The Undercards: Trevor Lubking Strong In Princeton Loss

It was a solid day for the Tampa Bay Rays organization, who went 5-1 in games that were completed (Durham was suspended). Arguably the best pitching performance on the day was from Trevor Lubking, but his team, the Princeton Rays, was the only one not to win.

Triple-A International League: Play suspended because of rain with the Rochester Red Wings (MIN) leading the Durham Bulls 1-0 

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 6, Chattanooga Lookouts (LAD) 4

Grayson Garvin had a nice start for the Biscuits, going 4.2 innings and allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Garvin threw 94 pitches–an encouraging amount given how much his workload has been limited by injuries. Santiago Garrido then allowed 2 runs in 1.1 innings of relief and was followed by Andrew Bellatti, who allowed 1 run in 2.0 innings of relief. Cory Burns finished things off to earn the save with a scoreless inning.

Alejandro Segovia had a nice day at the plate, going 2 for 2 with a homer and a walk after entering the game for Taylor Motter. Segovia has been hot as of late, hitting .281/.425/.405 in his last 10 games. Ryan Brett added a 3 for 3 night, and both Luke Maile and Jeff Malm had multiple hits as the Biscuits rolled.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 2, Dunedin Blue Jays 1

The Stone Crabs got a great pitching performance from starter Reinaldo Lopez, who went 7.2 innings and allowed just 1 run while striking out 3 and walking 1. Jose Alberto Molina followed with a scoreless inning in relief, and Zach Cooper finished things off by securing the last out.

Offensively it wasn’t a great day for Charlotte. Patrick Leonard went 2 for 4 with a double, and Leonardo Reginatto drove in both runs with his only hit. The Stone Crabs went just 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, but luckily for them, the pitching staff got the job done regardless.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Cedar Rapids Kernels (MIN) 1

Chris Kirsch had a mixed start for the Hot Rods, going 5.1 innings and allowing just 1 run while striking out 5, but also walking an ugly 5 batters. Kirsch has been solid to the tune of a 2.89 ERA in 17 starts for Bowling Green this year. Behind him, Brad Schreiber threw 2.2 shutout innings and Stone Speer followed with a scoreless inning to earn the save. Offensively the Hot Rods didn’t do much as they went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. To get two runs, they needed help from a Kernels’ error. Juniel Querecuto did have a nice day, going 2 for 3, but other than that the Hot Rods were quiet.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 9, Lowell Spinners (BOS) 3

Chris Pike had a decent start for the Renegades, going 5.0 innings and allowing 2 runs while striking out 5 and walking none. Ryan Pennell and Justin McCalvin were on in relief duty, with Pennell allowing 1 run in 2.2 innings and McCalvin allowing no runs in 1.1 innings. McCalvin has been solid between Hudson Valley and Princeton this year, allowing just 1 run in 14.1 innings while striking out 10 and walking 4.

Offensively the Renegades had a field day, smacking 13 hits and drawing 4 walks. Braxton Lee had a nice day out of the leadoff spot, going 3 for 4 with a walk, a run scored, 2 RBIs, and his 12th stolen base of the year. Casey Gillaspie and Wilmer Dominguez both had nice nights as well, each going 2 for 5 with a pair of RBIs.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Johnson City Cardinals 5, Princeton Rays 4

This was a heartbreaking loss for the P-Rays, as Johnson City scored all 5 of their runs in the 9th inning. Trevor Lubking had a great start, going 6.0 shutout innings and allowing just 2 hits and no walks while striking out 7. Lubking has been great for the P-Rays so far, managing a 3.08 ERA and a great 31-1 K-BB ratio in 26.1 innings. We viewed Lubking as sleeper after the draft after his strong career at D3 Pacific Lutheran University, and he may just be living up to that. Kyle Bird threw a scoreless 7th and Ruben Paredes followed with a scorless 8th. Howeve,r Paredes came back out for the 9th, allowing 4 runs before ceding the game to Steve Ascher, who allowed the deciding run.

Patrick Grady led the way for the offense, going 3 for 4 with a triple and run scored. Grady has been solid in 14 games for the P-Rays this year, hitting .326/.466/.543. Hector Montes also had a nice day, going 2 for 3 with a homer and two runs scored. Manny Sanchez also hit a homer, a 2-run shot, but in the end the offense couldn’t build a big enough lead for the pitching staff to hold.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Rays 5, GCL Red Sox 4

Taylor Guerrieri made his 5 threhab appearance as he is working his way back from Tommy John. It was the second time in a row that he went 3.0 innings, and the results were what you should expect from a top prospect pitching in rookie ball. He would allow no runs on 2 hits, striking out 2 and walking none, also managing a strong 7-0 groundball-flyout ratio. Guerrieri still has plenty of work to do to get back to where he was before his injury, but the results to this point (0 earned runs, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings) are encouraging. Behind him, Junior Feliz allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 3.0 innings and Luis Nunez allowed 1 run in 3.0 innings.

Offensively it was a breakout day for the Grays, as the smacked 15 hits, 5 of which were for extra bases. Cade Gotta led the way by accounting for 4 of the 5 runs by going 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, and a runs cored. Isias Alcantar added a 3 for 5 performance with a double of his own, and as a whole 6 Grays hitters had multi-hit performances.