Toledo 3, Durham 2. Jeff Niemann had a strong 2008 debut, throwing 71 pitches (40 strikes) in 5 innings. He allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 5...Evan Longoria went 0-3. He struck out to end the first, grounded out, flied out and was hit-by-pitch...Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a strikeout...Justin Ruggiano was 0-4 with 3 Ks.

Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 1. Jake McGee overcame a rough spring training with the big boys and picked up right where he left off in 2007. In 6 innings, he struck out 7 and walked none with only 3 hits and 1 run. he retired 10 of the first 11 batters faced with 6 Ks. A pair of singles and a stolen base led to the only run McGee would allow...Eduardo Morlan, the other pitcher in the Delmon young-Matt Garza trade, made his debut in the Rays organization. He came on in the 8th with 1 out. After giving up a double to the first batter he face, he retired 5 of the last 6 batters he face, with 3 strike outs...The Biscuits managed only 6 singles with no player with more than one hit.

Vero Beach 8, St. Lucie 3. Heath Rollins, who set the Rays organizational record last year with 17 wins, posted a no-decision in his 2008 debut. He gave up 2 runs in 5 innings on 6 hits. He struck out 6 and walked none...John Matulia and Cesar Suarez each had 3 hits and Matt Fields hit his first home run of the season...Ryan Royster was 2-5 with 2 RBI.

Savannah 2, Columbus 0. Alex Cobb, the Rays 4th round pick in '06, was strong in his '08 debut, but it wasn't enough as the Catfish were shutout on 1-hit. Cobb struck out 5 and walked none, in 5.2 innings. He gave up 2 runs (1 earned)...Greg Sexton broke up the no-hitter in the 7th with a single.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Will Kline and David Newmann will both miss all of 2008 after injuries to the 2007 draft picks. Kline was the Rays 2nd round selection while Newmann was tabbed in the 4th. [Riverwalk Talk]
  
• Evan Longoria is looking forward to getting off to a good start in Durham. [Herald-Sun]

"I was kind of the big issue at camp, but I tried to stay away from the media stuff as much as I could," Longoria said. "I'm glad to be back here. I like the people, and I like this place. Now I just have to go out and do my job every day...I'm no different from anyone else. Everybody in this league could play in the big leagues. It's just a matter of how hard you work and how well you can refine your skills."

• Jake McGee still has a lot of work to do before he is ready for the major leagues, but manager Billy Gardner saw the first steps last night. [Montgomery Advertiser]

"He did a good job for six innings," Gardner said. "At times, he was overpowering. I thought he did a good job after the first time through the lineup mixing it better. We wanted to try and stress upon him to throw his breaking ball and his changeup. I thought his breaking ball was good. He threw it for strikes. He did his job and that's all he can do. We would have liked to have provided him with more runs. But he's going to make a lot of quality starts for us."

• Wade Davis and Jake McGee have been inseparable since starting their pro careers and 2008 is more of the same as both will be members of the Montgomery rotation and roommates...at least until the first one is promoted to Durham. [Montgomery Advertiser]
• Durham Bulls Athletic Park was named the fourth best minor league stadium. [Durham Bulls]
• Minor League baseball is thriving in Montgomery after it was considered dead less than a decade ago. [Montgomery Advertiser]
  

Durham 5, Toledo 2 (Durham wins series 3-0). Evan Longoria just keeps getting better and better. On Friday the Dirt Bag powered the Bulls into the IL championship series with 2 home runs including a 2-out 2-run home run in the decisive 3-run 9th inning that broke a 2-2 tie. Jae Seo pitched 7 innings, striking out 7 and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Chad Orvella and Shawn Camp pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings to close out the game.

Mississippi 8, Montgomery 3 (Series tied 1-1). Jake McGee struck out 6 and walked only 1, but was touched for 3 rune (2 earned) in 5 innings. After tying the game in the top of the 8th on a Sergio Pedroza home run, the bullpen imploded and allowed 5 runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Columbus 7, Augusta 1 (Columbus win series 2-0). Jeremy Hellickson pitched the Catfish into the SALY finals with 6 strong innings. He allowed 1 run on 4 hits and no walks. He struck out 5. Three relievers combined for 3 hitless, shutout innings. Columbus scored all 7 runs in the 5th inning. Maiko Loyola had a 2-run home run in the inning and Quinn Stewart had a double and a triple during the inning.

Vermont 8, Hudson Valley 4.

