Triple-A Durham Bulls (87-53, 1st place) – lost to Gwinnett 7-6

• Aneury Rodriguez gave up five hits and five runs over 5 2/3 innings.
• RJ Swindle gave up the 7th and decisive run in the seventh to take the loss.  He falls to 2-4 on the season.
• Chris Richard had a triple in three at bats and drove in two to lead the Bulls.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (32-33 / 68-65, 3rd place) – beat Huntsville 6-3

• Starter Paul Phillips pitched well, allowing just one run on threee hits over five innings.
• Dane De La Rosa got the win and improves to 9-2 on the season despite allowing two inherited baserunners to score to tie the game.
• Henry Wrigley hit his eighth home run for the Biscuits and was 2 for 5 at the plate.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (32-33/ 71-56) – beat Jupiter 2-1 in 12 innings

• Tim Beckham singled in Tyler Bortnick in the top of the 12th with what would be the winning run.
• The hit was Beckham’s only hit of the night in five plate appearances.
• Frank De Los Santos started and allowed just one run on three hits over six innings.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (27-38 / 57-74) – beat Dayton 5-1

• Kyle Lobstein pitched six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and three walks to move his record to 9-8 on the season.
• Julio Cedeno was 4 for 5 with a double for the Hot Rods.
• Ty Morrison scored two runs and stole his 56th base.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (37-36, 2nd place) - swept Staten Island 2-1 and 15-1

• In the first game, Zach Rosscup improved to 3-1, allowing just one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
• The Renegades had only three hits in the game.
• In the nightcap, Enny Romero moved up from Princeton to allow just one run and one hit over five innings to get the win.  He struck out four but walked five.
• Scott Lawson and Nicholas Schwaner each drove in four runs while Mayo Acosta drove home three to lead the Renegades.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (33-35) - season over

• The Princeton Rays finished the season two games under .500 and in 4th place in the Appalachian League’s East division.
• Kevin Kiermaier led the P-Rays offense, finishing the season with a .303/.380/.431 stat line.
• Enny Romero and Braulio Lara will be pitchers to watch coming from Princeton.  Lara had six wins and an ERA of 2.18.  Romero won four, but finished the season with a 1.95 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – Beaten by the GCL Phillies 10-4 for the CGL Championship.

• I still say the Rays should have thrown Josh Sale and Drew Vettleson into the lineup for the deciding game. 
• The GCL Rays had four hits and three errors.  Second best in the Gulf Coast League.  Still, reasons to be optimistic about the Rays minor league system.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (87-52, 1st place) – beat Charlotte 4-3

• The Bulls scored four runs in the bottom-half of the 8th to come from behind and win. 
• After the first two batters grounded out to start the 8th, the next seven batters reached base with five hits and two walks to push home the runs.
• Elliot Johnson and Angel Chavez were 2 for 4 for the Bulls.
• Starter Bobby Livingston allowed just two runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (32-33 / 68-65, 3rd place) – lost to Huntsville 10-4

• Starter Josh Satow was hit for four runs on six hits over three innings as his record falls to 1-4 with an ERA of 6.70.
• Rashad Eldridge was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI for the Biscuits.
• Familiar face and ex-Biscuit Chris Nowak hit his 12th home run for Huntsville.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (31-33/ 70-56) – shut out Jupiter 6-0

• Starter Joe Cruz pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 10.  His record improves to 13-6 on the season.
• Reid Fronk was 4 for 5 at the plate with an RBI and his 9th stolen base.
• Stephen Vogt, Tim Beckham and Greg Sexton added two hits each for the Stone Crabs.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (26-38 / 56-74) – beat Dayton 5-3

• Dustin Biell was 2 for 3 including his fourth home run to lead the Hot Rods.
• Mark Thomas added a 2 for 4 day with two RBI.
• LHP CJ Riefenhauser made first appearance for the Hot Rods after 11 relief appearances for Princeton.  He pitched four shutout innings, allowing just one hit.
• RHP Shane Minks followed, throwing three shutout innings in his first BG appearance as well. 

