Devil Rays Minor League Baseball Blog

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 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 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.

Joel Guzman had a nice day at the plate in the Bulls 7-3 win over Indianapolis.  He went two for four with a double and three RBIs.  Justin Ruggiano also had a nice game and he went three for four with an RBI and two runs.

Scott Dohmann picked up the win with two nice shutout innings of relief.  He gave up a single hit and he struck out one and the win pushes his record to 3-1 on the season.

The Bulls got plenty of offense in the Bulls 9-5 win over Ottawa and while just about everyone was a hitting star, Joel Guzman had a particularly good day at the plate.  He went three for five with two runs and an RBI.  Joshua Johnson had an idential line to Guzman and Justin Ruggiano went three for five with two douboes, one run and one RBI.

Jason Hammel picked up the win despite a mediocre start.  He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five innings.

Jeff Niemann dropped to 4-4 on the season with a rough start in the Bulls 10-2 loss to the Bats.  He gave up six runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts in just 4 1/3 innings.

Both of the Bulls two runs scored on solo homeruns.  Jorge Velandia and Justin Ruggiano both went yard in the loss.

Justin Ruggiano and Jonny Gomes hit back to back homers and then later in the third inning, Dustan Mohr homered to make it a four run third inning in the Bulls 4-3 win over the Bats.  Ruggiano’s homer was a two run shot and he wasl also the only Bull with two hits in the game.

Ruddy Lugo improved to 2-0 on the season with 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief.  He gave up two hits and he walked one.

Wes Bankston hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the tenth inning to win it for the Bulls.  He finished the game two for five with the homerun and two RBIs.  Justin Ruggiano went two for four with a run.

Mitch Talbot had a nice start but he didn’t get the win.  He gave up three runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in six innings.  Ruddy Lugo picked up the win with a shutout tenth inning.

Bulls’ pitchers held Rochester to just two hits in a 1-0 win.  Mitch Talbot picked up the win with an excellent start.  He gave up two hits and two walks with five strikeouts in eight shutout innings.

Justin Ruggiano hit a solo homerun for the only run of the game.  It was also the only extra base hit for the Bulls.

The Bulls scored four runs in the top of the fourteenth inning to beat Rochester 10-6.  Joel Guzman provided a bunch of the offense and he went two for six with a double, a homerun and four RBIs.  Justin Ruggiano went two for six with a double, a homerun and three runs scored.

Steve Andrade three three shutout innings and he picked up the win.  J.P. Howell had a nice start and he threw five shutout innings.

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.

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.

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 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.