It's certainly an ugly outing, but I don't think it takes away from the turnaround he's had this season. If he goes into a complete tailspin after this obviously things would be different, but for now, I'd just view it as a blip on the radar and not a return to the last few years.
A reminder that Charlotte's visiting Clearwater this week. Tonight and Tuesday are night games, and Wednesday's is in the afternoon.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (55-46)
Mike Montgomery was hammered in Durham's 11-3 loss to Gwinnett. The Bulls conceded their first run in the first inning, but it got really ugly an inning later. After striking out the leadoff batter, Montgomery would allow seven straight batters to reach, and they all came around to score, either against Montgomery himself or Doug Mathis. A Hak-Ju Lee error led to some earned runs, and Montgomery's final line was eight runs (five earned) allowed on eight hits and a walk in 1.1 innings with a strikeout.
Durham was outhit 19-7, and they didn't score until the ninth inning when it was a bit too late to matter. A wild pitch scored their first run, a sac fly scored the second, and Ali Solis' two out double brought them within eight. Solis and Mikie Mahtook had two hit games.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (16-14)
After blowing a late lead, Montgomery had a couple more runs left in them in their 9-8 win over Jackson. Taylor Motter's pair of solo home runs, including one in a five run fourth inning, helped them build a 6-3 lead, but they needed a pair of hits late to end up winning. Motter flew out to make the second out of the ninth, but with runners on the corners, Cameron Seitzer and Alejandro Segovia hit back to back singles to tie and then win the game. Motter had three hits, and Brett and Seitzer each had two.
Victor Mateo certainly didn't have his best start. A Motter error allowed three unearned third inning runs to be charged to Mateo's line, but he didn't help himself by allowing a fifth inning solo home run. He got charged with two more runs in the seventh, and he finished with six allowed (three earned) on six hits and three walks in 6.1 innings with no strikeouts. Bryce Stowell and Cory Burns each allowed a run in relief.
Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (10-19)
Jeremy Hellickson was no match for the son of a former big leaguer in Charlotte's 5-0 loss to Clearwater. Mark Leiter Jr. scattered five hits over nine innings, and he struck out eight with no walks. Meanwhile, Hellickson was charged with four of Clearwater's runs, two of which were earned. He struck out four and allowed seven hits and a walk in five innings. Jose Alberto Molina struck out four in three innings of relief, and no Stone Crab reached base more than once.
Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (12-17)
Bowling Green's offense was even worse in their 4-0 loss to Beloit. It took until a fourth inning Oscar Hernandez single to for the Hot Rods to get their first hit, and Kean Wong's single two innings later would be their last. Two walks and a hit batter gave them five total baserunners for the game. Jake Faria lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (26-10)
A Grant Kay solo home run accounted for Hudson Valley's only run in their 3-1 loss to Vermont. After his first hitless game as a pro, Kay bounced back with his second career home run in six games. He also short-circuited their best run scoring opportunity in the sixth by grounding into an inning ending double play after two straight singles. Leopoldo Correa had two hits.
Nolan Gannon allowed four runs in consecutive starts entering Sunday, but he bounced back with a solid performance. He allowed just a run on five hits in five innings with six strikeouts and no walks. In his second inning of relief, Trevor Dunlap allowed two Vermont runs, the first of which was conceded to record an out. Only one Renegade reached base the final three innings.
Rookie Princeton Rays (15-14)
A rough relief appearance for Mario Fernandez hurt Princeton's chances in their 7-3 loss to Kingsport. After being given a 2-1 lead by the Rays offense, Fernandez was called on to protect the lead in the sixth, but instead, the Mets took it right back. In 1.2 innings of work, he was charged with five runs on six hits and a walk, and he would be tagged with his first blown save and loss.
That wasted an okay effort from starter Freddy Alvarez. In his last inning of work, he allowed an unearned run to finish with that run allowed on three hits and two walks in five innings with a strikeout. After he left, Princeton immediately took a 2-1 lead with a pair of unearned runs. In the eighth, Nic Wilson's sac fly gave them their third run. Thomas Milone reached base three times with two hits and a walk.
Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (16-9)
The GCL Rays were off.
Star of the day- Motter provided one of few individual highlights on the day.
Goat of the day- The nice thing for Montgomery is he'll have another shot to pitch later this week.
Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham v. Rochester 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Enny Romero (3-10, 5.62) v. Sean Gilmartin (1-1, 4.13)
Montgomery @ Chattanooga 7:15 PM (Radio stream)
Mike Colla (5-9, 5.00) v. Matt Shelton (2-3, 4.68)
Charlotte @ Clearwater 7 PM (Radio stream)
Jordan Harrison (0-1, 4.22) v. Jordan Guth (1-3, 2.58)
Bowling Green @ Beloit 1 PM (Radio stream)
Bruedlin Suero (1-2, 4.94) v. Dylan Covey (4-8, 4.64)
Hudson Valley @ Vermont 6:05 PM (Radio stream)
Enderson Franco (2-1, 3.82) v. Corey Miller (0-1, 6.00)
Princeton @ Kingsport 7 PM (Radio stream)
Hyrum Formo (1-0, 5.09) v. Andrew Massie (0-2, 2.89)
GCL Rays v. GCL Red Sox 11 AM DOUBLEHEADER
TBA v. TBA
TBA v. TBA
Both games will be seven innings
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition (stats current as of start of each series)
Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota)
55-47 (2nd in IL North)
Offense: 460 R (6th) .734 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.35 ERA (1st) 1.29 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Alex Meyer (3), RHP Trevor May (8), LHP Sean Gilmartin (10), C Josmil Pinto (14), RHP Mike Tonkin (15)
Chattanooga Lookouts (Los Angeles)
10-18 (5th in SL North)
Offense: 399 R (10th) .703 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 4.37 ERA (9th) 1.51 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Corey Seager (2), LHP Chris Reed (8), OF Scott Schebler (17), IF Darnell Sweeney (25)
Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia)
12-17 (5th in FSL North)
Offense: 319 R (12th) .625 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 4.63 ERA (12th) 1.48 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS J.P. Crawford (3), CF Roman Quinn (16), RHP Aaron Nola
Beloit Snappers (Oakland)
9-20 (8th in MWL West)
Offense: 365 R (16th) .685 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 4.52 ERA (15th) 1.40 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Dylan Covey (8), RHP Bobby Wahl (9), RHP Kyle Finnegan (16), OF B.J. Boyd (20)
Vermont Lake Monsters (Oakland)
13-23 (4th in Stedler)
Offense: 147 R (11th) .657 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.33 ERA (13th) 1.34 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: None
Kingsport Mets
13-15 (4th in APP West)
Offense: 146 R (5th) .726 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 4.34 ERA (9th) 1.46 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Blake Taylor (18)
GCL Red Sox
14-9 (2nd in GCL South)
Offense: 120 R (6th) .660 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 2.55 ERA (4th) 1.18 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Rafael Devers (20), SS Javier Guerra (27), RHP Michael Kopech, RHP Jake Cosart