The Undercards: Parker Markel Pitches Stone Crabs Past Mets 2-1

Parker Markel has had his struggles this year, entering last night’s game with a 2-4 record, a 6.96 ERA and a 1.617 WHiP. He has had the occasional good outing, then has gotten rocked. Last night, he had one of his good outings, as the Stone Crabs picked up the only win in the Rays system. Hopefully, this can be something that Markel builds off of, and can lead him to more consistency going forward.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 9, Durham Bulls 1

In his first start back since being sent down from Tampa, Jake Odorizzi struggled for the Bulls. He struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up a solo home run to Zoilo Almonte, giving the RailRiders a quick 1-0 lead in the first. In the third, he threw away a ground ball to the mound, allowing the runner to reach second. Melky Mesa followed with a two run home run, giving the RailRiders a 3-0 lead. After a two out RBI single in the fifth, Odorizzi was pulled from the game, having given up four runs on eight hits and three walks in 4.2 innings of work. Scranton got another run in the sixth before blowing the game open in the seventh. The RailRiders loaded the bases with one out in the inning, and Addison Maruszak hit a two run double. Bobby Wilson followed with a two run single to cap off the RailRiders scoring. Durham finally got a run in the ninth on a base hit by Mike Fontenot, but it was far too little at that point, as they fell to Scranton 9-1. Chien-Ming Wang cruised through the Bulls lineup as he looks to get back to the majors, allowing only six hits and a walk in seven shutout innings.

Craig Albernaz had an interesting day. In the sixth, he made two tremendous plays to turn a double play. After a wild pitch, he threw to second in an attempt to catch the runner trying to advance. Thomas Neal tried to score from third on the throw, and bowled Albernaz over on the relay. He held onto the ball for the out, then fired to third to catch the runner for an inning ending double play. At the plate, he was 0-1 with two walks and was hit by a pitch, but he also pitched a scoreless inning, striking out Dan Johnson.

Mississippi Braves 6, Montgomery Biscuits 1

Scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Braves took advantage of a throwing error by Cameron Seitzer with one out, which allowed Barrett Kleinknecht to move to third as Seitzer attempted to complete a double play. After a walk and a stolen base put runners on second and third, Kleinknecht was thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice. However, that extra out came into play as Jaime Pedroza  and Dan Brewer each hit RBI singles to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. After adding another run int he fifth, the Braves took command in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs. Christian Bethancourt hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run, then the Braves took advantage of a throwing error by Kevin Kiermaier to score another run. Another throwing error, this time by Mark Thomas, allowed Philip Gosselin to advance to second. Gosselin moved to third on a balk, then scored on a base hit by Kleinknecht. The Biscuits got their run in the top of the eighth, as Seitzer drove home Mikie Mahtook with an RBI single, but Montgomery was unable to get any closer, falling 6-1. Victor Mateo took the loss, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks in five innings. Keith Castillo was 1-2 with two walks, as he was the only member of the Biscuits to reach base more than once in the loss.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 2, St. Lucie Mets 1 (Game One – seven innings)

In the makeup game from last night’s rainout, the Mets truck first, as Charley Thurber hit a solo home run in the top of the second to put the Mets on top. The Stone Crabs looked to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, putting runners on first and third with two outs. However, on a double steal, Drew Vettleson was caught trying to steal home to end the threat. Charlotte ended up tying the game in the fifth, when Ryan Brett hit his first home run of the year. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the sixth, as Richie Shaffer was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then stole second. After an out, Shaffer came around to score on a double by Willie Argo, providing the winning run as the Stone Crabs held on for a 2-1 victory. Parker Markel had an excellent outing, allowing only the one run on four hits and a walk, striking out four. Shaffer was 0-1 with  a walk, a stolen base and a run scored. Jeff Malm was 1-2 with a walk in the victory.

Charlotte Stone Crabs v. St. Lucie Mets (Game Two – postponed)

The rains came back in to the area in time to wash out the second game of the double header. The game will be made up as part of a double header tomorrow, weather permitting, with the game starting at 3:00 pm.

South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 0

The Silver Hawks jumped out on the Hot Rods early, with Brandon Drury hitting a two run home run in the first, and Rudy Flores following up with a two run home run of his own in the second to give South Bend a 4-0 lead after two. The Silver Hawks put the game out of reach in the fifth, scoring three more runs. Kevin Medrano singled to lead off the inning, and scored on a one out triple by Socrates Brito. Brito scored one batter later, as Drury hit an RBI double, then came around to score on a base hit by Fidel Pena. The Hot Rods were unable to generate any offense against South Bend starter Kyle Winkler. Winkler, making his first start for the Silver Hawks, pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out six. Luke Maile was 2-4, and Leonardo Reginatto went 2-3. Reinaldo Lopez took the loss, giving up seven runs on ten hits and a walk in 4.2 innings.