Rays prospects and minor leagues: McKay, McWilliams pitch Montgomery to win

Last season, Bowling Green led the Midwest League in scoring and OPS. The talented core that made up that team moved up to Charlotte this season, but they haven’t had quite as much success yet. The Stone Crabs have 30 runs in 13 games and a .570 OPS — well below the league average. Offense is down across the entire Florida State League though, and some of those players are too talented to continue struggling like this.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (3-8)

Durham erased a 6-3 deficit before falling to Norfolk, 7-6. The Bulls lead 3-0, but the Tides scored six straight, five of which were allowed by Andrew Moore in three innings. In the seventh, Jake Cronenworth’s two-run triple pulled them within one, and Nathan Lukes’ RBI single in the eighth tied the game. However, Cole Sulser allowed a walk-off single in the ninth.

CF Andrew Velazquez: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI (.865)
1B Nate Lowe: 1-for-5, 1 K (.937)
LF Nick Solak: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K (.851)
2B Christian Arroyo: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.785)

RHP Andrew Moore: 3 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 1 K (16.76)

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (7-4)

Brendan McKay pitched well in Montgomery’s 7-3 win over Mobile. He pitched just four innings, but he struck out seven and only gave up a run on three hits and two walks. In relief, Sam McWilliams made his return to the organization and pitched the final five innings. Dalton Kelly’s two-run homer in the four-run seventh helped add insurance.

SS Lucius Fox: 0-for-5, 3 K (.929)
CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K (1.106)
RF Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-4, 1 K, 1 HBP (.726)
1B Dalton Kelly: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.903)
2B Tristan Gray: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K (.751)
LF Robbie Tenerowicz: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SB (.643)
C Rene Pinto: 2-for-4, 1 BB (.618)

LHP Brendan McKay: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (4.15)
RHP Sam McWilliams: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (3.60)

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (3-10)

Charlotte’s woes continued in a 2-0 loss to Dunedin. In their seven-game losing streak, the Stone Crabs have scored just 11 runs. Jhonleider Salinas allowed both runs in three innings of work.

SS Vidal Brujan: 1-for-5, 1 2B, 1 K (.802)
LF Moises Gomez: 2-for-5, 2 K (.347)
C Ronaldo Hernandez: 1-for-4 (.300)
2B Tyler Frank: 1-for-3, 1 BB (.472)
CF Garrett Whitley: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.436)

RHP Jhonleider Salinas: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (6.75)

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (6-7)

Bowling Green didn’t get enough offense in a 4-2 loss to Lake County. The teams traded runs in the first inning, but the Captains went up by two in the third. In the fifth, Bryce Brown’s solo homer pulled the Hot Rods within one, and they got two more runners on base that inning. However, they didn’t cash in and only had one more hit over the final four innings. Alan Strong struck out eight and allowed three runs in six innings.

SS Wander Franco: 2-for-4, 2 SB, 1 CS (.712)
CF Bryce Brown: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.704)

RHP Alan Strong: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (2.45)

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Wednesday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com)

Durham @ Norfolk 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Luis Ortiz (0-1, 6.43)

Montgomery @ Mobile 7:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Arturo Reyes (2-0, 3.00) vs. Jeremy Beasley (0-1, 9.45)

Charlotte vs. Dunedin 1 p.m. ET (radio stream)
Tobias Myers (0-1, 6.48) vs. Justin Dillon (2-0, 3.09)

Bowling Green vs. Lake County 11:35 a.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA v. Juan Mota (0-1, 6.00)

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
5-8 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 35 R (14th) .576 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 4.95 ERA (10th) 1.46 WHIP (8th)
Top-30 prospects: 3B Ryan Mountcastle (3), OF Austin Hays (4), LHP Keegan Akin (6), RHP Luis Ortiz (13), OF DJ Stewart (15), RHP Branden Kline (22), LHP Josh Rogers (28)

Mobile BayBears (Angels)
4-7 (5th in SL South)
Offense: 23 R (8th) .565 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 4.28 ERA (10th) 1.31 WHIP (7th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Jo Adell (1), OF Brandon Marsh (3), 2B Jahmai Jones (5), LHP Patrick Sandoval (12), C Jack Kruger (17), RHP Jeremy Beasley (20)

Dunedin Blue Jays
9-4 (1st in FSL North)
Offense: 41 R (6th) .655 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 2.71 ERA (4th) 1.09 ERA (4th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Nate Pearson (6), OF Ryan Noda (14), OF Cal Stevenson (16), SS Logan Warmoth (25)

Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
8-4 (1st in MWL East)
Offense: 49 R (5th) .675 OPS (7th)
Pitching: 2.59 ERA (3rd) 1.26 WHIP (4th)
Top-30 prospects: SS Tyler Freeman (3), C Bo Naylor (4), RHP Luis Oviedo (8), OF Will Benson (21), OF Quentin Holmes (27)

Daily news and links

Over the weekend, Tulsa threw a 10-inning no-hitter and lost.