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (35-36, 2nd place) - lost to Staten Island 1-0

• Starter James Patterson saw his record even at 3-3 as he allowed just one run on three hits over six innings.
• But, the Renegades could manage only four hits in the game.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (33-35)

• The Princeton Rays finished the season two games under .500 and in 4th place in the Appalachian League’s East division.
• Kevin Kiermaier led the P-Rays offense, finishing the season with a .303/.380/.431 stat line.
• Enny Romero and Braulio Lara will be pitchers to watch coming from Princeton.  Lara had six wins and an ERA of 2.18.  Romero won four, but finished the season with a 1.95 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – Beaten by the GCL Phillies 6-3 to even the GCL Championship series at one game apiece.

• Ryan Brett was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI for the Rays.
• These two teams will play the decisive game 3 this afternoon at 12;00 noon in Clearwater.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (86-52, 1st place) – beat Charlotte 5-2

• The raid on the Bulls roster continues, with Desmond Jennings, Rocco Baldelli and Dioner Navarro heading to St. Pete.
• Despite the moves, the Bulls got five shutout innings from Brian Baker who improves to 9-5 on the season.
• Jake McGee pitched two more shutout innings, giving him 14 2/3 scoreless innings for Durham.  Time will tell if he’s added to the Rays’ roster after the IL playoffs.
• Chris Richard hit his 18th home run to lead the Bulls offense. 

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (32-32 / 68-64, 3rd place) – beat Huntsville 3-2

• Alex Cobb improved to 7-5 on the season, allowing just one run and two hits over six innings.
• Emeel Salem was 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Biscuits.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-33/ 69-56) – swept a doubleheader from Jupiter, 3-2 and 3-1

• Matt Moore struck out 11 over six innings and allowed just two unearned runs to improve his record to 6-11 on the season. 
• Zach Quate pitched a scoreless 7th to notch his 24th save.
• Reid Fronk drove in two to lead the Stone Crabs.
• In the second game, Jacob Thompson made his first start for the Stone Crabs, throwing five shutout innings while allowing just one hit and two walks.
• Jake Jefferies, Michael Sheridan and Greg Sexton each had two hits.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (25-38 / 55-74) – beaten by Fort Wayne 13-9

• The Hot Rods committed six errors, including three by 3B Julio Cedeno, leading to seven unearned runs.
• Yorman Mayora was the loser, allowing seven runs (five earned) on three hits and five walks over 2 2/3 innings.
• Burt Reynolds hit a grand slam home run in the eighth for Bowling Green.  The home run was his first since being promoted from Hudson Valley.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (35-35, 2nd place) - split with Staten Island, losing 5-2 and winning 3-0.

• Nicholas Schwaner provided all of the offense of game 1, hitting his 7th home run of the season in the first inning.
• In game 2, Devin Fuller pitched six shutout innings, allowing just two hits to improve to 2-3 on the season.
• Austin Hubbard closed it out for his 11th save.
• Brian Bryles was 2 for 3 with a triple for the Renegades.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (32-35) – swept doubleheader from Bluefied, 10-4 and 5-0

• In the first game, Jeff Malm homered while Todd Glaesmann and Scott Lawson each went 3 for 4 to lead the P-Rays.
• Justin Hall won his first game of the season in relief of Andrew Bellatti.  Hall allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits over 3 1/3 innings.
• In the nightcap, Victor Mateo pitched five shutout innings, limiting Bluefield to just two hits.  The win improves Mateo’s record to 2-5.
• Kevin Kiermaier was 2 for 4 with three RBI.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – Beat the GCL Phillies 4-1 to win game 1 of the the GCL Championship.

• Luke Bailey homered to lead the Rays to this win.  He finished the game 2 for 2 with three RBI.

 

Post-season honors are starting to pour in for the deep and plentiful minor league system of the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Durham Bulls have swept the main International League honors with Jeremy Hellickson taking the Pitcher of the Year honor, Dan Johnson getting the MVP award and Charlie Montoyo taking Manager of the Year.  To top it off, Elliot Johnson was named an All-Star as the league’s top utility man.

