Durham 5, Gwinnett 3. Adam Kennedy hit a no out 2-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 13th. He was 3-5…Ray Sadler had tied the game earlier with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th…Mitch Talbot made his second start and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. He struck out 3…Dewon Day struck out 2 in 2.2 scoreless innings…Reid Brignac and Justin Ruggiano were both 0-5 with a strike out…Matt Joyce was 0-4 with 3 strike outs and a walk as the right fielder. That included a strike out in one at bat against one lefty reliever.
Chattanooga 10, Montgomery 2. Another rough outing for newcomer Aneury Rodriguez who gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 6 walks in just 2.2 innings. He struck out 1…Desmond Jennings had a triple and 2 walks in 4 plate appearances. He also stole 3 bases, including home, yes, home…The rest of the lineup managed one hit.
St. Lucie 5, Charlotte 2. Alex Cobb allowed 2 unearned runs in 5.2 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 1…Matt Fields was 1-4 with a double.
Bowling Green 6, West Virginia 5. Big night for Matt Moore who struck out 6 in 5 shutout innings. He allowed only 1 hit, a leadoff double, and 2 walks…Jake Jefferies was 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
Jason Isringhausen has accepted a minor league assignment after all. He will first join Montgomery this weekend and then at some point will pitch with Durham before a final decision is made. [St. Pete Times]
The Hardball Times gave each farm system a dollar value. The Rays are fifth at $180.82 million. [The Hardball Times]
This gameday open thread will have two parts and it is all user-generated…
Up until first pitch, use the comments section to predict who you think will be the Sunburst Player of the Game. (be sure to use a valid email address while leaving the comment). The commenter that correctly predicts who we will name the Sunburst Player of the Game the most times prior to the all-star game, will win two tickets to a second-half game. Runners-up get their choice of a t-shirt. [Click HERE for rules]
Once the game starts, the GBT open thread will be your thoughts during the game of what you think are The Good, The Bad and/or The Telling moments of the game.
Two nights ago, BJ Upton, made a sick over the shoulder catch up against the outfield wall (video below). A play so amazing, we still aren’t sure how the ball ended up in his glove. Well, Stuart Sternberg was on hand at The Trop and was holding court with a group of reporters when the play was made. Below is the video of Stu’s reaction to the play.
Clearly this was recorded by one of the reporters. So our question is: Which of the local beat writers actually took the time to upload this to YouTube anonymously? Our money is on Joe Smith of the St. Pete Times. No way that name is real.
And if you haven’t seen the play, or just want to see it like 47 more times, fast forward to #3 of SportsCenter’s top plays. Really? Only #3? We demand a recount.
Time to bring back the GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
click above image for boxscore
THE GOOD: No no-no. Well there is that…Matt Garza. After the first 3 batters reached base, The Garza Complex settled down and retired 17 of the next 19 batters.
THE BAD: Strikeouts-to-walks. As in the Rays struck out 12 times and walked only once. BJ Upton, Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro combined to go 1-11 with 9 Ks. Ouch. That’s embarrassing just typing it. And let’s not forget Pat Burrell. Sure his sac fly in the 7th tied the game, but with first and third with no outs and a 3-0 count, Burrell needs to do better with a 3-0 pitch than a lazy flyball…An almost no-no. No hits until the 7th inning for a team that had 46 kazillion in the two previous games. And on the night they received their AL championship rings. The Yankees needed a strong performance from their starting pitcher and the Rays gave it to them.
THE TELLING: Last night during the broadcast, when asked which fielder he would turn to if needed to pitch an inning, Joe Maddon answered Willy Aybar. Strange (Thanks Brian)…Last night’s game was the Rays 12th straight sell out, a streak that will end today.
SUNBURST PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt Garza. Giving up 2 runs in 7 innings is not the best night ever, but against the Yankees it is pretty darned good, and it is not like the offense did anything last night.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
Evan Longoria is going to miss the next 2 games to be back in California for a family matter. So adjust you Sunburst PoG predictions accordingly. [MLB]
Thanks to those that reminded us that the Scott Kazmir countdown in the sidebar was behind the times. It is now updated and Kid K stands one win short of his first milestone.
Rays the Stakes wants to know why we have to put up with Jason Isringhausen’s mouth. [Rays the Stakes]
Joe Maddon said Ben Zobrist has earned his share of playing time in right field. Maddon would not say that Zobrist is taking Gabe Gross’ job…Does tham mean that right field is now a triploon? [St. Pete Times]
The Rays received their AL championship rings last night. [St. Pete Times]
Gary Shelton writes about how Matt Garza could have easily imploded in the first inning, but his new sense of self-control kept him and the team in the game. [St. Pete Times]
Gabe Kapler struck out against Nick Swisher. Somehow he found a silver lining. He can now answer the question: What is your most embarrassing moment? [The Heater]
Some small business owners near the Trop are not at all happy about the Rays new found success. [St. Pete Times]
Durham 1, Gwinnett 0. Bulls pitchers pitched their second straight 4-hit shutout and raised their consecutive scoreless innings streak to 23. Last night, Jason Cromer shutout Gwinnett for 5 innings on 3 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 3…Chad Orvella struck out 4 in 2 scoreless innings…Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a double and the only RBI…Matt Joyce was 0-3 as the DH in his first minor league game including a groundout against a left-handed relief pitcher.
Montgomery 9, Chattanooga 1.Jeremy Hellickson pitched 5.2 scoreless innings and hasn’t allowed a run in 10.2 innings this season. He struck out 6 and gave up 3 hits and 2 walks…Rhyne Hughes homered twice and drove in 4…Desmond Jennings was 3-5 with a double.
Charlotte 4, St. Lucie 1. Darin Downs struck out 8 in 5 innings and allowed only 1 run in 5 innings…Matt Fields homered for the second straight game.
West Virginia 5, Bowling Green 3. Michael Jarman gave up 1 run in 4 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 2…Tim Beckham was 0-4 with a walk and scored a run.
Notes from Down on the Farm…
The Triangle Offense is a new blog that is covering the Durham Bulls. If you are interested in keeping up with what is going on in the minors, it comes highly recommended. [Triangle Offense]
