Down On The Farm: Justin Ruggiano And Reid Brignac Lead Teams To Playoff Wins

Durham 9, Toledo 5 (Durham leads 2-0). The Bulls scored 5 in the first 2 innings, and eventually had a 9-2 lead after 6 innings. Justin Ruggiano backed up his 2 home run performance in game 1 with a 3-3 night, reaching base 5 times and 2 RBI. Ellliot Johnson homered for the second straight game. Jeff Niemann struck out 7 in 5 innings, and managed to only allow 2 runs despite giving up 5 hits and 4 walks. Shawn Bleepin’ Camp and Brian Shackelford combined to get the last 7 outs without allowing a baserunner.

Montgomery 6, Mississippi 5 (Montgomery leads 1-0). Reid Brignac’s 2-out single in the top of the 9th broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Biscuits the early lead in their first-round series. Tim Corcoran gave up a 1-out double in the bottom of the 9th but struck out the side to pick up the save. Bragnac got the Biscuits started with a 2-run double in the top of the first as Montgomery jumped out to a 3-0 lead. John Jasowas 1-5 and drove in 2 runs. Wade Davis struck out 6 in 4 innings, but was touched for 5 runs.

Vermont 12, Hudson Valley 7. Catcher Mike McCormick hit his 8th home run and drove in 3, but the ‘Gades bullpen allowed 5 runs in the top of the 9th.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Sergio Pedroza and Jake McGee were named to the FSL post-season all-star team. Pedroza, who was acquired along with Joel Guzman from the Dodgers for Julio Lugo has been promoted to Montgomery and placed on their playoff roster. [Vero Beach Rays]

Down On The Farm: Three Minor League Affiliates Set To Begin Championship Runs

Durham 2, Charlotte 1. Mitch Talbot finished the regular season by picking up his 13th win. He went 6.2 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 1 run. Chad Orvella picked up his 20th save. Evan Longoria was 0-3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts. He finished the regular season hitting .269-5-19 in 31 AAA games. JP Howell led the IL with 145 strikeouts, while Mitch Talbot and Jeff Niemann were tied for the second most wins (12).

Montgomery 7, Jacksonville 3 (13 innings). The Biscuits head into the playoffs having won 15 of their final 16 regular season games to finish with the top mark in the SL at 81-59. Fernando Perez went 3-7 in the finale to finish the season with a .309 batting average, a .423 OBP and .908 OPS. John Jaso was second in the SL with a .316 average. Reid Brignac finished 2nd with 81 RBI. The Biscuits had three of the top four OPS marks with Evan Longoria leading the league at .930. Chris Mason led the league with 15 wins and was 4th with 136 strikeouts.

Vero Beach concluded their regular season on Sunday. After finishing 3rd in the division for the first half, the Rays fell to last place with a 25-44 second half record. Rhyne Hughes led the FSL with a .329 average. Sergio Pedroza was 2nd in the FSL with 22 home runs and both players were tied with the second best OPS (.907).

Columbus had their final seven games rained out. They will begin their best-of-3 first round playoff series on Wednesday against Augusta. Ryan Royster finished the regular season hitting .329-30-98 and has firmly established himself as one of the top hitting prospects in the Rays system. He was 4th in the SAL in hitting, tops in home runs, 2nd in RBI and lead the league with a .982 OPS. Desmond Jennings hit .315 with 45 steals in only 99 games, good for 4th in the SAL. Heath Rollinsled the league with 17 wins and was 2nd with 149 strikeouts.

Hudson Valley 10, Aberdeen 3.

Princeton concluded their regular season at 33-35, third in the AL East division. Michael Ross led the league with 36 stolen bases.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Chris Mason was named the top pitcher in the Southern League while Evan Longoria took home the honor as the league’s MVP. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Winning championships at the minor league level does not mean much when the parent club loses 90+ games every season, but the winning attitude must start some place and with the Montgomery Biscuits winning the Southern League championship in 2006, they are joined by Durham and Columbus in the playoffs this season. [TBO]
• The first round of the International League playoffs will begin on Wednesday with the Bulls facing Toledo. These two teams have won the last four IL titles. JP Howell will pitch the opening game, and will be followed by Jeff Niemann and Jae Seo. [Durham Bulls]
• The Devil Rays have announced their fall instructional league roster and it is a who’s who of the system’s top prospects, including David Price, Jake McGee and Ryan Royster. [Rays Digest]
• In their final regular season game, the Durham Bulls set a single-game attendance record (11,071) and broke the team’s single-season attendance mark (520,952). [OurSportsCentral]

Down On The Farm: Three Rays Farmhands Named To Post-Season All-Star Squads

Durham 5, Norfolk 2. Jae Seo allowed 1 run in 6 innings. He struck out 3 and walked none to pick up his 8th win. Evan Longoria was 1-4 with a strikeout. Jason Pridie was 1-5 with a double and 2 RBI. He is hitting .314.

Montgomery 9, Carolina 1 (game 1). Chris Mason picked up his 15th win, striking out 9 and walking none in 5 innings. He allowed 1 run on 7 hits. Chris Nowak was 3-3 with 2 doubles. Reid Brignac was 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. John Jaso was 3-4 and is now hitting .320.

Montgomery 2, Carolina 1 (game 1). Fernando Perez and Brooks Badeaux hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game. The Biscuits managed only 4 more hits the rest of the game.

Brooklyn 3, Hudson Valley 2 (game 1). Alex Cobb gave up 3 runs in 5 innings.

Brooklyn 4, Hudson Valey 0 (game 2). The ‘Gades were shutout on 1 hit.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM…

• Columbus and Princeton were postponed. Vero Beach had the night off.
• With six games remaining, the Biscuits have won 10 in a row and now own a 4-game lead in the SL south division. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• The remaining Montgomery Biscuits regular season games will be streamed live and archived through the Biscuits website. [Montgomery Biscuits]
• James Houser, suspended by baseball for testing positive for a banned substance, was originally told he could participate in the Arizona Fall League. MLB has reversed themselves and now say that he is ineligible. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Gabriel Martinez was named the hitter-of-the-week in the SL. [Stacy Long’s Riverwalk Talk]
• Justin Ruggiano was named by the International League to their post-season all-star team. [Durham Bulls]
• Sergio Pedroza, who was acquired along with Joel Guzman in the Julio Lugo deal, was named to the FSL post-season all-star team along with Jake McGee who is currently playing for AA Montgomery. [Vero Beach Devil Rays]