Rays down on the farm May 9: Stanek outdueled in debut

Not a great day for the organization as a whole though.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (20-15)

Two big innings sunk Durham in their 8-5 loss to Syracuse.  Mike Montgomery gave up a season high eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and a walk in 4.2 innings with two strikeouts.  Seven of those runs scored between the fourth and fifth innings, the first of which scored on a bases loaded walk.  After two more runs came in, a fourth scored with one out on a throwing error by Jerry Sands.  In the fifth, Montgomery allowed three more runs on three hits and was pulled from the game in favor of Jim Patterson.

Down 8-1 after five innings, the Bulls slowly mounted a rally.  The tying run never reached the plate, but they scored individual runs in the sixth and eighth innings to inch closer.  After Rey Olmedo led off the ninth with a single, Kevin Kiermaier hit a two run homer to pull within three, but only one more batter reached base.  Kiermaier, Mikie Mahtook and Cole Figueroa each reached base three times, and unbelievably, Curt Casali only got on twice.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (19-15)

Montgomery made a late comeback but could never take the lead in their 4-3 loss to Jacksonville.  The Suns scored the first two runs of the game before the Biscuits got on the board on a two out double by Jake Hager in the third.  Mike Colla failed to record the shutdown inning though, and he allowed a solo home run a half inning later that moved Jacksonville's lead back to two.  Colla allowed three runs on five hits and a walk in five innings with a strikeout.

Kevin Brandt pitched well in his Montgomery debut, striking out three in two scoreless innings of work.  While he settled the game down, Montgomery's offense got back to work in the seventh inning.  With two runners in scoring position and one out, Joey Rickard's sac fly pulled the Biscuits within one, and Ryan Brett's triple tied the game.  In the ninth, Andrew Bellatti allowed a go ahead solo home run, and Montgomery couldn't tie it in the bottom half of the inning despite loading the bases with two outs.  Brett had three hits and was a homer shy of the cycle.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (16-18)

Charlotte fell behind 5-0 after one and a half innings, and they didn't come close to catching up in their 8-2 loss to Bradenton.  A Tyler Goeddel error didn't help except to maintain Reinaldo Lopez's ERA, but the Marauders still got to starter Lopez for three hits and a pair of walks in the inning, including one with the bases loaded.  He couldn't last five innings, and he finished with six runs (four earned) allowed on seven hits and two walks in 4.2 innings with no strikeouts.  The last run was an inherited runner that came around to score.

The teams combined to walk 10 batters with Charlotte taking seven of them, but they were hitless with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.  Their first run of the game scored in the second inning on a wild pitch, and the second came in the fifth inning on a run-scoring groundout.  Patrick Leonard and Marty Gantt each had two hits, and Josh Sale walked three times.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (15-18)

Bowling Green's offense couldn't support Ryne Stanek in his pro debut in their 5-1 loss to Lake County.  11 months after being drafted, he was prepared to pitch right away, giving the Hot Rods a great chance to win.  He got out of trouble in the first inning but settled in after that, allowing just one run on five hits and no walks in five innings with six strikeouts.  The only run scored against Stanek came on a solo home run.  Aaron Griffin allowed two home runs and four runs total in three innings.

Unfortunately for Bowling Green, another former NCAA star, Lake County's Adam Plutko, completely dominated.  He threw eight scoreless innings, struck out 13, walked none and only allowed three hits.  The Hot Rods scored their only run of the game in the ninth on a sac fly by Juniel Querecuto after Alexander Simon led off the inning with a double and moved up to third on a wild pitch.  Querecuto and Kean Wong each picked up a hit.

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Star of the day- I normally don't do this when the organization gets swept, but Stanek earned it.

Goat of the day- Montgomery took the baton from Enny Romero in Durham's walk parade.

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

Durham @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Merrill Kelly (4-0, 1.67) v. Joel De La Cruz (1-0, 1.50)

Montgomery v. Jacksonville 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Matt Neil* (1-1, 7.98) v. Jose Urena (2-2, 5.85)

Charlotte v. Bradenton 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Jeff Ames (0-3, 6.19) v. Jason Creasy (3-1, 2.59)

Bowling Green @ Lake County 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Hunter Wood (1-0, 2.82) v. Mitch Brown (0-5, 6.57)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees)
17-15 (4th in IL North)
Offense: 141 R (8th) .707 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.08 ERA (10th) 1.45 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Shane Greene (16), OF Ramon Flores (20)

Jacksonville Suns (Miami)
16-18 (4th in SL South)
Offense: 138 R (6th) .676 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 4.02 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)
18-16 (3rd in FSL South)
Offense: 114 R (11th) .621 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.55 ERA (6th) 1.30 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Tyler Glasnow (3), OF Josh Bell (7), C Jin-De Jhang (24)

Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
10-24 (8th in MWL East)
Offense: 112 R (16th) .660 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 4.09 ERA (11th) 1.34 WHIP (7th)
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)