Justin O'Conner played four innings in the field and had the one at-bat against Romero. He took a strike, fouled off a couple pitches and then dropped a single into center field on a slider.
Romero got the other three batters he faced in his inning to ground out. Pirates outfielder Josh Bell led off and saw nothing but 94-97 MPH fastballs, and his last pitch of the game was a 98 MPH fastball. 11 of his 17 pitches were strikes.
I think Joey Gallo's power display before and during the game is probably what people will be taking away from yesterday afternoon, but there plenty of highlights, including a Marlins prospect striking out Gallo and Kris Bryant back to back. Dalton Pompey (Toronto) and Rosell Herrera (Colorado) each had a pair of hits, and 20 pitchers combined to strike out 18 batters.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (53-44)
Durham was rained out.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (12-12)
Montgomery piled up a lot of runs late in their 12-2 win over Montgomery. Leading 3-2 in the seventh, Cameron Seitzer and Richie Shaffer hit back to back home runs with two outs, the first being a grand slam. It wasn't even the first time in the game the Biscuits hit back to back home runs. In the fifth, Ryan Brett and Jake Hager each hit solo shots. In the eighth, four more hits, including two doubles, helped them score four more runs to run their lead to double digits. Brett had four hits, was a triple shy of the cycle and stole his 23rd base.
Victor Mateo was solid through six and exited just before the offensive outburst. He allowed both Blue Wahoo runs, although the second one was unearned due to an error by Shaffer. Mateo finished with with the two runs (one earned) allowed on two hits and two walks in six innings with five strikeouts. Andrew Bellatti struck out two in three scoreless innings of relief.
Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (7-17)
Charlotte fell behind 7-1 early, and a big ninth inning wasn't enough in their 7-5 loss to Brevard County. Making a spot start, Marcus Jensen was crushed, allowing all seven Manatee runs (five earned). After Charlotte took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Jensen was charged with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning, but the four run second really sunk the Stone Crabs. He allowed a solo home run in the third and exited after that inning. Ryan Garton and Zach Cooper combined to throw six scoreless the rest of the way.
Between the first and ninth innings, Charlotte's offense did very little. Ariel Soriano doubled home Josh Sale to start the inning, and Luke Bailey's three run homer brought them within two. The tying run never came to the plate though. Every Stone Crab reached base once, and Tyler Goeddel and Jonathan Quinonez did so twice.
Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (10-13)
Jake Faria struggled, but two home runs backed him in Bowling Green's 3-1 win over Lansing. He limited the Lugnuts to one run, but he allowed at least one baserunner in every inning and was in and out of trouble all game. That run came in the third when he loaded the bases with no outs, but he was able to sneak out of the inning with only that run allowed. He finished with the run allowed on five hits and four walks in five innings with two strikeouts. Stone Speer struck out three in 2.1 innings.
It didn't take long for the Hot Rods to get their scoring going. Johnny Field led off the game with a double and scored on an Oscar Hernandez single. Field would break a 1-1 tie two innings later with a solo home run, his seventh of the year. Armando Araiza added his seventh home run of the season in the eighth to extend their lead to 3-1. Field was a triple shy of the cycle, and Juniel Querecuto also had three hits.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (22-8)
A couple late runs sunk Hudson Valley in their 4-3 loss to Batavia. A half inning after falling behind 2-1 in the third, Casey Gillaspie and Hunter Lockwood hit back to back home runs to give the Renegades the lead back. That would be the last time their offense would really threaten. Gillaspie had two hits and reached base three times.
Hunter Wood was pretty solid, and for the second time this season, he threw six innings. He allowed both Batavia runs in the third inning in a rally that started with two outs. He exited with the lead, and he finished with the two runs allowed on four hits and a walk in six innings with six strikeouts. After Wood left, Edgar Gomez couldn't hold the lead as he finished the game. Batavia tied the game in the seventh, and a two out single in the eighth scored what proved to be the game winner.
Rookie Princeton Rays (12-11)
Bluefield scored in five different innings in Princeton's 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays. Bluefield outhit Princeton 13-5, and they held a 3-0 lead before the Rays scored. The Rays conceded the first run of the game in the first inning, and Bluefield added two more against starter Freddy Alvarez in the third and fourth. Alvarez allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in four innings with a strikeout. After Damion Carroll pitched two scoreless innings, the Blue Jays tacked on a couple late runs.
The Rays scored their only run in the fourth inning. With two outs, Nic Wilson kept the inning alive with a single, and he came home on a Manny Sanchez single later in the inning. An inning later, they had another great opportunity with Taylor Hawkins on third and no outs, but they couldn't take advantage and didn't threaten much the rest of the game.
Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (13-6)
The GCL Rays were off.
Star of the day- Romero and O'Conner played on a national stage yesterday.
Goat of the day- The hole Jensen put Charlotte in was too big to get out of.
Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham is at the All-Star break
Montgomery @ Pensacola 7:30 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Victor Mateo (4-9, 5.32) v. TBA
Charlotte @ Brevard County 6:35 PM (Radio stream)
Ryne Stanek (1-0, 1.50) v. Austin Ross (7-2, 3.12)
Bowling Green v. Lansing 8:05 PM (Radio stream)
Bruedlin Suero (1-1, 3.38) v. Jeremy Gabryszwski (6-3, 3.93)
Hudson Valley v. Batavia 11:05 AM (Radio stream)
Enderson Franco* (1-1, 3.86) v. Jorgan Cavanerio (1-2, 6.11)
Princeton v. Bluefield 2:05 PM (Radio stream)
Hyrum Formo (0-0, 5.68) v. Matt Smoral (1-1, 6.08)
GCL Rays v. GCL Twins 12 PM (Radio stream)
TBA v. TBA
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition
Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati)
9-15 (5th in SL South)
Offense: 393 R (8th) .701 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.94 ERA (6th) 1.41 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Robert Stephenson (1), OF Jesse Winker (4), OF Yorman Rodriguez (5), RHP Michael Lorenzen (6), RHP Ben Lively (9), RHP Daniel Corcino (13), 3B Seth Mejias-Brean (21), RHP Jon Moscot (23), RHP Hector Nelo (24)
Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee)
13-7 (1st in FSL North)
Offense: 338 R (11th) .700 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 2.86 ERA (1st) 1.14 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Tyrone Taylor (2), OF Victor Roache (5), SS Orlando Arcia (7), 3B Nick Delmonico (12), RHP Tyler Wagner (16), RHP Damien Magnificio (23), RHP Jorge Lopez (24)
Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto)
11-12 (T-4th in MWL East)
Offense: 426 R (7th) .703 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 4.27 ERA (11th) 1.46 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF D.J. Davis (3), 3B Mitch Nay (4), SS Dawel Lugo (9), RHP Chase De Jong (11), RHP Tom Robson (16), 1B Matt Dean (25)
Batavia Muckdogs (Miami)
17-12 (2nd in PInckney)
Offense: 131 R (7th) .629 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.95 ERA (9th) 1.39 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Josh Hodges (29), SS Brian Anderson
Bluefield Blue Jays
13-11 (T-2nd in APP East)
Offense: 97 R (8th) .641 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.72 ERA (4th) 1.27 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Matt Smoral (13), 1B Rowdy Tellez (18), SS Richard Urena (24)
GCL Twins
7-13 (3rd in GCL South)
Offense: 67 R (14th) .601 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.88 ERA (9th) 1.39 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Amaurys Minier (24)