Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Jim Haley joined Brett Sullivan as Biscuits to hit for the cycle this season. Right-handed pitcher Wikelman Ramirez has had an interesting season. For Princeton, he allowed 27 runs in 33 1?3 innings. Back in the Gulf Coast League, he’s allowed one hit in 11 2?3 innings. The Rays signed him for $250,000 in 2016. Triple-A Durham Bulls (69-61) Durham fell apart in a rain-shortened loss to Gwinnett, 8-5. Had the rain started an inning earlier, the Bulls could have won, 5-0, but they allowed eight runs in the seventh, including four with two outs. Jose De Leon struck out six in four scoreless innings, but Anthony Banda and Peter Fairbanks were unable to hold the lead. 2B Joey Wendle: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 K1B Nate Lowe: 1-for-4, 1 K (.935)LF Emilio Bonifacio: 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 1 CS (.825) RHP Jose De Leon: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K (3.65)LHP Anthony Banda: 2 1?3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (6.56)RHP Peter Fairbanks: two-thirds IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (5.54) Durham’s site offers this recap. Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (41-20) Montgomery crushed Chattanooga, 17-6. A batter after Josh Lowe homered in the second, Jim Haley hit an inside-the-park home run and hit for the cycle. David Rodriguez also went deep in the second, and Grant Kay did in the third. It was Kay’s first home run since July 13, 2017. Paul Campbell allowed six runs in 4 2?3 innings. 2B Lucius Fox: 2-for-6, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K (.685)SS Vidal Brujan: 3-for-6, 2 R, 1 K, 1 CS (.717)CF Josh Lowe: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K (.773)LF Brett Sullivan: 3-for-6, 2 R, 1 SB (.765)DH Carl Chester: 4-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS (.780)3B Jim Haley: 4-for-6, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI (.791)1B Grant Kay: 4-for-6, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K (.778)C David Rodriguez: 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI (.677) RHP Paul Campbell: 4 2?3 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (3.46) Class A-Advanced Charlotte Stone Crabs (43-20) Charlotte shut out Clearwater, 3-0. Once again, Tommy Romero dominated, this time striking out five and walking none in six innings before Alex Valverde and Simon Rosenblum-Larson finished the shutout. Joey Roach doubled in the first run of the game in the second, and Garrett Whitley later homered to add insurance. SS Wander Franco: 1-for-3, 1 RBI (.858)DH Moises Gomez: 0-for-4, 4 K (.686)RF Niko Hulsizer: 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (.618)CF Garrett Whitley: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K (.762) RHP Tommy Romero: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (1.89) Class-A Bowling Green Hot Rods (37-23) Bowling Green came back to beat Lake County, 3-2. Against his old club, Ruben Cardenas did all the damage. His RBI single in the third gave the Hot Rods a 1-0 lead, but the Captains eventually took the lead. With two outs in the ninth, he capped a rally with a two-run single to return the lead to the Hot Rods. Alan Strong allowed two runs in six innings. CF Ruben Cardenas: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 K (.798)DH Grant Witherspoon: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB (.729)SS Osmy Gregorio: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 SB (.569) RHP Alan Strong: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (2.97) Bowling Green’s site offers this recap. Short-Season Hudson Valley Renegades (37-27) Hudson Valley rolled to a 12-5 win over Tri-City. The top three hitters in the lineup — Greg Jones, Garrett Hiott, and Hill Alexander — combined to reach base 10 times and score five runs. Hiott and Alexander also drove in three and two runs, respectively. Evan McKendry allowed a run in four innings. SS Greg Jones: 2-for-4, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB, 1 HBP (.855)CF Garrett Hiott: 2-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.761)RF Hill Alexander: 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (.790)3B Nick Sogard: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SB (.656) RHP Evan McKendry: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (1.31) Rookie Princeton Rays (29-34) Princeton didn’t have enough offense in its Game 1, 1-0 loss to Greeneville. The only run of the game came on a solo home run, and the Rays only had four hits. Seth Johnson had the best outing of his pro career so far, striking out five in two perfect innings. The Rays’ offense was much more active in an 11-0 win in Game 2. Jhosner Vargas finally got them on the board Friday with an RBI single in the second, and they were also aided by