Rays down on the farm August 15: Leonard stays hot

Fortunately, Montgomery's game didn't last 14 innings again.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (76-49)

Gwinnett scored six runs in the third inning in Durham's 6-2 loss to the Braves. Four of the runs came with two outs, but at least they did manage to get one Brave to make two outs in the inning. Durham only accumulated three hits, two of which came in the seventh inning when the Bulls scored both of their runs. Kevin Kiermaier ended the shutout bid with a single, and Gwinnett conceded the second one on a Chris Gimenez groundout. Mike Montgomery allowed all six Gwinnett runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings with two strikeouts.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (23-29)

Montgomery briefly held a 2-1 lead, but they ended up falling to Jackson by a 9-5 score. After three straight singles in the fifth, Ryan Brett got the Biscuits' first run of the game home on a groundout, and a two out single by Shawn O'Malley gave them a 2-1 lead. Newcomer Joe Van Meter made the start but couldn't secure the shutdown inning and would finish after five, allowing three runs on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts. The two fifth inning runs for the Generals was the start of a three run, eight inning barrage that put the game out of reach. Austin Hubbard allowed six Generals runs, including a two out grand slam in the seventh. Montgomery scored two runs in the eighth, and a Kyeong Kang solo in the ninth would be their last run of the game. Kang reached base three times.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (28-20)

Five insurance runs in the seventh inning proved to be crucial in Charlotte's 7-5 win over Jupiter. Charlotte took the lead in the third with back to back doubles to lead off the inning. Kes Carter scored on Willie Argo's, and Argo came home on a Drew Vettleson single. Lenny Linsky started again and turned in another good start, allowing a run in four innings on four hits and no walks with three strikeouts. In the seventh, the Stone Crabs used five hits and took advantage of an error and bases loaded hit by pitch to score all five of their runs before Jupiter could even get an out. The Hammerheads would score four runs in the last three innings though, but they couldn't take advantage of bringing the tying run to the plate. Five Stone Crabs had two hit games, including Argo who reached base three times and stole a pair of bases.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (30-22)

Despite scoring seven runs in one inning, it took Bowling Green 10 innings to beat Ft. Wayne 8-7. In the second inning, Patrick Leonard and Luke Maile each hit three run home runs and would later receive an RBI single from Marty Gantt to cap off the inning. The early run support was beneficial, but Reinaldo Lopez couldn't even complete the bottom half of the inning without the TinCaps pulling within three. Lopez lasted 5.1 innings and allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts. In the 10th inning, Tyler Goeddel led off with a single, got up to third base on a passed ball and sac bunt and came around to score on a Gantt double. Ryan Garton pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th innings to be credited for the win. Gantt had three hits and reached base four times.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (26-28)

Hudson Valley couldn't preserve a thin 1-0 lead in their 3-1 loss to Brooklyn. The Renegades scored their only run of the game in the fourth inning without the benefit of a hit. All-Star hero Oscar Hernandez reached base and advanced to second on an error. He would move to third base on a groundout and come home to score on a Granden Goetzman sac fly. Jaime Schultz and Colton Reavis both pitched three scoreless innings, but the Cyclones scored all three runs in the eighth which was Rick Teasley's second inning of work. Each team only had four hits, all of which were singles for Hudson Valley.

Rookie Princeton Rays (16-37)

Princeton made a bid for another win over Kingsport but ultimately fell to the Mets 7-6. Through five innings, the Rays held a 3-1 lead thanks in part to a solo home run by Yoel Araujo. Starter Jorge Rodriguez pitched well, only allowing an unearned run on five hits and no walks in five innings with four strikeouts, but Princeton made six errors in the game, three of which came in the sixth inning when Kingsport scored five runs. After a leadoff single, reliever Rafael Gomez got two outs before things unraveled. A Spencer Edwards error extended the inning, and Gomez would walk in the first run of the inning. A Leopoldo Correa error allowed two more runs to score, and the fifth scored when there was a throwing error while a Met was stealing home. Hunter Lockwood's two run homer the next half inning helped Princeton cut into the lead, but a ninth inning sac fly against Oscar Armenta won the game for Kingsport. Lockwood had three hits, and Elias Torres hit two doubles.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (20-27)

