Devil Rays Minor League Baseball Blog

The Biscuits snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they bested Huntsville in a winner take all game five for the Southern League championship.  Down to their final two outs. Sergio Pedroza belted a huge three run homer in the top of the ninth to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win.  Chris Nowak went four for four with a run and Reid Brignac doubled and scored.

All three runs that Richard De Los Santos gave up were unearned, which would have made the loss particularly difficult.  Brian Henderson picked up the win with a shutout eighth and he struck out two of three batters he faced.

The Biscuits failed to win game four and lock up the Southern League championship so today we’ll have a winner take all game five.  The Biscuits had their share of hits with eight but they could push just one of those across the plate.  Fernando Perez singled, drew two walks and he scored that lone run.

Mike Prochaska took the loss although he was hardly horrible.  He gave up three runs on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts in seven solid frames.

The Devil Rays had two chances to win the Governers Cup today and they could pull of a win in either game.  Game one saw Richmond win 6-2 and all four Bulls pitchers that were used in the game gave up runs.  Justin Ruggiano belted a solo homerun and Evan Longoria went two for four with a double and a run.

The second game then turned into a winner take all one for the championship and that one was a 7-2 defeat.  Mitch Talbot was hammered for five runs in 2 1/3 innings and all the Bulls could manage was six hits.  Ruggiano hit his second homer of the day with a solo shot and Michel Hernandez went two for four with a double.

The Biscuits won a huge game three as they took a two games to one lead in their best of five game series with Huntsville. It was Christopher Mason who got it done on the mound with six shutout innings.  He gave up eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts in the win.  Equally as impressive was Evan Meek, who struck out six in three innings of relief.

Chris Nowak went two for four with a solo homer.  Fernando Perez went one for five but he drove in two runs.

The Catfish needed just three games to dispatch West Virginia and once again it was the pitching that got it done.  Jeremy Hellickson threw three shutout frames in his start and then Wilton Noel picked up the win with three shutout frames of his own.  In total, five pitchers held the heavy hitting Power to four hits in the combined shutout.

Ryan Royster was the hitting star with a double and a three run homer.  John Matulia singled, doubled and scored twice while both Cesar Suarez and Matthew Fields both went yard in the 6-0 win.

Jacob McGee gave the Biscuits a solid effort and the end result was their five game series is now tied at 1-1.  He gave up one run on six hits with six strikeouts in six solid frames.

Both Biscuits runs were scored on solo homeruns.  Both John Jaso and Chris Nowak went yard in the game and both had two hits.

Jae Seo pitched the Bulls to within one game of the Governor’s Cup in a 3-2 game three win.  He gave up just two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in seven innings.

Chris Richard went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.  Michel Hernandez went one for three and he drove in three runs.

Jeff Niemann picked up his second win of the post season as the Bulls evened up their best of five game series for the Governor’s Cup.  Niemann gave up just one run on six hits with nine strikeouts in eight solid innings.

Michael Hernandez went three for four with two RBIs and a run in the 5-1 win.  Evan Longoria went two for four with a double, two RBIs and a run.

The Biscuits lost an ugly 8-4 game at the hands of Huntsville as they kicked off their Southern League championship series.  Wade Davis was tagged for four runs in 4 1/3 innings while Richard De Los Santos gave up a run to take the loss.

Chris Nowak had the big hit for the Biscuits with a three run homer.  Gabriel Martinez also went yard with a solo homer.

The Catfish took care of West Virginia 5-2 and they’re now one win away from taking the SALY championship.  Once again, it was pitching that reigned supreme.  Will Kline gave up one run in three in his start and Jeremy Hall gave up one run in 4 1/3 innings of relief to pick up the win.

Quinn Stewart singled and drove in a team high three runs in the game.  Maiko Loyola led off the game with a solo homerun to put the Catfish on the board.

The Bulls dropped game one in their quest for the Governor’s Cup in a tough 4-2 loss to Richmond.  J.P. Howell was cruising along until he got into trouble in the seventh inning in which he gave up three runs.

Chris Richard went two for four with an RBI.  Jason Pridie singled twice and he drove in a run.

Columbus took a 1-0 lead in their championship series with West Virginia with a solid 5-2 win behind the arm of Heath Rollins. He gave up just two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six solid frames.

John Matulia doubled and drove in two runs in the win.  Quinn Stewart went three for four with a triple and he scored two runs.

The Biscuits locked up their spot in the Southern League championship with a 12-5 blowout win over Mississippi to take the series 3-1.  Reid Brignac went three for three with two walks, three RBIs and two runs.  Erold Andrus went three for five with a homerun, three RBIs and two runs while Josh Asanovich went two for three with two walks and three runs.

Mike Prochaska picked up the win with a decent enough start.  He gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  The Biscuits next opponent isn’t certain yet as Tennessee and Huntsville’s series went to five games and the deciding game will be played tomorrow.

The Biscuits took a two games to one lead over the Braves as they won a dramatic eleven inning game 6-5.  The Biscuits came back from a 5-2 deficit and they tied it in the seven inning.  Then Josh Arhart singled home Brooks Badeaux in the bottom of the eleventh to win it.  Gabriel Martinez had a nice day at the plate.  He went three for four with a two run homer.

Christopher Mason was roughed up for five runs in four innings but the pen really pitkced him up.  Four relievers combined to hold the Braves scoreless in seven innings of work.

