AA Montgomery Biscuits (34-35)

BISCUITS 9, Mobile 7-Montgomery jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, and extended that lead to 7-0 later on en route to a 9-7 win over the Mobile BayBears.  Mobile did briefly claw back in the game, scoring five runs in the sixth to chase LHP James Houser from the ballgame. All but one of those runs were unearned, however, as Houser saw his ERA drop to 2.08. The Biscuits and BayBears each made three errors in a sloppy ballgame, though four Biscuit players had multiple hits and the team had 12 total. RHP Ryan Reid closed out the ballgame for Montgomery, earning his second save of the year and possibly signaling a setup role for RHP Eduardo Morlan when he starts pitching regularly. The first half of Montgomery's season concludes today with a game in Mobile. By winning, the Biscuits can finish with a .500 record. 

BISCUITS Up Next-at Mobile, 7:05 EST (LH Jino Gonzalez)

Details on the other Rays minor league affiliates after the jump

Continue reading this post »

AA Montgomery Biscuits (33-35)

Morlan Activated-Biscuits RHP Eduardo Morlan has been activated off of the Disabled List; he was expected to arrive in Montgomery last night and could see game action as soon as today in Mobile. Morlan, placed on the DL April 25th with a sore right (pitching) shoulder, was rehabbing at the Naimoli complex in St. Petersburg. Acquired in the off-season as part of the Delmon Young trade from the Minnesota Twins, Morlan had struggled in six appearances for the Biscuits prior to going on the shelf, giving up six earned runs in 6.2 innings of work. Regarded as the organization's finest relief pitching prospect, Morlan will presumptively return to the closer's role that he had occupied prior to the injury.

BISCUITS 1, Mobile 0 (13)-The Biscuits and visiting BayBears exchanged zeros for 12 innings at Riverwalk Stadium on Friday night before two errors doomed Mobile in the bottom of the 13th. CF Rashad Eldridge came in to score when Mobile C John Hester dropped the incoming throw from 3B Cesar Nicolas that, executed properly, would have started a 5-2-3 double play to get Mobile out of the inning. Instead, 3B Chris Nowak reached base safely on the play, and his league-leading double play count stood pat at 15. RHP Wade Davis pitched seven shutout innings for the Biscuits to rebound from his poor start last Saturday.

BISCUITS Up Next-at Mobile, 8:05 EST (LH James Houser)

Continue reading this post »

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (32-33)

Ft. Myers 6, V-RAYS 2-With the scored tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, Devil Rays RHP Brian Baker gave up a grand slam home run to the Miracle's Juan Portes, resulting in a 6-2 win for Ft. Myers in the second game of the four game series. Vero Beach had taken a 2-0 lead through three innings, but the offense would manage just two hits over the remainder of the ballgame, contributing to the defeat.

V-RAYS Up Next-at Ft. Myers, 7:05 EST (LH Ryan Morse)

Continue reading this post »

AAA Durham Bulls (34-30)

BULLS 3, Charlotte 2-Durham tied the game in the eighth, and then LF Nathan Haynes drove in SS Reid Brignac with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as the Bulls earned a split of their two game home set against the Charlotte Knights. The Bulls now hit the road to play Rochester and Buffalo; they will not return home again until June 19th. 

BULLS Up Next-OFF Today

AA Montgomery Biscuits (31-33)

BISCUITS 6, Birmingham 2-After five scoreless innings from both sides, the Biscuits finally took the edge by scoring six in the final four frames to best division-leading Birmingham 6-2. 3B Chris Nowak drove in five of Montgomery's runs and LHP James Houser did not surrender a run in his return from the DL.

BISCUITS Up Next-at Birmingham, 8:05 EST (LH Jino Gonzalez)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (32-31)

V-RAYS 6, Sarasota 0-RHP Heath Rollins threw a complete game, three hit shutout against the Sarasota Reds, relying primarily on good fastball command and the effectiveness of his off-speed pitches in racking up ten strikeouts. Four Devil Rays players had multiple hits in backing up Rollins' strong outing, and Vero Beach moved a game over .500 by winning three of four in the series.

