Schultz serves up six hitless frames
In a contest that saw the Biscuits score 16 runs on 14 hits, it might be easy to overlook the job their pitchers did on the mound.
But for the first two-thirds of Monday night's game, it was Montgomery starter Jaime Schultz that was holding the attention of almost 2,000 fans at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.
Schultz (1-0) worked six hitless innings and 2012 fifth-rounder Mark Sappington carried the no-no into the eighth in the Double-A Biscuits' 16-1 rout of the BayBears.
Schultz exited having thrown 54 of 88 pitches for strikes and issuing three walks. Sappington worked around a seventh-inning free pass to take Montgomery's third potential no-no into the eighth, but Tom Belza hit a sinking line drive to left field to lead off the inning that dropped inches short of diving Tyler Goeddel's glove.
"I was doing my arm care in the trainer's room and watching it on TV," Schultz said of the base hit. "It was a little flair. I thought [Goeddel] was going to get it, he made a great effort, but it was actually a relief. Just to get that hit out of the way was a relief because now you can just focus on winning the game. It was disappointing, but everyone pitched well and that was all you could ask for."
Belza came around to score when shortstop Daniel Robertson misplayed what could have been an inning-ending double-play ball, but Sappington retired the final two batters of the inning to limit the damage. Zach Cooper worked a perfect ninth to seal the victory.
There have been two previous no-hitters in Montgomery history. Tyler Moore accomplished the feat on June 16, 2011, and Victor Mateo replicated the no-no on Aug. 24, 2013. While Schultz wasn't able to add his name to the list, he was pleased with the growth he has made in the first two weeks of the season.
Selected in the 14th round of the 2013 Draft, Schultz allowed two runs on five hits and a pair of free passes over 4 2/3 innings on Opening Day in his Southern League debut against Chattanooga and he yielded one run on three hits and four walks over four frames on Wednesday in Jacksonville.
The 23-year-old right-hander was more efficient Monday night, surrendering just a pair of two-out walks in the second inning and another free pass in the third that was erased on an inning-ending double play. Schultz retired the final 10 batters he faced, including striking out six consecutive hitters.
"This was definitely my best," said Schultz, ranking the performance among his other 32 Minor League appearances. "I've never thrown a no-hitter in my professional career and I've never gone seven innings, so to go six and put myself in a position where I could go back out if I needed to was great.
"I just feel like I made a big improvement from my last two outings. I wasn't able to get past the fourth in either of the last two, so I've been working with my pitching coach [R.C. Lichtenstein]. Development-wise, this was a big jump."
The Albany, New York native went 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA in 14 starts between Class A Bowling Green and Class A Advanced Charlotte last year and was 1-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 17 short-season appearances for Hudson Valley in his rookie season in 2013.
Schultz said he did not expect to come back out to pitch the seventh despite the no-hitter being intact because the Rays tend to keep pitchers around the 90-pitch limit for the first month of the season.
"I tried to stay in there, but the guys are doing what is best for us," said Schultz, who threw four seven-inning no-hitters in high school. "They know best. I can't just go out there in a game early in the season and blow out everything I have.
"I was actually a little bit tired because we had a long bus ride [seven hours from Jacksonville] last night. I told my trainer I didn't feel too good, but after the second inning, I felt like I had some stuff."
Goeddel went 3-for-3 with a pair of triples, three RBIs and three runs scored and designated hitter Johnny Field slugged an eighth-inning grand slam off infielder Gerson Montilla, who yielded seven straight singles to start the inning before Field took him deep.
Mobile starter Andrew Barbosa (0-1) allowed five runs on three hits and three walks over two-thirds of an inning.
Ashley Marshall is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AshMarshallMLB.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between