Down On The Farm: May 30

As Kevin noted yesterday, Chris Archer had a strong month of May, and that continued right through his final start of the month last night.

AAA Durham Bulls (22-31)

Chris Archer made his second straight quality start, but he didn't get run support in Durham's 3-2 loss. He allowed one run in both the first and second innings but settled in to pitch well. He finished with two earned runs allowed on six hits and a walk in seven innings, and he struck out eight. In his last two starts, he's had 20 strikeouts to three walks. In 34.2 May innings, Archer allowed 13 earned runs on 31 hits and 14 walks while striking out 49. Durham's sole run came on a Jeff Salazar solo home run in the 5th inning. Reid Brignac collected three hits, his first such game with Durham this year and only his 4th multi-hit game in 2012 with the Bulls. Jeff Clement's power surge continued for Indianapolis with his third home run in two days against Durham.

AA Montgomery Biscuits (27-25)

Although they didn't score an earned run, Montgomery came away with a 4-1 win over Mississippi. They scored all four runs in the 4th inning. After Ty Morrison led off the inning with a walk and Kyeong Kang struck out, Andrelton Simmons and Ian Gac (what kind of name is Gac, anyway?) committed errors on consecutive plays allowing Ryan Garko and Michael Sheridan to reach base. Tyler Bortnick and Greg Sexton made the Braves pay with singles, and by the time the inning ended, the Biscuits held a 4-1 lead. Bortnick and Sexton each had two hit games, and Morrison stole three bases. Matt Buschmann was effective again, allowing only one run in seven innings, striking out six.

High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (23-26)

Young pitchers have to learn how to succeed when they're not sharp, and C.J. Riefenhauser did just that in Charlotte's 4-2 win. After walking three in the first three innings, he settled in and finished after 5+ innings, allowing just one run in five innings with seven strikeouts. The Stone Crabs initially took a 2-0 lead in the 4th thanks to a Kevin Kiermaier single to bring in Riccio Torrez. Kiermaier then stole two bases and induced a throwing error on his second steal that allowed him to score. The game was decided in the 8th inning when Mikie Mahtook hit a two run dinger, his second of the year, to give Charlotte a 4-2 lead that held up. Chris Rearick pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 10th save of the year. Three walks was obviously a season high for Riefenhauser after only walking six in his first 42 innings.

Low-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (28-24)

Josh Sale made his return to the lineup in Bowling Green's 8-2 win over Fort Wayne. Sale missed six games with a minor hamstring injury, and he reached base twice and scored. Jake Hager's two run homer was his first this season, and it continues a hot streak he's been enjoying for a week now. Since the 23rd, Hager is batting .444 with four doubles, a triple and last night's home run. He's not the only Hot Rods infielder riding a hot streak; Jeff Malm has reached base 13 times in the last six games with four extra base hits. Felipe Rivero was on top of his game as his ERA dipped to 1.89. He allowed just one run on four hits and no walks in six innings, and he struck out seven. Juniel Querecuto picked up three hits and two RBI and will be happy to see the calendar flip to June after the rough May he's had.

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Star of the day- Every starter was pretty sharp last night, so good for the organization's pitching staff.

Goat of the day- Henry Wrigley wore the golden sombrero for Durham.

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

Durham @ Indianapolis 1:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Shane Dyer (0-1, 6.30) v. Justin Wilson (4-3, 3.46)

Montgomery @ Mississippi 8 PM (MiLB.TV)
Jake Thompson (2-4, 5.40) v. Luis Avilan (1-3, 2.22)

Charlotte v. Jupiter 6:30 PM
Rett Varner (1-1, 3.47) v. Enny Romero* (1-3, 3.67)

Bowling Green v. Lansing 8:05 PM
Parker Markel* (1-2, 6.29) v. Marcus Walden* (3-1, 2.96)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh)
30-21 (1st in IL West)
Offense: 202 R (9th) .659 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 2.86 ERA (1st) 1.16 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Starling Marte (4), LHP Jeff Locke (10), RHP Bryan Morris (12), LHP Rudy Owens (16), LHP Justin Wilson (17)

Mississippi Braves
23-28 (4th in SL South)
Offense: 192 R (9th) .660 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 3.30 ERA (2nd) 1.26 WHIP (1nd)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Andrelton Simmons (4), LHP Sean Gilmartin (5), C Christian Bethancourt (8), RHP Zeke Spruill (9), OF Todd Cunningham (16), RHP David Hale (21), RHP Billy Bullock (24), C Evan Gattis (27), 2B Phil Gosselin (30)

Jupiter Hammerheads (Miami)
24-27 (2nd in FSL South)
Offense: 209 R (5th) .690 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.51 ERA (6th) 1.33 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Christian Yelich (1), OF Marcell Ozuna (2), C J.T. Realmuto (5), LHP Chad James (6), LHP Rob Rasmussen (7), 2B Noah Perio (8), 3B Ryan Fisher (13), LHP Grant Dayton (17), RHP Mike Brady (18), 1B Mark Canha (22)

Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto)
37-14 (1st in MWL East)
Offense: 261 R (2nd) .735 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 2.65 ERA (1st) 1.19 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Justin Nicolino (5), RHP Aaron Sanchez (6), RHP Noah Syndergaard (7), C Carlos Perez (14), 3B Kellen Sweeney (13), OF Chris Hawkins (25)