Sunday Pebble Report: Huston Street exits with an injury, Chaz Roe's confusing outing, more

AAA - Colorado Springs Sky Sox: L 16-4 (18-17)
I'm not looking to use the "high-altitude, hitter-friendly environment" excuse too often when defending pitchers in the PCL, but based solely on Chaz Roe's boxscore stats for last night's game, I think the excuse may be valid. Upon first glance, one would think that Roe was completely hammered, to which the seven runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings would attest. However, a closer look at the statistics almost suggests that the aforementioned hits/runs allowed were a product of the environment. Roe struck out eight batters, and had a 3:1 groundout-to-flyout ratio. He also only walked two batters and was victimized by a couple of longballs, which are not uncommon occurrences at Security Service Field. Roe has a rather ugly "surface" stats, sporting a 1-6 record with a 7.08 ERA, so in any case he'll likely have to improve on that to be considered at all successful in his first Triple-A stint.

The bullpen didn't offer a whole lot of "pick-me-up" to Roe, as Edgmer Escalona and Damian Moss were shelled for nine runs on seven hits in just one combined inning of work. On the plus side, Matt Reynolds worked yet another scoreless inning, striking out two batters in the process. In case you're wondering, that's now no runs allowed in 18.2 innings, and 22 strikeouts against only two walks for the season. Offensively, the Sky Sox were paced by Travis Metcalf, who had three hits and an RBI, and finished a long ball short of the cycle. Chris Iannetta (now hitting .340) and Cole Garner each had a couple of hits as well.

AA - Tulsa Drillers: W 1-0 (15-19)
Daniel Mayora's eighth inning triple that scored Anthony Jackson proved to be the only run that the Drillers needed last night, as they received terrific pitching performances Bruce Billings and three relievers on their way to victory. Billings went five innings and allowed just three hits and two walks and struck out five. Chris Malone, who has done an admirable job serving as Tulsa's long man, went two innings and allowed a hit and two walks, but had a couple of key strikeouts. Huston Street had his second consecutive scoreless rehab outing, However, he left after just five pitches due to an apparent injury (as was mentioned in the Rockpile). He struck out Carlos Colmenares on three pitches, then threw two balls to Abel Nieves before being pulled. Al Alburquerque, who is trying to regain his form, got the final five outs without allowing a baserunner (technically he walked Nieves after taking over for Street, but Street was charged with the walk).

The A-ball reports are after the jump...

A+ - Modesto Nuts: W 16-4 (20-14)
The Nuts' offense exploded for 22 hits, led by Thomas Field and his 5-for-6 performance (which included a walk, a triple, a homer, two RBIs, and four runs scored). In addition, Jordan Pacheco, Ben Paulsen (who also homered), and Maikol Gonzalez each had three hits while James Cesario (HR), Tim Wheeler, and Erik Wetzel picked up two apiece. There are some gaudy batting averages on the Modesto roster, led by Pacheco's .412 average. On top of that, James Cesario is hitting .375 and Thomas Field is sitting at .350.

Pitching-wise, starter Rob Scahill wasn't particularly impressive, as he allowed four hits and five walks in four innings. However, he danced around the traffic (aided by four strikeouts) just enough to limit the damage to only one run. Jonnathan Aristil was terrific in relief. He hasn't been good up to this point, but he allowed just one run in three innings last night and struck out SIX batters. In addition, Rex Brothers (no hits, 1 K) and Kurt Yacko (two hits, a walk, and 2 Ks) kept Visalia off the board in their innings of work.

A - Asheville Tourists: L 11-4, W 3-0 (13-21)
In Game 1 of yesterday's double header, Nicholas Schnaitmann was unable to continue where Chris Balcom-Miller left off when the game was suspended on Friday. Balcom-Miller struck out three batters in his 2.1 innings, but Schnaitmann allowed four runs on eight his in just 3.2 innings. The relief wasn't much better until Chad Rose entered the game in the ninth and pitched a scoreless frame. However, it was entirely too late by that point. Offensively, the Drillers got a couple of hits apiece out of Avery Barnes (including a homer), Angelys Nina, and Nathan Hines (who also drove in two runs).

In Game 2, Alan DeRatt and Sheng-An Kuo combined to shutdown the Legends, as each pitcher only allowed one hit and struck out four batters (DeRatt did so in five innings, while Kuo matched him in the final two). Angelys Nina tacked on another two hits to raise his average to .333, and Orlando Sandoval hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning as part of his two-hit day.