V-RAYS Up Next-at Ft. Myers, 7:05 EST (LH Brandon Mann)

A- Columbus Catfish (23-40)

CATFISH 5, Rome 2-The Catfish picked up their first series win since April 15-16 (when they beat Rome) by scoring four in the final two innings. LHP Glenn Gibson, pitching for the first time out of the bullpen after a posting a 7.85 ERA in 12 starts to begin the year, picked up the win by working two scoreless frames in relief. 

CATFISH Up Next-at Savannah, 7:00 EST (RH Jesse Darcy)

AAA Durham Bulls (33-29)

BULLS 10, Richmond 2-The Bulls lineup broke out for ten runs on nine hits, while RHP Mitch Talbot and RHP Dale Thayer did not give up an earned run as Durham won their second straight to earn a four game series split with the Richmond Braves.

BULLS Up Next-vs Charlotte, 7:05 EST (RH Jeremy Cummings)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (30-32)

BISCUITS 6, Birmingham 3-LHP Jake McGee gave up a run in each of the first three innings, but settled down while Montgomery scored four in the top of the fourth inning to key a 6-3 win over the Barons. 

BISCUITS Up Next-at Birmingham, 8:05 EST (RH Wade Davis)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (30-31)

Sarasota 12, V-RAYS 3-LHP Ryan Morse was bad, RHP Wilton Noel was worse, and not even CF Desmond Jennings' 3 for 3 day could save Vero Beach from going down in defeat 12-3 to the Sarasota Reds. 

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Sarasota, 6:00 EST (LH David Price)

A- Columbus Catfish (22-39)

CATFISH 11, Rome 1-Columbus won for the second time in three days following a 12 game losing streak, walloping the Rome Braves 11-1 behind seven strong innings from LHP Brian Flores and a 14 hit day from the lineup.

CATFISH Up Next-at Rome, 7:00 EST (RH Alex Cobb)

AAA Durham Bulls (32-29)

BULLS 3, Richmond 0-Jeff Niemann, Juan Salas, and Scott Dohmann combined on a six hit shutout of the visiting Richmond Braves, while SS Reid Brignac doubled in two of Durham's three seventh inning runs.

BULLS Up Next-vs Richmond, 7:05 EST (RH Mitch Talbot)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (29-32)

Birmingham 3, BISCUITS 1-Montgomery was able to manage just four hits off of Barons pitching, scoring their lone run in the ninth inning. PH John Jaso struck out with runners on the corners to end the game.

BISCUITS Up Next-at Birmingham, 8:05 EST (LH Jake McGee)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (30-30)

V-RAYS 5, Sarasota 1-SP Jeremy Hellickson pitched a perfect five innings, while RF John Matulia and 1B Matt Fields had four and three hits, respectively, to lead the Vero Beach offense.

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Sarasota, 6:30 EST (LH Ryan Morse)

A- Columbus Catfish (21-39)

Savannah 5, CATFISH 0-Columbus reverted back to their losing ways a day after snapping a 12 game losing streak, getting shut out 5-0 by the Savannah Sand Gnats.

CATFISH Up Next-at Rome, 7:00 EST (LH Brian Flores)

AAA Durham Bulls (31-29)

Richmond 8, BULLS 1-SS Reid Brignac had two doubles, the only Durham player with multiple hits, but the team had just five in total and were sacked 8-1 by the Richmond Braves.

BULLS Up Next-vs Richmond, 7:05 EST (RH Jeff Niemann)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (29-31)

BISCUITS 10, Carolina 2-Montgomery rode a six run second inning to a lopsided 10-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats. Carolina Pitcher Matt Yourkin was ejected from the game in the seventh inning along with Mudcats Pitching Coach Scott Mitchell after Sergio Pedroza was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Yourkin is no stranger to these types of incidents, having knocked out Rhyne Hughes' front teeth with a pitch last season.

BISCUITS Up Next-vs Birmingham, 8:05 EST (LH Mike Prochaska)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (29-30)

Jupiter 12, V-RAYS 1-Starter Brandon Mann pitched seven strong innings for the Devil Rays, but Wade Townsend failed to record an out as he was tagged for six of Jupiter's nine runs in the eighth en route to a 12-1 blowout loss to the Hammerheads.

