The affiliates were 3-3 on the day, with the seventh affiliate on the way to losing in a suspended game.
AAA: Omaha 4, Colorado Springs 0 (Suspended in the fourth inning)
Pedro Hernandez allowed four runs on ten hits in 3 1/3 innings of work and Matt McBride had the only hit for the Sky Sox in a game that was stopped in the middle of the fourth inning. The game will be resumed on 8/8.
AA: Arkansas 3, Tulsa 1
The Drillers scored a run in the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead, but their opponents scored a run each in the next three frames. Tulsa only had four hits on the day (Brian Humphries had two), but three went for extra bases. Tyler Anderson (PuRP 10) pitched five innings of three hit, no run ball with three walks and three strikeouts before bumping up against his pitch limit. The outing lowered Anderson's ERA on the year to 2.59, but as long as the Rockies keep him on this leash (he's averaged only 4.8 innings per start this year) Anderson is not a candidate for a big league call-up until at least September if at all this year.
High A: Bakersfield 11, Modesto 5 (F-10)
Eddie Butler (PuRP 2) made his first rehab start since going on the DL with rotator cuff inflammation in his first major league start. Butler went four innings for Modesto, allowing three runs (all in the first inning) on two hits and two walks while striking out two. Butler labored through the first inning, needing 28 pitches to get through it, but he required just 30 pitches over the next three frames - throwing 40 of his 58 pitches for strikes.
Here's what Butler had to say to Brian Vanderbeek of the Modesto Bee after the game:
I was a little antsy and was overthrowing in the first inning. About halfway through the second inning, I dialed it back and through the fourth I was able to maintain that level of intensity and actually hit some spots.
Thanks to Brian for the blow by blow of Butler's rehab start. Per Vanderbeek, the plan is to get Butler to AAA on the way back to the majors.
As for the game itself, the reason that Butler didn't take the loss was that the Nuts were able to rally and tie the game at three after the nine regulation innings. Tyler Gagnon threw four scoreless innings in relief of Butler, but unfortunately a combination of Rayan Gonzalez and Peter Tago allowed eight runs in the top of the 10th inning to put the game out of reach.
On offense, the Nuts hit three homers, all solo shots. Will Swanner (PuRP 24) swatted his ninth of the year in the first inning as part of a three hit night, Jordan Ribera smacked his eighth as one of his two hits, and Francisco Sosa hit his second of the year. Chris O'Dowd and Michael Tauchman each added multi-hit games. The 23 year-old Tauchman is now hitting .382/.460/.709 in 63 Modesto plate appearances.
Low A: Asheville 7, Kannapolis 5 (F-15)
If you're a fan of offense and drama, yesterday's Asheville game was the matchup for you. The two teams combined for 33 hits in the game and the teams combined for three blown saves. The game started off innocuously enough, as Asheville trailed 3-1 entering the ninth inning having racked up only six hits. Then the PuRPs in the Tourist lineup came to life and Asheville scored two runs in the ninth on the backs of David Dahl (PuRP 3), Raimel Tapia (PuRP 16, not for long), and Ryan McMahon (PuRP 7) to send it into extra innings.
Asheville scored to go ahead in the top of the 12th, only to have their opponents respond. They scored again in the top of the 13th and were denied a second run when McMahon was thrown out at home by former Rockies farmhand Carl Thomore on a potential sac fly. Don't run on Carl - Thomore you know. That almost proved critical, as the home team rallied again in the bottom frame to knot the score at five apiece. Fortunately for our heroes, in the top of the 15th Tapia hit a RBI double, Corelle Prime knocked him in with a triple, and Jefri Hernandez struck out three to secure his first save of the year.
The 20 year-old Tapia, who is now hitting .333/.385/.463 in 363 plate appearances, went 5-8 in the game with two doubles. Since the SAL All-Star Break (84 ABs), he's hitting .405/.474/.524. Dahl was 3-8, while McMahon, Michael Benjamin, Prime, Jordan Patterson (PuRP 23), and Zach Osborne each had two hits. The Tourists stole six bags in the game, led by Benjamin's three steals. On the mound, Konner Wade put up 5 1/3 innings of three run ball on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Seven relievers took the mound for the Tourists and five of them threw over an inning of relief.
Short Season A: Spokane 7, Tri City 3
All of the Dust Devils's offense came via the long ball in this one, as Marcos Derkes (2) and Drew Weeks (1) both hit homers and had multi-hit game for Tri-City at the top of the lineup. Weeks, you may recall, was Colorado's seventh rounder this June and was the NCAA batting champion this year. Other than that there wasn't much to speak of in this one. Logan Sawyer, Colorado's 29th rounder this year, took the loss, throwing 4 1/3 innings of four run ball on six hits and four strikeouts.
Rookie: Grand Junction 13, Helena 2
The GJ Rockies exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the second and never looked back on the way to a big win. Max George, Colorado's sixth round pick this year, went 4-4 with a homer (2), triple, double, and single. In other words, he hit for the cycle. Competitive balance first rounder Forrest Wall had two hits, as did Yonathan Daza, Hamlet Marte, and Denzel Richardson. In 65 plate appearances stateside, the 20 year-old Marte is hitting .414/.477/.621.
Harrison Musgrave, Colorado's eighth rounder this year, started and threw three innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out three. Logan Norris took the win with two scoreless innings of relief, while Rafael Betancourt allowed two hits and struck out two in another rehab assignment.
Dominican Summer League: DSL Rockies 15, DSL Mariners 1
This is not a typical Dominican Summer League boxscore. Well, the seven (!?!?) errors committed by the DSL Mariners were, as were the seven walks allowed by Rockies starter Hector Villarroel in his 4 2/3 innings pitched. Still, you don't typically see a 15 run on 15 hit performance, and that's what the DSL Rockies delivered yesterday. Daniel Suero led the hit parade with four, while Manuel Melendez had three and Joel Diaz added two. Jonathan Piron homered (1) and stole a base for good measure. Outside of his walks, Villarroel allowed only one hit and struck out five in his outing.
Today's Probables
AAA: Brett Tomko
AA: Richard Castillo
High A: Ben Alsup
Low A: Johendi Jiminian
Short Season A: Ryan Warner
Rookie: Carlos Polanco