Tampa Bay Rays MLB/MiLB Recap: 3 Position Players Pitch

Yesterday’s Tampa Bay Rays game wasn’t fun, but for the sake of continuity, let’s recap it along with the rest of the games in the system.

Washington Nationals 16, Tampa Bay Rays 4

This game went badly. Alex Colome allowed 6 runs in 2 innings, C.J. Riefenhauser allowed 2 in 2.1, Enny Romero gave up 5 in 2, and after Brandon Gomes briefly restored order, position players Jake Elmore and Nick Franklin came in to pitch. They combined to allow 3 runs, all off the bat of Nats catcher Wilson Ramos on home runs. Be careful when looking at Ramos’ stats moving forward–those homers should barely count. And he was being mean, for what it’s worth. On the positive side, Rene Rivera went 2 for 4 with a  homer and 3 RBI while Evan Longoria went 2 for 2.

Triple-A International League: Indianapolis Indians (PIT) 3, Durham Bulls 2 (10 innings)

This was a different type of crushing loss as the Bulls blew a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the ninth. Everett Teaford had a nice start before that, scattering 5 hits in 6 shutout innings, before Jhan Marinez worked around a hit with a strikeout in 1.2 frames. Organizational catcher Mayo Acosta also had a nice game to lead the offense, going 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Corey Brown had the other Bulls RBI.

High-A Florida State League Game 1: Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, Lakeland Flying Tigers (DET) 2 (7 innings)

Back to the land of the winning, Matt Moore had a solid rehab start for Charlotte. He got up to 78 pitches as he went 4.2 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 3 while walking none. He continues to progress towards a major league return. Kyle McKenzie followed with 1.1 perfect innings striking out 2 before Brad Schreiber worked around a hit in the seventh for the save. The Stone Crabs scored their runs on three straight RBI doubles from Willy Adames, Jake Bauers, and Granden Goetzman in the fifth. Kean Wong also went 2 for 3 in the win.

Game 2: Lakeland 2, Charlotte 1

Buddy Borden was good, but not quite good enough in this game. He went 5 innings allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2. His groundout to flyout ratio was 5-2. Borden has a 2.25 ERA at Charlotte as he is off to a great start in the Tampa Bay Rays system since being acquired in the Sean Rodriguez trade. Steve Ascher was perfect with 2 strikeouts in finishing the game. At the plate, meanwhile, Kean Wong and Willy Adames each went 2 for 4, with Adames’ RBI single scoring Wong after Wong had stolen his 12th base.

Low-A Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) 13, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3

In case you thought the title was a typo, there was another game in the Rays organization where a position player pitched. After Chris Pike allowed 7 runs in 5.2 innings and Ryan Pennell allowed 6 more in 2, Alec Sole forced a flyout for the final out. There was a little offense for Bowling Green in this one, though, with Justin Williams going 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored, Riley Unroe extending his hitting streak to 10 by going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Bralin Jackson going 2 for 4 with a run scored. Jackson has taken another huge step forward this year, hitting to a .327/.377/.437 line. It is a beautiful thing when previously raw athletes start tapping into their potential.

Next: Rays Tab Boston College Captain Blake Butera With 35th Pick