After falling behind 1-0, the GCL Rays scored seven unanswered runs to knock off the GCL Twins by a 7-1 score. The Twins got on the board first in the fifth, but their lead only lasted one out. Two runs scored on a Clayton Henning infield single that ended with a throwing error, and the Rays would go on to score in every inning after that. They really extended the lead in the eighth when a Twins reliever walked four batters, and Kean Wong greeted a new pitcher with a two run single to make the game 7-1. Jose Alonzo was sharp in 5.2 innings, only allowing a run on three hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Henning had three hits and reached base four times, and Wong was among three players with two hit games.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES

Star of the day- Leonard was a key cog in Bowling Green's productive Wednesday.

Goat of the day- Princeton's defense really hurt in their one run loss.

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

Durham @ Gwinnett 6:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Merrill Kelly (6-3, 3.45) v. Cody Martin (2-4, 3.97)

Montgomery @ Jackson 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Jake Thompson (11-9, 4.14) v. Trevor Miller (1-1, 6.26)

Charlotte @ Jupiter 6:35 PM
Grayson Garvin (0-0, 4.50) v. Jose Urena (9-6, 3.73)

Bowling Green @ Fort Wayne 7:05 PM
Jeff Ames (7-4, 2.98) v. Bryan Rodriguez (2-6, 3.51)

Hudson Valley v. Brooklyn 7:05 PM
TBA v. TBA

Princeton @ Bluefield 7:05 PM
German Marquez (1-4, 3.73) v. Jairo Labourt (2-1, 1.37)

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins 12 PM
TBA v. TBA

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Gwinnett Braves
54-72 (4th in IL South)
Offense: 482 R (13th) .691 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 4.02 ERA (8th) 1.45 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Todd Cunningham (12), RHP Cody Martin (13), RHP David Hale (16)

Jackson Generals (Seattle)
24-25 (3rd in SL North)
Offense: 453 R (7th) .671 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.38 ERA (5th) 1.25 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Carson Smith (16), OF Leon Landry (17), 2B Jack Marder (20), C John Hicks (21), OF Julio Morban (23), OF Jabari Blash (24), SS Chris Taylor (28), 3B Ramon Moria (29), LHP Anthony Fernandez (30)

Jupiter Hammerheads (Miami)
24-29 (5th in FSL South)
Offense: 457 R (10th) .662 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.22 ERA (1st) 1.26 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jose Urena (8), RHP Jake Esch (23), RHP Angel Sanchez (25), OF Brent Keys (30), 2B Noah Perio (34)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
19-32 (8th in MWL East)
Offense: 560 R (4th) .710 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.72 ERA (7th) 1.41 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Max Fried (2), RHP Walker Weickel (12), RHP Joe Ross (14), RHP Zach Eflin (16), OF Mallex Smith (28), OF Hunter Renfroe

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
27-26 (2nd in McNamara)
Offense: 178 R (12th) .625 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 2.64 ERA (2nd) 1.12 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Gavin Cecchini (2), OF Jared King, 2B L.J. Mazzilli

Bluefield Blue Jays
35-17 (!st in APP East)
Offense: 256 R (3rd) .729 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 2.98 ERA (1st) 1.23 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: OF D.J. Davis (6), RHP Alberto Tirado (15), 3B Matt Dean (17), RHP Chase DeJong (22), 3B Mitch Nay (24), SS Dawel Lugo (26), LHP Jairo Labourt (28), RHP Yeyfry Del Rosario (29)

GCL Twins
22-25 (3rd in GCL South)
Offense: 192 R (10th) .647 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 2.97 ERA (3rd) 1.26 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Kohl Stewart