A pair of the organization’s top pitching prospects continued strong seasons Saturday. Shane Baz’s scoreless streak now stands at 17 innings after Saturday’s start. He only struck out two batters in five innings, but for the second time this season, he didn’t issue any walks. He has 34 strikeouts and seven walks in 30 innings with Bowling Green. Triple-A Durham Bulls (46-28) Durham was edged by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 4-3. Nick Solak’s two-run homer gave the Bulls a 2-1 lead, but it would be their last. Jason Coats hit an RBI double in the seventh to tie the game at three, but an eighth-inning homer decided the game. Although Brendan McKay tied a season high with three walks, he was charged with just an unearned run in five innings. 2B Nick Solak: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K (.902)1B Nate Lowe: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.889)LF Joe McCarthy: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB (.704) LHP Brendan McKay: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 5 K (1.08) Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (2-1) The bottom of the lineup carried Montgomery to a 5-2 win over Tennessee. Robbie Tenerowicz, David Rodriguez, and Rene Pinto combined to reach base seven times and drive in all five Biscuits runs. Tenerowicz and Pinto each homered. Paul Campbell allowed two runs in six innings. CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-5, 3 K, 2 SB (.734)RF Jesus Sanchez: 0-for-5, 1 K (.784)SS Lucius Fox: 0-for-4 (.699)1B Robbie Tenerowicz: 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 HBP (.696)C Rene Pinto: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI (.607) RHP Paul Campbell: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (3.79) Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (3-3) A big inning sunk Charlotte in a 9-6 loss to Lakeland. The game was scoreless through three innings, but the Flying Tigers broke through for six in the fourth. The first five batters reached base, and they had five extra-base hits in the inning. All three Stone Crabs pitchers allowed runs, and they all pitched three innings. 2B Vidal Brujan: 1-for-5, 1 K (.756)SS Taylor Walls: 1-for-5, 1 R, 2 K (.756)DH Moises Gomez: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K (.682)CF Thomas Milone: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.865)1B Kaleo Johnson: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K (.958)LF Michael Smith: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (1.250) RHP Jack Labosky: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 2 K (3.21) Charlotte’s site offers this recap. Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (2-1) Shane Baz was great again in Bowling Green’s 2-1 win over South Bend. Although he only struck out two, Baz didn’t walk any and gave up just three hits in five scoreless innings. His third straight scoreless appearance lowered his ERA to 1.20. Tony Pena’s RBI single in the second opened the scoring, and he later scored on a throwing error. SS Wander Franco: 1-for-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 CS (.892)2B Ford Proctor: 1-for-1, 3 BB (.733) RHP Shane Baz: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (1.20) Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (4-5) Hudson Valley couldn’t slow down Aberdeen in an 11-2 loss to the IronBirds. Cristhian Pedroza’s sacrifice fly in the second gave the Renegades a 1-0 lead, but the IronBirds scored the next 11 runs, including nine over the final three innings. Christopher Gau allowed two runs in 5 1?3 innings. DH Greg Jones: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 3 K (.732 — did not finish game)RF Hill Alexander: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP (.733) RHP Christopher Gau: 5 1?3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (7.27)RHP Luis Arcendo: one-third IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K Rookie Princeton Rays (3-2) Princeton battled for a 4-3 win over Burlington. RBI doubles by Brett Wisely and Yunior Martinez in the second gave the Rays a 2-0 lead, but the Royals scored the next three runs. In the sixth, Martinez came through again with a game-tying single, and Jhosner Vargas followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Starter Christian Fernandez allowed two runs in three innings. SS Jelfry Marte: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.549)1B Mason Mallard: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 K (.555)LF Yunior Martinez: 3-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI (2.200) RHP Christian Fernandez: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (6.00) CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES Sunday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com) Durham @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. Randall Delgado (1-2, 5.19) Montgomery @ Tennessee 5:30 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)Kenny Rosenberg (6-1, 2.39) vs. Thomas Hatch (4-6, 4.65) Charlotte vs. Lakeland 12:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)Tommy Romero (4-2, 2.20) vs. Tom de Blok (0-4, 3.86) Bowling Green @ South Bend 2:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. Cam Sanders (3-4, 3.51) Hudson Valley vs. Aberdeen 4:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. TBA Princeton vs. Burlington 5 p.m. ET (radio stream)Jayden Murray (0-0, 0.00) vs. Delvin Capellan (1-0, 0.00) *Listed as TBA on milb.com Scouting the opposition Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees)43-29 (1st in IL North)Offense: 392 R (4th) .841 OPS (1st)Pitching: 4.47 ERA (3rd) 1.33 WHIP (2nd)Top-30 prospects: RHP Michael King (5), RHP Chance Adams (15), SS Thairo Estrada (27), C Erik Kratz, 1B Logan Morrison Tennessee Smokies (Cubs)1-2 (4th in SL North)Offense: 283 R (6th) .669 OPS (7th)Pitching: 4.03 ERA (9th) 1.30 WHIP (6th)Top-30 prospects: SS Nico Hoerner (1), RHP Cory Abbott (8), LHP Justin Steele (9), RHP Oscar De La Cruz (21), RHP Thomas Hatch (22), 1B Jared Young (24), C Jhonny Pereda (26), RHP Keegan Thompson (29) Lakeland Flying Tigers2-4 (T-4th in FSL South)Offense: 241 R (11th) .656 OPS (9th)Pitching: 3.81 ERA (10th) 1.24 WHIP (6th)Top-30 prospects: RHP Franklin Perez (4), 2B Kody Clemens (12), LHP Austin Sodders (20), OF Brock Deatherage (28), RHP Jason Foley (29) South Bend Cubs1-2 (T-6th in MWL East)Offense: 268 R (15th) .679 OPS (8th)Pitching: 3.87 ERA (8th) 1.32 WHIP (10th)Top-30 prospects: LHP Brailyn Marquez (3), OF Cole Roederer (4), OF Brennen Davis (5), OF Nelson Velazquez (13), RHP Jose Albertos (15), OF Edmond Americaan (16), RHP Riley Thompson (20) Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore)5-4 (2nd in NYPL McNamara)Offense: 24 R (6th) .644 OPS (6th)Pitching: 2.55 ERA (5th) 1.26 WHIP (6th)Top-30 prospects: SS Jean Carmona (26) Burlington Royals3-2 (T-2nd in AL East)Offense: Will update next seriesPitching: Will update next seriesTop-30 prospects: LHP Rylan Kaufman (25) Daily news and links Former Rays prospect Jake Fraley was promoted to Triple A. A Cleveland pitcher making his first professional start pitched the first four innings of the latest minor league no-hitter.

Six players from five countries become Bolts during the second day of the NHL Draft. The Bolts The Tampa Bay Lightning traded forward J.T. Miller to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for goaltender Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round pick and a conditional first-round pick in 2020. The first-round pick will become a 2021 first-round selection if the Canucks won’t make playoffs in the 2019-20 NHL season. In that case, the 2021 first-round selection isn’t lottery protected. [Raw Charge] When Miller signed, he was only given a modified No Trade Clause for the last four years of his contract. That wasn’t scheduled to kick in until July 1st this summer, allowing the Lightning to trade him anywhere prior to July 1st. I’ve viewed his contract for the past year as being the salary cap safety valve for the Lightning if they ended up needing more room than thought to re-sign Brayden Point. Miller has a very reasonable contract which would make moving him fairly easy. Moving his $5.25 million salary cap gives the Lightning some more flexibility going into the free agency period. Czech goalie Marek Mazanec has recently signed a two-year deal with Mountfield HK from the Czech Extraliga. Per GM Julien BriseBois, the Lightning aren’t planning to bring him in North America. BriseBois confirms that Marek Mazanec was included in the deal to keep Vancouver from going over the contract limit. He is not in TB's plan's going forward, BriseBois said— Syracuse Hockey (@syrhockey) June 22, 2019 Jared Clinton from the Hockey News wrote about the outcomes of that trade for both teams [The Hockey News] So, a slight overpayment? Maybe, but it’s a deal that saw both teams get exactly what they wanted. The Canucks add to an offense that was far too centered on three players, one of whom was a baby-faced rookie last season, while the Lightning got sweet, sweet cap relief, though it likely won’t be long before they’re right up against the spending limit once again. Six players have become the newest members of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization during the second day of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. We’ve run a live blog with all available information of the Lightning selections [Raw Charge] Maxim Cajkovic - (RW/Saint John’s Sea Dogs) Cajkovic is prototypical Lightning selection in the third round. He’s a small winger with good hockey sense and some offensive upside. He didn’t produce the way he was expected to last season, putting up just 46 points in 60 games, and some scouts had questions about his effort level. But at the end of the third round, this is a nice upside pick for the Lightning after going safe with their first pick and addressing a need with their second. According to our consolidated rankings, Cajkovic was the best player left on the board at the time of the selection. We are so proud of @SchmiemannQ! Selected by the @TBLightning in the 6th round, 182nd overall. pic.twitter.com/d2MGN8wWHV— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) June 22, 2019 .@max_cajkovic88 will be wearing the blue-white-black for a few more years! The @SJSeaDogs forward has been selected by the @TBLightning with the 89th pick! #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/bfvMVemaaT— QMJHL (@QMJHL) June 22, 2019 The @TBLightning selected Max Crozier (@sfstampede) in the #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/42X5mJD5S8— USHL (@USHL) June 22, 2019 Corey Pronmam gave the Lightning a C-grade for their selections at the NHL Draft [The Athletic, paid content] The Bolts had an interesting weekend. I like Nolan Foote, I think. Like his brother, he looks like an NHL player, but pick No. 27 was a bit high for me. I think Maxim Cajkovic, through his issues, is talented enough to make it. I liked goalie Hugo Alnefelt in stretches and think he has a chance to be an NHL goalie. Mikhail Shalagin has been a favorite of mine for two years, not in terms of a high ranking, but I appreciate the player and do think he’s