Rays prospects and minor leagues 8/14: Schultz's gem goes for naught

Jake Bauers has been on a recent hot streak, hitting his second home run in three days while putting up a .922 OPS since the calendar turned to August, and that doesn't include last night's 2-for-4 performance with a double and a home run.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (54-67)

Durham looked like they'd pick up a close win, but a blown save ruined any chance for a win as the Bulls lost to the Charlotte Knights, 5-1. Taylor Motter hit a solo home run in the first to give the Bulls an early lead. The offense put together just two hits after that, but Jaime Schultz kept Charlotte in check with a masterful eight-inning performance. Schultz struck out 11 while surrendering just two walks and three hits. Tyler Sturdevant came on to secure a 1-0 win in the ninth, but instead blew his fourth save this year, allowing five runs to the Knights. Durham went down without a whimper in the bottom of the ninth, leaving Schultz without anything to show from such a strong start.

Also I've never seen the jerseys Durham was wearing (which you can see in the below video) but I like them a lot.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (28-20)

Montgomery's offense compensated for a Mobile grand slam in their 9-4 win over the BayBears. Patrick Leonard scored the first run of the game with a solo home run in the second, but Brent Honeywell allowed a grand slam in the fifth that put Montgomery behind. Honeywell still wound up with the win as the Biscuits plated seven runs between the fifth and sixth innings. Jake Bauers continued his hot streak with four RBI, including a two-run home run. Kean Wong went 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Kyle Bird and Jordan Harrison kept Mobile off the board through the last three innings of the game.

Class-A Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (25-22)

Despite allowing just four hits to the Fort Myers Miracle, Charlotte lost decidedly by a 7-1 margin. Jeff Howell lost his seventh game of the year, walking five batters and giving up three runs before being pulled after just 2.2 innings. Cristian Toribio notched a solo home run in the third, but otherwise the Stone Crabs offered little on offense. Jace Conrad made his third appearance on the mound this year in a mop-up role. The second baseman/outfielder was effective, retiring the side in order with a strikeout to boot.

Logan Morrison and Oswaldo Arcia both went 0-for-3 rehabbing with the Stone Crabs.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (31-16)

Bowling Green also blew a lead in the ninth inning, falling to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, 2-1. Manny Sanchez gave the Hot Rods their lone run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Jose Mujica hurled seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out five. Tim Ingram threw a scoreless eighth, but allowed Fort Wayne to tie the game and win the game on a walk-off single.

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (32-21)

Hudson Valley managed just two hits but nonetheless pulled away with a 2-1 win over the Connecticut Tigers. Ryan Boldt tripled in the first but injured himself on the play, having to come out for a pinch-runner. Travis Ott allowed just his second earned run this year in his tenth appearance with the Renegades, but he was removed after just two innings. Brandon Lawson won his fifth game of the year, tossing two scoreless innings of relief. Jake Fraley hit a RBI triple and scored on an error to account for Hudson Valley's offense. Deivy Mendez fanned six batters in three innings and Jayson McKinley made his fourth save of the year, punching out four in two innings.

Rookie Princeton Rays (24-24)

Princeton fell to .500 as the Johnson City Cardinals racked up 13 hits, defeating the Rays 7-3. Hector Lopez continues to search for his first win stateside, giving up six runs to the Cardinals in 4.2 innings. Oscar Rojas hit a RBI double and Issac Bernard knocked a two-run home run in the seventh for Princeton's runs. The Rays had little opportunity for more runs, going 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.

Rookie GCL Rays (20-23)

The GCL Rays wrapped up their suspended game from yesterday and played their scheduled game for today, sweeping the GCL Orioles in a doubleheader. Game One went 11 innings with the Rays winning on a walk-off by a 3-2 score. Both teams were scoreless up until the sixth inning, when Ryan Caldwell scored on a Kevin Santiago "suicide squeeze" sacrifice bunt. Jesus Sanchez followed him up with a RBI single to put two runs on the board. Rays sixth-round pick Zack Trageton - who is still 17 - made a nice start, allowing just four hits in five scoreless innings with five strikeouts. However, that lead went away in the eighth, with Kenny Rosenberg and Luis Nunez each being attributed a run. Matt Vogel wound up with the win, throwing two scoreless. Jonathon Arrowood won the game on a bases-loaded single in the eleventh.

Game Two of the doubleheader had the Rays as the away team, but they won again in extra innings with a 5-4 final score. The Rays and Orioles traded runs back and forth, with the lead changing hands multiple times throughout the game. Angel Rodriguez was the one solid pitcher for the Rays in this leg of the doubleheader, giving up just one hit and no walks in 3.1 innings of relief. Joey Roach hit a RBI groundout in the tenth inning to give the Rays the deciding run. Roach had two RBIs on the day and four total in t he 31st-rounder's first four games of his professional career. Angel Rodriguez retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth to secure the win.

The preceding stories were not generated by the Associated Press computer using data from and in cooperation with MLBAM.

