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Tampa Bay Rays MiLB Recap: Shutout Ball From Every Starter

By Robbie Knopf |

We had a great stat in our game recap from yesterday, but here is a hysterical one: Chris Archer was the only starting pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization to allow a run on Sunday. How about that? Dylan Floro, Jared Mortensen, and Hyrum Formo were all sharp to lead the Rays to a 4-0 day overall. Archer’s run wasn’t earned, so none of the four starters allowed an earned run.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 2, Gwinnett Braves 0

Dylan Floro entered Sunday with a 0.92 ERA and a 19-1 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 3 starts and 19.2 innings pitched. His strikeouts weren’t quite at that level in this game, but he actually managed to lower that ERA. Floro went 7.2 innings allowing no runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 while walking none. It took him just 4 starts to lower his ERA from 4.37 to 3.01, and it may only keep falling. Floro still has his concerns–he entered this start allowing a .785 OPS to left-handed batters–but he is certainly moving towards establishing himself as a big league option.

Offensively, Allan Dykstra has had a rough season, but this was one of his better games as he went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Eugenio Velez had the other RBI to cap a 1-for-2 day with a walk and a stolen base. J.P. Arencibia, meanwhile, recorded his third multi-hit performance in 4 games as he went 2 for 4 with a run scored. It is hard to believe that he will ever crack the Rays’ roster, but given the team’s injury problems, they would love to have another depth option.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 6, Mississippi Braves 1

At least one affiliate needed to have a breakout day at the plate. Johnny Field is on quite an RBI pace as he went 3 for 4 with a double and 3 RBI. He now has 38 RBI in 50 games on the year to go along with his nice .287/.344/.492 slash line. The only concern is his strikeout to walk ratio, which currently stands at 56-13. Joey Rickard also added a 2-run double while Thomas Coyle went 2 for 4 with a run scored. Rickard’s hit came right after Field had delivered a 2-run 2-bagger of his own as the Biscuits scored 5 runs in the seventh inning of this contest.

Jared Mortensen combined with Floro to make the Atlanta Braves’ upper-level hitters miserable yesterday. He went 6 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 while walking none. His groundout to flyout ratio was also a shiny 6-0. Mortensen now has a 2.69 ERA and a 58-14 strikeout to walk ratio in 67 innings on the season, and it may be time to see how Triple-A treats him. He recently turned 27 years of age, but he has a mid-90’s fastball and hasn’t exhibited much of a split this season. He may just have a chance to be another impact pitcher for the Rays.

More from Rays Colored Glasses

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, Clinton LumberKings (SEA) 0

Apparently the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Seattle Mariners by 2 runs in the major leagues wasn’t enough. Hyrum Formo is the least impressive of the Rays’ starters from Sunday, but we can’t complain about his results in this game. He went 7 innings allowing no runs on 5 hits, striking out 2 while walking none. A bizarre stat is that Formo has struck out 2 batters or less in 4 of his last 5 starts after striking out more than 2 in each of his first 5 outings. The K’s have disappeared, but he has still allowed just 1 run in his last 13 innings pitched.

All of Formo’s run support came from Casey Gillaspie, who drilled a solo home run in the second inning before contributing an RBI groundout in the sixth. He finished 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Riley Unroe also had a steal to highlight a 1-for-3 day with a walk while Mac James and Alec Sole each went 1 for 3. Gillaspie now has a 4-game hitting streak with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. After a tepid start, he has wound up being just fine at the Low-A level.

Next: Tampa Bay Rays Game 58: Chris Archer Makes History

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