an NHL prospect. There are pieces here to work with even if they aren’t leaving the draft with a true top prospect. Scott Wheeler has also shared his opinion [The Athletic, paid content] I didn’t love the Lightning taking Nolan Foote as high as they did on Friday but the Maxim Cajkovic pick at No. 89 (he was No. 26 on my board) has the chance to be really special. Cajkovic was criminally underrated by virtue of playing on one of the worst QMJHL teams in recent memory but he has high-end skill with the puck. The Game The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman PK Subban from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Steven Santini, Jeremy Davies and two second-round picks. Have yourself a little look at @PKSubban1 in some red and black. pic.twitter.com/SSFfmaEUZv— NHL (@NHL) June 22, 2019 #Smashville - I love you! Thank you to the @PredsNHL team, teammates, fans and community for embracing me over the past three years. Ready for this next chapter... @NJDevils are you ready for the Subbanator? ? pic.twitter.com/rkPkkqRKRT— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) June 22, 2019 The Predators are planning to use remaining cap space after PK Subban departure to sign Matt Duchene. Obviously this clears the way for Nashville to presumably make an offer to UFA star centre Matt Duchene. The UFA speaking period opens Sunday— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2019 Patrick Marleau has been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for 2020 sixth-round pick. The Canes also got a conditional first round pick and a seventh round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. .@SportChek Player Alert: The @MapleLeafs have acquired a 2020 sixth-round pick from Carolina in exchange for Patrick Marleau, a conditional first round pick (2020) and a seventh round pick (2020).Details >> https://t.co/5A24Knvfbz pic.twitter.com/vu4M2sUgfX— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 22, 2019 According to reports, Marleau isn’t going to stay in Raleigh. Patrick Marleau waives his NMC for trade to Carolina and will be bought out by #hurricanes. He'd like to return to San Jose in free agency.— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 22, 2019 Patrick Marleau’s wife shared a touching message on twitter Hi, Patrick here. I don’t have my own social media, so I wanted to come here and say a few words to @MapleLeafs, their fans and also to @Marner93 and @AM34 pic.twitter.com/6Te4oePdLa— Christina Marleau (@c_marleau) June 22, 2019 View this post on Instagram Hard to put into words what you mean to me, but just wanted to say thank you for making me feel a part of your family and always feeling welcomed. I will miss having you around the rink everyday and making fun of my eating habits. I will always consider you as a teammate and more importantly a brother. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter, love you bro?? # A post shared by Mitch Marner (@marner_93) on Jun 22, 2019 at 5:08pm PDT View this post on Instagram Sad day today. What an honor it was to play with an unbelievable player and an even better person. Gonna miss sitting next to you in the room and seeing you every day. Thanks for welcoming me into your family and treating me like one of your own. I learned so much from you both on and off the ice and I’ll cherish your friendship and the memories we had the last two years forever. My brother for life. Love you Patty A post shared by Auston Matthews (@auston_matthews) on Jun 22, 2019 at 11:44am PDT The Toronto Maple Leafs are also working on extensions for their forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. When TOR eventually formalizes contract extensions for RFAs Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, I would expect Kapanen’s AAV on a three-year deal to be $3.2M and Johnsson’s AAV on a four-year deal to be $3.4M.— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 22, 2019 The NHL agreed on a salary cap at $81.5M for the next season. It's official: The NHL will have an $81.5-million cap for next season.https://t.co/gXqOftPq0b— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 22, 2019 The UFA and RFA speaking periods open within next few days. NHL UFA speaking period opens Sunday. Coveted free agent goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and winger Artemi Panarin will be in FLA to meet with the Panthers on Monday. FLA would like to sign both but need a goalie more than a forward so the priority may be Bob.— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 22, 2019 The expectation is that the Marner camp will hear from teams when the RFA speaking period opens Wednesday.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2019 Most players have been selected from the WHL during the 2019 NHL Draft. 2019 #NHLDraft summarized pic.twitter.com/oQmf5xlHp9— Eliteprospects (@eliteprospects) June 22, 2019 Corey Pronman did a huge job, reviewing this year’s draft for every team. .@coreypronman: 2019 NHL Draft grades for all 31 teams: https://t.co/wIa5Fo09eq— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) June 23, 2019

