Raimel Tapia, Ashley Graeter lead Tourists to 10-8 victory
Raimel Tapia, my friends, is a beast. He blasted his eighth home run as part of a three hit night for the Asheville Tourists. And yet he was still outshone, as Ashley Graeter popped two dingers of his own and drove in four runs.
Tapia just hits and hits and hits. His .337/.391/.474 line is obviously fantastic, and he plays a solid center field. His eventual destination might be a corner spot, as David Dahl looks like the Rockies CF of the future, but Tapia's positively Dickersonian hit tool should absolutely play in a corner. And having two center fielders is a good problem to have. You could ask him to walk a little bit more, but I'm looking forward to that day in 2016 when Tapia gets the call.
Can't argue with what Graeter's done either. He's a bit old for the level at 24, but the catcher is still OPSing over 1.000.
Ryan McMahon went 2-4 with an RBI, but also committed two errors, meaning he has 26 fumbles this year already. That's...a lot. He needs to tighten that up.
Konner Wade gave up seven runs in 4.2 innings to the River Dogs, but only two were earned. I guess those McMahon errors came at really bad times. The bullpen picked him up by allowing just a single run the rest of the way.
The Tourists entered the ninth down by two. Tapia homered to bring it to within one. With two outs, Correlle Prime singled and Jordan Patterson walked, setting the stage for Graeter. Walk off three run blast. God the Tourists are fun this year.
Bergman starts rehab in Tulsa; Drillers lose 7-2
Christian Bergman, after breaking his hand in a fluke injury, is getting back in the game. He worked three innings for Tulsa yesterday, surrendering two runs off three walks and three hits. He struck out two. For a guy that really relies on control, I'd imagine it'll take a few starts for him to get his mojo back.
Nelson Gonzalez let the game slip away when he allowed four runs in his inning of work.
Offensively, there wasn't a whole lot going on. Trevor Story threw out a couple of hits as he tries to work his way out of a tough start to his tenure in Double-A. Ryan Casteel singled and walked twice, bringing his season-to-date line to a robust .285/.344/.468 with 14 home runs. If Wilin Rosario's days are indeed numbered in Colorado, we might be seeing Casteel shortly.
Other Games
The Modesto Nuts lost once again, this time by a score of 3-2. Jayson Aquino actually had a solid game, working seven innings and allowing three runs, but the hapless Nuts lineup couldn't help him out. David Dahl and Rosell Herrera both singled, and Dahl stole his first High-A base.
Tri-City fell to Everett 7-5. No one in the Tri-City lineup is hitting above .272. Cesar Galvez doubled home three runs. Helmis Rodriguez allowed five runs in five innings, but only two were earned.
Grand Junction Rockies lost to Orem 8-7. Dom Nunez hit a home run and Terry McClure went 2 for 4.
DSL Rockies lost to DSL Rojos 5-4.