The Undercards: Tim Beckham Has Excellent Night, But Bulls Fall 5-4

Tim Beckham has seemingly been considered a disappointment for a while now, perhaps because he was taken before Buster Posey. However, Beckham is only 23, and may be on the verge of making his appearance in the majors. Performances like his last night can only help his cause for a September callup once rosters expand.

Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 5, Durham Bulls 4

Much like last night, the Red Wings jumped out quickly over the Bulls. Josh Willingham led off the second with a home run, and then loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the third. A run came in on a force out, and Chris Parmelee singled to drive in another run as Rochester took a 3-0 lead. However, the Bulls came back, loading the bases as Jesus Flores was hit by a pitch and was followed by two walks. Tim Beckham drove in two with a base hit to left, and Chris Gimenez tied the game with a one out single. But the Red Wings were not done, scoring twice in the top of the fourth on a hit batter and a groundout. Durham attempted to mount a comeback in the seventh. Kevin Kiermaier tripled to lead off the inning, and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one. However, they were unable to get any closer, falling to the Red Wings 5-4. Adam Liberatore took the loss, giving up two runs on a hit and two walks while recording only a single out. Jake Odorizzi had another rough outing, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks in only three innings. Beckham was 4-4 with two RBIs in the loss.

Charlotte Stone Crabs v. Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) – postponed

Due to heavy rains, last night’s game between the Charlotte Stone Crabs and the Fort Myers Miracle was postponed. The game will be made up on August 21st at 5:00 pm.

Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) 4, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

The Hot Rods appeared poised for a big inning in the first, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Thomas Coyle grouned out to first to plate a run and move the runner to third, but Bowling Green was unable to get the run home. They appeared to be on the verge of a big inning again in the fourth, loading the bases with no outs, but a force out at home and a strike out gave the Loons two outs without giving up a run. A wild pitch plated Joey Rickard, but that was the only run that the Hot Rods would get that inning. The Loons battled back, as Kevin Taylor homered in the fifth to cut the lead in half. Aaron Miller and Tyler Ogle hit consecutive doubles to tie the game, but the Hot Rods took the lead back in the bottom of the inning as Patrick Leonard homered to left center. However, the Loons were not done, rallying in the top of the eighth. Malcolm Holland walked to lead off the inning, and Miller followed with a home run to put Great Lakes on top. The Hot Rods were unable to get any closer, falling 4-3. Matthew Spann took the loss, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk in 2.2 innings of work. Rickard, Andrew Toles and Tyler Goeddel each had two hits in the loss.

Batavia MuckDogs (Marlins) 15, Hudson Valley Renegades 6

The Renegades showed a lot of heart in this game, coming back three separate times to tie the game before the MuckDogs pulled away. Batavia scored three times in the second, highlighted by a two run double by Chad Wallach, but the Renegades answered with three of their own in the top of the third. Julian Morillo and Ariel Soriano hit back to back home runs, and Johnny Field tripled before coming in to score on a wild pitch. Wallach struck again in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to put the MuckDogs ahead, but Hudson Valley came back again. Granden Goetzman led off the top of the fourth with a triple, and scored on a base hit by James Harris. Harris stole second and third, but was stranded as the Renegades tied the game back up at 4-4. Batavia retook the lead in the bottom of the inning, as J. T. Riddle  homered and Austin Dean had an RBI single. The Renegades came back yet again, tying the game once again in the top of the sixth. Harris drove in another run on a base hit, and came around to score on a double by Morillo. But everything fell apart in the bottom of the inning, as Batavia scored nine runs to put the game away. Yefri Perez had a two run double, and the Renegades made three errors in the inning, leading to eight unearned runs. That inning doomed Hudson Valley, as they took the 15-6 loss. Justin Choate took the loss, giving up eight runs, one earned, on six hits while retiring two batters. Harris was 2-4 with two RBIs.

Bluefield Blue Jays 5, Princeton Rays 1

The rough night for the Rays farm system continued in Princeton. The Blue Jays took an early lead, scoring three runs in the second. Matt Dean and Jesus Gonzalez had RBI singles, and Jorge Saez had an RBI double as Bluefield jumped out on top. The Rays got a run back in the bottom of the third on a bases loaded walk to Hunter Lockwood, and appeared poised to cut further into the lead in the fifth. Princeton had runners on second and third with one out, but Lockwood and Jesus Araiza struck out to end the threat. Bluefield added two more runs in the sixth, as Gonzalez and Saez each hit RBI singles. The Rays were unable to rally, and fell 5-1. Jacob Faria took the loss, giving up three runs on six hits, striking out seven in five innings. Bralin Jackson was 3-4 in the loss.