Down On The Farm: April 26

Durham had a lead but couldn't hold it; Charlotte got to Gerrit Cole early; Bowling Green's pitching staff kept Miguel Sano in check but struggled otherwise.

AAA Durham Bulls (6-15)

Durham's losing streak has hit double digits after their 4-2 loss at Norfolk. Matt Torra walked none and only allowed four hits in seven innings while striking out six, but all four of them took place in Norfolk's four-run 5th inning. Prior to that, Torra was perfect through four innings and staked to a 2-0 lead. After a Nevin Ashley sac bunt to move Leslie Anderson and Juan Miranda into scoring position, a Kyle Hudson groundout and Shawn O'Malley infield single allowed the Bulls to jump in front 2-0. Durham outhit Norfolk 10-5, but all of them were singles, and they left nine more runners on base. That completes a dreadful 1-13 road trip for Durham.

AA Montgomery Biscuits (10-10)

Montgomery enjoyed an off day.

High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (10-9)

On Charlotte's Canadian Heritage Night, no Canadian players contributed to their 8-0 victory over Bradenton. C.J. Riefenhauser, who probably couldn't be more of a different pitcher than counterpart Gerrit Cole, retired the first eight batters of the game and cruised through five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Cole continued his pattern of frustrating scouts with five strikeouts in five innings, but he also allowed five runs (three earned). Charlotte scored three runs in the second with only one hit, thanks to a wild pitch by Cole and three Bradenton errors. Derek Dietrich was at the center of Charlotte's offense with three hits including a double, three runs and two RBI's.

Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (13-7)

Beloit had three three-run innings to cruise to a 9-3 win over Bowling Green. Starter Roberto Gomez was sharp through four innings, only allowing two hits, but he coughed up Bowling Green's 2-0 lead in the 5th, and they never got it back. After he retired the first batter of the inning, the next five reached via triple, single, hit by pitch, single and single, and Beloit took a 3-2 lead. Justin Woodall replaced Gomez in the 6th, making his season debut. It was forgettable to say the least; his inning started with a walk, wild pitch, walk, wild pitch and another walk, and he only recorded two outs while allowing three runs. Jeff Malm had another two hit game and scored twice.

Star of the day- C.J. Riefenhauser came out of the bullpen in his first four appearances this season, and he made a seamless transition back to the rotation with five scoreless innings.

Goat of the day- Durham Bulls

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

Durham is off

Montgomery v. Birmingham 11:35 AM
Montgomery v. Birmingham 8:05 PM
Matt Buschmann (0-0, 8.22) v. Nestor Molina (2-1, 8.30)
TBD v. TBD

I would guess both games would be seven innings, but I've never seen a minor league morning-night doubleheader

Charlotte v. Bradenton 6:30 PM
Braulio Lara (1-0, 4.05 ERA) v. TBD

Bowling Green @ Beloit 7:30 PM
Jake Floethe (2-0, 1.71) v. Matt Summers (0-2, 7.36)

Scouting the opposition

Birmingham Barons (White Sox)
9-11 (4th in SL North)
Offense: 88 R (4th) .693 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.51 ERA (5th) 1.38 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Nestor Molina (2), RHP Simon Castro (3), SS Tyler Saladino (8), 1B Andy Wilkins (13), OF Jared Mitchell (17), OF Jose Martinez (26), LHP Pedro Hernandez

Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh)
8-11 (4th in FSL South)
Offense: 71 R (9th) .633 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.83 ERA (8th) 1.31 WHIP (8th)
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)
10-10 (3rd in MWL West)
Offense: 100 R (3rd) .691 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.52 ERA (7th) 1.34 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)