Devil Rays Minor League Baseball Blog

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.

Andy Sonnanstine had a very nice start this afternoon in his win over Charlotte.  He gave up just a single run on seven hits and two walks with eleven strikeouts in seven solid innings.

Raul Casanova drove in three runs in the 7-2 win.  Wes Bankston went three for four with an RBI and two runs.

The Bulls topped Charlotte 5-2 and most of the offense came on homeruns.  Elliot Johnson hit a two run shot and Joel Guzman hit a solo shot.

Jeff Niemann picked up the win with five decent innings.  He gave up two runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts and it was Niemann’s first win of the season.

The Bulls topped the Knights 5-2 and Justin Ruggiano led the way for the Bulls at the plate.  He went two for three with a triple, three RBI and a run.  Chris Richard also had a nice game and he went one for one with three walks, an RBI and two runs.

J.P. Howell picked up the win and while he gave up his share of hits, only two Knights crossed the plate.  It was his first win of the season.

Jason Hammel had a very nice start but it wasn’t good enough to pick up his second win.  He gave up just one run on two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.  Unfortunately, that one run was the only run for either side in the game.

No hitting stars in this one because the Bulls were shutout on four hits.  Even worse, the Bulls were struck out 14 times.

Mitch Talbot had a pretty tough start against the Clippers and he dropped to 1-3 on the season.  He gave up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts in just four innings.

Justin Ruggiano had a nice game and he went two for four with two RBIs in the 12-6 loss.  Chris Richard singled, walked three times and scored twice.

This game was pretty ugly.  The Bulls were held to just two hits in a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the Clippers.  Two singles aren’t going to cut it.

Even worse, a great start by Andy Sonnanstine went to waste.  He gave up just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

The Bulls came from behind to send on two different occasions to keep this game going but they finally lost it in the sixteenth 7-4.  Tim Corcoran took the loss when he gave up the three runs in the sixteenth and he dropped to 1-1.  Chad Orvella struck out four in three shutout innings and Jeff Niemann struck out eight and he gave up three runs in his start.

Joel Guzman was the hitting star.  He went two for five with a homerun and three RBIs.

J.P. Howell had a tough start today as he dropped to 0-3 on the season.  He gave up eight runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Elliot Johnson drove in one of the runs with his first homerun of the year.  Justin Ruggiano went two for four with a double in the 10-2 loss.

The Bulls pitching was spotty, but they got just enough offense to pick up the win over the Clippers.  The final was 9-8 but some late runs by Columbus turned this game into a tight one.  Joel Guzman and Shawn Riggans each hit three run.  Jorge Cantu also had a nice game with three hits and three runs.

Jason Hammel had a rough start and he gave up five runs on six hits and five walks with three strikeouts in four innings.  Tim Corcoran picked up the win with three shutout frames.

Down 5-0, the Bulls scored four unanswered runs in the final four frames to at least make it a close 5-4 loss.  Shawn Riggans hit a solo homerun and he finished with two hits while Matthew Maniscalco went two for four with a double, a run and an RBI.

Mitch Talbot was hit hard and he took the loss in his start.  He gave up five runs on nine hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Durham scored two runs in the top of the ninth to win a 5-4 game over the Clippers.  One of those runs came on a solo homerun by Raul Casanova, who went two for four with two runs.  Jorge Velandia went two for three with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

Chad Orvella picked up the win with two innings of relief.  He gave up a run and he struck out three.

The Bulls managed just two runs on five hits in their 5-3 loss to the Clippers.  Justin Ruggiano had the only extra base hit with a double and he scored one of the runs.

Jeff Niemann took the loss.  He gave up three runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings of work.

Durham managed just six hits in a shutout loss to the Mud Hens.  Catcher Shawn Riggans had three of those hits and he doubled twice.

J.P. Howell had a tough time in the 6-0 loss. He gave up all six runs and they came on six hits and four walks in just 5 2/3 innings.

Jason Hammel was very impressive in his start.  He picked up the win and gave up five hits and a walk with nine strikeouts in 6 2/3 shutout innings.

Chris Richard had a big day at the plate.  He went three for four with a double, a homerun and two runs.  Elliot Johnson drove in three runs and Wes Bankston hit a solo homerun.

Andy Sonnanstine was knocked by the Mud Hens in the Bulls 5-4 loss.  He gave up all five runs in his start and he gave up eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Justin Ruggiano and Raul Casanova both went yard with solo shots.  Ruggiano was the only Bull with two hits in the game.

Jeff Niemann threw five shutout innings in the Bulls 3-2 win over Pawtucket.  He gave up just three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Chris Richard hit a solo homerun in the win.  Raul Casanova went two for four with a double and an RBI.

Bulls pitchers gave up a ton of hits and ended up losing to Pawtucket 5-3.  J.P. Howell gave up two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in his start and Seth McClung was hit hard for three runs in one innings as he took the loss.

Joel Guzman drove in two runs and Chris Richard walked three times and scored a run.  The only player with two hits was Matthew Maniscalco, who went two for three with a walk.

A pretty good start by Jason Hammel went to waste in the Bulls 2-1 loss.  He gave up just a single run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings of work.  Tony Peguero gave up the second run and he took the loss.

The lone Durham run came on a solo homerun by Chris Richard.  Jorge Velandia went two for three in the loss.

Mitch Talbot was unhittable in his six innings of work in the Bulls 5-0 win.  He walked two and struck out four in the win.  Steve Andrade gave up the only hit of the game but he struck out five in just two innings.

Dustan Mohr hit his second homerun of the season and Jeremy Owens provided the rest of the runs with a grand slam homerun.

Andy Sonnanstine got it done for the Bulls in their 6-2 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.  He gave up just a single run on two hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in an impressive outing.

Dustan Mohr and Chris Richard provided the bulk of the offense.  They each hit two run homeruns.

Wes Bankston had a huge day at the plate in the Bulls 9-5 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.  He went three for five with a double, a homerun, five RBIs and a run.  Second baseman Elliot Johnson had two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Jeff Niemann struck out seven in five innings but he didn’t pick up the decision because of five of the Bulls nine runs came in the eighth inning.  Scott Dohmann closed it out and he was credited with the win.

18-0.  There’s no other way to put this game other then that it was ugly.  J.P. Howell was shelled for six runs and Tony Peguero was tagged for eight runs in just 2/3 of an inning.  It’s going to take him a while to get that ERA down to a respectable level.  And there’s no hitting stars because the Bulls didn’t score a run and they picked up just four hits.

The Durham Bulls got an outstanding performance from starter Jason Hammel but the pen let the game slip away in the final frames.  Hammel threw five no-hit innings and he struck out five.  The no-hitter was carried through the eighth inning when Syracuse finally started scoring runs.

Jorge Cantu tripled while Chris Richard singled and drove in the lone Bulls run in the 2-1 loss.  In all, the Bulls were held to just three hits.