Rays prospects and minor leagues: Stone Crabs use six-run inning to clinch win

Montgomery lost both ends of a doubleheader, but we got another video of Casey Gillaspie punishing a baseball. So far this year, he has a .311 batting average with nine home runs for the Montgomery Biscuits. If it wasn't for the backlog of corner infielders between Triple-A and the majors, the Rays might seriously consider promoting Gillaspie and testing his mettle with Durham.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (20-30)

The Bulls dropped their 30th game of the season, a 3-0 shutout loss to the Columbus Clippers. Austin Pruitt allowed three runs in the first inning before settling down, but as usual, Durham gave him no run support. Danny Farqhuar somehow received a blown save despite allowing only one hit over two innings. A rain delay in the bottom of the fourth threatened to cut off the game, but the teams were able to finish the game. Jake Goebbert had an especially poor game, striking out four times while leaving four runners in scoring position with two outs. Kyle Roller went 2-for-4 with a double but was unable to come around to score.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (24-24)

Montgomery now sits at .500 with two losses in their doubleheader with the Jackson Generals. The Biscuits looked lackadaisical in Game One, managing just three hits in a 5-1 loss. Casey Gillaspie had two of those hits, including the solo home run seen at the top of the article. Jake Bauers had a single for the other hit. Taylor Guerrieri allowed four runs in five innings, earning his fourth loss of the year as his ERA rose to 4.53.

In Game Two, the Biscuits showed some life, putting up four runs but ultimately losing a 6-4 game. Jared Mortensen started in the bullpen game, and he struggled mightily. Jackson teed off on the righty, as Mortensen allowed six runs while walking seven. The recently-promoted Pat Blair drove in his first run with the Biscuits, with Gillaspie and Bauers notching an RBI each. Willy Adames, in the lineup as the designated hitter, doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on another wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (25-26)

A six-run eighth inning gave Charlotte plenty of insurance in a 9-2 win over the Fort Myers Miracle. Justin Williams cracked open the scoring in the eighth with a two-run single, and a three-run home run by Grant Kay later in the inning helped seal the game for the Stone Crabs. Thomas Milone had separate RBI singles in the second and eighth innings, and Nick Ciuffo helped out with a sacrifice fly. Chris Pike allowed two solo home runs in the fifth inning, yet got the win thanks to the run support. Ian Gibaut, Brian Miller, and Nick Sawyer combined for three innings of scoreless relief to keep the Miracle off the scoreboard in the latter part of the game. Sawyer struck out the side to end the game.

Class-A Bowling Green (25-23)

Bowling Green avoided falling to .500 with a 8-5 win over the Great Lakes Loons. The Hot Rods scored seven runs between the fifth and eighth innings, with Jake Cronenworth, Joe McCarthy, and David Rodriguez all driving in two runs each. Zacrey Law also chipped in an RBI, and McCarthy scored on an error in the eighth. Genesis Cabrera struck out eight in five innings of work while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. Tyler Brashears let the Loons tie up the game in the eighth but got the win as the offense came right back in the bottom of that inning. Diego Castilla notched his third save of the year, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

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Notable Performances

Triple-A

1B/DH Kyle Roller: 2-for-4, 2B (6), K

RHP Danny Farqhuar: BS (1), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Neil Wagner: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A

Game 1

1B Casey Gillaspie: 2-for-2, R, HR (9), RBI (22), BB

Game 2

SS Willy Adames: 1-for-4, R, 2B (16), 3 K
1B Casey Gillaspie: 1-for-3, 2B (14), BB
OF Jake Bauers: 1-for-3, RBI (25), BB, K
IF Pat Blair: 1-for-2, R, 2B (1), RBI (1), BB

RHP Brad Schreiber: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Class-A Advanced

2B Riley Unroe: 1-for-4, 2B (9), BB, 2 K
SS Andrew Velazquez: 2-for-4, 2 R, BB, K
OF Cade Gotta: 2-for-5, R, 2B (8), K
OF Justin Williams: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI (7)
1B Mac James: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B (6), K
C Nick Ciuffo: 2-for-3, RBI (7), SF
OF Thomas Milone: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI (9)
IF Grant Kay: 1-for-3, R, HR (4), 3 RBI (17), BB, K

RHP Ian Gibaut: H (2), 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Nick Sawyer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Class-A

SS Jake Cronenworth: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI (22)
2B Brandon Lowe: 2-for-3, 2 R, 3B (2), BB, K
1B/OF Joe McCarthy: 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI (19), BB
C David Rodgriguez: 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI (21), K, SF

LHP Genesis Cabrera: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
RHP Diego Castilla: S (3), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Today's probables (All probables courtesy milb.com)

Durham @ Columbus 1:05 PM ET (milb.tv, radio stream)
Adam Wilk (1-5, 3.25) v. TJ House (3-2, 4.97)

Montgomery v. Jackson 6:35 PM ET (milb.tv, radio stream)
Ryne Stanek (1-5, 4.53) v. Ryan Yarbrough (5-1, 4.29)

Charlotte v. Fort Myers 12:35 PM ET (radio stream)
Yonny Chirinos (3-0, 2.13) v. Kohl Stewart (3-1, 2.36)

Bowling Green v. Great Lakes 7:35 PM ET (radio stream)
Jose Mujica (2-2, 5.79) v. Imani Abdullah (0-1, 7.04)

Scouting the opposition

Columbus Clippers (Cleveland)
26-21, 1st in IL West
Offense: 201 R (T-2nd), .734 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 3.52 ERA (10th), 1.32 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Tyler Naquin (6), RHP Mike Clevinger (7), SS Erik Gonzalez (12), 3B Yandy Diaz (15), RHP Shawn Armstrong (21), LHP Ryan Merritt (22)