Rays down on the farm May 8: Bowling Green makes it six straight

On the flip side, Durham has dropped three straight and only leads Gwinnett by two games.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (20-14)

Durham couldn't score one last run in their 10 inning, 6-5 loss to Syracuse.  Mikie Mahtook singled home Kevin Kiermaier in the seventh to tie the game at five, but they couldn't take advantage of three runners in scoring position the rest of the game to retake the lead.  In the 10th, Doug Mathis walked the leadoff batter, and he eventually came home to give Syracuse the win.  Prior to Mathis coming in the game, Jake Thompson made his Durham debut, striking out four in 2.1 scoreless innings.

Starter Enny Romero struggled, and the Chiefs took a quick 2-0 lead after three innings.  Durham scored the next four runs, including a two run homer by Robby Price, but right after they took the lead, Romero collapsed.  After he walked the bases loaded, Emmanuel Burris cleared them with a double against Jim Patterson to put Syracuse right back in front.  Romero finished with five runs allowed on four hits and six walks in 5.2 innings with four strikeouts.  Price and Mike Fontenot each reached base three times.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (19-14)

After falling behind 1-0 through half an inning, Montgomery scored six straight runs to earn a 6-3 win over Jacksonville.  It only took three batters for the Biscuits to tie the game.  Ryan Brett led off the game with a double, and after stolen base and Jake Hager groundout, Taylor Motter singled Brett in.  Two innings later, Motter came up big again, this time singling home Riccio Torrez and Joey Rickard with two outs.  In the fifth, Motter would be called out on an infield fly call with the bases loaded and no outs, but Montgomery still had their biggest inning of the game thanks to a run-scoring groundout by Cameron Seitzer and two run double by Willie Argo.  Rickard led Montgomery with three hits and scored twice.

Jared Mortensen allowed the Suns' first inning run, but he settled in and pitched well for most of his outing, only four batters to reach base against him over the next five innings.  In the seventh though, Jacksonville mounted a two out rally.  Joe Benson hit a two run home run, and Austin Nola picked up a two out double.  Mortensen was able to get the third out, and he finished with three runs allowed on six hits and two walks in seven innings with three strikeouts.  Matt Lollis relieved him and struck out three in two perfect innings.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (16-17)

Charlotte suffered a late collapse in their 6-5 loss to Bradenton.  Up 5-2 entering the ninth in the midst of his 2014 debut, Ben Griset was on the mound when the Marauders started their rally.  Three singles loaded the bases, and then Patrick Leonard committed a crucial error that allowed two runs to score.  Parker Markel replaced Griset and induced a groundout, but it did allow Bradenton to score the tying run.  That was followed by a walkoff single.  Griset finished with four runs (one earned) allowed on four hits and no walks in three innings with three strikeouts.

Griset replaced starter Roberto Gomez who was inefficient through 5.1 innings, only throwing 47 of his 90 pitches for strikes.  He faced the minimum through three, but Bradenton scored their first two runs in the fourth inning.  Gomez finished with two runs allowed on five hits and two walks in 5.1 innings with a strikeout.  Tyler Goeddel led the Charlotte offense again, getting them on the board first with a two run homer in the second inning.  The Stone Crabs scored another run in the third, and Goeddel scored their final run of the night in a two run fifth.  He was a triple shy of the cycle, and Leonard reached base three times.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (15-17)

Bowling Green scored four runs early and later added insurance in their 7-4 win over South Bend.  The two teams traded runs in the first inning, but only the Hot Rods kept the pressure on with two more in the second.  With runners on the corners and no outs, it could have been a much bigger inning, but after back to back strikeouts, they had to settle for a Silver Hawks error that allowed both Oscar Hernandez and Ty Young to score.

After allowing two runs in the first, Chris Kirsch settled in for most of the rest of his start, but he was hurt by more poor defense in the sixth.  He completed the inning but allowed two more runs, finishing with four allowed (two earned) on seven hits and a walk in six innings with three strikeouts.  An inning earlier, Armando Araiza contributed to a third two run inning with a successful squeeze bunt.  In the seventh, he hit a solo home run to extend Bowling Green's lead to three runs.  Juniel Querecuto and Kean Wong each had three hits at the top of the lineup.  Granden Goetzman had two hits and drove in a run.

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Star of the day- Querecuto set the table for Bowling Green's offense as they climbed closer to .500.

Goat of the day- After a good start to the season, Romero has allowed 16 runs in 23 innings.

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

Durham @ Syracuse 12 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Mike Montgomery (3-0, 3.19) v. Blake Treinen* (0-0, 1.59)

Montgomery v. Jacksonville 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Mike Colla (1-4, 4.75) v. Justin Nicolino (2-2, 2.90)

Charlotte v. Bradenton 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Reinaldo Lopez (2-1, 4.50) v. John Kuchno (3-2, 4.44)

Bowling Green @ Lake County 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Hunter Wood* (1-0, 2.82) v. Adam Plutko (1-0, 3.60)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Syracuse Chiefs (Washington)
17-15 (3rd in IL North)
Offense: 123 R (13th) .701 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.35 ERA (3rd) 1.18 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Brian Goodwin (3), OF Eury Perez (20), RHP Blake Treinen (23), RHP Christian Garcia (24)

Jacksonville Suns (Miami)
15-18 (4th in SL South)
Offense: 134 R (7th) .672 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 4.05 ERA (9th) 1.36 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Andrew Heaney (1), LHP Justin Nicolino (4), RHP Anthony DeSclafani (5), RHP Jose Urena (7), C J.T. Realmuto (10), RHP Angel Sanchez (16), RHP Nick Wittgren (18), LHP Grant Dayton (21), LHP Edgar Olmos (23), RHP Tyler Higgins (25)

Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh)
17-16 (3rd in FSL South)
Offense: 106 R (11th) .619 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.63 ERA (6th) 1.29 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Tyler Glasnow (3), OF Josh Bell (7), C Jin-De Jhang (24)

Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
9-24 (8th in MWL East)
Offense: 107 R (16th) .651 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 4.18 ERA (11th) 1.36 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Clint Frazier (2), RHP Dace Kime (16), RHP Adam Plutko (18), OF Anthony Santander (20), LHP Luis Lugo (21), RHP Mitch Brown (24), 1B Nellie Rodriguez (27)