In the Florida State League, the Charlotte Stone Crabs also did well.  Four players were named post-season all-stars and manager Jim Morrison was named manager of the year.  Those honored as all-stars are pitchers Matt Moore, Joe Cruz and Zach Quate as well as catcher Stephen Vogt.

This probably isn’t the end of it.  But, it’s a great start.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (85-52, 1st place) – beaten by Charlotte 8-4

• Brian Shouse did nothing to improve his chances of a September call-up as he allowed three runs on two hits and two walks over 2/3 inning to take the loss.  His ERA now stands at 9.00 over seven appearances and nine innings.
• Justin Ruggiano was 2 for 4 with his 15th home run for the Bulls.
• Leslie Anderson was also 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (31-32 / 67-64, 3rd place) – the Biscuits have the night off

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-33/ 69-56) – lost to Bradenton 3-2

• Grant Balfour was better in his second rehab outing, throwing a perfect first inning.
• Brad Hawpe singled and walked twice in four plate appearances.  He is scheduled to join the Rays after tonight’s game.
• Greg Sexton was 3 for 4 with an RBI.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (25-37 / 55-73) – beat Fort Wayne 4-1

• Starter Merrill Kelly allowed one run on two hits over four innings.
• Relievers Jason McEachers, Alex Koronis and Scott Shuman combined for five shutout innings to secure the win.  Koronis improves to 8-4 on the season and Shuman recorded his 14th save.
• C Mark Thomas led the way at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (34-33, 2nd place) – beaten by Tri-City 5-4 in 14 innings

• Elias Otero had a big game, going 4 for 7, including his first home run of the season.
• Starter Miguel Sierra allowed three runs on six hits over six innings.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (30-35) – beaten by Elizabethton 7-2

• Starter Eliazer Suero was hit for six runs and seven hits over 2 2/3 innings as his record drops to 1-6 on the season.
• C Gerardo Olivares smacked his second home run of the season.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – Beat the GCL Marlins 1-0 in 10 innings to move on to the GCL Finals.

• The GCL Rays scored the games only run on a wild pitch in the 10th to move on to the finals.  They will play on Tuesday to begin a best-of-three series against the Phillies.
• Anyone else wish the Rays would suit up Josh Sale and Drew Vettleson for the finals?

Triple-A Durham Bulls (85-51, 1st place) – beat Charlotte 8-5

• Chris Richard had a big game, going 4-5 with his 17th home run and four RBI.
• Nevin Ashley, playing his second game in Durham since his promotion, homered.
• Justin Ruggiano was 2 for 3 with a double and three runs scored.
• Richard De Los Santos allowed just one run on three hits over five innings.
• Mike Ekstrom improved to 6-1 on the season despite allowing four runs on five hits over two innings of work.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (31-32 / 67-64, 3rd place) – beat West Tenn 10-1

• Drew Anderson drove in five runs, going 2 for 3 with his fifth home run of the season.
• John Matulia was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI.
• Alexander Torres struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits to improve to 11-6 on the season.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-32/ 69-55) – the Stone Crabs had Sunday off.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (24-37 / 54-73) – beat Fort Wayne 7-5

• Starter Albert Suarez got his first win of the season, allowing one run on three hits over five innings.
• Ty Morrison went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and his 51st stolen base.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (34-32, 2nd place) – beat Tri-City 5-4 in 12 innings

• Derek Dietrich singled in Chris Winder with the go-ahead run in the top of the 12, leading to the Renegades win.
• Steven Tinoco led the way, going 4 for 5 with a double and an RBI.
• Starter Nate Garcia allowed two runs on one hit and two walks over five innings.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (30-34) – beat Elizabethton 6-0

• Starter Braulio Lara allowed no runs, no hits and just one walk in his five innings of work to improve his record to 6-4.
• Cesar Guillen was 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – Rays were off today – play in playoffs on Tuesday.

