays hitter with a game that he could even consider writing home about, going 1 for 3 with a walk.