The Wandering Disciple

Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Chris Carden looks in for the signs during a 2017 Gulf Coast League game.  The communication between catcher and pitcher is one of the most critical links in the game.  From behind the plate, the catcher gives signs to the pitcher of what pitch to throw and moves the infielders into position to hopefully set-up the play and record an out.  (Photo: July 21, 2017)

North Port, Florida:  Friday night lights, Minor League Baseball style, swept over the West Villages at the Atlanta Braves opened their spring training home for some Gulf Coast League baseball.  A large crowd, uncharacteristic for a GCL game, filed into the newly built stadium for an evening of baseball action. The home team Braves jumped out to big lead in the second inning.  They collected four runs in the frame by the way of six hits to take a lead.  Joel Reyes drove in a run, Wiston Cerrato collected two, and Madson Berne plated another to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. The Brave picked up two more runs in thee bottom of the seventh by the way of a two run homer by Michael Harris, his first professional home run to make it 6-0. Braves pitching kept the Rays off the board until the eighth inning when the Rays scored a run on an RBI single by Johan Lopez for their first run of the night.  They got two more in the ninth by pushing across two runs on an er...

Rays minor leaguer Jeremy Hadley congratulates teammate Thomas Milone after scoring during a Gulf Coast League game in 2013.  Both players were drafted by the Rays in the 2013 draft.  Milone is currently with the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Hadley was released by the organization after two seasons.  (Photo: August 16, 2013)

Riley Unroe rounds second and digs for third during a Gulf Coast League game in 2013 during his first season of professional baseball.  Unroe was drafted by Rays in the second round of the 2013 draft out of Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona.  He is currently still in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, playing for Advanced-A Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League.  (Photo: July 19, 2013)

Sarasota, Florida: The home team came out swinging as the GCL Orioles defeated the GCL Rays 9-0 on Friday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. The Orioles broke the scoreless tie in the third inning. A two run double by Carlos Baez gave them a 2-0 lead. The Orioles extended their lead an inning later with a five run fourth inning. Two runs came on an RBI single by Robbie Thorburn and three more came via a double by Willy Yahn to extend the lead to 7-0. The Orioles picked up another pair of runs in the sixth inning. An RBI single by JC Escarra and an RBI single by Yahn gave the Orioles the 9-0 win. Click on the photo above to view my Orioles/Rays photo gallery .

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays offense came to life on Friday afternoon as they defeated the GCL Orioles 16-5 at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays used four four-run innings to cruise to victory. The Rays took the lead in the second inning. An RBI double by Kevin Santiago, a sac fly by Alexander Alvarez and a two-run homer by Jose Tonton gave the Rays a 4-0 lead. The Orioles answered by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second. An RBI double by Garrett Copeland, a sac fly by Branden Becker and an RBI double by Jean Carillo made it 4-3. But the Rays extended their lead by scoring four more runs in the third. An RBI double by Jonathon Arrrowood, a two run double by Juan Carlos Arias and an RBI single by Santiago increased the lead to 8-3. The Rays continued to push across more runs with back to back four run frames in the fifth and sixth. In the fifth it was three run triple by Tonton and an RBI single by Vidal Brujan to make it 12-3. Then in the sixth it was a solo home...

The bat slips out of the hands of Gilbert Marrero in the fourth inning of a Gulf Coast League game at Ed Smith Stadium. (Photo: August 7, 2015)