The Biscuits lost game of their series as they were blown out by the Braves.  Three different pitchers gave up runs and it was Brian Henderson who took the loss.  He gave up two runs without getting a hitter out.

Sergio Pedroza provided most of the offense with a two run homer.  Erold Andrus went two for three with a double and a run.

The Bulls swept the Hens in a dramatic, ninth inning win to move on to the Governor’s Cup finals.  With the scored tied 2-2, the Bulls tagged Hens reliever Aquilino Lopez for three runs to win it.  Jon Weber had the game winner with a solo shot and then Evan Longoria added two runs with a two run shot

Jae Seo threw a nice start and he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings.  Chad Orvella picked up the win with a shutout eighth inning.

The Catfish manhandled Augusta again and they earned a berth in the SALY Final with a 7-1 win.  Maiko Loyola went three for five with a homerun and two RBIs while Quinn Stewart doubled, tripled, drove in two and scored a run.

Jeremy Hellickson picked up the win with a nice start.  He gave up one run on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings.

The Biscuits beat the Braves 6-5 and it was Reid Brignac who singled home the go ahead run in the top of the ninth.  Brignac finished the game with two hits and three RBIs and Josh Asanovich doubled, hit a solo homer and scored three times.

Evan Meek picked up the win with a shutout eighth inning.  Tim Corcoran was very impressive in the ninth inning.  He did give up a hit, but he struck out the side.

The Bulls once again turned on the offense and they’re now within one win of making it to the Governor’s Cup finals with a 9-5 win over the Hens.  Justin Ruggiano once again had a big day at the plate. He was a perfect three for three with two walks, two runs and two RBIs.  Chris Richard went three for five with a double and two RBIs.

Jeff Niemann had a solid start and he picked up the win.  He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in five frames.

The Bulls took a 1-0 lead in their series with the two time IL champ Mud Hens and it was Justin Ruggiano who led things at the plate.  He went three for five with two homeruns and two RBIs in the 11-8 win.  Eliot Johnson went three for four and he came a single short of hitting for the cycle while Wes Bankston went three for four with a double, a solo homerun and two runs.

J.P. Howell was hammered for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings but the hitters really picked him up in this one.  Jeff Ridgeway picked up the win despite getting just one hitter out.

The Catfish won their first playoff game as they ran up the score on Augusta 11-2.  Nevin Ashley went two for four with a homerun and three RBIs.  Quinn Stewart went two for four with a double, a homerun, two RBIs and two runs.  Maiko Loyola had a team high three hits and he scored twice.

Heath Rollins had a solid start and he picked up the win.  He gave up one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Vero Beach lost to Lakeland 7-6 but it wasn’t because of the efforts of James Hall.  The leftfielder went three for four with a double, a homerun, two RBIs and three runs.  Neil Walton went two for four with a double and an RBI.

Kevin Lynn took the loss when he gave up an unearned run in the ninth inning.  The loss dropped his record to 1-5 on the season.

Gabriel Martinez had a big day at the plate and despite picking up just one hit, he drove in four runs in the Biscuits 7-4 win.  That lone hit was his twelth homerun of the season and Reid Brignac went one for three with two walks and three runs.

Tim Corcoran improved to 1-1 on the season with the win.  He didn’t give up a base runner and he struck out two in two shutout innings.

The Bulls lost to the Hens 4-0 and Durham had almost as many errors (3) as they did hits (4).  Justin Ruggiano was the only Durham hitter with two hits in the loss.

Mike Prochaska fell to 1-1 on the season.  He gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and six walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

Princeton made it five straight losses as the were shutout on six hits.  All six hits were singles and no Princeton hitter had more then one single.

Tyree Hayes fell to 3-5 with a tough loss.  He gave up six runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in five innings.

Stephan Vogt had a big day at the plate in the Renegades 6-5 win over Lowell.  He went three for four with a homerun, four RBIs and two runs.  Henry Wrigley singled and he drove in two runs.

Jesse Darcy picked up the win with a decent start.  He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five innings.

Just about everyone was a hitting star in the Catfish’s 15-9 win over Greensboro but Ryan Royster was a notch above the rest.  He brought his season homerun total up to 23 with two long balls and he drove in six runs in the win.  Cesar Suarez went three for six with a double, three RBIs and two runs.

Jeremy Hellickson improved to 11-2 with the win.  He gave up six runs on six hits and one walk with ten strikeouts in five innings of work.

Princeton’s pitching staff was pummelled in a 15-1 loss to Elizabethton.  Tyree Hayes took the brunt of the damage and he fell to 1-2 on the season.  He gave up seven runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Jeff Carroll was the only hitter to reach base twice with a walk and a single.  Dustin Biell singled and drove in the only Princeton run.

The Catfish weren’t able to get much from their hitters in a 3-1 loss to the RiverDogs.  Three hits won’t cut it in most games and it didn’t in this one.  All three hits were singles and Nevin Ashley drove in the only run of the game for the Cat Fish.

Ryan Reid took the loss in his two innings of relief.  He gave up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and the loss dropped him to 4-4 on the season.

Vero Beach took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth only to see Greg Dupas give it up when he was taken yard with a three run shot.  It was disappointing because a solid start by Michael Wlodarczyk.  He gave up six hits and two walks with five strikouts in five shutout innings.

Aaron Sisk was the hitting star in the loss.  He went three for four with a double and a solo homerun.