• The GCL Rays concluded the regular season on Saturday atop the South division and will play the GCL Marlins on Tuesday in the playoffs.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (83-51, 1st place) – lost to Charlotte 3-1 in 11 innings

• The Bulls have followed a nine-game winning streak with a four-game losing streak as they score only one run despite 11 hits in this one.
• Starter Aneury Rodriguez went 6 1/3, allowing one run on four hits.
• Darin Downs was the loser, allowing two runs and two hits in the bottom of the 11th.  He falls to  6-2.
• Justin Ruggiano and Angel Chavez each had two hits for the Bulls.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (30-32 / 67-64, 3rd place) – beat West Tenn 6-3

• Jeremy Hall improves to 6-8 on the season, throwing six shutout innings, allowing just four hits.
• Jose Ruiz hit his first home run for the Biscuits and went 2 for 4 with three RBI.
• Matt Fields added a solo shot, his 12th of the season.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-32/ 69-55) – were swept in a doubleheader with Bradenton 6-0 and 10-1.

• Game one was a completion of Friday’s game which was suspended after 1/2 inning.
• Grant Balfour, making his first rehab appearance, struggled, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks over 2/3 inning.
• Newly-acquired Brad Hawpe was o-2 with a walk.
• In the second game, starter Chris Andujar was rocked for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings to take the loss.
• Hawpe was again 0-2 in this game.
• Stephen Vogt and Kyeong Kang had two hits each for the Stone Crabs.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (24-37 / 54-73) – lost to Fort Wayne, 3-2

• Starter Kyle Lobstein falls to 8-8 on the season, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks over four innings.
• Ty Morrison was 1 for 4 and stole his 50th base for the Hot Rods.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (33-32, 2nd place) – lost to Tri-City 2-1

• Starter Zach Rosscup lost for the first time of the season, falling to 2-1.  He allowed two unearned runs on three hits over four innings.
• Omar Bencomo followed with four shutout innings, allowing just three hits.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (30-34) – beat Elizabethton 4-1

• Starter Enny Romero improves to 4-1 with an impressive 1.95 ERA, as he pitched five shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out nine.
• Ruben Contreras was 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.
• Jeff Malm was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.

Rookie League GCL Rays (34-26) – beat the GCL Orioles 6-3

• The GCL Rays concluded the regular season atop the South division and will play the GCL Marlins on Tuesday in the playoffs.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (83-50, 1st place) – lost to Gwinnett 4-3

• Starter Bobby Livingston had a solid start, allowing just one run on five hits over six innings.
• Jake McGee continues to make a bid for a September call-up, throwing two shutout innings in relief, allowing no hits and striking out one.
• Winston Abreu allowed three runs and four hits over 2/3 innings to get the loss.
• Leslie Anderson slugged his second home run for the Bulls and 11th home run overall.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (28-32 / 63-60, 3rd place) – beat West Tenn 12-5

• Catchers Craig Albernaz (1) and Nevin Ashley hit homers to lead the Biscuits to this win.
• John Matulia added a 3 for 5 night at the plate with three RBI’s.
• Jose Ruiz was also 3 for 5 and had two RBI.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-30/ 69-53) – game with Bradenton suspended after playing 1/2 inning

• 2010 2nd round draft pick Jacob Thompson was set to make his first start for Charlotte.  We’ll see if he’s able to come back to pitch the game tomorrow for the Stone Crabs.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (24-36 / 54-72) – beat lake County 12-6

• The Hot Rods scored 12 runs on only eight hits.  But, they walked an amazing 16 times.
• Brett Nommensen drove in four runs with a 1 for 3 night including a double and three walks.
• Leadoff hitter Bennett Davis walked five times and scored three runs while officially going 0-1 at the plate.
• The winner was Aaron Dott, who improved to 3-3 while pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (33-31, 2nd place) – shut out Tri-City 3-0

• Starting pitcher James Patterson went six innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out six to earn his third win of the season.
• Nicholas Schwaner hit his sixth home run of the season.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (29-32) – beat Johnson City 9-8

• The P-Rays got two runs in the top-half of the ninth and held on to win 9-8 as a Bryan Fogle single plated the runs.
• Cesar Guillen hit his fourth home run of the season.

