Triple A Durham Bulls (9-14)
BULLS 5, Charlotte 2-Jeff Niemann wasn't at his best as he made his fifth start of the year for Durham, but his relief corps pitched a scoreless four innings following his departure, and the pitching staff was backed by seven extra base hits by the Durham lineup as the Bulls won their second in a row, 5-2 over the Charlotte Knights. Niemann pitched five innings and wasn't spectacular as he hasn't appeared to have mastered the Triple A level. He surrendered both Charlotte runs, not a lot, but threw 86 pitches and was removed from the ballgame. He walked two and allowed six hits, while striking out five. Tim Corcoran, Jeff Ridgway, Seth McClung, and Chad Orvella combined to close out the ballgame for Durham, though Ridgway did not retire a batter and walked two of the unit's four total walks. Offensively, 2B Elliot Johnson led off for Durham and hit a two run homer, his second of the year, while also walking. SS Jorge Velandia led the offense with two hits among 12 total, one of those being a double, while Brent Butler's two hits were both doubles. 1B Wes Bankston was 1 for 4 with a double and a walk for the Bulls, while 3B Joel Guzman had two hits, one of them a solo home run. The Bulls scored three runs in the second inning, ultimately all they would need. They added one an inning later, as well as an insurance run in the ninth to close out the ballgame. C Shawn Riggans added a hit for Durham, while RF Justin Ruggiano was held hitless.
BULLS Up Next-vs Charlotte, 5:00 ET (RH Andy Sonnanstine)
Double A Montgomery Biscuits (11-10)
BISCUITS 12, Jacksonville 5-Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria each homered as part of Montgomery's hit parade on Friday night, and the Biscuts defeated the Jacksonville Suns 12-5. SS Brignac, who finished with two hits, put the first Biscuit runs of the ballgame on the board in the first when he hit a three run shot off of Jacksonville starter Justin Orenduff. 3B Longoria made it back to back home runs with a shot of his own that made the score 4-0; he would finish with three hits on the day. CF Fernando Perez also contributed by doubling, as well as walking three times. LF Jason Pridie reached base three times, as did C John Jaso. 1B Chris Nowak was only the second member of Durham's lineup to go without a hit. Chris Seddon got the start for the Bulls, and got the win despite giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks in six innings. Nick DeBarr would give up a run in his two innings of work, while Brett Wayne closed out the ballgame with a scoreless ninth.
News-The Biscuits on Friday announced that starting LHP James Houser Jr. has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to April 24th, and he will miss at least 15 days from that point because of surgery to remove his wisdom teeth. Houser had done pretty well for Montgomery before the injury, posting a 3.80 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in four starts; 21.1 innings of work. It has not been announced who will take Houser's place in the Biscuits' rotation. Montgomery covered their roster void by activating RHP Evan Meek from the disabled list; Meek had been sidelined by a concussion from an errant foul ball two weeks ago. Meek had a 1.42 ERA in 6.1 innings of work before going down.
BISCUITS Up Next-at Jacksonville, 7:05 ET (RH Derek Feldkamp)
High A Vero Beach Devil Rays (8-12)
V-RAYS 11, Palm Beach 3-Vero Beach used a balanced and thorough offensive attack, and the pitching staff held up their end of the bargain as the V-Rays dispatched the Palm Beach Cardinals 11-3 on Friday night. 3B Patrick Cottrell doubled twice and also tripled for his three hits, while walking twice and driving in four to lead the Vero Beach offense. The diverse, 12 hit attack featured hits from all but two starters, incidentally one of them being C Sergio Pedroza. Pedroza is struggling mightily through 34 at bats on the year, hitting .118/.318/.176, and was pulled late in the game. 2B Hunter Vick had three hits, one of them a triple from the No. 2 spot in the order, while LF Colt Brennan reached base four times, including two doubles, while scoring three times. Paul Moviel got the start for the V-Rays and held the fort down, surrendering just one run, though he walked four and gave up five hits in six innings. Aaron Walker gave up the other two Palm Beach runs in his two innings of work, but Jino Gonzalez closed out the ninth to seal the blowout win.
V-RAYS Up Next-vs Palm Beach, 7:00 ET (LH Jake McGee)
Low A Columbus Catfish (13-9)
Charleston 6, CATFISH 4-Wade Townsend had another solid outing for Columbus, but Ryan Morse allowed five runs in 0.2 innings of work in the next frame as the Catfish became the only team in the Rays organization to lose their scheduled ballgame on Friday. The 6-4 loss was in no way a reflection on the way Townsend pitched. He went just five innings, but yielded only one run on three hits and a walk, while dominating his opposing hitters to the tune of seven strikeouts. He now has 25 strikeouts in 19 innings of work, clearly dominating his competition in the South Atlantic League. However all of that didn't immunize him from a poor bullpen, and that is exactly the ailment that struck the Catfish when Morse proceeded to give up five runs in the following frame. To his credit, just two were earned, however he still gave up four hits and two walks without even finishing the inning. He took a blown save and the loss, while being relieved by Ryan Reid for the final 2.1 innings, during which Reid allowed no runs on just one hit. Offensively, CF Desmond Jennings had a hit and a walk for the Catfish, scoring half of their runs on the day, while C Nevin Ashley also reached base twice and scored. LF Ryan Royster had two hits and a walk for the Catfish, who had their five game winning streak snapped by the loss.
CATFISH Up Next-at Charleston, 7:05 ET (RH Woods Fines)