More importantly than a Triple-A journeyman pitching well against his old team, first-rounder Garrett Whitley had his breakout game as a professional for the Gulf coast League Rays. Let's see if he can finish strong.
Triple-A Durham Bulls (57-62)
Durham's rally came up short in its 8-7 loss to Norfolk. Trailing 7-2 in the sixth, Joey Rickard singled home a pair, and in the seventh, Nick Franklin drew a bases-loaded walk before Mikie Mahtook's two-run single cut the Bulls' deficit to 8-7. Franklin, though, cost them earlier when his error contributed to a six-run second inning. Starter Matt Andriese was charged with six runs -- two earned -- on eight hits in five innings with five strikeouts.
Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (26-19)
Jaime Schultz was in control in Montgomery's 4-1 win over Birmingham. He allowed just an unearned run on seven hits and one walk in seven innings with seven strikeouts. Since hitting rock bottom with seven walks in back-to-back starts, he has a 29.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate in four starts, totaling 20 innings. Patrick Leonard's home run in the first gave the Biscuits a 1-0 lead, and consecutive doubles from Johnny Field and Justin O'Conner plus a single from Tommy Coyle added three more in the sixth.
Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (16-28)
Greg Harris struggled in Charlotte's 5-2 loss to Bradenton. Harris allowed a run in both the first and second innings, but the Stone Crabs tied the game in the third when Mike Marjama tripled home Kean Wong and scored on Granden Goetzman's single. In the fifth, the Marauders went up for good, and Harris finished with four runs -- three earned -- allowed on five hits and two walks in four-plus innings.
Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (23-23)
A nine-run inning was just enough in Bowling Green's 11-10 win over Burlington. The Hot Rods entered their half of the fifth trailing 3-0 but exited after sending 12 to the plate and scoring nine times. The first four batters reached base to produce two runs before Carter Burgess struck out, and four straight singles scored four more runs. With two outs, Bralin Jackson singled home a pair and scored on Nick Ciuffo's single, and two unearned runs in the seventh proved to be crucial. Starter Henry Centeno walked five and allowed three unearned runs in five innings.
Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (24-28)
He was not credited with a win, but Benton Moss dominated in Hudson Valley's 3-0 win over Mahoning Valley. After striking out a career-high eight in his last outing, Moss punched out seven in six scoreless innings against the Scrappers, scattering just four hits and a walk. Angel Moreno broke the scoreless deadlock with his first home run of the season in the eighth, and the Renegades added two more runs later in the inning. Tim Ingram got the win with two scoreless innings of relief.
Rookie Princeton Rays (28-22)
Princeton allowed eight unanswered runs in its 11-3 loss to Bluefield. Starter Deivi Mendez allowed three runs and only recorded two outs, but the offense got him off the hook with three runs over the next two innings, including Brett Sullivan's seventh home run. Noel Rodriguez let Bluefield go back ahead with a run in the third, and the game was blown open in the five-run fifth.
Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (11-34)
Garrett Whitley's second professional home run lifted the GCL Rays to a 10-3 win over the GCL Twins. The GCL Twins went up 1-0 in the top of the first, and after Oscar Rojas' two-run single in the bottom half, the GCL Twins went back in front. In the bottom of the second, Ryan Caldwell tied the game with a single before Whitley's three-run homer put the GCL Rays up for good. Starter Ty Nichols allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings, and John Williams struck out three in three scoreless innings.
