Hudson Valley will continue for a couple days, still mathematically alive for the postseason.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (86-57)
Durham's offense was limited to three hits in their 3-2 loss to Norfolk. Dan Johnson's sac fly gave the Tides a first inning 1-0 lead, but Mike Fontenot answered a half inning later with a two out double to score Tim Beckham. Unfortunately, their offense would be retired in order in five of the remaining seven innings, and Matt Buschmann would be charged with the last two Norfolk runs. The Bulls were able to mount a rally in the ninth when Cole Figueroa singled to start the inning and came around to score on a fielding error, and Brandon Guyer represented the tying run on third with no one out. The only baserunner to reach after that would be Leslie Anderson on an intentional walk, and Beckham grounded out to end the game. Buschmann allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks in six innings with four strikeouts. FIgueroa was the only Bull to reach base twice.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (33-36)
Montgomery fell behind early and dug a deeper and deeper hole in their 7-1 loss to Birmingham. The Barons used four singles to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. A two out rally culminating in an RBI double by Shawn O'Malley cut the deficit in half in the third inning, but the first of two Trayce Thompson home runs came in the bottom half of the inning to get the run right back. His two run homer in the seventh extended Birmingham's lead to 7-1. Marquis Fleming allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings with two strikeouts. Jeff Belliveau struck out three in an inning. O'Malley had a two hit game.
Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (38-27)
Taylor Motter ended Charlotte's regular season on a high note in a 3-1 win over Palm Beach. The Cardinals broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the seventh with a two out double, but that lead didn't last long. With two outs and Kes Carter on first base in the eighth, Hector Guevara singled to keep the game alive, and after a pitching change, Taylor Motter greeted the new pitcher with a three run home run. Six Stone Crabs pitchers combined to hold the Cardinals to two runs on four hits, starting with Grayson Garvin striking out two and walking two in four no-hit innings, and ending with Nate Garcia picking up a one out save after Luis Cabrera struggled in his second appearance with Charlotte. Shay Crawford was credited with the win despite allowing a run on two hits in one inning. Motter had two hits despite not starting the game.
Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (43-26)
A seven run eighth inning helped Bowling Green clinch their division's second half championship in their 9-4 win over Lake County. The Hot Rods scored a run in both the fourth and fifth innings, but they found themselves down by two after six. They left runners on base in nearly every inning, but in the eighth, the Captains lost all control. Leonardo Reginatto led off with a walk, and he eventually scored after a single and error. Patrick Leonard walked to load the bases, and Lake County changed pitchers. However, the walk parade was just beginning. After three straight walks gave Bowling Green a 6-4 lead, Brandon Martin was hit by a pitch to extend the lead to three. Reginatto came up again and hit a sac fly, and Tyler Goeddel's two out run-scoring single capped off the inning. Starter Reinaldo Lopez walked two and allowed a hit in only two innings. He was relieved by Stone Speer allowed three runs in two innings, and Matt Spann was credited with the win with a run allowed in 3.1 innings. Goeddel, O'Conner and Ryan Dunn had two hit games.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (35-36)
After jumping out to a 4-2 lead through three innings, Hudson Valley's bullpen faltered in their 6-4 loss to Staten Island. The Yankees scored a run in the top half of the first, but Ariel Soriano scored on an error after a leadoff triple in the bottom half of the inning. Granden Goetzman led off the second inning with a home run, part of a two run frame to give the Renegades their lead. Goetzman drove in their fourth run the next inning on a groundout. After allowing the two first inning runs (one earned), Ben Griset settled down and finished five innings, allowing the two runs on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. In the eighth, Justin Choate started his third inning of relief and was the victim of bad defense. Hudson Valley committed three of their four errors, and all four runs scored by Staten Island were unearned. They tacked on another run in the ninth. Darryl George had two of Hudson Valley's eight hits.
Star of the day- Motter's late homer will carry Charlotte into their first round matchup with Fort Myers.
Goat of the day- I know he's just doing it because the organization is a bit short-handed, but Fleming is not a starter.
Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham @ Norfolk 12:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Enny Romero (0-0, 0.00) v. Zach Britton (6-5, 4.27)
Montgomery @ Birmingham 1:30 PM (MiLB.TV)
Marquis Fleming* (4-6, 4.97) v. Chris Bassitt (4-2, 2.27)
Charlotte's regular season is over
Bowling Green v. Lake County 1:05 PM
Jeff Ames* (9-4, 2.98) v. Robbie Aviles (4-5, 5.09)
Hudson Valley v. Connecticut 7:05 PM
Derek Loera* (2-1, 2.84) v. Chase Edwards (0-0, 2.34)
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition
Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
77-66 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 638 R (4th) .728 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.83 ERA (7th) 1.35 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: IF Jonathan Schoop (3), OF Henry Urrutia (13), RHP Steve Johnson (16), LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (21), LHP Michael Belfiore (24)
Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
33-36 (3rd in SL North)
Offense: 617 R (1st) .710 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 3.51 ERA (6th) 1.23 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Trayce Thompson (2), OF Keenyn Walker (5), LHP Scott Snodgress (6), OF Jared Mitchell (9), RHP Chris Beck (10), RHP Kevin Vance (19), 2B Tyler Saladino (26), Nestor Molina (28), C Mike Blanke (33), OF Brandon Jacobs
Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
31-38 (6th in MWL East)
Offense: 589 R (10th) .698 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 4.22 ERA (14th) 1.40 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Dorssys Paulino (2), LHP Luis Lugo (12), OF Anthony Santander (13), RHP Dylan Baker (16), OF LeVon Washington
Connecticut Tigers
33-39 (3rd in Stedler)
Offense: 259 R (10th) .612 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.21 ERA (9th) 1.29 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Austin Schotts (5), LHP Kevin Ziomek, 1B Dominic Ficociello