Reid Brignac News

DURHAM BULLS ATHLETIC PARK It's the finale of the Durham Bulls' homestand, which may become known for years as the 'Matsui mania' stand.

For a team that has existed for less than fifteen years, the Tampa Bay Rays have hit a lot of memorable home runs.

While sitting in the dugout during Saturday's game, INF Jeff Keppinger was struck in the right foot by a foul ball off the bat of Braves LF Martin Prado .

The Pawtucket Red Sox' Daisuke Matsuzaka warms up in the visitors bullpen at Durham Bulls Atheltic Park, May 17, 2012.

Another Matsui headline? Get used to it. Any other Rays minor leaguer would need to hit 3 home runs or toss 6 no-hit innings to have a chance at a headline right now.

From the majors down to Low-A, it was a tough day in the Rays organization, at least for the early games.

Manager Charlie Montoyo of the Durham Bulls was excited about seeing Neftali Soto when the Louisville Bats visited for a recent series.

David Price strikes out 12 and Tampa Bay Rays win sixth in a row, 7-2 over Oakland A's Maybe they acquire a third baseman versatile enough to help out elsewhere when Longoria returns .

Of all the things the New York Yankees expected to have happen this season, I doubt anyone stopped to consider the possibility of Mariano Rivera tearing his ACL while shagging fly balls.

With the Rays playing a day game, all eyes were on the Rays minor league affiliates on Thursday night.

DBAP/ DURHAM-Minor-league life is small-town life. The stakes are lower, the pace is slower.

Evan Longoria might be the American League's mostA indispensable player. We're certainly about to find out now that he's due to miss 6-8 weeks with a hamstring tear .

After an awkward slide last night when he was caught stealing second base, Evan Longoria left the game with an apparent knee injury, according to Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports .

Welcome to the first edition of what I hope will be many volumes of Red Sox power rankings, a wide-ranging excuse to write about the best and worst performers of the previous month as a new one begins.

In 2010 for Lake Elsinore, the High-A affiliate in the San Diego Padres organization, Figueroa had a breakthrough season, posting a .303/.408/.392 line with 25 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 66 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 35 attempts in 124 games in his age 23 season.

The Rays saw their minor league affiliates get swept again, and it was ugly. One was no-hit, and they combined to score only five runs.

More of the same story in Durham - another loss, no hitting, and pitchers unable to throw strikes.

Reid Brignac has gone from top prospect to Quad-A player, He was given the Rays starting shortstop job in 2011 and completely blew it.

BY HAROLD GUTMANN hgutmann@heraldsun.com; 919-419-6668 DURHAM - Allowing just three hits is usually a winning formula.