Rays down on the farm August 14: Marquez strong again

Earlier this week, I mentioned German Marquez as a pitcher just missing my mid-season top 30.  He had another good start last night, and he hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in a start since May.  That's 11 straight starts, and he hasn't allowed any runs in his last two.  In those 11 starts, he allowed 14 earned runs in 50.1 innings (2.50 ERA) with 54 strikeouts and 14 walks.

Last season in 53.1 Appalachian League innings, he tired over the course of the season (Baseball America, $).  The opposite seems to be true this year.  Before that 11 start stretch he's in now, he allowed 16 earned runs in 30.2 innings.  It certainly seems like he's not tiring this year.

Marquez pitches with an above average fastball, a good breaking ball and mixes in his changeup.  His walk rate is roughly the same as last season.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (64-61)

It took 11 innings, but Durham eventually won the resumption of the suspended game 8-7 in 11 innings.  The bullpen settled things down after Matt Andriese blew a 7-3 lead in one inning, eventually leading to a two out 11th inning rally to win the game.  Vince Belnome's walk extended the inning, and he scored on a double by Mike Fontenot.  Fontenot had four hits, including two doubles, but he wasn't the only infielder with a four hit game.  Tim Beckham was 4/6 with three runs scored.  Wil Myers went 1/3 with three walks and two stolen bases.  Enny Romero allowed a run in two innings before the suspension, and Andriese was charged with five in 4.1 innings.

Jake Thompson got the game two spot start and pitched like he used to in the rotation in Durham's 4-2 loss.  A two out double in the second put the Red Wings up 1-0, and Thompson was charged with three runs in the third and finished with four runs allowed in 2.1 innings.  Durham's only offense came on one swing of the bat when Nick Franklin hit a two run home run in the sixth.  Fontenot had two more hits.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (22-30)

Montgomery's woes continued in their 2-0 loss to Mississippi.  They had seven hits, but they were all singles and drew no walks.  Cameron Seitzer did have two of them.  At the very least, Dylan Floro got back on track.  He threw the road team loss eight inning complete game  with two runs (one earned) allowed on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks.  58 of his 80 pitches were strikes.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (26-24)

Three Stone Crabs combined to shut down Palm Beach in Charlotte's 2-0 win.  Reinaldo Lopez started and performed pretty well, throwing 6+ scoreless innings, allowing four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  After he walked two batters to start the seventh, Jordan Harrison relieved him with two scoreless innings, and Colton Reavis finished the game.

Charlotte scored both of their runs early in the game.  After Tyler Goeddel led off the second with a double, he eventually scored on a two out single by Juniel Querecuto.  An inning later, Tommy Coyle led off with a triple, and Johnny Field singled him home.  Querecuto, Coyle and Field all reached base twice.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (24-27)

Another team failed to solve German Marquez in Bowling Green's 2-1 win over Great Lakes.  After walking the first batter of the game, Marquez shut down the Loons and wasn't really threatened until the fifth inning.  He allowed a leadoff double but struck out the next two batters before eventually ending the threat.  He finished with two hits and a walk allowed in five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.  Brad Schreiber struck out four and allowed an unearned run in 2.2 innings.

The Hot Rods scored both of their runs in the fourth.  Kean Wong led off the inning with a single, and Oscar Hernandez's eighth home run of the season made it a 2-0 game.  Wong had three of Bowling Green's six hits with a stolen base.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (40-19)

A trio of two run innings backed Hunter Wood in Hudson Valley's 6-2 win over Tri-City.  Wood had to navigate out of some early trouble, but he only allowed a run in the fourth inning on back to back doubles.  He finished with that run allowed on five hits and a walk in five innings with six strikeouts.

The first two Renegades batters of the game reached base, and they eventually scored on a two run single by Hunter Lockwood.  Four innings later, Braxton Lee and Coty Blanchard got on base again, but this time, only Lee scored on Lockwood's single.  Blanchard scored on a balk.  In the seventh, Casey Gillaspie's two run home run extended their lead to four runs.  The top three batters in the lineup, Lee, Blanchard and Gillaspie, combined to reach base seven times.