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Notable Performances

Triple-A

SS Daniel Robertson: 1-for-3, BB
UT Taylor Motter: 1-for-2, R, HR (11), RBI (33), 2 BB

RHP Jaime Schultz: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K
RHP Parker Markel: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A

2B Kean Wong: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B (17), 2 RBI (48)
OF Granden Goetzman: 1-for-5, R, RBI (28), K
1B/OF Jake Bauers: 2-for-4, R, 2B (24), HR (13), 4 RBI (67)
1B/3B Patrick Leonard: 1-for-4, R, HR (8), RBI (35), 2 K
OF Cade Gotta: 2-for-4
C Armando Araiza: 1-for-2, 2B (2), RBI (5), BB

LHP Kyle Bird: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Class-A Advanced

C/1B Mac James: 2-for-4
3B Cristian Toribio: 1-for-3, R, HR (3), RBI (14), K

RHP Ian Gibaut: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Nick Sawyer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
2B/OF Jace Conrad: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Class-A

C Brett Sullivan: 2-for-3, 2B (30), BB, SB (15)
SS Michael Russell: 2-for-4, SB (27)
OF Manny Sanchez: 0-for-2, RBI (34), 2 K, SF

RHP Jose Mujica: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Short-Season

OF Jake Fraley: 1-for-4, R, 3B (4), RBI (11), K
OF Ryan Boldt: 1-for-1, 3B (1)

RHP Deivy Mendez: H (1), 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
RHP Jayson McKinley: S (4), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Rookie (Princeton)

OF Oscar Rojas: 1-for-4, 2B (8), RBI (17), 2 K
3B Joshua Lowe: 3-for-4, R
OF Isaac Bernard: 1-for-4, R, HR (2), 2 RBI (13), K

Rookie (GCL)

Game 1

2B Vidal Brujan: 2-for-4, R
SS Kevin Santiago: 1-for-4, RBI (6), 2 K
OF Jesus Sanchez: 4-for-4, R, RBI (26), BB
1B Jonathon Arrowood: 1-for-4, RBI (15). BB, 2 K
OF Moises Gomez: 1-for-3, BB, K, SB (4)
OF Ryan Caldwell: 1-for-3, R, BB

RHP Zack Trageton: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
LHP Kenny Rosenberg: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
RHP Matt Vogel: W (3-2), 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Game 2

2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
OF Moises Gomez: 1-for-4, R, RBI (8), BB
OF Jesus Sanchez: 2-for-5, 2 2B (6), RBI (27)
3B Michael Brosseau: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B (6), 2 BB, K
OF Jose Tonton: 1-for-3, BB
C Joey Roach: 1-for-5, 2 RBI (4)
C Alexander Alvarez: 1-for-4, R, RBI (5), K

RHP Angel Rodriguez: W (1-2), 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

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

Durham v. Charlotte 5:05 PM ET (milb.tv, radio stream)
Austin Pruitt (8-8, 3.31) v. Terance Marin (6-5, 5.05)

Montgomery v. Mobile 6:35 PM ET (milb.tv, radio stream)
Chris Kirsch (6-5, 3.49) v. Taylor Clarke (5-6, 3.84)

Charlotte @ Palm Beach 5:00 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Jack Flahety (3-8, 4.08)

Bowling Green @ Fort Wayne 1:05 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Jacob Nix (2-5, 4.20)

Hudson Valley @ Connecticut 4:05 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Gregory Soto (2-1, 2.86)

Princeton v. Johnson City 5:00 PM ET (radio stream)
TBA v. Ramon Santos (2-1, 3.66)

GCL Rays are off

Scouting the opposition

Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
52-69, 3rd in IL South
Offense: 469 R (8th) .686 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.46 ERA (14th-Last) 1.38 WHIP (13th)
Top 30 Prospects:  OF Jacob May (7), RHP Tyler Danish (9), OF Adam Engel (10), OF Slade Heathcott (18), RHP Chris Beck (19), 2B Jake Peter (22), 1B Danny Hayes (29), 1B Jerry Sands

Mobile BayBears (Arizona)
24-23, 2nd in SL South
Offense: 470 R (5th) .693 OPS (4th)
Pitching: 3.53 ERA (4th) 1.35 WHIP (8th)
Top 30 Prospects: OF Gabriel Guerrero (11), IF Domingo Leyba (13), RHP Taylor Clarke (14), RHP Adam Miller (23), 2B Jamie Westbrook (30), RHP Vicente Campos

Palm Beach Cardinals
16-32, 6th (Last) in FSL South
Offense: 393 R (11th) .619 OPS (11th)
Pitching: 3.62 ERA (8th) 1.33 WHIP (9th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Jack Flaherty (3), SS Edmundo Sosa (7), RHP Junior Fernandez (9), RHP Sandy Alcantara (19), SS Oscar Mercado (26), RHP Derion Gonzalez (27)

Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego)
20-28, 7th in MWL East
Offense: 476 R (10th) .673 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.68 ERA (13th) 1.31 WHIP (12th)
Top 30 Prospects: SS Rudy Giron (4), LHP Logan Allen (8), RHP Austin Smith (9), RHP Jacob Nix (11), OF Jose Carlos Urena (24), RHP Phil Maton (26), LHP Jose Castillo (27), RHP Emmanuel Ramirez (30), 1B Brad Zunica (31), RHP Anderson Espinosa, RHP Chris Paddack

Connecticut Tigers
30-25, 2nd in NYPL Stedler
Offense: 224 R (5th) .623 OPS (10th)
Pitching: 3.08 ERA (4th) 1.25 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: RHP Kyle Funkhouser

Johnson City Cardinals
29-21, 1st in AL West
Offense: 258 R (4th) .730 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 3.87 ERA (4th) 1.37 WHIP (5th)
Top 30 Prospects: 3B Bryce Denton (18), SS Allen Cordoba (25)