Rookie League GCL Rays (32-25) – beaten by the GCL Orioles 1-0

Triple-A Durham Bulls (83-49, 1st place) – lost to Gwinnett 11-4

• Starter Brian Baker was slammed for seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits over 4 1/3 innings. 
• Dale Thayer allowed six hits and four runs (one earned) in his 1 1/3 innings of relief.
• Leslie Anderson was 3 for 5 with a double.
• Desmond Jennings, Dioner Navarro and Fernando Perez all had to  hits each.
• Justin Ruggiano had a bad day, making three fielding errors in the game.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (28-32 / 63-60, 3rd place) – shut out West Tenn 2-0

• Josh Satow made the most of a rare start, allowing no runs and one hit over four innings.
• Heath Rollins got credit for the win as he pitched three scoreless innings, also allowing just one hit.  He’s 5-1 on the season.
• Mike Folli drove in both Biscuits runs.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (30-30/ 69-53) – swept a doubleheader with Jupiter 4-0 and 5-4

• Matt Moore had another good outing, pitching six shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out ten.  His record improves to 5-11.
• Tyler Bortnick, playing in just his second game since being promoted from Bowling Green, hit a home run.
• In game 2, Jeremy Hellickson made his first relief appearance for the Stone Crabs and it was one he’d rather forget.  He allowed four runs on four hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings.
• Isaias Velasquez was 2 for 2 with two runs scored.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (22-36 / 52-72) – lost to Lake County 4-0

• Yorman Mayora made the start for the Hot Rods, allowing one run on three hits over four innings.  But, with the shutout, his record falls to 1-1 on the season.
• Julio Cedeno was 2 for 4 at the plate.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (32-31, 2nd place) – beat Tri-City 6-3

• Mayo Acosto homered for the second straight night, his seventh of the season.
• Robby Price and Chris Winder had two hits each for the Renegades.
• Robert Dickmann improved to 3-1 as he threw 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing three hits.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (28-32) – beaten by Johnson City 6-1

• Starter Andrew Bellatti allowed four runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings to fall to 2-5 on the season.
• Kevin Kiermaier was 2 for 2 with an RBI and is now hitting .307 on the season.

Rookie League GCL Rays (32-24) – beaten by the GCL Red Sox 7-1

Triple-A Durham Bulls (83-48, 1st place) – lost to Norfolk 6-2

• Starter Ramon Ortiz allowed five runs on nine hits over six innings to take the loss for the Bulls.
• Chris Richard hit his 16th home run, a two-run shot.
• Elliot Johnson and Dioner Navarro had two hits each.

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (27-31 / 63-60, 4th place) – beaten by Huntsville 5-3

• Alex Cobb shook off an early exit from his last start to strike out 13 in six innings.  But, he allowed four runs on five hits to drop his record to 6-5.
• Rashad Eldridge was 3 for 4 at the plate for the Biscuits.

Single-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (28-30/ 67-53) – doubleheader with Jupiter wiped out due to rain.

Single-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (22-35 / 52-71) – lost to Lake County 3-1

• The Hot Rods struggled to just two hits on the night, one of which was Dustin Biell’s third home run of the season.
• Starter Wilking Rodriguez fell to 4-10 as he allowed two runs on five hits over five innings.

Short-season Hudson Valley Renegades (31-31, 3rd place) – beat Tri-City 10-3

• Nicholas Schwaner led the way, going 4 for 5 with a triple and five RBI. 
• Mayo Acosto was 2 for 5, including his sixth home run of the season.
• Starter Miguel Sierra improved his record to 3-4, allowing two unearned runs on three hits over six innings.

Rookie League Princeton Rays (28-32) – beaten by Johnson City 6-3

• Todd Glaesmann had a pair of doubles in four at-bats, driving in one run.
• Kyle Holloway and Brian Harris each hit their first home runs of the season for the P-Rays.
• Starter Eliazer Suero allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings.

Rookie League GCL Rays (32-24) – beat the GCL Red Sox 7-3