The Sky Sox have seen a lot of players moving in and out of their team this past two weeks, and it has left them crippled in several areas, but especially in the bullpen. It is likely for this reason that Rob Scahill, despite being very hittable, was allowed to pitch the entire eight innings to his 11th loss of the season. The starter allowed 11 hits and six earned runs during the eight frames. He walked one and struck out three.
The Sky Sox offense was also quiet. Charlie Culberson with three singles and Brandon Wood with a single and a double accounted for five of the seven total team hits. Brendan Harris' double was the only other Colorado Springs extra-base hit, and he came around to score off a Chad Tracy sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and the rest was all Omaha. The final hit was a Tim Wheeler single. Catcher Omir Santos struck out three times, and after a hot start to his time with the Rockies, he is now hitting .185 over his past ten games.
The Drillers were off. They will play today.
Rancho Cucamonga 11, Modesto 9
Starter Kennil Gomez allowed nine of Rancho Cucamonga's 11 runs a cross the three innings he pitched, leading to his fourth loss of the season, all with the Nuts. In addition to five walks allowed, three of his seven hits left the yard. Chad Rose followed with control problems of his own in relief, and two more runs crossed under his watch. Craig Bennigson, Michael Solbach and Nick Schnaitmann were effective, but it was too late.
Only one of Modesto's 13 hits was for extra bases, a triple from Kyle Parker, one of three hits on the night for the prospect. The Nuts were still able to put together a more than decent offensive performance, especially considering it was mostly singles. Rafael Ortega, Jayson Langfels and Helder Valezquez each put up two hit outings, with Ortega stealing three bases in the process. In addition to a single each, Delta Cleary Jr. and Jared Clark reached base twice via the walk, leading to three runs scored between them. Only Brett Tanos was hitless for Modesto.
The Tourists also had a day off yesterday.
With the only win in the Rockies' MiLB system yesterday, the Dust Devils also didn't need the extra-base hit to put up their eight runs, thanks to large amounts of walks and stolen bases. Derek Jones' triple was his lone hit of the game, but he also walked three times and stole two bases. Kyle Von Tungeln also reached base three times on walks and stole a base. Francisco Sosa was the only Dust Devil with multiple hits in the game, and he also stole two bags. In total, there were eight walks and six stolen bases for the team.
Benjamin Hughes was excellent on the mound, allowing only one unearned run. The pitcher walked no one and struck out six, allowing four hits over five and two thirds pitched. Chris Dennis and Brook Hart continued good 2012 seasons with a clean finish to the game. This trio of older 2011 draftees are hoping for chances to continue their careers with Asheville next season.
Offense was more sparse for the GJ Rockies than the previous two affiliates, but the trend of low extra-base hits continued, with a Correlle Prime double the only one for the club. Between the Nuts, Dust Devils and GJ Rockies, 21 runs were scored between them with just three non-singles hit. Speaking of Prime, the 2012 high school draftee with the awesome name has broken out of his slow start, and hardcore. He is hitting .405 over his past ten games with a 1.041 OPS. Also beginning to heat up is second round pick Max White, the only multi-hitter of the game with a pair of singles and two runs batted in. Though White's recent play has only been "average", it is a significant step forward from his extremely slow start to his pro career. David Dahl kept his hitting streak alive with a single.
Jayson Aquino's second stateside start was very similar to his first. He struck out six, while allowing one run over six innings on four hits and two walks. Unfortunately, the start went to waste, as none of Jonathan Vargas, Rayan Gonzalez or Raul Fernandez pitched well out of the pen. The offense battled back multiple times at the end of the game to take the lead, but ultimately ended up on the short end. It was Gonzalez, who has had a very strange first pro season, who was stuck with the loss, his third.
DSL Orioles 5, DSL Rockies 3 (11 innings)
After struggling through most of July, Joel Payamps' last two starts have been an excellent rebound. Through five innings, Payamps allowed five hits, walked no one and struck out four. Three runs crossed, two of which were earned. Both teams committed four errors in the game. Marcos Derkes tripled for the team's only extra base hit, with Luis Jean's two singles marking the most hits for any player on the team in the game. There were lots of switches in the lineup; 14 position players saw game action, and each of them got at least one at bat. Manuel Montilla got his third loss of the year, after giving up two runs in the 11th inning, his third inning of work.