The Undercards: Jake Odorizzi Doomed By Bad Inning As Bulls Fall to Tides

Sometimes, things just are not going to go your way. That was certainly the case for the Rays minor league system last night, as the farm teams went a combined 1-6. The lone win came courtesy of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, and even that took extra innings to accomplish. Hopefully, the Rays minor leagues can fare better on Saturday.

Norfolk Tides (Orioles) 5, Durham Bulls 1

Sometimes, all it takes is one bad inning to be the difference in the game. In last night’s matchup between the Tides and the Bulls, the third inning proved to be the difference. Norfolk got to Bulls starter Jake Odorizzi four times, with a one out double by Chris Snyder kicking off the scoring. After a force out, the Tides got three consecutive RBI singles from Henry Urrutia, Russ Canzler and L. J. Hoes to take a 4-0 lead. After that hiccup, Odorizzi kept the Tides in check, but the damage had been done. Norfolk starter Tsuyoshi Wada was cruising through the Bulls lineup, as Durham was unable to muster a true scoring threat. After Jason Pridie homered in the top of the seventh, the Bulls finally got a run on the board. Brandon Guyer singled with one out, moved to third on a two out base hit, and scored on Ryan Roberts‘ RBI single. That would be all the scoring for the Bulls, as they fell to the Tides by a final score of 5-1. Odorizzi took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. Tim Beckham was the only member of the Bulls to get on base more than once, as he went 2-4 with two strikeouts.

Montgomery Biscuits v. Mobile BayBears (Diamondbacks) – postponed

Rain forced the postponement of Friday’s matchup between the Biscuits and the BayBears. The game will be made up as part of a double header on Saturday, with Game One beginning at 4:05pm.

Palm Beach Cardinals 7, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4

The Cardinals got to Charlotte starter Parker Markel early and often. In the first, Danny Stienstra hit a two out double to drive in the first run of the game, then came around to score on a base hit by Jonathan Rodriguez to give Palm Beach a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals continued to batter Markel in the third. Having already scored a run, they loaded the bases with one out before a walk to Anthony Garcia forced in another run. Casey Rasmus followed with a two run single, and the Cardinals had a 6-0 lead. Palm Beach looked poised to expand the lead even further, as they loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but reliever Jacob Partridge escaped, allowing only one run to score. Charlotte finally broke through in the eighth, putting runners on first and second with one out. Drew Vettleson and Ben Kline had back to back RBI singles, and Curt Casili hit a two run double with two out to cut the lead to 7-4. Unfortunately for the Stone Crabs, that was as close as they would get, as the Cardinals held on for the victory. Markel took the loss, giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks over three innings. Vettleson was 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Dayton Dragons (Reds) 1 (Ten Innings)

Bowling Green starter Reinaldo Lopez and Dayton starter Drew Cisco found themselves in the midst of a pitcher’s duel last night, although neither would factor into the decision. The Hot Rods got on the board first, putting runners on first and third with no outs when Marty Gantt stole second. A throwing error by Dayton catcher Joe Hudson allowed Justin O’Conner to score from third, and Bowling Green took a 1-0 lead. Dayton answered back in the fourth, rallying with two outs to put runners on first and third. Tanner Rahier doubled to tie the game, but Adam Matthews was thrown out at the plate attempting to score from first to end the inning. The Dragons had the best chance to break the deadlock in the fifth, putting runners on first and second with one out, but Jeff Gelalich lined out to shortstop Leonardo Reginatto, who turned an unassisted double play to end the threat. The game remained tied at 1-1 heading into the top of the tenth, when the Hot Rods took over. They loaded the bases with no outs, and after a force out at the plate, took the lead on a wild pitch. Tyler Goeddel then followed with a two run single to clear the bases, and put Bowling Green ahead 4-1. That score held up, as the Hot Rods earned a well contested victory. Marcus Jensen picked up the win in relief, pitching three shutout innings, allowing one hit while striking out six. O’Conner was 3-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored.

Staten Island Yankees 6, Hudson Valley Renegades 0

The Renegades appeared poised to take the lead in the second inning, loading the bases with one out against Yankees starter Rookie Davis. However, Davis escaped, getting John Alexander to ground into a double play to end the inning. that play seemingly turned the momentum of the game, and the Yankees rode the wave in the third, putting runners on first and second with one out. Eric Jagielo singled to break the scoreless tie, and Yeicok Calderon followed with an RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the Yankees loaded the bases with two out, bringing up Jagielo again. This time, he hit a two run single to knock Renegades starter Ben Griset from the game and put Staten Island ahead 4-0. After that initial threat in the second, the Renegades were unable to muster another true scoring opportunity. A two run double by Bubba Jones in the ninth provided the final margin of victory, as the Yankees shut out the Renegades 6-0. Griset took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings of work. Omar Naraves was 2-4 with a double in the defeat.

Burlington Royals 5, Princeton Rays 1 (Game One – Seven Innings)

The Royals jumped out early in the first game of the double header, putting runners on second and third to start the game. Mauricio Ramos followed with a two run double, and scored on an error by Coty Blanchard with two outs to give Burlington a quick 3-0 lead. That score held up until the top of the sixth, when David Garcia homered to put the Rays on the board. However, the Royals answered. Pedro Gonzalez hit a two run home run in the bottom of the frame, giving Burlington a 5-1 lead, and the eventual victory over Princeton in the first game of the double header. Nolan Gannon took the loss, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits and a walk over five innings of work. Garcia was 2-3 with the solo home run, and Jesus Araiza was 1-2 with a double and a walk to account for the entirety of the Rays offense.

Burlington Royals 5, Princeton Rays 4 (Game Two – Seven Innings)

The Royals jumped out in the first inning again in the second game of the double header, and Ramos once again provided the first inning spark. This time, he had an RBI double, and scored on a double by Sam Bates to put Burlington on top 2-0. However, this time, the Rays came right back, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Wilmer Dominguez dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and Burlington third baseman Michael Mercurio threw the ball away, allowing a run to score and moving the runners to second and third. A groundout to short by Adderly Rosa plated a run, and the game was tied at 2-2. The Royals took the lead again in the bottom of the third, as Alex Newman hit an RBI single to put Burlington on top 3-2. Burlington then loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, and Michael Mercurio walked to force in a run. The Rays came back once again in the top of the seventh, putting runners on first and second before Bralin Jackson attempted a sacrifice bunt. This time, Burlington pitcher Ryan Mattes made an error on the play, loading the bases. Blanchard hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one, and Hunter Lockwood hit a two out single to tie the game at 4-4. The game would not remain tied for long, however. After Darren Fischer got the first out in the bottom of  the inning, bringing up Bobby Fisher-Brown. Fisher-Brown responded with a homer to right, giving the Royals a 5-4 walkoff victory. Fischer took the loss, allowing one run on one hit, while striking out two in 1.1 innings. Chad Nacapoy was 2-3 in the defeat.

GCL Orioles 2, GCL Rays 0 (Suspended, Fourth Inning)

With the Orioles holding a 2-0 lead, the matchup between the Orioles and Rays was suspended, to be completed on Saturday.