Princeton

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• Stacy Long was named Southern League's Sportswriter of the Year. If you read this feature on a regular basis, you know that we link to "Stacy Long's Riverwalk Talk" on a regular basis as a source for information on the Montgomery Biscuits. Both the Tampa Tribune and the St. Pete Times have "blogs" that cover the Rays. We read them all on a regular basis and we can tell you, without a doubt, that Long's writing is far superior to anything that Times and Tribune writers produce. We understand that there are limitations to a "blog" associated with a newspaper, but if the Times and the Tribune want to know how to do it right, they need to look no further than Stacy Long. [Our Sports Central]
  
• The city of Durham renamed the DBAP following the Durham Bulls second game of the playoffs. It is now known as Goodman Field, in honor of the Bulls owner Jim Goodman. [Our Sports Central]
  

Columbus 4, Durham 1. The Bulls managed 10 hits but only 1 run. The one run came via Evan Longoria's first home run at AAA. He was 1-3 with a walk and is hitting .313 with 4 RBI in 5 games. Justin Ruggiano collected 3 hits in 4 at bats and Jon Weber was 2-4 and is now hitting .352 in 16 games since being acquired by the Devil Rays. Jae Seo gave up 4 runs in 7 innings to drop to 5-3 with the Bulls.

Vero Beach 6, Clearwater 4. One of the hottest hitters in the minors right now is Sergio Pedroza. Pedroza hit his 19th home run yesterday. It was the fourth straight in which he has homered and 6th in the last 10. He also has 3 doubles and 11 RBI in the last 4 games. Doug Waechter had his best start since moving his rehab to Vero Beach. He struck out 5 and walked none, allowing 1 run over 6 innings to pick up his first win in 5 starts.

Batavia 6, Hudson Valley 4. Jason Ragan allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in 6 innings. His record fell to 5-5 with a 2.78 ERA on the year. Maiko Loyola picked up his 17th stolen base in 37 games since being demoted from Columbus. He is hitting .322. The Rays 12th round pick, Stephen Vogt, was 5-5 with 2 RBI to raise his average to .282. On the season he has 21 strikeouts and 19 walks to go along with 26 RBI. But, of his 40 hits, only 4 are for extra bases ( 2 double, 2 home runs).

Danville 4, Princeton 3. Nick Barnese, the Rays 3rd round pick this year, a high school pitcher, made his 5th professional start, striking out 4 and walking none in 5 innings. He gave up 6 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). He is now 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA.

NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• The Montgomery Biscuits and Columbus Catfish had scheduled off-days on Tuesday.
  
• Jake McGee has been promoted to AA Montgomery and will make his first start on Thursday. McGee was 5-4 with a 2.93 ERA and a FSL best 145 strikeouts. The move rejoins McGee with longtime teammate and rival Wade Davis. Both players will likely start the 2008 campaign at Montgomery with the team aiming for 2009 Major League debuts. [Montgomery Advertiser]

They both admit they feed off each other's success. Last year, McGee and Davis finished 1-2 in strikeouts, in that order, in the Class A Midwest League. Davis had a 3.02 ERA, six-hundredths of a point be­hind McGee.

McGee was fifth among Tampa Bay prospects in a preseason Base­ball America list. Davis was eighth.

"When he goes out and has a good outing, I try to go out and have a better one," Davis said. "It's the same thing off the field. When we're working out, we'll both try to do bet­ter than the other.

"It's good. I think it will be good for both of us."

• The Durham Bulls Athletic Park was named the "2007 Most Vegetarian-Friendly Minor League Ballpark" by PETA. [Durham Bulls]
  

Toledo 7, Durham 4 (16 inn.). Lucky Vero Beach. The Rays had Sunday off while all three of the other minor league affiliates worked overtime. In Durham, Jeff Niemann gave up 3 runs in 5 innings and struck out 8. Seth McClung and Chad Orvella pitched a combined 5 hitless innings with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Jorge Cantu was 3-7. Joel Guzman was 2-5 with his 2nd home run.

Huntsville 2, Montgomery 1 (11 inn.). Derek Feldkamp struck out 5 and gave up 1 run in 5 innings. Reid Brignac was 1-4 with a walk and is now hitting .327. Evan Longoria was 2-5 and is hitting .310.

Columbus 8, Rome 3 (16 inn). Woods Fines struck out 5 in 6 innings allowing 1 run. Desmond Jennings was 4-7 to raise his average to .313.


NOTES FROM DOWN ON THE FARM...

• The Bulls are a mirror-image of the themselves from last year. The 2006 squad needed to outscore their opponents. This year's team is doing it with pitching and defense. Of course at 7-11 and last in the IL South, the results are about the same.
  
• Will Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria make an appearance at the Trop this fall? Probably not, but the idea of an infield from left-to-right of Longoria-Brignac-Iwamura is mouth-watering.
• John Sickels breaks down the potential of Reid Brignac.
  
• Oreo Man and Scooby Doo made appearances in Durham last night. Oreo Man?
• The 16-inning marathon was the longest in the history of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.