Tampa Bay Rays MiLB Recap: Chih-Wei Hu Ridiculous in Playoff Start

Fans were treated to some minor league postseason action on the Tampa Bay Rays’ off-day, and the games proved to be cliche Rays contests–one in a good way, but the other in a manner that we would rather forget about.

Double-A Southern League Postseason Game 1: Chattanooga Lookouts (MIN) 4, Montgomery Biscuits 3

The Biscuits’ pitching was sketchy throughout this game, but for the most part, it got the job done. Jaime Schultz walked 5 while striking out 4 in 5 innings, but he allowed just 1 run on 3 hits. Ryne Stanek then gave up a run in 1.1 frames, but Mark Sappington struck out both batters he faced to strand a pair of baserunners before Matt Lollis tossed a perfect frame with a strikeout. Unfortunately, Brad Schreiber was then unable to hold the Biscuits’ 1-run lead entering the ninth, surrendering 2 runs to let Chattanooga walk off.

Offensively, Patrick Leonard drilled a solo homer while Justin O’Conner had a solid game, going 2 for 4 with an RBI. Jake Bauers also drilled an RBI double while Daniel Robertson went 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

High-A Florida State League Championship Series Game 1: Charlotte Stone Crabs 1, Daytona Tortugas (CIN) 0

What a start by Chih-Wei Hu! He picked quite a time for his best outing of the season, as he tossed 8 shutout innings giving up just 5 hits, striking out 9 while walking 1. His groundout to flyout ratio was even 8-2. Hu had everything from his fastball to his forkball working as well as ever. And in this one, Jordan Harrison did successfully record the save, striking out 1 in a perfect ninth.

The Stone Crabs went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left 6 men on base, but luckily they were able to push the 1 run across. Justin Williams did the honors, drilling an RBI double in the second inning. Granden Goetzman went 2 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored while Hector Guevara went 2 for 4. Goetzman continued his strong play after drilling a critical ninth-inning homer to help the Stone Crabs get this far. Now Charlotte is 2 wins away from a championship.

Next: Tampa Bay Rays: Which Minor League Pitchers Had the Best Years?