Rays down on the farm September 4: Princeton drops playoff opener

Jacob Faria finished the regular season with 17 wins between Charlotte and Montgomery. That stat has no value regarding his future, but he still leads the minors.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (71-69)

Durham's unlikely playoff run came to an end with its 11-7 loss to Charlotte. Boog Powell's home run tied the game at one in the third, his double scored two in a three-run fourth, and he picked up another RBI in the fifth as the Bulls took a 7-3 lead. After starter Everett Teaford exited with three runs allowed in five innings, the Knights closed the game with eight unanswered runs.  Andrew Bellatti gave up five runs, including three home runs, and Parker Markel allowed three more runs.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (41-25)

Jacob Faria finished his regular season with his 17th win in Montgomery's 4-3 triumph over Birmingham. He was limited to five innings, but he still struck out eight and limited the Barons to three hits and three walks and did not allow a run. Marty Gantt tripled home two runs in the second and scored on a sacrifice fly, and the Biscuits led 4-0 before Birmingham crawled back into the game late.

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (23-40)

Charlotte allowed nine unanswered runs in its 9-4 loss to Fort Myers. The Stone Crabs opened the second with three straight singles, including Justin Williams' hit to score a run. After Pat Blair walked to load the bases and Yoel Araujo struck out, Braxton Lee singled in another run, and Hector Guevara drove in two. However, the duo of German Marquez and Hunter Wood struggled. Marquez was charged with six runs in 5 1/3 innings, and Wood was tagged with three in one.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (30-34)

Bowling Green's game was canceled.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (37-35)

Hudson Valley dropped a chance to move into first place with a 4-1 loss to Vermont. The Renegades actually went up one just a few batters into the game when Michael Russell tripled and scored on an error, but the game quickly went south. The first two Lake Monsters reached base, and the bases were loaded after an error. Hudson Valley conceded runs on groundouts around an RBI double, and the fourth run scored on a passed ball. Starter Angel Yepez was charged with four runs -- one earned -- on four hits and two walks in five innings with six strikeouts.

Rookie Princeton Rays (0-1)

A late grand slam cost Princeton in its playoff-opening 9-8 loss to Pulaski in 10 innings. Kewby Meyer homered in the first, and Princeton stormed ahead in the fourth with a six-run inning. They scored three of those runs with two outs when Peter Maris singled in one and Zacrey Law tripled home two more. Up 8-4, Alberto Casanas loaded the bases before recording an out and allowed a game-tying grand slam.

Former Rays minor leaguer Willie Gabay retired nine of the 10 batters he faced to end the game. In the 10th, Pulaski pushed the go-ahead run across without getting a ball out of the infield. Starter Blake Bivens struck out six but allowed three runs -- one earned -- on four hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.

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Notable performances

AAA OF Boog Powell: 4-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K
R+ 1B Kewby Meyer: 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI
AA RHP Jacob Faria: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K

AAA IF Alec Sole: 0-for-5, 1 R, 4 K
A- OF Manny Sanchez: 0-for-4, 4 K
A- 1B Hec Montes: 0-for-4, 3 K
R+ 2B Bill Pujols: 0-for-4, 2 K
AAA RHP Andrew Bellatti: 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
AAA RHP Parker Markel: 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
A+ RHP German Marquez: 5 1/3 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
A+ RHP Hunter Wood: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
R+ RHP Alberto Casanas: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

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

Durham @ Charlotte 7:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Blake Snell (5-2, 1.60) v. Terance Marin (3-3, 2.76)

Montgomery v. Birmingham 8:05 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Jaime Schultz (9-5, 3.78) v. TBA

Charlotte @ Fort Myers 7:05 PM (radio stream)
TBA v. Stephen Gonsalves (6-2, 2.70)

Bowling Green v. Lake County 8:05 PM (radio stream)
Hyrum Formo (5-5, 4.35) v. Casey Shane (0-0, 6.23)

Hudson Valley @ Vermont 7:05 PM (radio stream)
Travis Ott (6-3, 3.54) v. Angel Duno (0-3, 5.63)

Princeton @ Pulaski 7 PM (radio stream)
Brock Burke (4-2, 3.42) v. Melvin Morla* (4-2, 6.15)

Game two of a best-of-three series (Pulaski leads, 1-0)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox) (updated through 8/31)
73-67 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 588 R (2nd) .720 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 3.72 ERA (8th) 1.30 WHIP (7th)
Top 30 Prospects: 2B Micah Johnson (4), RHP Chris Beck (11), 3B Matt Davidson (14), C Kevan Smith (15), LHP Onelki Garcia (27)

Birmingham Barons (White Sox) (updated through 9/1)
34-32
Offense: 540 R (4th) .701 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.67 ERA (4th) 1.35 WHIP (4th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Tim Anderson (2), RHP Tyler Danish (7), OF Courtney Hawkins (9), OF Jacob May (10)

Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota) (updated through 9/1)
37-30
Offense: 483 R (8th) .635 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 2.70 ERA (2nd) 1.20 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Kohl Stewart (4), LHP Stephen Gonsalves (14), SS Engelb Vielma (22), RHP Zach Jones (25), LHP Tyler Jay

Lake County Captains (Cleveland) (updated through 8/31)
33-32
Offense: 609 R (3rd) .698 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.63 ERA (12th) 1.31 WHIP (11th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Justus Sheffield (4), C Francisco Mejia (7), 1B Bobby Bradley (9), IF Yu-Cheng Chang (13), RHP Casey Shane (25)

Vermont Lake Monsters (Oakland) (updated through 8/31)
31-40
Offense: 277 R (9th) .663 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 4.07 ERA (13th) 1.33 WHIP (10th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Trace Loehr (30), SS Richie Martin, OF Skye Bolt

Pulaski Yankees (updated through 9/1)
1-0
Offense: 393 R (1st) .793 OPS (1st)
Pitching: 3.08 ERA (1st) 1.24 WHIP (2nd)
Top 30 Prospects: None