AAA Colorado Springs: W 6-2 (28-29, 3rd, 3.5 GB)
Drew Pomeranz struggled with efficiency, as he prevented himself from picking up a 'W' by throwing 105 pitches in just 4.2 innings. As has been the case during his time in the minors this season, Pomeranz had his strikeout pitches working, racking up seven more of those to raise his total to 27 in just 24 innings. Coming into yesterday's game, he had walked just two batters while in Colorado Springs. However, his command briefly went array yesterday, as he allowed five walks. Still, his K/BB ratio remains at almost 4-to-1. Aside from the walks and lack of efficiency, Pomeranz was solid; he allowed just a run on five hits, and all five of the outs on balls in play were of the groundball variety.
The bullpen did good work, as three relievers combined for 4.1 innings of one-run ball. Kennil Gomez picked up the win, while newcomer Tyler Johnson struck out three in an inning and two-thirds of scoreless work. Offensively, the Sky Sox continued their puzzling XBH dry spell, and were actually outhit 11 to 7. Still, Tim Wheeler and Jimmy Cesario picked up a couple of hits apiece, and both of Cesario's directly resulted in runs. Meanwhile, Pomeranz helped himself with an RBI single in the second.
AA Tulsa: W 11-2 (31-24, 1st)
The Drillers, who have struggled offensively at times this season, broke out in a big way yesterday in Midland. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, as the Drillers tallied 15 in total. They were led by Josh Rutledge, who went 4-for-5 with a homer and a couple of runs scored. Ben Paulsen had three hits including a double, and Angelys Nina contributed two hits, one of which was a three-run homer. Nolan Arenado went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk, and two runs scored.
Dan Houston didn't miss too many bats, but he did induce 11 groundball outs and allowed just two runs on eight hits in seven innings. Cory Riordan and Joey Williamson were flawless in relief. With two ninth-inning punchouts, Williamson now has 27 strikeouts 20.1 innings, and his ERA sits at 1.33. The nine walks are a tad excessive, but he may be a guy to watch for in terms of jumping up a level mid-season.
A-ball recaps after the jump...
High-A Modesto: W 5-4 (28-29, 3rd, 4.5 GB)
The Nuts did their best to contain Bakersfield (Reds) prospect Billy Hamilton, who led the club with two hits and stole his universe-leading 62nd base of the season. And they did a good job, if the final score is any indication. Timothy Smalling (who fell a homer short of the cycle) and Mark Tracy led the Nuts with three hits apiece, and the much-maligned Nick Schnaitmann picked up the victory in relief by striking out four batters in two scoreless innings.
Starter Leuris Gomez lasted five innings, and allowed four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two. Adam Jorgenson picked up his ninth save by pitching a scoreless ninth. His ERA sits at 0.64 for the season.
Low-A Asheville: W 9-8 (40-17, 1st)
THERE WAS A BUECHELE SIGHTING IN ASHEVILLE LAST NIGHT. It wasn't Steve Buechele, but rather his son Garrett, who drove in seven runs for Augusta. Fortunately for the Tourists, that was about the extent of the damage allowed, as they were able to outslug the Greenjackets. Taylor Featherston led the charge for Asheville by going 4-for-5 with a homer and four driven in. Trevor Story was a homer shy of the cycle as well, as his three hits raised his average to an even .300 on the season.
Starter Chris Jensen allowed five runs on six hits and two walks in five and a third, with two of the hits being homers. Russell Brewer was the star of the staff for the Tourists, as he struck out two in his lone inning of work. Jefri Hernandez blew the save by allowing two runs on four hits in the ninth inning, but Tourists were unable to win on a bases-loaded groundball off the bat of Jose Rivera that Augusta was unable to turn into an inning-ending double play.
DSL Rockies: Off