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Sarasota, 7:00 EST (RH Jeremy Hellickson)

A- Columbus Catfish (21-38)

CATFISH 2, Savannah 0-The Catfish snapped a 12 game losing streak behind six shutout innings from SP Jessie Darcy and three more from their bullpen, despite a starting lineup that could manage just three hits off of Sand Gnat pitching.

CATFISH Up Next-vs Savannah, 7:00 EST (RH Woods Fines)

AAA Durham Bulls (12-17)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 9, BULLS 5-RHP Chris Mason struggled through 6.1 poor innings of work, and the Yankees swept the Bulls out of Scranton as Durham dropped its fourth straight.

BULLS Up Next-at Pawtucket, 6:15 EDT (RH Mitch Talbot)

AA Montgomery Biscuits (11-19)

Huntsville 11, BISCUITS 3-LHP Mike Wlodarczyk struggled early and put the Biscuits in a hole from which they could not recover as Montgomery was blown out in the final game of their series against the Huntsville Stars.

BISCUITS Up Next-vs Birmingham, 8:05 EDT (LH Jake McGee)

A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays (15-15)

V-RAYS 2, Dunedin 0-The Devil Rays got a fantastic starting effort from LHP Ryan Morse, and that's mainly why Vero Beach would need only two runs to surmount the Dunedin Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon. 

V-RAYS Up Next-vs Dunedin, 7:00 EDT (RH Matt Walker)

A- Columbus Catfish (12-18)

Greenville 5, CATFISH 0-The Greenville offense produced five runs in the middle innings, which was more than enough to overtake a Catfish lineup that was shut out on four hits. 

CATFISH Up Next-at Greenville, 7:00 EDT (LH Brian Flores)

• Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times reports that newly acquired 1B Dan Johnson will report to the Rays today. At that time, the team will have to make a roster move to make room for him on the active roster. RHP Calvin Medlock was already designated for assignment on Friday to make room for Johnson on the 40 man roster, but the rumor is that OF Justin Ruggiano will be demoted to AAA Durham make room for Johnson at the major league level.
  
• Struggling SS Jason Bartlett will get a day off today as Manager Joe Maddon tries to help him break out of a slump that saw him make four errors in eight games. The shortstop said he experienced soreness in his arm that could possibly be the reason for his recent spate of throwing errors, though he'll still need to do far better offensively. He was hitting .230/.230/.237 going into last night's game, a line that rose marginally after a 1 for 3 campaign. IF Elliot Johnson will start in Bartlett's place this afternoon. With an off day coming on Monday, Bartlett will get two days to rest up before the Rays' series with the Toronto Blue Jays starting on Tuesday in Orlando.
• 1B Carlos Peña will likely be the Designated Hitter in this afternoon's game against Chicago, per Maddon's wishes. He too will get Monday to rest and could be back at first base for the Orlando series.
• LHP David Price threw a successful bullpen session on Saturday afternoon at the Naimoli complex as his recovery from a left elbow injury continues.
• The focal point of Marc Topkin's Sunday column this week is, not surprisingly, the long-term deal that the Rays reached on Friday with 3B Evan Longoria. Explains Rays VP Andrew Friedman of the underlying strategy:

We're always going to have to manage our roster years and years in advance to be able to compete in this division. It's the way the economics of the game are right now, and it's something that instead of feeling sorry for ourselves we've got to be proactive and do anything and everything we can to succeed.

• The reaction from fellow players and their agents was, not surprisingly, rather negative. Quoth Alan Nero:

I give the Rays a lot of credit because they did what's hard to do anymore, which is make a heck of a business deal; they controlled their costs and extended their control. I'm happy for Longoria if it's what he wants, but I'm a little disappointed that a player with seven days (in the majors) would give away his future like that.

• Other interesting morsels from Topkin's Sunday column:

How does Evan Longoria's contract affect B.J. Upton's view of a potential long-term deal? "It doesn't," Upton said. … Former longtime Ray Toby Hall on the new uniforms and Trop paint job: "It's awesome. It all looks great." … Friday morning's advisory of a 1 p.m. "major announcement" drew calls asking if the Rays were signing Barry Bonds, including one from a curious MLB official. … Ex-Ray Shawn Camp, having added a changeup, got called up by Toronto and should be in the Jays bullpen at Disney.

RAYS 6, New York 3 Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY

Continue reading this post »