Rays down on the farm September 5: Princeton forces Game 3

Blake Snell's minor league season is now over. With 134 innings, he has just 18 2/3 more than his previous career high. Will the Rays opt to have him build on his workload a little more in the majors?

Triple-A Durham Bulls (72-69)

For some reason, Boog Powell homered in his second straight game, a 9-4 Durham win over Charlotte. The sixth home run of his career broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth, and the Bulls tacked on insurance runs, scoring two in each of the final three innings. Taylor Motter homered in the seventh, and Corey Brown went deep in the ninth.

In his final start in the minors this season, Blake Snell allowed two runs in the first inning but settled in. Those were the only runs he allowed on five hits and three walks in five innings with six strikeouts, and he finishes the season with a 1.41 ERA (22 ER in 134 IP).

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (42-25)

A Jake Bauers home run proved to be the difference in Montgomery's 3-2 win over Birmingham. Bauers' RBI single in the fourth opened the scoring, and two innings later, his solo home run gave the Biscuits a 3-1 lead. Jaime Schultz struck out seven but lasted just four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks. Despite walking four in 1 2/3 innings, Jeff Ames only allowed one run in relief.

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (23-41)

Charlotte's offense accomplished little in its 5-1 loss to Fort Myers. Justin Williams' double to lead off the sixth was the Stone Crabs' first hit, and he would score their only run on Pat Blair's single later in the inning. Meanwhile, the Miracle bats got to work early, scoring four runs in the first three innings. Starter Greg Harris allowed four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and three walks in three innings with five strikeouts.

Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods (31-34)

Jose Mujica was much better than his recent outings in Bowling Green's 2-1 win over Lake County. He retired the first 13 he faced before getting into a jam in the fifth, but he got out of it and recorded five straight outs to end his start with seven strikeouts and just a hit and walk allowed in six scoreless innings. The Hot Rods scored first on a wild pitch in the fifth, and Grant Kay's RBI double in the eighth provided the go-ahead run a half inning after the Captains tied the game against Edgar Gomez.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (38-35)

Hudson Valley kept pace with a 6-4 win over Vermont. Staten Island and Aberdeen also won, so the Renegades maintain their second-place tie with the IronBirds a half game behind Staten Island. Hudson Valley blew a 4-0 lead, but Hec Montes restored the lead with an RBI single in the sixth. An inning later, Nic Wilson's RBI hit provided insurance. Starter Travis Ott allowed four runs in four innings, and Reece Karalus struck out five in two perfect innings to close the game.

Rookie Princeton Rays (1-1)

Princeton staged a late comeback to force a decisive Game 3 with its 3-2 win over Pulaski in Game 2. Pulaski had retired 10 straight Princeton batters until Peter Maris led off the sixth with a single. Zacrey Law singled and David Rodriguez walked, but Princeton only scored a run on Blair Beck's sacrifice fly. It was those hitters again in the seventh when Princeton took the lead. Maris led off with a walk, Law singled, and Rodriguez delivered a game-tying double. Beck's second sacrifice fly produced the go-ahead run.

After starter Brock Burke allowed two runs -- one earned -- on four hits in five innings with three strikeouts and no walks, trade-deadline acquisition Eduar Lopez threw four scoreless innings of relief to help secure the win.

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Notable performances

AAA UT Taylor Motter: 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
AAA OF Corey Brown: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
A- IF Joseph Astacio: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
A- IF Hec Montes: 5-for-5, 1 RBI
R+ SS Peter Maris: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB
R+ C David Rodriguez: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
A RHP Jose Mujica: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
A- RHP Reece Karalus: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

AAA 2B Ryan Brett: 0-for-5, 1 R, 1 K
A OF Hunter Lockwood: 0-for-4, 2 K
A+ RHP Greg Harris: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 5 K
A- LHP Travis Ott: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

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

Durham v. Norfolk 6:35 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Bradin Hagens (4-5, 2.97) v. Chris Jones (8-7, 2.96)

Montgomery v. Birmingham 7:35 PM (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Austin Pruitt (10-6, 2.98) v. Mark Blackmar (5-8, 3.82)

Charlotte v. Fort Myers 6 PM (radio stream)
Chih-Wei Hu (5-6, 3.32) v. TBA

Bowling Green @ Fort Wayne 7:05 PM (radio stream)
Hyrum Formo (5-5, 4.35) v. Chris Huffman (9-6, 3.42)

Hudson Valley v. Aberdeen 7:05 PM (radio stream)
TBA v. TBA

Princeton @ Pulaski 7 PM (radio stream)
Alexis Tapia (2-2, 3.70) v. Melvin Morla* (5-2, 6.52)

Game three of a best-of-three series (Series tied, 1-1)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Norfolk Tides (Baltimore) (updated through 9/3)
73-68
Offense: 521 R (11th) .671 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.17 ERA (2nd) 1.25 WHIP (1st)
Top 30 Prospects: 1B Christian Walker (3), RHP Mike Wright (8), RHP Tyler Wilson (12), OF Henry Urrutia (14)

Birmingham Barons (White Sox) (updated through 9/1)
34-33
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)
38-30
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

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego) (updated through 9/3)
43-24 (1st in MWL East)
Offense: 542 R (10th) .680 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.39 ERA (6th) 1.29 WHIP (6th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Michael Gettys (13), SS Franchy Cordero (19)

Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore) (updated through 9/3)
38-35 (T-2nd in McNamara)
Offense: 262 R (13th) .625 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 3.60 ERA (9th) 1.26 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: LHP Travis Seabrooke (31), OF D.J. Stewart

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