Rookie Princeton Rays (30-21)

After falling behind 2-0, Princeton rattled off seven straight runs in their 7-3 win over Bluefield.  Nick Ciuffo got the first big hit of the game in the third inning.  With one out, he cleared the bases with a triple to give the Rays a lead they wouldn't relinquish.  Extra base hits would continue to play a big role in their outburst.  Riley Unroe doubled a run home in the fourth, and Nic Wilson's two run homer extended the lead in the fifth.  No Princeton batters had two hits, but Ciuffo and Thomas Milone did reach base three times.

Although he allowed the two runs, Roel Ramirez continued his solid season on the mound.  A two out, two run triple in the third gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead, but he finished his outing by retiring seven straight batters.  He was charged with the two runs on five hits in five innings with five strikeouts and no walks.  He now has 25 strikeouts but just five walks in 43.1 innings between the rotation and bullpen.

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (26-21)

Roberto Gomez's third rehab appearance didn't go well, and it set the tone in the GCL Rays' 9-1 loss to the GCL Twins.  In two innings, he allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and five walks with two strikeouts, and the Twins didn't stop there.  Three of four Rays relievers allowed runs, including Jose Castillo with one allowed in two innings.

The Rays scored their only run when the game was still close.  Three straight singles started the inning, and the Twins conceded that run on a groundout.  Zacrey Law had two of the Rays' six hits, and Jose Rojas struck out four times.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES

Star of the day- Fontenot had a nice two games for Durham.

Goat of the day- Montgomery needs to get back on track.

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

Durham @ Rochester 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Alex Meyer (6-5, 3.32)

Montgomery @ Mississippi 8 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Albert Suarez* (3-3, 3.41) v. Williams Perez (4-6, 3.27)

Charlotte v. Palm Beach 6:30 PM (Radio stream)
Austin Pruitt (9-4, 3.75) v. Luke Weaver (0-1, 21.60)

Bowling Green @ Great Lakes 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
D.J. Slaton (0-2, 6.23) v. Jose De Leon (0-0, ---)

Hudson Valley @ Tri-City 7 PM (Radio stream)
Jose Alonzo (0-1, 8.18) v. Francis Ramirez (2-4, 4.75)

Princeton v. Bluefield 7:05 PM (Radio stream)
Freddy Alvarez (2-4, 4.07) v. Evan Smith (2-2, 4.11)

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins 12 PM
TBA v. TBA

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota)
68-57 (3rd in IL North)
Offense: 556 R (6th) .726 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.45 ERA (1st) 1.29 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Alex Meyer (3), LHP Sean Gilmartin (10), C Josmil Pinto (14), RHP Mike Tonkin (15)

Mississippi Braves
31-21 (2nd in SL South)
Offense: 525 R (6th) .702 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.51 ERA (3rd) 1.25 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP J.R. Graham (3), RHP Jason Hursh (4), 2B Jose Peraza (6), OF Kyle Wren (18), 3B Kyle Kubitza (22), OF Matt Lipka (24), OF Robby Hefflinger (29)

Palm Beach Cardinals
31-21 (2nd in FSL South)
Offense: 553 R (3rd) .711 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.48 ERA (6th) 1.29 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Tyrell Jenkins (17), RHP Luke Weaver

Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles)
24-27 (T-5th in MWL East)
Offense: 495 R (13th) .666 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.58 ERA (7th) 1.28 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Jacob Scavuzzo (15), RHP Zach Bird (21), SS Jesmuel Valentin (22), RHP Victor Arano (29)

Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston)
39-20 (1st in Stedler)
Offense: 304 R (1st) .748 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.56 ERA (7th) 1.26 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Derek Fisher

Bluefield Blue Jays
24-29 (4th in APP East)
Offense: 222 R (7th) .656 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.76 ERA (7th) 1.33 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Matt Smoral (13), 1B Rowdy Tellez (18), SS Richard Urena (24)

GCL Twins
17-29 (4th in GCL South)
Offense: 163 R (14th) .606 OPS (15th)
Pitching: 3.59 ERA (9th) 1.34 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Amaurys Minier (24)