Down On The Farm: April 25

On Tuesday, three affiliates won rubber games in their series, but another's long losing streak continued. Cole and the Marauders! Riefenhauser and the Stone Crabs! It's Wednesday FSL action.

AAA Durham Bulls (6-14)

The Bulls need a stopper badly, but Alex Cobb was not up to the task in Durham's 8-5 loss in Norfolk. Cobb had uncharacteristically poor command and walked four batters in 4+ innings of work. After a harmless 1-2-3 inning in the 1st, the tide turned in the 2nd when Norfolk got to Cobb for three runs thanks to a single, double and triple all in a row. After the Bulls got one back in the top of the 3rd, Norfolk answered with two more off Cobb. Durham rallied with a three run 4th that featured a two run dinger by Will Rhymes, his first of the season. That was as close as the Bulls would get, as the Tides tacked on three more runs the rest of the game. Cobb allowed six runs in 4+ innings as Durham's losing streak extended to nine games.

AA Montgomery Biscuits (10-10)

Montgomery used a balance offensive attack Tuesday to win the rubber game of their five game series against Pensacola 7-4. All seven runs came against Pensacola starter J.C. Sulbaran who was shelled for seven runs on nine hits and four walks in just 4.2 innings. The Biscuits jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but a three run Pensacola 3rd inning gave the Blue Wahoos a short lived lead. After putting one run across in both the 3rd and 4th innings, the big blow came with two outs in the 5th inning when Hak-Ju Lee hit a bases clearing triple to chase Sulbaran from the game. Four other Biscuits had two-hit games, including Greg Sexton who hit two doubles. Joe Cruz allowed two earned runs in five innings, and Jim Paduch picked up his second save with a 1-2-3 9th.

High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (9-9)

Tuesday's rubber game between Charlotte and Palm Beach started as a pitcher's duel between Albert Suarez and top prospect Carlos Martinez, but it ended with both bullpens being hit hard in Charlotte's come from behind 6-4 win. The Stone Crabs took an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd with a Philip Wunderlich double eventually followed by a Riccio Torrez single. In the 5th, Palm Beach tied the game even though they still did not have a hit, thanks to a walk, steal, wild pitch and Derek Dietrich's 4th error of the season. A throwing error in the 7th allowed two Charlotte runs to score, but reliever Victor Mateo gave the lead right back to the Cardinals, allowing three runs while only getting one out. In the 9th, Charlotte scored three more to take a 6-4 lead, highlighted by a Robby Price triple. Suarez allowed an unearned run on one his and two walks in six innings while striking out three.

Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (13-6)

Quad Cities put the tying run on base in the 9th, but Jake Partridge and the Hot Rods held on to win the rubber game 3-2. Bowling Green pounded out 11 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, but dismal hitting with runners in scoring position led to nine runners left on base. Ryan Brett's 4th inning single to score Juniel Querecuto proved to be the winning run, but Drew Vettleson was the star of the game. The 2010 supplemental first rounder had four hits, including two doubles and his 2nd home run of the season. Jeff Malm's hot start continued with three more hits. Ryan Carpenter was solid, allowing one run in six innings with three strikeouts.

Star of the day- Drew Vettleson's hot start continued with four more hits, including his second home run and two doubles.

Goat of the day- Alex Cobb had a poor outing that allowed Durham's long losing streak to continue. He's been pretty sharp so far this season, but he now has nine walks over his last two starts.

Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)

Durham @ Norfolk 7:15 PM
Matt Torra (1-1, 8.22) v. Dana Eveland (1-1, 2.41)

Montgomery is off

Charlotte v. Bradenton 6:30 PM
C.J. Riefenhauser (2-0, 1.98) v. Gerrit Cole (0-0, 5.25)

Bowling Green @ Beloit 7:30 PM
Roberto Gomez (1-0, 4.80) v. Jason Wheeler (1-0, 2.40)

Scouting the opposition

Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
6-12 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 66 R (12th) .651 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 4.27 ERA (11th) 1.53 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Xavier Avery (9), 1B Joe Mahoney (13), 2B Ryan Adams (23)

Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh)
8-10 (3rd in FSL South)
Offense: 71 R (9th) .650 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.75 ERA (7th) 1.31 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Gerrit Cole (1), RHP Jameson Taillon (2), Alex Dickerson (11), LHP Colton Cain (13), 1B OF Evan Chambers (26), OF Mel Rojas (29)

Beloit Snappers (Minnesota)
9-10 (4th in MWL West)
Offense: 91 R (5th) .683 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.55 ERA (7th) 1.35 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Miguel Sano (1), OF Eddie Rosario (3), RHP Madison Boer (12), LHP Corey Williams (13), RHP Matt Summers (21)

Stats:

• Will Rhymes: 3-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, K
• Reid Brignac: 1-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K
• Brandon Guyer: 1-5, RBI (12), K
• Stephen Vogt: 0-5, 2 K. Played catcher - opposition was 4 for 5 in steals
• Matt Mangini: 1-3, BB, K
• Leslie Anderson: 1-4, R, 2B, K
• Kyle Hudson: 2-3, 2 R, BB
• Alex Cobb: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 51 strikes)
• Hak-Ju Lee: 3-5, 3B, 3 RBI, K (.198)
• Tyler Bortnick: 0-3, R, BB, K
• Cole Figueroa: 2-5, R, 2B, RBI
• Michael Sheridan: 0-2, R, RBI, BB, K, SB (2)
• Omar Luna: 2-4, R, (.358)
• Emeel Salem: 2-3, 2 R, BB, K
• Joseph Cruz: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• Jim Paduch: 1 IP, 1 K, SV (2)
• Ty Morrison: 1-5, hat trick
• Hector Guevara: 1-4, R, RBI, K
• Mikie Mahtook: 2-3, RBI, BB, K (.274)
• Derek Dietrich: 0-4, 2 K (.238). 0 for his last 17 with 4 BB & 6 K's
• Cody Rogers: 1-3, R, K
• Albert Suarez: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Dueled with Cardinals stud prospect Carlos Martinez who went 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, & 7 K's.
• Ryan Brett: 1-4, RBI, K
• Drew Vettleson: 4-4, 2 R$, 2 2B, HR (2), RBI (10). (.333)
• Todd Glaesmann: 0-4, K
• Jeff Malm: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI
• Jake Hager: 0-4 (.182)
• Tyler Goeddel: 0-3, BB, K
• Ryan Carpenter: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR
• Jacob Partridge: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR