Rays down on the farm July 17: Bulls contribute to All-Star win

Baseball America's Matt Eddy came away impressed by one Bull:

#rays LHP Mike Montgomery showed Paolo Orlando 93 mph fastball, good changeup, improved curve to get swinging strikeout, finish his night

— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) July 17, 2014

Ranking Mike Montgomery on new prospect lists could be the biggest challenge in the organization.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (53-44)

Durham fans saw the International League win a 7-3 game.  Wilson Betemit drove in two runs on a single, but he also struck out twice.  Mikie Mahtook was 0/4.  Mike Montgomery struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning, and Merrill Kelly recorded the final out of the game.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (14-12)

A five run first inning got Montgomery off to a fast start in their 7-0 win over Jackson.  After Cameron Seitzer doubled with the bases loaded to score two runs, Richie Shaffer hit a three run homer to extend the lead.  In the fourth, they added to it with a solo home run from Kes Carter and an RBI single by Ryan Brett.  Seitzer, Brett, Jake Hager and Willie Argo all had two hits.

With the early run support, Mike Colla cruised to his best start of the season.  He didn't have a single 1-2-3 inning, but he was able to work out of trouble when necessary.  Three straight singles opened the fifth inning against him, but he was able to retire the next three batters to preserve the shutout.  He allowed seven hits and a walk in six scoreless innings with five strikeouts.  The Biscuits used three relievers to finish the game, including Parker Markel making his Double-A debut.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (7-17)

Charlotte was postponed.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (10-15)

Bowling Green couldn't hold a 3-2 lead in their 6-3 loss to Wisconsin.  A solo home run to start the sixth inning tied the game, and a double by the following batter would score what proved to be the winning run.  Both of those runs were scored against Willie Gabay in long relief.  Starter Ben Griset had to work in and out of trouble through 3.1 innings, and he finished with two runs (one earned) allowed on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

All three Hot Rod runs came in the fourth inning.  Ty Young singled home Julian Ridings for the first run, and Darryl George brought home two with a two out single.  Young, George and Juniel Querecuto had two hit games.  Bowling Green batters struck out 14 times and walked just twice.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (23-9)

Hudson Valley was lacking offense from anyone besides Grant Kay in their 8-2 loss to Auburn.  Coty Blanchard stole home in the first inning to get the scoring started, but it took until a ninth inning double by Wilmer Dominguez for the Renegades to get on the board again.  That was the only hit by a Hudson Valley player that was not Kay.  Kay hit two singles and drew one of six Renegade walks.

Not long after Hudson Valley took that lead, Auburn got to Oscar Armenta.  After a 1-2-3 first, the Renegades conceded a run that tied the game at one in the second, but he would allow four runs in the third that evetually knocked him out of the game.  He finished with five runs allowed on six hits in three innings with three strikeouts and no walks.

Rookie Princeton Rays (14-11)

Thomas Milone's seventh inning two run homer broke a 1-1 tie in Princeton's 3-1 win over Elizabethton.  Milone had been in a major slump with a .220 OPS in his last seven games after a hot start to the season, but maybe that'll get him going.  They scored their first run of the game in the fifth inning on back to back doubles from Manny Sanchez and Carter Burgess.  Sanchez had two hits and stole a base.

Brent Honeywell continued to impress in his short starts for the Rays, and this one was probably his best.  He struck out five in three perfect innings before exiting for Roel Ramirez.  Ramirez had to work in and out of trouble, but he managed to go 4.2 innings while only allowing one run.  Honeywell now has 10 strikeouts and two walks allowed in eight scoreless innings.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (15-7)

The GCL Rays offense couldn't get anything going in their game one 2-0 loss to the GCL Twins.  Neither team got a hit until the fourth inning, and that's when the Twins went in front.  Jose Alvarado took the loss despite pitching well, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk in five innings with five strikeouts.  All three Rays hits were singles, and they only drew one walk.

Their offense broke loose immediately in their game two 11-4 win.  Two errors committed by a Twins outfielder on one play allowed the Rays to score two first inning runs, and a pair of two run homers in the fourth from Jeremy Hadley and Jose Rojas contributed to a six run inning that blew the game open.  Rojas had three hits, was a triple shy of the cycle, and drove in four runs.  Henry Centeno was very good for the Rays, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.  Nick Sawyer struck out six in 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the win, and he didn't walk anyone.

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Star of the day- Montgomery has really rebounded.

Goat of the day- Gabay has had a rough season.

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

Durham @ Gwinnett 6:35 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Alex Colome (4-2, 3.86) v. Aaron Northcraft (0-2, 7.04)

Montgomery v. Jackson 8 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Dylan Floro (8-7, 2.97) v. Tyler Olson (3-5, 4.56)

Charlotte v. Lakeland 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Jordan Harrison* (0-1, 5.19) v. Kenton St. John (0-1, 6.75)

Bowling Green @ Wisconsin 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Chris Kirsch* (4-6, 3.04) v. Preston Gainey (2-5, 3.79)

Hudson Valley @ Auburn 7:05 PM
Chris Pike* (0-0, 2.45) v. Travis Ott* (0-1, 2.75)

Princeton v. Elizabethton 7:05 PM (Radio stream)
Greg Maisto (1-2, 6.14) v. Matt Batts (1-0, 3.60)

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins 12 PM
TBA v. TBA

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Gwinnett Braves
44-54 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 417 R (11th) .715 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 4.27 ERA (10th) 1.46 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Cody Martin (11), 3B Edward Salcedo (12), OF Joey Terdoslavich (15), OF Todd Cunningham (23), RHP Aaron Northcraft (25), RHP Juan Jaime (27), RHP James Hoyt (30)

Jackson Generals (Seattle)
10-15 (4th in SL North)
Offense: 398 R (7th) .718 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.15 ERA (8th) 1.36 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B D.J. Peterson (2), RHP Victor Sanchez (7), OF Julio Morban (11), 3B Patrick Kivlehan (12), LHP Tyler Pike (16), SS Ketel Marte (20)

Lakeland Flying Tigers
5-18 (6th in FSL North)
Offense: 366 R (7th) .661 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.23 ERA (5th) 1.25 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Calvin Drummond (29)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee)
14-11 (3rd in MWL West)
Offense: 452 R (3rd) .710 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.11 ERA (10th) 1.42 WHIP (13th)
Top 30 Prospects: C Clint Coulter (11), RHP Tyler Williams (19), RHP Barrett Astin (22), OF Omar Garcia (26), LHP Anthony Banda (27), OF Michael Ratterree (28)

Auburn Doubledays (Washington)
15-16 (4th in Pinckney)
Offense: 108 R (12th) .625 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.38 ERA (7th) 1.27 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jefry Rodriguez (21), OF Dale Carey

Elizabethton Twins
16-10 (1st in APP West)
Offense: 147 R (1st) .747 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 3.04 ERA (2nd) 1.24 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Stephen Gonsalves (13), RHP Felix Jorge (17), SS Nick Gordon, RHP Michael Cederoth

GCL Twins
8-15 (4th in GCL South)
Offense: 75 R (14th) .605 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.86 ERA (9th) 1.40 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Amaurys Minier (24)