It was not the best day for minor league pitching staffs.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (37-26)
Durham was not particularly close in their 7-0 loss to Pawtucket. Enny Romero allowed six of the seven runs, starting with a two out, three run home run in the first inning that proved to be all the offense they needed. Romero finished with the six runs allowed on eight hits and no walks in three innings with two strikeouts. Merrill Kelly was outstanding in long relief, allowing the other run in six innings with eight strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Durham's offense was shut down by Red Sox prospect Anthony Ranaudo. He struck out seven in seven scoreless innings, and only three Bulls reached base the entire game. Cole Figueroa had two of their three hits.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (30-31)
Montgomery was postponed.
Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (29-30)
After scoring a run two batters into the game, Charlotte's offense checked out in their 4-1 loss to Tampa. Tommy Coyle led off the game with a bunt single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before coming home to score on Leonardo Reginatto's single. They had plenty of chances to add on runs, including two runners in scoring position with no outs in the second and two more an inning later with one out, but they wouldn't get on the board again. Tyler Goeddel had two hits, and Stone Crab batters struck out 16 times.
Austin Pruitt wasn't bad, and throwing errors cost him a couple unearned runs. What proved to be the winning run scored in the fifth, and the Yankees didn't even need a hit to do it. Pruitt walked the leadoff batter, he stole second, advanced to third on a sac fly and scored on a wild pitch. Pruitt finished with three runs (one earned) allowed on two hits and two walks in 5.1 innings with six strikeouts. Nick Sawyer did not walk a batter in an inning of work.
Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (28-32)
Bowling Green lost a comfortable lead in their 8-5 loss to Dayton. Up 5-1 entering the seventh, Griffin entered to replace the outstanding Jake Faria, but he allowed two runs on four hits to make the lead a little less comfortable. An inning later, he would be charged with five more runs, but only two of them would be earned due to a Yoel Araujo error that prolonged the inning. Colton Reavis allowed the three go-ahead runs to score when he inherited a bases loaded jam.
This meltdown wasted a great Faria start. After a handful of inconsistent outings, he struck out a season-high eight batters in six innings, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk. The Hot Rods were able to get him some early run support, jumping out to a 4-0 lead through two innings. Juniel Querecuto led off the game with a double and scored on a two out error, and Alexander Simon hit a three run homer in the second to extend the lead to 4-0. Simon had two hits and reached base three times.
Star of the day- Erik Bedard, stopper.
Goat of the day- Everyone except individual players who had good performances.
Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham v. Norfolk 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Matt Andriese (5-3, 3.56) v. Eddie Gamboa (4-4, 4.20)
Montgomery v. Pensacola 7:35 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Victor Mateo (7-4, 3.93) v. Robert Stephenson (2-5, 3.39)
Dylan Floro (5-5, 3.74) v. Jon Moscot (4-3, 2.33)
Both games will be seven innings
Charlotte @ Tampa 6 PM (Radio stream)
Reinaldo Lopez (3-2, 3.67) v. Conner Kendrick (2-2, 2.45)
Bowling Green v. Fort Wayne 8:05 PM (Radio stream)
Chris Kirsch (3-5, 3.90) v. Kyle Lloyd (2-1, 2.70)
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition
Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
26-36 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 310 R (1st) .743 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 4.82 ERA (13th) 1.46 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Kevin Gausman (2), DH Henry Urrutia (7), RHP Mike Wright (8), LHP Chris Jones (27), RHP Josh Stinson (28)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati)
26-35 (5th in SL South)
Offense: 250 R (10th) .707 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.51 ERA (3rd) 1.35 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Robert Stephenson (1), OF Yorman Rodriguez (5), RHP Michael Lorenzen (6), RHP Carlos Contreras (7), RHP Daniel Corcino (13), RHP Jon Moscot (23)
Tampa Yankees
30-31 (4th in FSL North)
Offense: 241 R (7th) .682 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.30 ERA (6th) 1.30 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Eric Jagielo (5), 1B Greg Bird (8), RHP Rafael De Paula (15), OF Jake Cave (22), 2B Angelo Gumbs (25)
Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
27-33 (7th in MWL East)
Offense: 332 R (1st) .724 OPS (3rd)
Pitching: 5.00 ERA (16th) 1.59 WHIP (16th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Walker Weickel (19), Dustin Peterson (22)