Reds mistakes, like when two runs scored on a strikeout due to a throwing error in the five-run third. Vargas capped that rally with another RBI hit. Stanly Sabino and Vincent Byrd combined to strike out 12 in seven innings. RF Diego Infante (1): 0-for-3, 2 KRF Diego Infante (2): 2-for-3, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 SB (.852)C Dawson Dimon (2): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.768) RHP Seth Johnson (1): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (5.14)LHP Stanly Sabino (2): 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K (3.38)RHP Vincent Byrd (2): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (3.24) Rookie Gulf Coast League Rays (23-25) The GCL Rays earned a 3-1 win over the GCL Braves. Victor Munoz threw four scoreless innings, and after Joe Gobillot allowed the Braves’ runs in 1 2?3 innings, Wikelman Ramirez retired all 10 batters he faced. Julio Meza singled in the Rays’ first run in the fifth and drove in an insurance run in the ninth. SS Jake Cronenworth: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 KCF Shane Sasaki: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K (.457)C Julio Meza: 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K (.580) RHP Victor Munoz: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (3.57)RHP Wikelman Ramirez: 3 1?3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (0.00) CLICK HERE FOR ALL BOX SCORES Saturday’s games (probables courtesy of milb.com) Durham vs. Gwinnett 6:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. Ian Anderson (1-1, 5.63) Montgomery @ Chattanooga 7:15 p.m. ET (radio stream)TBA vs. TBA Charlotte vs. Clearwater 6 p.m. ET (radio stream)Tobias Myers (7-1, 2.47) vs. Jack Perkins (0-3, 6.19) Bowling Green vs. South Bend 7:35 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. TBA Hudson Valley vs. Tri-City 6:05 p.m. ET (MiLB.TV, radio stream)TBA vs. Kyle Serrano (0-4, 9.00) Princeton @ Greeneville 6:30 p.m. ET (radio stream)TBA vs. TBA GCL Rays vs. GCL Braves 10 a.m. *Listed as TBA on milb.com Scouting the opposition Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta)75-54 (1st in IL South)Offense: 720 R (2nd) .808 OPS (4th)Pitching: 4.18 ERA (1st) 1.33 WHIP (1st)Top-30 prospects: OF Cristian Pache (1), RHP Ian Anderson (2), OF Drew Waters (3), RHP Kyle Wright (4), RHP Bryse Wilson (6), LHP Tucker Davidson (10), RHP Patrick Weigel (13), RHP Huascar Ynoa (19), RHP Chad Sobotka (22) Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati)20-40Offense: 562 R (3rd) .716 OPS (3rd)Pitching: 4.51 ERA (10th) 1.42 WHIP (10th)Top-30 prospects: 3B Jonathan India (3), RHP Tony Santillan (5), C Tyler Stephenson (6), OF Stuart Fairchild (10), OF T.J. Friedl (12), LHP Packy Naughton (24), RHP Ryan Hendrix (27), 1B Ibandel Isabel (29), C Nick Ciuffo Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia)28-36Offense: 475 R (8th) .675 OPS (5th)Pitching: 3.56 ERA (7th) 1.26 WHIP (7th)Top-30 prospects: C Rafael Marchan (6), LHP Zach Warren (17), C Rodolfo Duran (20), 2B Daniel Brito (21), OF Jhailyn Ortiz (22), RHP Kyle Glogoski (26), OF Matt Vierling (27) South Bend Cubs34-26 (2nd in MWL East)Offense: 532 R (10th) .697 OPS (4th)Pitching: 3.53 ERA (6th) 1.27 WHIP (6th)Top-30 prospects: OF Cole Roederer (4), OF Brennen Davis (5), 2B Chase Strumpf (7), OF Nelson Velazquez (13), RHP Jose Albertos (15), RHP Riley Thompson (20) Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston)25-38 (4th in NYPL Stedler)Offense: 230 R (13th) .625 OPS (12th)Pitching: 4.22 ERA (14th) 1.42 WHIP (14th)Top-30 prospects: SS Luis Santana (17), OF Jordan Brewer (20), RHP Jayson Schroeder (19), RHP Manny Ramirez (28), C Korey Lee Greeneville Reds25-37Offense: 263 R (10th) .669 OPS (9th)Pitching: 4.82 ERA (10th) 1.34 WHIP (3rd)Top-30 prospects: SS Rece Hinds (13), 2B Tyler Callihan (16), OF Danny Lantigua (26), OF Allan Cerda (30) GCL Braves17-29Offense: 173 R (17th) .639 OPS (17th)Pitching: 4.27 ERA (12th) 1.43 WHIP (13th)Top-30 prospects: None Daily news and links Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper wrote a number of stories on the rules changes in the Atlantic League. It’s the end of the DSL and Tricky League seasons, so instead of regular BP the Rays did a home run derby.That’s Stir Candelario up first, then at 0:45 the whole team goes bonkers for their big 2019 signing Jose Peña hitting balls into the trees. pic.twitter.com/hRpbtVwE59— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) August 22, 2019

