Rays down on the farm September 4: Rivero pitches Charlotte to series lead

Durham and Bowling Green will join Charlotte in the postseason and start their series tonight.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (87-57)

Durham was off.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (1-0)

Thee Charlotte pitchers combined to shut down the highly touted Fort Myers offense in a game one 1-0 win. Felipe Rivero got the series off to a great start, pitching the first six innings. He did walk three, but he only allowed two hits and struck out a pair. Andrew Bellatti struck out one in two perfect innings of relief, and Nate Garcia struck out two in an inning to earn the save despite allowing the tying run to reach base. The Stone Crabs scored the only run of the game in the sixth inning on a two out single by Jeff Malm to score Jake Hager. Drew Vettleson had two of Charlotte's six hits.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (44-26)

Bowling Green was off.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (37-37)

Hudson Valley erased a first inning 1-0 deficit to beat Connecticut 5-1, but Aberdeen's win eliminated them from playoff contention. The Tigers only had two hits, and their only run came on a wild pitch by starter Jaime Schultz. Ariel Soriano's two out double in the third inning tied the game, and he later hit back to back home runs with Thomas Milone, just promoted from the Gulf Coast League for the end of the season. It was Milone's first professional home run. Granden Goetzman's RBI single later in the sixth capped off a three run inning, and John Alexander's first homer of the season in the seventh provided some insurance. Schultz struck out five and walked three in three innings. Colton Reavis was credited with the win with four scoreless innings in relief.

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Star of the day- Rivero and the Stone Crabs need one more win to reach the FSL Championship.

Goat of the day- Lowell was unable to knock off Aberdeen to keep Hudson Valley's chances alive.

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

Durham v. Indianapolis 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV)
Jake Odorizzi (9-6, 3.33) v. Brandon Cumpton* (6-7, 3.32)

Game one in a best of five series

Charlotte @ Fort Myers 6:30 PM
Felipe Rivero* (9-7, 3.40) v. Matt Summers* (6-5, 2.47)

Game two in a best of three series (Charlotte leads 1-0)

Bowling Green v. Fort Wayne 8:05 PM
Jeff Ames (9-4, 2.98) v. Joe Ross (5-8, 3.75)

Game one in a best of three series

Hudson Valley v. Connecticut 6:35 PM
Chris Kirsch* (3-3, 3.13) v. Austin Pritcher (3-4, 2.72)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh)
80-64 (1st in IL South)
Offense: 622 R (5th) .725 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.45 ERA (2nd) 1.27 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jameson Taillon (2), OF Gregory Polanco (4), LHP Andy Oliver (13), RHP Brandon Cumpton (25), RHP Duke Welker (26)

Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota)
0-1
Offense: 653 R (1st) .729 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.46 ERA (2nd) 1.29 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Byron Buxton (2), RHP Luke Bard (12), SS Levi Michael (16), RHP Tyler Jones (23), LHP Jason Wheeler (25), RHP Adrian Salcedo (27), LHP Chad Rodgers (28), 1B Kennys Vargas (29), RHP Matt Summers (30), OF Nate Roberts (32), RHP Zack Jones (33)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
72-67 (3rd in MWL East)
Offense: 632 R (5th) .704 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.59 ERA (3rd) 1.38 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Max Fried (2), RHP Adys Portillo (9), RHP Walker Weickel (12), RHP Joe Ross (14), RHP Zach Eflin (16), OF Mallex Smith (28), OF Hunter Renfroe

Connecticut Tigers
33-41 (3rd in Stedler)
Offense: 260 R (10th) .606 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.19 ERA (8th) 1.29 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Austin Schotts (5), LHP Kevin Ziomek, 1B Dominic Ficociello