Durham 6, Indianapolis 5. Nathan Haynes singled home the tying run in the top of the 9th and then scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly by Jon Weber...Jeff Niemann struck out 6 and walked 6 in 4.2 innings, allowing 2 hits and 5 runs. He also hit a batter. The big blow was a bases loaded double in the second inning after Niemann had walked the bases loaded. Niemann has now walked 16 batters in his last 20.2 innings pitched...Chris Richard was 2-5 with a double and a home run. He drove in 3...John Jaso added his 3rd home run since being promoted from Montgomery...Fernando Perez stole his 39th base. He is 4th in the IL in steals...Dan Johnson was 2-5 and leads the IL with a .969 OPS and .422 OBP.

Jacksonville 7, Montgomery 3. James Houser made his first start in a month and was limited to 1.1 innings, walking 3 and giving up 1 hit and a run...Ryan Reid pitched 2 perfect innings of relief with 2 Ks...JT Hall hit a solo home run.

Jupiter 7, Vero Beach 5. Brandon Mann struck out 8 in 5 innings, but allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. He gave up 3 home runs...Hector Gimenez hit a 2-run home run for the D-Rays.

Columbus 3, Hagerstown 2 (13). Jesse Darcy struck out 5 and walked none in 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned). He is 12th in the SAL in ERA (3.12)...Henry Wrigley was 4-5 with 2 doubles and a walk, while Maiko Loyola finished 1-5 with a double, walk and his 41st stolen base. He is now 4th in the SAL in steals.

Hudson Valley 7, Oneonta 2.

Bristol 6, Princeton 1 (gm 1). Tim Beckham went 0-3 with a strikeout.

Bristol 15, Princeton 2 (gm 2). Tim Beckham went 0-3 with a walk.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• James Houser who missed the last month with minor knee surgery has been activated. [Biscuits' Batter]
  
• The Pirates were able to sign Pedro Alvarez to a minor league deal afterall, with a $6 million signing bonus, just short of Tim Beckham's deal for $6.15 million. [USA Today]
• Buster Posey, another player the Rays apparently considered with the top pick signed for $6.2 million. His deal was also a minor league deal...We could be wrong but the only draftee that we know of that received a major league deal was LHP Brian Matusz with the Orioles #4 pick. [San Francisco Chronicle]
  

Norfolk 5, Durham 4. Joel Guzman hit his 12th home run and finished 3-4. In his last 8 games, Guzman is now 13-32 with 6 home runs and 10 RBI...Mitch Talbot allowed 4 runs in 6.1 innings. Juan Salas pitched the final 2.1 innings but picked up the loss after allowing a 2-strike, 2-out solo home run in the 9th inning...Reid Brignac was 1-3, while Elliot Johnson and Mike DiFelice added 2 hits and an RBI apiece.

Montgomery 3, Chattanooga 1. Wade Davis picked up his 5th win with 5 strike outs and only 1 walk and 2 hits in 7 innings. He gave up 1 run. He retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced...Rashad Eldridge and Gabby Martinez were 2-4 each. Eldrige added his 10th stolen base and Martinez drove in his 31st RBI.

Vero Beach 3, St. Lucie 2. Ryan Morse struck out 5 and gave up 2 runs in 6 innings...Ryan Reid picked up his 8th save with 2 strikeouts in 1.1 innings. He now has 44 strike outs to only 3 walks....Vero Beach managed only 3 hits, but managed 3 runs for the win.

Asheville 2, Columbus 1. Alex Cobb gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk in 7 shutout innings, but was saddled with a no-decision as the bullpen could not hold the 1-0 lead. Cobb did not allow a baserunner until one out in the 5th when he hit a batter. The no-hitter was broken up with 2 outs in the 6th with an infield single.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• David Price will make his second professional start tonight for Vero Beach. He will be opposed by Pedro Martinez of the Mets, who is on a rehab assignment. [Biscuits Batter]
  
• Baseball-Intellect has started a video breakdown of the top prospects in the upcoming Rule 4 draft. Up first is lefty Brian Matusz. Not very likely to go to the Rays, as most mock drafts have him falling to the Orioles at #5. Our concern, and this report seems to confirm this, is whether Matusz would even be a first-rounder if he weren't a left-hander. Probably not. [Baseball-Intellect]
  

Columbus 11, Durham 8. Mike Prochaska was touched for 7 runs (6 earned) in only 4 innings...Reid Brignac and Fernando Perez were both 1-5.

Montgomery 10, Tennessee 5. Richard De los Santos picked up his 2nd win of the year with only 1 run allowed in 7 innings. He gave up 7 hits but did not walk a batter...The Biscuits clubbed a team-record 5 home runs, including Erold Andrus' 2nd, Chris Nowak's 2nd, Gabby Martinez' 1st, Sergio Pedroza's 1st and Patrick Cottrell's 2nd. Pedroza had 3 RBI.

Vero Beach 1, Jupiter 0. Matt Walker pitched 5 hitless innings but did walk 4...Matt Fields provided all the offense needed with a solo home run in the 8th inning.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Both Scott Kazmir and Dioner Navarro will make rehab starts for Vero Beach tonight. Navarro will DH tomorrow and then will catch again on Sunday for Matt Garza in his first rehab start. Kazmir is scheduled to throw 45 pitches, while Garza will throw about 60. [St. Pete Times]
  
• Rays of Light has started a series of profiles of the Rays top prospects. Up first is James Houser, performance enhancing drug-extraordinare. [Rays of Light]
• DRays Bay continues their series on the top candidates to be the top pick by the Rays in the June amateur draft. Up next is Brian Matusz and our personal favorite Tim Beckham. [DRays Bay]
• Columbus pitcher Jason Ragan was names the pitcher-of-the-week for the South Atlantic League. [Ledger-Enquirer]