Photo by Will Vragovic/Getty Images Recapping the game against Cleveland. - With the Browns in the red zone in the second quarter, DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches came up with the Buccaneers’ first sack of the night, sending Cleveland QBBaker Mayfield back eight yards. It was the first career preseason sack for Nuñez-Roches. Following the sack, Cleveland was forced to kick its third field goal of the game, which Browns K Austin Seibert put through to extend Cleveland’s lead to 9-0 with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, Nuñez-Roches notched another sack, this time bringing down Drew Stanton for an eight-yard loss. - As time expired in the first half, S Jordan Whitehead came up with the first interception of the game and the first of his career in the preseason. Earlier in the half, Whitehead also had a pass defense in the end zone, preventing a Cleveland touchdown. He finished with a trio of team-highs, including four tackles, two passes defensed and one interception. - K Cairo Santos brought the score to 9-3 in the third quarter after hitting a 23-yard field goal with 6:35 to play in the period. Santos is 2-of-2 on field goal attempts so far during the 2019 preseason. The field goal capped off a 13-play, 63-yard scoring drive, lasting 6:01. - TE Tanner Hudson made four receptions for 49 yards in the game. With his second catch, a 19-yard reception, Hudson surpassed Paris Warren for the most receiving yards in a single preseason by a Buccaneers player since at least 2000. Warren racked up 191 yards receiving in 2007, while Hudson sits at 226 yards after three weeks of the 2019 preseason. - Fellow TE Jordan Leggett caught the first touchdown of the game for the Buccaneers, hauling in a 20-yard reception from QB Ryan Griffin with 0:19 remaining in the third quarter to give Tampa Bay its first lead at 10-9. The touchdown capped off a nine-play, 69-yard drive, spanning 4:27. It was the first preseason touchdown of Leggett’s career. Griffin was 11-of-17 passing for 121 yards and one touchdown. He has now thrown for 652 yards, which is the most by a Buccaneers quarterback in a single preseason since at least 2000. - In the fourth quarter, S Darian Stewart wrapped up Browns QB David Blough for an eight-yard sack. - After Cleveland went up 12-10 in the final quarter, K Matt Gay converted a 21-yard field goal to re-claim the lead for the Buccaneers at 13-10. Gay is now 4-of-5 field goals during the 2019 preseason, with a pair of game-winning kicks in back-to-back weeks. - WR Chris Godwin made four receptions for a team-high 52 yards receiving in the game. He has hauled in multiple receptions in seven-of-10 games that he has played in the preseason dating back to his rookie season in 2017. In total, Godwin has recorded 20 receptions for 262 yards in his preseason career (13.1 yards per reception). - In his first career preseason contest, Buccaneers 2019 sixth-round selection WR Scotty Miller recorded two receptions for 15 yards. - Players making NFL preseason debut: WR Scotty Miller.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports This offense is down right offensive at times. Preseason Week 3 finally came and went as fans got to see the first team offense and defense play a full half versus the lone series they got in each of the first two games. The offense faced a formidable front seven from Cleveland and the defense got to face the Baker Mayfield led new-look Browns offense. With each side getting a full half of football in, let’s take a different approach to this weeks instant reactions and dive into both sides by half. Up first, the first team offense and their first half of football. First Half Offense Jameis Winston and the offense took the field in what should have been a nice tune up game before the regular season. They left the field at the half with more questions than answers and some far too familiar issues from seasons past. Issues started up front and if we’re all honest with ourselves, we knew that the single drives from the first two games that they performed well were a farce. The offensive line, while relatively the same exact group with another season of continuity under their belts, has always been a sore spot on this team. The group struggled to provide protection and running lanes to the complete demise of the entire offense. Winston was left on his back 5 times with sacks and quickly began looking like bad Jameis in this ball game. Winston had a wide open Breshad Perriman streaking down the line that he not only didn’t connect on, he flat out threw it out of play. Something we regularly see from Winston when he begins pressing. Another pass flew incomplete that could have easily been picked and before you knew it, the offense looked no better now than it did with Koetter. Winston finished 9 of 19 from the field when his half ended. The lone bright spot on offense in the first half was Chris Godwin who finished with 4 grabs for 52 yards, including a 20 yarder. The big play came on a quick screen that Godwin took down the line for the big gain. The play can be found below. If you're still sleeping on Chris Godwin, stop it right now @CGtwelve_ pic.twitter.com/bMgTksHMBY— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 