Not a great day for the Rays bullpen The crowd in Oakland this afternoon was boisterous to say the least. The last time I heard that many boos, I was at the Haunted Mansion. In some instances they were right to complain, as there were certainly a few moments where things really tipped in favor of the Rays. Whether it was the two hit-by-pitches on Garcia, or the third to Willy Adames that was originally called a foul tip, but ruled a HBP on review. Or perhaps the ruled fair ball double to Mike Zunino that really, really looked like it might have been a foul (but Bob Melvin didn’t ask for a review). Point being, the Rays had a lot of luck in this game. They also had base runners in almost every inning, thanks to those hits by pitch, or by errors, or by the few rare hits collected in the game. And they managed to squander most of the opportunities they were given. With the exception of Ji-Man Choi who collected an RBI in the third inning (an inning where the Rays loaded the bases twice). The Rays only other run in the game was also from Choi, a solo home run in the seventh inning. Otherwise, it was a lot of wasted chances and runners left on base. Sure, the A’s had Mike Fiers up to start things out and he pitched six solid innings. On the Rays side, Yonny Chirinos continued his bid to be considered a starting pitcher rather than an innings-eater, as he went six innings himself, giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Chirinos looked good for the most part. He gave up and RBI single to Grossman in the second, and a solo home run to Chapman in the third. Where trouble really started for the Rays was when Diego Castillo came to the mound in the seventh inning and it was very quickly apparent his command had not joined him on the flight to California. He gave up an RBI double to Chapman, and forced a run in with a Laureano hit by pitch in the seventh. And with the Rays using up their last mound visit that same inning, Castillo was left floundering. Overall it wasn’t a great game by the Rays, who failed to take advantage of several golden opportunities. Some bright spots included Austin Meadows hitting a triple that was very nearly an inside the park home run, and Mike Zunino making some incredible moves behind the dish, catching a final out, tagging out two runners, and smothering more than one would-be wild pitch. Adam Kolarek pitched a nice clean inning in the eighth and was a good note to end the game on for the bullpen, even if the Rays were unable to come back and win it.

We don’t have any good ideas here, but we have plenty of stupid ones! This morning, news broke that UConn is giving up on ever being good at football giving up on ever rejoining a power conference about to return to the Big East. It’s what their fans have wanted for a long time, and to be honest it’s what most other fans in The American have wanted too, because we’re sick and tired of hearing them whine and blame us for their situation. Like it’s all our faults you wasted so much time and effort on your hopeless football team? Like it’s all our faults that Jim Calhoun was your entire men’s basketball program? Please. Anyway, the league will most likely want a replacement, if not for all sports, then at least for football. We’re sure there are some good, sensible ideas out there. But we’re here for the terrible ideas, like these: Just add UNLV already so we can all have road trips to Vegas. Are they good at sports? Don’t care, Vegas. Is the travel convenient? Don’t care, Vegas. Would anyone watch conference games that start at 10:30 on a weeknight? Don’t care, Vegas. Hey Vanderbilt, aren’t you tired of having your teeth kicked in by the SEC all the time? Come join us. Sure you’ll get like one-fifth as much TV money, but I mean you’re Vanderbilt, you’re already loaded, you don’t need the money. The American can offer you lots of urban university peers, an in-state rival, a good baseball league, and some other sports. Plus you would have a way better chance of making a New Year’s Six game. Have y’all’s people call our people. Round up all the Big XII schools that are dead men walking when their TV deal expires and let’s just get this over with. Invite Clemson. What’s the worst that happens, they say no? Do whatever Danny White says, because he is very concerned about everyone doing what he thinks is best for the league. By the way, add UConn to the list of schools who have rejected a home and home football series with C. Kick ECU out of the league too, to get back to an even number. (I just said this to make the Boneyard lose their shit again over something I wrote. Maybe that nice old lady who stalked me at work a couple years ago will get back in touch!) We endorse Ryan Nanni’s idea too: Go get Maryland. https://t.co/bPBKwJ8lob— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) June 22, 2019 This is your chance to quit the job you don't really like and leave everyone else to figure out what the hell happened to all your project files and deal with the fact you haven't been replying to external emails for a month!— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) June 22, 2019 I wonder if that offer to Villanova from a few years ago is still on the table? Seriously, go get UNLV. UPDATE: The worst idea of all Take a page from Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal’s fantasy football league. There are 11 owners, but only 10 spots in the league, and at the draft the defending champion gets to kick a team of their choosing out of the league for the year. Imagine the drama and intrigue at the clambake in Newport! Would C kick USF out to spite them, or would the temptation of beating them on the field again mean the Bulls are kept around? Would a lousy team like ECU or Tulsa be axed, or would the champ try to remove their biggest contender? Now, the team that gets booted would still play the games they’ve been scheduled... they wouldn’t be shut down completely. They just wouldn’t count as conference games, and the team wouldn’t be eligible to win the title. Please share your own ridiculous ideas in the comments. I guess we can talk about good ideas too.