The Rays were one game away from their second straight organizational sweep. Bowling Green played a classic game as far as Minor League Baseball goes.
AAA Durham Bulls (50-56)
Gwinnett hosted their second straight Bulls hit parade in Durham's 16-8 win over the G-Braves. Although they blew an early 7-0 lead, Durham had no problem recovering momentum and slamming Gwinnett's bullpen for 12 runs. To Durham's credit, three relievers combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings in relief of Lance Pendelton who was credited with the win despite allowing eight runs in 5.2 innings. Rich Thompson got the game off to a great start with a leadoff home run, the first of four hits on the night for the veteran outfielder. Along with Tim Beckham, the top two hitters in the lineup set the table for the big bats by combining to reach base seven times. Henry Wrigley drove in four runs and reached four times, Leslie Anderson hit his 11th home run, and Reid Brignac's 6th inning grand slam gave the Bulls bullpen some breathing room. In the 9th for Gwinnett, former Devil Ray shortstop Josh WIlson came on to pitch an inning. Wilson pitched an inning for the Devil Rays in a 2007 loss to the Marlins.
AA Montgomery Biscuits (20-12)
Montgomery once led Jackson 4-0, and they held onto the lead in a 4-3 final. For just the second time this season, Kyle Lobstein completed seven innings, and they were effective. He allowed just two runs on four hits and a walk, and he struck out six. He left the game with a lead thanks to a pair of two run innings by the Biscuits offense. In the 3rd, Ty Morrison hit a single to bring in two, and two innings later, Hak-Ju Lee scored on a wild pitch before Omar Luna delivered an RBI single. With his double and two walks, Lee extended his on-base streak to 37 games, tied with Evan Longoria for the team record. Mikie Mahtook hit a pair of doubles in his first start with Montgomery.
High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (13-19)
Despite Todd Glaessman homering in his first game with Charlotte, the Stone Crabs fell 12-4 to Fort Myers. The former third rounder is in the midst of a breakout year with 14 home runs after hitting just eight combined in the previous two seasons. While Miracle starter Matthew Hauser cruised through seven scoreless innings, Enny Romero had a night to forget. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) in just three innings on four hits and five walks while striking out four. Chris Andujar didn't fare much better in relief, and by the time the Stone Crabs scored four runs in the 8th, they were already down 11-0. Luke Bailey hit his 4th home run, and Derek Dietrich had three hits.
Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (19-12)
In what could be the minor league game of the year, Bowling Green prevailed over Lansing 15-13 in 13 innings. Jake Hager's two run homer gave the Hot Rods a 2-0 lead two batters into the game, but Ryan Carpenter quickly gave that lead back and more as Lansing came back to lead 8-2 after two innings. As Stayton Thomas settled the game down as the only pitcher in the game to not allow any runs, Bowling Green stormed back, scoring the next six runs to tie the game at eight. Bowling Green would then fall behind 9-8, but a four run 9th gave them a comfortable lead. However, Austin Hubbard could not hold the lead and the game went into extra innings. The teams traded a run each in the 11th, and Ryan Brett's 13th inning double gave them the lead for good. In the end, Cameron Seitzer and Jeff Malm were the only Bowling Green players to not reach base three or more times. Hager and Josh sale drove in four and three runs respectively, and six Hot Rods had an extra base hit.
Short Season-A Hudson Valley Renegades (24-13)
A late rally allowed Hudson Valley to push the game to extra innings and eventually beat Tri-City 10-9 in 12 innings. Down 9-3 entering the 7th, Thomas Coyle doubled home a pair of runs to cut into the deficit, and the big blow happened in the 8th when Deshun Dixon came around to score on his own single with two runners on base thanks to a ValleyCats outfielder. Two batters later, Joey Rickard doubled home the tying run. With two outs in the bottom of the 12th, Marty Gantt hit a walkoff single to score Leonardo Reginatto. Gantt led the Renegades with three hits, and four other players each had two hits. Reinaldo Lopez and Ian Kendall each pitched four innings, allowing three and six runs respectively. Rob Finneran and Dylan Floro pitched the last four innings holding Tri-City scoreless.
Rookie Princeton Rays (17-17)
Princeton had a day off.
Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (15-18)
The GCL Rays staff delivered again in another close 2-1 win over the GCL Twins. Luis Cabrera earned his first stateside win thanks to his six inning, one run performance that saw him strike out four and only allow five hits and no walks. An inning after falling behind 1-0, the Rays put up both runs in the bottom of the 5th. After a Douglas Duran bunt moved a pair of runners into scoring position with one out, Jiminson Natera and Yoel Araujo delivered with a single and sac fly to grab the lead. While they were the two to drive in the runs, it was Leopoldo Correa who had three of the Rays' seven hits. In relief of Cabrera, Isaac Gil threw three scoreless innings to get the save.
Star of the day- Jake Hager had a big game in Bowling Green's come from behind win.
Goat of the day- Enny Romero was chiefly responsible for Charlotte's failure to win.
Today's games
Durham @ Gwinnett 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Montgomery @ Jackson 8:05 PM
Charlotte @ Dunedin 6:30 PM
Bowling Green @ Lansing 7:05 PM
Hudson Valley v. Tri-City 7:05 PM
Princeton v. Bluefield 7:05 PM
GCL Rays @ GCL Twins 12 PM
Scouting the opposition
Gwinnett Braves
47-59 (4th in IL South)
Offense: 442 R (9th) .712 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.60 ERA (13th) 1.52 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Julio Teheran (1), RHP Randall Delgado (30), RHP Billy Bullock (24), RHP Erik Cordier (26), RHP Cory Gearrin (29)
Jackson Generals (Seattle)
17-14 (2nd in SL North)
Offense: 437 R (5th) .732 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 3.19 ERA (1st) 1.30 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Taijuan Walker (1), LHP James Paxton (3), 3B Francisco Martinez (6), RHP Carter Capps (16), RHP Forrest Snow (19), RHP Brandon Maurer (21), OF Chih-Hsien Chang (24), LHP Mauricio Robles (26), OF Johermyn Chavez (28), 1B Rich Poythress (29)
Dunedin Blue Jays
15-18 (5th in FSL North)
Offense: 512 R (1st) .747 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.71 ERA (5th) 1.31 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Marcus Knecht (24)
Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto)
19-12 (1st in MWL East)
Offense: 504 R (2nd) .718 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.20 ERA (1st) 1.27 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Justin Nicolino (5), RHP Aaron Sanchez (6), RHP Noah Syndergaard (7), OF Michael Crouse (23), OF Chris Hawkins (25)
Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston)
26-11 (1st in Stedler)
Offense: 203 R (2nd) .717 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 2.57 ERA (1st) 1.14 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Vincent Velasquez (27)
Bluefield Blue Jays
14-17 (4th in APP East)
Offense: 145 R (6th) .713 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.46 ERA (3rd) 1.17 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Daniel Norris (4), 3B Matt Dean (11), OF Dwight Smith Jr. (16), RHP Kevin Comer (17), OF Jake Anderson (21), SS Dickie Joe Thon (27), 2B Christian Lopes (29), RHP Roberto Osuna (30)
GCL Twins
19-14 (1st in GCL South)
Offense: 130 R (9th) .678 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.03 ERA (3rd) 1.21 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Byron Buxton