Notable performances
AAA OF Boog Powell: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB
AA 3B Patrick Leonard: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
AA OF Dayron Varona: 3-for-5
AA OF Johnny Field: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI
A+ C Mike Marjama: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI
A+ OF Justin Williams: 3-for-4
A IF Alec Sole: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
R+ SS Peter Maris: 1-for-3, 2 BB
R+ OF Angel Perez: 3-for-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K
R SS Joseph Astacio: 2-for-3, 3 R, 2 BB
R OF Garrett Whitley: 3-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
AA RHP Jaime Schultz: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 7 K
A- RHP Benton Moss: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
R RHP John Williams: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
AA OF Tyler Goeddel: 0-for-5, 2 K
A+ OF Braxton Lee: 0-for-4, 2 K
A SS Carter Burgess: 0-for-4, 2 K
A- 3B Alex Schmidt: 0-for-4, 2 K
R+ OF Zacrey Law: 0-for-5, 2 K
R SS Adrian Rondon: 0-for-5, 3 K
AAA RHP Matt Andriese: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 5 K
AAA LHP Enny Romero: 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
A+ RHP Greg Harris: 4+ IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
A RHP Henry Centeno: 5 IP, 1 H, 3 R (0 ER), 5 BB, 3 K
A LHP Ryan Pennell: 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 3 K
A RHP Luis Urena: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
R+ RHP Deivy Mendez: two-thirds IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K
R+ RHP Noel Rodriguez: 3 1/3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Today's games (probables courtesy of milb.com)
Durham @ Indianapolis 6:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
TBA v. Radhames Liz (4-4, 1.12)
TBA v. TBA
Both games will be seven innings
Montgomery @ Birmingham 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. TBA
Charlotte @ Bradenton 6:30 PM (radio stream)
Brent Honeywell (3-2, 4.50) v. TBA
Bowling Green v. Peoria 8:05 PM (radio stream)
Chris Pike (9-5, 3.17) v. Ian McKinney (0-0, 0.00)
Hudson Valley @ Mahoning Valley 7:05 PM (radio stream)
Cameron Varga (1-4, 3.19) v. Kieran Lovegrove (1-4, 5.79)
Princeton v. Bluefield 7 PM
Blake Bivens (3-0, 3.00) v. TBA
GCL Rays v. GCL Orioles 12 PM
*Listed as TBA on milb.com
Scouting the opposition
Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh) (updated through 8/12)
70-49 (1st in IL West)
Offense: 474 R (7th) .692 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.14 ERA (4th) 1.27 WHIP (3rd)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Tyler Glasnow (1), 1B Josh Bell (4), RHP Nick Kingham (6), IF Alen Hanson (7), C Elias Diaz (11), OF Willy Garcia (12), RHP John Holdzkom (16), RHP Casey Sadler (17)
Birmingham Barons (White Sox) (updated through 8/11)
28-17 (1st in SL North)
Offense: 466 R (6th) .707 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.56 ERA (4th) 1.35 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Tim Anderson (2), RHP Frank Montas (5), RHP Tyler Danish (7), OF Courtney Hawkins (9), OF Jacob May (10)
Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh) (updated through 8/11)
30-16 (2nd in FSL South)
Offense: 493 R (1st) .706 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.66 ERA (10th) 1.27 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Austin Meadows (3), C Reese McGuire (5), OF Harold Martinez (10), RHP Clay Holmes (20), 3B Wyatt Mathisen (22), LHP Cody Dickson (24), RHP Luis Heredia (26)
Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis) (updated through 8/12)
30-16 (2nd in MWL West)
Offense: 464 R (7th) .678 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 3.17 ERA (4th) 1.26 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jack Flaherty (6), C Steve Bean (23)
Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Cleveland) (updated through 8/10)
23-28 (5th in Pinckney)
Offense: 217 R (7th) .695 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.93 ERA (11th) 1.43 WHIP (13th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Casey Shane (25)
Bluefield Blue Jays (updated through 8/11)
20-29 (5th in APP East)
Offense: 216 R (7th) .681 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.56 ERA (7th) 1.50 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Matt Smoral (11)
GCL Orioles (updated through 8/12)
24-22 (3rd in GCL South)
Offense: 173 R (9th) .645 OPS (12th)
Pitching: 2.72 ERA (4th) 1.17 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Ofelky Peralta (29), SS Ryan Mountcastle