23, 2019 The running backs struggled to find space behind some poor offensive line play in this one. Barber looked average at best on his 3 carries, struggling to find any positive yardage with a big run of 3 yards to finish with... well 3 yards. Ronald Jones on the other hand... well yeah basically the same. Jones did finish with more yards, 8 total in fact on 4 carries and a long of 6. The offense didn’t live up to expectations in this one but alas, it’s still the preseason and there is still time to get things in order. The staff is still working it’s magic and big things are to be expected when the offense gets back Mike Evans. First Half Defense The defense on the other hand... impressive. Todd Bowles appears to have made an immediate impact on the defense all around. The ferocity to which the players are flying about the field is simply refreshing to see. The team had Baker Mayfield in shambles and unable to find any consistency. The front 7 were very active early on in this one with Rakeem Nuñez-Roches netting a sack in the first quarter. Noah Spence showed his speed off the edge and the pressure Bowles defense sent up the middle caused some chaos for Mayfield and company. Carl Nassib had himself another solid game but also will find himself on the interwebs after this would be sack. Baker Mayfield is a brick wall @bakermayfield pic.twitter.com/CZRJw9sQfp— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 24, 2019 M.J. Stewart got into the action with a nice pass break up as the defense brought some of that pressure in the 1st quarter. The defensive backs were alive and well in this ball game as the young unit looks to build confidence heading into week 1. NOT in MJ's house!#GoBucs | #CLEvsTB pic.twitter.com/eVIRZMK68Z— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 24, 2019 It wasn’t just MJ Stewart getting his hands on the football as the defense was able to get a takeaway prior to the half ending. Jordan Whitehead, who has been all over the place this preseason in what looks like the makings of a big season for him, made the interception off of Baker Mayfield. Taking that momentum into the locker room.#GoBucs | #CLEvsTB pic.twitter.com/R9CLw39Byc— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 24, 2019 When the half ended, the Buccaneer defense had dominated Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns offense. Mayfield would add one more incomplete pass but the stat line here says it all. Baker Mayfield's numbers: 10-25, 72 yards. #Browns— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) August 24, 2019 Second Half of Football With both sets of starters out and the depth guys in the ball game, things managed to get a bit interesting. Ryan Griffin got some more playing time than he most likely anticipated as Blaine Gabbert went down with an injury. Griffin to this point has looked like the superior passer which shouldn’t be all too surprising given Gabbert’s past of ineptitude. Nonetheless, the injury is something to keep an eye on as one would have expected to see Gabbert as the veteran backup going into the season. Dare Ogunbowale got into the game and did his thing and some, adding a very nice blitz pickup on what turned out to be a 20 yard touchdown pass. Andre Ellington bounced back a bit but sure looks like the odd man out at the time with Ogunbowale just looking like the fresher more impact worthy option behind Jones and Barber. Jordan Leggett was the beneficiary on Dare’s blitz pickup as the tight end caught the pass for the touchdown. The depth at tight end from a pass catching perspective has been down right impressive early on for this team. On defense, it’s worth noting that Noah Spence played into the 4th quarter and surprisingly put together a spin move to get into the backfield, albeit against guys competing for roster spots. Wrapping it up Overall, the team is about where fans should have expected them though admittedly the roles may be reversed. Where the offense in retrospect should have been expected to look good to this point while the defense comes along slowly, after this ballgame it’s quite the opposite. Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwhich have a lot of work to do on offense to ensure Winston is protected and playing level headed, not pressing. Getting this offensive line to perform may be the achilles heel this season. On the other side, Todd Bowles appears to be working magic. With a front 7 that is patch work built at best and backfield that is practically out of college, it’s impressive to see them shut down a dynamic young quarterback. There’s a lot of work left, but the early goings are giving fans hope. With Week 4 coming up and the regular season around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see how some of the position battles shake out.

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