Sarasota, Florida: After exchanging the lead several times in a closely contested see-saw battle, it was the GCL Rays who would hold on for a 4-3 win in Friday’s afternoon contest at Ed Smith Stadium. The Rays capitalized on a pair of errors to take an early lead in the first inning. Joseph Astacio reached on a fielding error to give the Rays their first baserunner of the afternoon. He later scored on another fielding error to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the third inning. Kirvin Moesquit singled to right with two outs to get the rally started. He stole second and advanced to third on the throwdown. Ryan Mountcastle drove him home with an RBI single to tie the game. The game didn’t stayed tied long as the Rays struck for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead. Gilbert Marrero drew a walk to open up the frame. He moved into scoring position following a double by Ryan Caldwell. Then both baserunners would score on...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays and GCL Orioles squared off on a soggy Friday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. Both teams battled back and forth before the game was suspended in the sixth inning due to weather. The Rays jumped out to an early lead by scoring in the first inning. Joseph Atacio singled to left to get things started. He later scored on an RBI single by Rafelin Lorenzo to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Orioles bounced back to take the lead in the second inning. A two run single by Jaylen Ferguson scored Branden Becker and Seamus Curran to give the Orioles a 2-1 lead. The Orioles increased their lead in the third inning. Ryan Mountcastle went deep to left to lead off the inning, his second homer of the season which gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead. The Rays tied the game in the top of the fifth. With two outs in the inning, the Rays got two base runners following Jaime Ayende getting hit by a pitch and Oscar Rojas drawing a walk. What appeared to be an inning endi...

Port Charlotte, Florida: After overcoming an early three run deficit, the GCL Rays surrendered a run in the late innings to lose to the GCL Orioles 4-3 on Saturday at Charlotte Sports Park. The Orioles took advantage of the rehabbing Roberto Gomez by going deep for a two run homer. Daniel Franco reached on an error to lead off the game. But he wouldn’t remained their long as Ademar Rifaela took the first offering from Gomez over the right field wall to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. The Orioles added to their lead in the third inning. Guillermo Salas doubled to right and then scored on a single by TJ Olesczuk to make it 3-0. But the Rays answered the call in the fourth inning. The rally started by loading the bases. A walk to Cade Gotta followed by back to back singles by Isias Alcantar and David Rodriguez loaded the bases with no outs. A single by Bill Pujols aided by a fielding error scored Gotta and Alcantar. The tying run later came on an RBI single by Jamie Mitchell to score...

Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Alexander Simon slides safely into third base during a Gulf Coast League game against the GCL Orioles. (Photo: August 23, 2013)

Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Jose Paez makes a backhanded grab on a sharply hit ball during a Gulf Coast League game between the GCL Rays and the GCL Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.  (Photo: August 16, 2013)

Tampa Bay Rays minor league player Riley Unroe drives a ground ball back up the middle in a rookie league game between the Gulf Coast Rays and the Gulf Coast Orioles.  (Photo: July 19, 2013)

Tampa Bay Ray's minor leaguer Thomas Milone runs out a ground ball in a Gulf Coast League game between the Gulf Coast Rays and the Gulf Coast Orioles.  The Gulf Coast League is Rookie level minor league baseball that is played at spring training sites throughout Florida during June through August.  The rosters are comprised of entry level minor league players in the first couple years of their professional career. (Photo: July 5, 2013)

Sarasota, Florida: With the 2013 season nearing completion, the GCL Rays made their final trip of the season to Ed Smith Stadium for their a game against the GCL Orioles. After a hard fought contest under the Floridian sun, the Rays left town with a 5-1 win. The Rays took an early lead in the first inning. Riley Unroe scored on a sac fly by Alexander Simon to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. The Rays added to their lead in the third inning. Simon drove home Kean Wong on an RBI triple. Simon then scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 3-0. The Orioles picked up their lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the seventh inning. Andrickson Zorillo drove home Randolph Gassaway to bring the score to 3-1. The Rays pushed across a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Simon and another in the ninth on wild pitch to give the Rays a 5-1 win.  Freddy Alvarez picked up the win for the Rays and Ruben Paredes the save. Ron Schreurs was the losing pitcher for the Orioles. ...

