Rays down on the farm May 13: Leonard socks a pair

Offense was a little harder to come by in the upper levels though.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (22-17)

Enny Romero may have been scratched, but Durham's bullpen got the job done in their 2-1 win over the RailRiders.  Five relievers combined to allow only one run, led by Jim Patterson who made his first start since 2012 and threw three scoreless innings.  After Juan Sandoval allowed the lone run in the fifth, Jake Thompson struck out three in two innings.  Another reliever recently called up from Montgomery, Braulio Lara, recorded two outs, and Kirby Yates struck out three while retiring the last four batters of the game to earn his 10th save.

Wilson Betemit eighth home run of the season opened the scoring in the fourth inning, tying him for third in the International League in dingers.  An inning later, Betemit drove in the eventual winning run with a two out single that scored Cole Figueroa.  It was the team's only hit out of 12 with runners in scoring position, and the Bulls left 10 runners on base.  Figueroa, Betemit, Kevin Kiermaier and Ray Olmedo reached base twice.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (20-17)

Montgomery's offense was completely shut down in their 1-0 loss to Mississippi.  Their best chance of the game came in the third inning when Luke Bailey was thrown out at home trying to score from second on a single by Ryan Brett.  Willie Argo would steal second base twice the rest of the game, but those were the only other two opportunities the Biscuits had with a runner in scoring position the rest of the game.  Cameron Seitzer had two of Montgomery's five hits, all of which were singles.

The offense spoiled what was one of Dylan Floro's best starts of the season, and the second one he's lasted seven innings.  His only run allowed came just a half inning after Bailey was thrown out at home when a runner from third scored on a one out fielder's choice.  He allowed the run on nine hits and a walk in seven innings with five strikeouts.  In two starts against Mississippi this year, Floro has allowed just one run in 13 innings and has allowed 26 runs in 32 innings against everyone else.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (19-18)

Patrick Leonard won the battle of the first basemen in Charlotte's 11-5 win over Daytona.  Dan Vogelbach drove in one for the Cubs, but Leonard completely destroyed Daytona pitching, collecting four hits, including two home runs, reaching base a fifth time on a walk and driving in five runs while scoring three himself.  He even stole a base.  His first home run was a solo shot that tied the game at three, and his second one drove in three runs to make it an 11-5 game.  He had plenty of support as 21 Stone Crabs reached base.  Justin O'Conner had three hits including a solo home run and reached base five times.  The top two hitters in the lineup, Andrew Toles and Leonardo Reginatto, reached base five times and scored four runs.

Charlotte scored eight unanswered runs to close the game out, but it looked hairy early on as Austin Pruitt's struggles continued.  After his lineup gave him a 1-0 lead after half an inning, Pruitt allowed a solo home run to the second batter he faced to tie the game, and he gave up a second run later in the inning.  He would end up allowing all five Cub runs on six hits and two walks in four innings with no strikeouts.  Fortunately, the bullpen was able to settle the game down as the offense went on its run.  Ben Griset relieved Pruitt with 2.1 scoreless innings, and Bruedlin Suero finished the game with 2.2 scoreless.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (16-20)

Jake Faria had the worst outing of his career in Bowling Green's 11-4 loss to Lansing.  The Lugnuts scored a pair of runs in both of the first two innings, and they really poured it on in the fourth with five more runs, four of which were charged to Faria.  He finished with a career high eight runs (seven earned) allowed in 3.1 innings on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  The four walks were also a career high, and it comes a start after he issued three.

After Jorge Rodriguez was charged with a run of his own in the fifth, Lansing was up 9-0 before the Hot Rods finally scored on a two out single by Alexander Simon.  They had a lot of chances with runners on base, but they left 11 of them on.  Granden Goetzman had three of Bowling Green's 11 hits, including his 13th double.  Juniel Querecuto and Kean Wong each had two.

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Star of the day- Despite a recent slump, Leonard was an unstoppable force Monday.

Goat of the day- It's not often that Faria ends up here.

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

Durham v. Charlotte 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Mike Montgomery (3-1, 4.54) v. Felipe Paulino (0-1, 14.40)

Montgomery @ Mississippi 8 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Roberto Gomez* (0-0, ---) v. Jason Hursh (2-2, 3.41)

Charlotte @ Daytona 7:05 PM (Radio stream)
Leonel Santiago (1-3, 8.10) v. Rob Zastryzny (1-3, 8.33)

Bowling Green v. Lansing 8:05 PM (Radio stream)
Chris Kirsch (2-4, 5.52) v. Matt Dermody (1-0, 3.72)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
13-24 (T-3rd in IL South)
Offense: 131 R (14th) .656 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 4.08 ERA (11th) 1.47 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Erik Johnson (2), 3B Matt Davidson (4), 2B Carlos Sanchez (12), OF Jared Mitchell (13)

Mississippi Braves
19-18 (3rd in SL South)
Offense: 132 R (10th) .692 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.28 ERA (3rd) 1.31 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP J.R. Graham (3), RHP Jason Hursh (4), RHP Shae Simmons (16), 3B Kyle Kubitza (22), OF Matt Lipka (24), RHP Aaron Northcraft (25), OF Robby Hefflinger (29), RHP James Hoyt (30)

Daytona Cubs
10-24 (5th in FSL North)
Offense: 134 R (10th) .648 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 4.30 ERA (10th) 1.46 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Albert Almora (4), 3B Jeimer Candelario (8), 1B Dan Vogelbach (9), LHP Rob Zastryzny (20), RHP Zach Cates (27), RHP Ben Wells (28)

Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto)
18-18 (4th in MWL East)
Offense: 170 R (7th) .701 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.94 ERA (7th) 1.48 WHIP (14th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF D.J. Davis (3), 3B Mitch Nay (4), RHP Alberto Tirado (8), SS Dawel Lugo (9), RHP Chase De Jong (11), RHP Tom Robson (16), C Santiago Nessy (23), 1B Matt Dean (25)