Rays prospects and minor leagues: Banda, De Leon pitch in Durham win

In consecutive outings since coming off the injured list, Biscuits lefty Matt Krook has four strikeouts in two perfect innings. His 3.93 ERA is the lowest it’s been all season. In the last four appearances in which he’s recorded an out, he hasn’t walked anyone and has thrown 65.1% of his pitches for strikes.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (56-38)

Anthony Banda resumed his rehab assignment with Durham in an 8-4 win over Norfolk. After allowing a home run with one out in the first inning, the lefty faced the minimum through the rest of his three innings of work. He was followed by Jose De Leon, who allowed a run in two innings. The Bulls scored twice in the first, twice in the third, and Michael Perez hit a three-run homer in the fourth.

CF Joe McCarthy: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 K (.783)
RF Jesus Sanchez: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 K (.989)
2B Kean Wong: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 K (.904)
C Michael Perez: 2-for-3, 3 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB (.882)

LHP Anthony Banda: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Jose De Leon: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (3.78)

Durham’s site offers this recap.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (15-9)

Montgomery’s pitching staff shut down Pensacola in a 4-0 win over the Blue Wahoos. Matt Krook opened with four strikeouts in two perfect innings, and Kenny Rosenberg followed with six solid innings. Jhonleider Salinas completed the shutout. Brett Sullivan’s solo homer in the fifth started the scoring, and the Biscuits added three in the sixth.

DH Vidal Brujan: 0-for-4, 2 K (.848)
SS Taylor Walls: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB (.660)
RF Josh Lowe: 0-for-4, 1 K
2B Lucius Fox: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS (.710)
LF Brett Sullivan: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI (.770)

LHP Matt Krook: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (3.93)
LHP Kenny Rosenberg: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K (2.82)

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (20-5)

Charlotte held on for a 4-3 win over Tampa. In the fifth, Zach Rutherford started the scoring with an RBI single, and Jim Haley followed with a two-run homer. Rutherford scored when Haley reached on an error two innings later, and that proved crucial when the Tarpons scored some runs late. Stephen Woods Jr. had another solid start, striking out five and allowing a run in five innings.

RF Moises Gomez: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.655)
LF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB (.728)
DH Jim Haley: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB (.741)
3B Zach Rutherford: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.533)

RHP Stephen Woods Jr.: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (2.03)

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (16-7)

Jordan Qsar and Osmy Gregorio homered in Bowling Green’s 6-4 win over Wisconsin in the resumption of their suspended game. Gregorio’s two-run home run in the seventh broke a 3-3 tie. Alan Strong allowed two runs and struck out six in six innings.

The Hot Rods rolled to a sweep with an 8-2 win in Game 2. Trailing 1-0 through half an inning, Bowling Green went ahead on Jonathan Aranda’s two-run homer, and Grant Witherspoon hit an RBI double. The Hot Rods scored four more times in the third to go up six. Easton McGee allowed two runs in six innings.

DH Chris Betts (1): 0-for-3, 1 HBP (.733)
3B Osmy Gregorio (1): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI (.598)
1B Connor Hollis (1): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB (.836)
2B Jonathan Aranda (1): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
2B Jonathan Aranda (2): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K (.896)
LF Jordan Qsar (1): 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.790)
CF Grant Witherspoon (2): 3-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI (.742)
C Erik Ostberg (2): 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 K, 1 HBP (.833)

RHP Alan Strong (1): 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (3.31)
RHP Easton McGee (2): 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (3.39)

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (17-12)

Hudson Valley earned a 5-2 win over Mahoning Valley. The teams traded runs in the first inning, and the Renegades went ahead for good in the sixth. Jacson McGowan doubled in his second run of the game, and Beau Brundage followed with an RBI single. Zack Trageton allowed a run in 5 ²⁄₃ innings.

DH Greg Jones: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB (.716)

RHP Zack Trageton: 5 ²⁄₃ IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (2.51)

Rookie Princeton Rays (12-13)

Princeton held on for a 9-4 win over Bluefield. The Rays were outhit, 15-14, but they led 9-0 before the Blue Jays scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Schnell started the scoring with a two-run double in the third, and Princeton scored three more times in the fourth. Diego Infante capped the Rays’ scoring with his ninth-inning homer, his fifth of the season. Matthew Peguero pitched five scoreless innings.

DH Nick Schnell: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 2 K (.809)
RF Diego Infante: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.812)
1B Jake Guenther: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 HBP (.739)
LF Gionti Turner: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K (.771)

RHP Matthew Peguero: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (4.09)

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (8-8)

The GCL Rays were off.

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

Durham @ Toledo 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Beau Burrows (0-3, 3.93)

Montgomery @ Pensacola 7:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

Charlotte is off.

Bowling Green vs. Wisconsin 1:30 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Adam Hill (6-6, 3.93)

Hudson Valley @ Mahoning Valley 7:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. Ethan Hankins (0-0, 1.25)

Princeton @ Bluefield 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

GCL Rays vs. GCL Twins 12 p.m.

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit)
42-51 (3rd in IL South)
Offense: 490 R (7th) .772 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 5.14 ERA (9th) 1.45 WHIP (7th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Daz Cameron (5), RHP Beau Burrows (6), SS Willi Castro (9), C Jake Rogers (13), RHP Kyle Funkhouser (16), IF Dawel Lugo (17), RHP Bryan Garcia (22), LHP Matt Hall (23), OF Jacob Robson (24), OF Danny Woodrow (25), LHP Ryan Carpenter

Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Minnesota)
11-13 (4th in SL South)
Offense: 377 R (3rd) .680 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.56 ERA (6th) 1.29 WHIP (6th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Alex Kirilloff (2), RHP Brusdal Graterol (3), RHP Griffin Jax (14), RHP Jorge Alcala (16), C Ben Rortvedt (22), OF Aaron Whitefield (27)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee)
13-10 (T-4th in MWL West)
Offense: 360 R (11th) .644 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.75 ERA (9th) 1.29 WHIP (8th)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Adam Hill (21), OF Je’Von Ward (26)

Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Cleveland)
14-16 (4th in NYPL Pinckney)
Offense: 108 R (T-7th) .681 OPS (5th)
Pitching: 4.72 ERA (14th) 1.46 WHIP (14th)
Top-30 prospects: OF George Valera (5), SS Brayan Rocchio (9), RHP Ethan Hankins (10), RHP Carlos Vargas (13), SS Raynel Delgado (23), OF Johnathan Rodriguez (29)

Bluefield Blue Jays
12-13 (T-2nd in AL East)
Offense: 139 R (1st) .739 OPS (2nd)
Pitching: 4.36 ERA (7th) 1.42 WHIP (9th)
Top-30 prospects: IF Miguel Hiraldo (10), IF Leonardo Jimenez (21)

GCL Twins
7-9 (T-4th in GCL South)
Offense: 66 R (13th) .631 OPS (14th)
Pitching: 3.13 ERA (4th) 1.20 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Landon Leach (25), IF Keoni Cavaco, RHP Matt Canterino

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