Rays/Durham Farm Report: Bulls, Clippers aim to win series

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Bulls and Columbus Clippers, Triple-A af liate of the Baltimore Orioles, play the rubber match of their three-game series after the two clubs split their rst two contests. The Bulls are trying to avoid dropping their second series of the season against the Clippers, who are one of only two teams that Durham has a losing record against this season (2-4). The loser of tonight’s game will also lose a series for the first time in a while, as the Bulls have either won or split each of their last four matchups while the Clippers have done so in six straight series.

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LAST NIGHT: Durham Bulls’ starting pitcher Brent Honeywell spun six scoreless innings,while the Durham lineup slugged three home runs to power the Bulls past the Columbus Clippers 11-0 on Wednesday night at Huntington Park. Honeywell (W, 6-5) fanned seven against no walks to earn his third consecutive victory. Meanwhile Johnny Field connected for a solo homer in the sixth, Shane Peterson drove a two-run home run n the seventh, and Mike Marjama launched a pinch-hit, three-run shot in the eighth to power the Bulls’ bats.

HONEY MAKES FOR A SWEET GAME: Starting pitcher Brent Honeywell completed the longest scoreless outing of his Triple-A career Wednesday night, as the right-hander tossed six shutout frames on just four hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts. The 94-pitch performance was the sixth quality start for Honeywell in 11 total outings, and also gave him a third consecutive victory to move his Bulls’ record over .500 to 6-5. Honeywell has now thrown 10 straight scoreless innings dating back to June 7, his longest shutout streak of the season.

SHUTOUT NO. 7: Honeywell also got some help from the Durham bullpen to complete the shutout last night, with rehabbing big leaguer Brad Boxberger, Ryne Stanek, and Adam Kolarek all tossing one scoreless inning for Bulls’ seventh shutout of the year. Durham is on pace for roughly 16 shutouts this season, slightly behind the 2016 staff which recorded 19 shutouts while going 64-80.

STANEK'S RETURN: Reliever Ryne Stanek made his first appearance for the Bulls since May 11th last night with a perfect eight inning including a strikeout. Stanek returns to the Bulls after spending the past month getting his first taste of the big leagues, where he went 0-0, 5.59 (6 ER, 9.2 IP), an 11/5 K/BB ratio, and a .350 BAA. Stanek’s scoreless frame on Wednesday moved extended his consecutive scoreless innings with Durham to 15.2, the third longest streak for a Bulls pitcher this year.

BOMBS AWAY: The Bulls certainly brought their big bats to the ballpark on Thursday, with the team clubbing 15 total hits, including nine extra-base hits, in their 11-0 drubbing of Columbus. The headline grabber from the offensive show was the team’s three home runs, which tied a single-game high for Durham this year. The Bulls were homerless over the first half of the game before Johnny Field lined a solo shot in the sixth that gave Durham a 6-0 lead. Shane Peterson followed one inning later with his team-leading ninth long ball, a two-run blast that pushed the Bulls’ advantage to 7-0. The biggest big  y of them all however came from Mike Marjama, who delivered a pinch-hit, three-run bomb in the eighth that further padded Durhams advantage to 10-0.

PINCH-HIT HOMER HISTORY: Marjama’s pinch-hit, three run home run for the Bulls last night was the second big  fly off the bench for the Bulls this year. The previous long ball had a little more drama to it however, as Shane Peterson hit a game-tying solo shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Toledo on May 12. Prior to this season, the Bulls hadn’t had a single pinch-hit homer in at least the past three seasons.

TEAM EFFORT: All nine batters (10 if you count pinch hitter Mike Marjama) contributed to the Bulls’ impressive offensive showing Wednesday, with every batter recording at least one hit while seven had at least one extra-base hit. Shane Peterson led the charge with a team-high three hits and two extra-base knocks as he went 3-5 with a home run, double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Kean Wong also had a multi, extra-base hit game with a 2-5 contest including two doubles and three RBI.

LEONARD WARMING BACK UP?: It may not have been a monster night at the plate, but Patrick Leonard kept his hit streak going Wednesday night with a 1-5 game. The Bulls’ third baseman now has a hit in each of his last six games, his longest consecutive stretch since his career-best 17-game hit streak came to an end on May 11. Leonard is 8-23 (.348) with two doubles and an RBI over the stretch, which is a notable step in the right direction for the struggling slugger.


BATTLE FOR JUNE SUPREMACY: The Bulls and Clippers are in a battle for the best record in the International Leauge this month, with Wednesday’s outcome giving Durham a half game advantage with an 9-4 record compared to Columbus’ 8-4 mark. The  rst place Bulls’ 9-4 June also represents the team’s best start to a month this season.

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BULLS STARTING PITCHER – LHP RYAN YARBOROUGH (5-3, 4.07)

GS: 12 // QS: 6 // Team Record: 7-5
Longest Scoreless: 9.0 (6/4 - 6/9)
vs. RHP: .274 // vs. LHP: .235
Home: 3-2, 4.54 // Road: 2-1, 3.57

LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win after throwing a career-long eight innings while allowing two runs on five hits, two walks, and nine strikeouts vs. Norfolk on 6/9.

WORKHORSE IN THE MAKING: Has gone at least 5 IP in each of his 12 starts this season, and leads all Bulls pitchers with six quality starts on the year.

SPRING STATS: Appeared in 4 games, 1 GS, for Tampa Bay in Spring Training, where he allowed 7 ER on 12 hits, 1 BB, and 10 Ks over 6.2 IP (9. 45 ERA).

BATTLE IN THE BULL CITY: Yarbrough was the starting pitcher for Durham in the  rst-ever Battle in the Bull City exhibition game between the Bulls and the Duke Blue Devils prior to the start of the 2017 regular season. The left-hander went 6 IP in the game, allowing 1 ER on 4 hits, 1 BB, and 6 Ks.

SOUTHERN DOMINANCE: Yarbrough was named the 2016 Southern League Pitcher of the Year for his standout year pitching for the Jackson Generals (SEA).

ALL-STAR X3: Was named a 2016 MiLB.com Seattle Organization All-Star, as well as a Southern League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star.

2016 SEASON: Spent the entire season with Jackson (AA), where he tied for the Southern League lead in Wins (12) while also finishing among the league leaders in ERA (2nd, 2.95), WHIP (2nd, 1.11), and BAA (3rd, .232)...was particularly tough against left-handed batters, holding them to a .183 BAA while posting a 2.39 ERA compared to a .251 BAA and a 3.18 ERA vs. right-handers.

2015 SEASON: Pitched for three different teams including Bakers eld (A+), the AZL Mariners, and Clinton (A)...began and ended the season with Bakers eld, going 4-7 with a 3.76 ERA (34 ER, 81.1 IP) and a .266 BAA

FROM FAN TO PROSPECT: Yarbrough grew up a Rays fan in Florida and kept some 2008 World Series memorabilia in his bedroom.


PROSPECT WATCH: Ranked as the No. 24 prospect in the Tampa Bay system by MLB.com.