Sarasota, Florida:  The GCL Rays defeated the GCL Orioles by the score of 7-2 on Friday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. Rays starting pitcher Nolan Gannon continued his streak of scoreless innings as he has not allowed an earned run this season.  The Orioles took an early lead by scoring in the first inning. Tommy Richards was hit by a pitch and then scored on a force out to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. The Rays countered with two runs of their own in the second to take the lead. The Rays loaded the bases with no outs. Clayton Henning drove home a run with a sac fly to tie the game. Spencer Edwards then drove home the go ahead run with an RBI single to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. The Rays offense continued to rally in the third inning, scoring four more runs. Yoel Araujo highlighted the inning with a three run homer. The fourth run came on a ground ball by Henning to increase the lead to 6-1. The Rays scored their final run of the afternoon in the eighth inning. ...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays suffered a 5-0 shut-out at the hands of the GCL Orioles on Friday afternoon at Twin Lakes Park. It didn’t take long for the Rays to find themselves in a hole, giving up a run in the first inning. Pedro Rodriguez led off the inning with a single to short. Rodriguez later scored on a ground out by Moises Ciriaco to give them a 1-0 lead. Both club put up matching zeroes on the scoreboard until the fifth inning when the Orioles struck for three more runs. Manuel Hernandez led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. Two more runs came later on a two run double by Ciriaco to extend the lead to 4-0. The Orioles picked up one more run in the seventh on an RBI double by Cameron Edman to give the Rays a 5-0 loss. Click on the photo above to view my Rays/Orioles photo gallery.

Port Charlotte, Florida: The GCL Rays were unable to match the offense of the GCL Red Sox as they fell 7-3 in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader. The Red Sox took the first lead of the game in the second inning. Aneury Tavarez singled to lead off the inning. He then scored on an RBI double by Oscar Perez to put the Red Sox in front 1-0. The Rays battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the second. Ariel Soriano led off the inning with a double to center field. Cesar Perez later drove home the run with a sac fly to score Soriano and tie the game 1-1. The Rays took their first lead of the game in the fourth inning. Soriano tripled to center to put a runner in scoring position. Omar Narvaez plated the runner with a sac fly to center to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. The Red Sox regained the lead in the fifth inning. Jose Colorado struck a two run triple to score Nick Moore and Kendrick Perkins. Colorado then scored on a throwing error to give them a 4-2 lead. The Rays cut...

Port Charlotte, Florida: A rarity in the Gulf Coast League, the GCL Rays and GCL Orioles hooked up for a game under the lights at Charlotte Sports Park. Taking advantage of the home team Charlotte Stone Crabs playing on road, the Rays hosted the Orioles for a cooler night game in a league that usually plays at high noon in the sweltery Florida heat. Those is attendence were treated to a great game as the home team Rays defeated the Orioles 3-2 in extra innings. The Orioles took the lead in the third inning. Thomas Winegardner singled to left to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a sac bunt by Mosies Ciriaco. Gregory Lorenzo then singled on a bunt, moving the runner to third. Doug Bream knocked home both runs with a line drive to center to put the Orioles in front 2-0. The Rays trailed until the bottomof the ninth. Cesar Perez and Julian Morillo drew walks followed by a single by Matthew Johnson to load the bases. Darryl George deivered a single with two outs to score...

Sarasota, Florida: The GCL Rays fell to the GCL Orioles 5-4 on Friday afternoon at Twin Lakes Park. Both clubs matched runs in the beginning but when it was over, the Rays fell one run short. The Rays took the lead in the second inning. Hector Rodriguez singled on a line drive to center to lead off the inning. Rodriguez advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rodriguez would later scored on a single by Jonathan Quinonez. Quinonez then scored on a throwing error on a steal of third, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead. The Orioles bounced back to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Manuel Hernandez singled to right to lead off the inning. Tanner Murphy rebounded from his earlier error by striking an RBI triple to score Hernandez. Murphy later scored on a sac fly by Rojean Cleofa to tie the game 2-2. The Rays grabbed the lead back in the third inning. This time it was a solo home run by Edward Dorville that put the Rays back in front 3-2. But the Orioles matched the run and raise...