Rays prospects and minor leagues: McCarthy homers in breakout game

Joe McCarthy looks to get hot as the regular season winds down.

Since returning from his injury, Joe McCarthy started 1-for-27, counting his rehab assignment with the GCL Rays and Charlotte as well as his activation by Durham. Saturday, he had a couple extra-base hits. I’d have to imagine he’s receiving strong consideration for an Arizona Fall League assignment because of all the time he missed.

If you missed Brendan McKay in Clearwater Saturday, you’re in the same boat as everyone else since the game was postponed. He’s again scheduled to pitch at noon Sunday.

Triple-A Durham Bulls (72-58)

Durham’s three solo home runs weren’t enough in a 10-inning, 4-3 loss to Norfolk. Joe McCarthy and Austin Meadows went back-to-back in the first inning, and Nick Ciuffo hit his fourth of the season to give the Bulls a 3-0 lead. However, they only had four hits the rest of the game. Andrew Moore was charged with three unearned runs in five innings.

CF Joe McCarthy: 2-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
DH Austin Meadows: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
3B Christian Arroyo: 2-for-4, 1 K
1B Nate Lowe: 1-for-4, 2 K
C Nick Ciuffo: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K

RHP Andrew Moore: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Gibaut: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 K

Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (36-26)

Montgomery held on for a 6-5 win over Tennessee. Nick Solak hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to give the Biscuits a 2-1 lead, and they went up 6-1 with a run in the fourth and three in the fifth. In eight impressive innings, Brock Burke struck out 11 and allowed just one run, and the Smokies were happy to see him depart. They scored four in the ninth and got the tying run to third base before Yoel Espinal finally ended the inning.

SS Lucius Fox: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
2B Nick Solak: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K
RF Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-4, 1 R, 1 K
1B Dalton Kelly: 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP
C David Rodriguez: 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 BB

LHP Brock Burke: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K

Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (35-24)

Charlotte’s game was postponed.

Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (38-24)

Moises Gomez and a strong effort from two pitchers led Bowling Green to a 7-1 win over Lake County. Gomez’s two-run homer headlined the Hot Rods’ five-run third inning, and Alex Valverde only allowed a run in five innings. In relief, Paul Campbell struck out three in four no-hit innings.

DH Ronaldo Hernandez: 2-for-4, 2 R
1B Jim Haley: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB
LF Moises Gomez: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 K
SS Zach Rutherford: 3-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

RHP Alex Valverde: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Paul Campbell: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (39-27)

Marvin Malone’s 10th-inning walk-off home run lifted Hudson Valley to a 7-6 win over Tri-City. The ValleyCats tied the game at four in the fourth and scored twice in the top of the 10th, but with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Malone’s third home run of the season won the game. Starter Cristopher Sanchez allowed four runs in four innings, but Alan Strong struck out seven in four frames out of the bullpen.

SS Ford Proctor: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB
1B Jacson McGowan: 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K
RF Marvin Malone: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 HBP

LHP Cristopher Sanchez: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
RHP Alan Strong: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Rookie Princeton Rays (40-22)

Princeton couldn’t slow down Danville in a 14-7 loss. Jake Palomaki’s leadoff home run helped Princeton get off to a 2-0 lead, and it also held a 4-3 lead through five innings. However, Danville scored 11 runs over the final four innings to run away with the game. Luis Moncada allowed three runs — one earned — in five innings.

SS Wander Franco: 0-for-5, 1 K
2B Jake Palomaki: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
CF Grant Witherspoon: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
1B Vincent Byrd: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 K

LHP Luis Moncada: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 6 K

Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (33-23)

The GCL Rays ended their season with a 5-1 win over the GCL Orioles. They only needed one hit to score three runs in the fifth thanks to two walks, a wild pitch, three steals, and a balk. They scored two more in the seventh with just one hit. Starter Bryan Herrera was charged with an unearned run in three innings.

SS Jelfry Marte: 0-for-2, 1 K

RHP Bryan Herrera: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
LHP Stanly Sabino: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

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Sunday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com)

Durham @ Norfolk 4:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
TBA vs. John Means (6-4, 3.35)

Montgomery vs. Tennessee 6:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)
Sam McWilliams (4-7, 5.38) vs. Thomas Hatch (8-5, 3.65)

Charlotte @ Clearwater 12 p.m. ET (radio stream) DOUBLEHEADER
Brendan McKay (3-2, 3.30) vs. Mauricio Llovera (6-7, 3.92)
TBA vs. TBA

Both games will be seven innings.

Bowling Green vs. Lake County 3:05 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. Felix Tati (1-4, 4.50)

Hudson Valley vs. Staten Island 5:05 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. Matt Sauer (2-5, 4.53)

Princeton vs. Danville 5 p.m. ET (radio stream)
TBA vs. TBA

*Listed as TBA on milb.com

Scouting the opposition

Norfolk Tides (Baltimore)
68-63 (2nd in IL South)
Offense: 557 R (T-4th) .704 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.90 ERA (9th) 1.37 WHIP (12th)
Top-30 prospects: C Chance Sisco (3), OF DJ Stewart (16), RHP Jimmy Yacabonis (23), IF Steve Wilkerson (30), C Armando Araiza, OF Joey Rickard

Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)
28-32 (4th in SL North)
Offense: 529 R (7th) .686 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.85 ERA (4th) 1.28 WHIP (3rd)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Oscar De La Cruz (6), RHP Thomas Hatch (8), RHP Keegan Thompson (14), LHP Justin Steele (18), OF Charcer Burks (24), RHP Michael Rucker (26), RHP Jake Stinnett (30)

Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia)
39-21 (1st in FSL North)
Offense: 545 R (7th) .700 OPS (6th)
Pitching: 3.80 ERA (8th) 1.25 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Sixto Sanchez (2), RHP Adonis Medina (4), OF Mickey Moniak (9), SS Arquimedes Gamboa (19), 2B Daniel Brito (20), RHP JD Hammer (26), RHP Mauricio Llovera (30)

Lake County Captains (Cleveland)
25-36 (7th in MWL East)
Offense: 511 R (14th) .688 OPS (9th)
Pitching: 4.07 ERA (12th) 1.33 WHIP (9th)
Top-30 prospects: OF Will Benson (10), OF Oscar Gonzalez (20), RHP Luis Oviedo (22), LHP Brady Aiken (28)

Staten Island Yankees
34-30 (3rd in NYPL Stedler)
Offense: 222 R (13th) .618 OPS (13th)
Pitching: 2.41 ERA (1st) 1.12 WHIP (1st)
Top-30 prospects: RHP Matt Sauer (11), RHP Clarke Schmidt (14), RHP Juan De Paula (21), C Josh Breaux

Danville Braves
32-32
Offense: 282 R (9th) .694 OPS (8th)
Pitching: 3.84 ERA (2nd) 1.38 WHIP (2nd)
Top-30 prospects: None

Daily news and links

In The Oklahoman, Jacob Unruh The story of pitcher-turned-hitter-turned-pitcher Stetson Allie.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a minor league team pay tribute to its old identity in another city in another league: