Rockies outfield/first base prospect Kyle Parker hit his 10th home run of the season for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Sunday, a solo shot in the second inning against former Rockie Clayton Mortensen in the Sky Sox' 7-2 loss to Omaha.
Mortensen was otherwise very good against the Sky Sox, limiting them to two runs on six hits in six innings. Angelys Nina had two of those hits. Ben Paulsen, who entered the game as the team's leading hitter, went 0-for-4 against Mortensen and the Storm Chasers' bullpen, which didn't allow a hit in three innings of work.
Juan Nicasio was roughed up for six runs on eight hits in six innings. He recorded seven strikeouts but also surrendered three home runs, two of which came off the bat of 29-year-old non-prospect Matt Fields. Nicasio now has a 6.45 ERA in 22⅓ innings.
In his first game with the Sky Sox since being demoted from the Rockies, Rob Scahill allowed a run in an inning of work.
Anderson gets no help from defense
Make no mistake about it: Tyler Anderson was not efficient in Double-A Tulsa's 7-2 loss to Corpus Christi. After all, the 24-year-old left-hander needed 88 pitches to get four innings. However, a pair of errors in the second inning extended Anderson's pitch count and resulted in three unearned runs. Anderson could have done without allowing three extra-base hits in the inning, but two of those wouldn't have even had the chance to happen if not for the fielding gaffes by Joey Wong and Ryan Casteel.
Taylor Featherston led the Drillers' offense with a pair of runs batted in while going 1-for-4 with a double. Trevor Story's third-inning single extended his hitting steak to eight games, but he's hitting just .250/.351/.375 during that stretch.
Other games
Bakersfield 3, Modesto 2: Four Nuts players, including Will Swanner and Patrick Valaika, had two hits, but it wasn't enough to propel High-A Modesto, which is now 27-60, to a win. Jayson Aquino struck out five and allowed only two earned runs in 5⅔ innings but was saddled with his sixth loss in eight starts this season. Rosell Herrera went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. The highly regarded infield prospect is struggling in his first year in Modesto, hitting just ..256/.313/.328.
Lexington 8, Asheville 7: Michael Benjamin fell a double short of the cycle, going 4-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and three runs scored but reliever Andrew Brown spoiled the efforts of Benjamin and others by allowing four runs on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Starter Alex Balog was decent in five innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out three. Troy Neiman was awesome in long relief, whiffing three batters in three hitless frames. I'd like to see a scouting report on him before making too much of the performance of a 23-year-old in Low-A, but Neiman has allowed just 30 hits in 50⅓ innings while striking out 58 batters and walking 15. The 6'6, 195-pound right-hander has also surrendered only two home runs, a pretty significant feat given his home ballpark.
Everett 11, Tri-City 5: Cesar Galvez and Francisco Sosa had six of the Short-Season A Dust Devils' eight hits. First baseman Roberto Ramos homered and drove in a pair of runs in a decent offensive output for Tri-City, but unfortunately, hardly anyone on the pitching staff recorded outs in an effective manner.
Grand Junction 11, Orem 8: Finally somebody won! The Rookie Rockies used two hits, a homer and three RBI from Dom Nunez and impressive performances from buzz-worthy 2014 draft picks Forrest Wall and Kevin Padlo, both of whom had a couple of hits as well. Starter Javier Palacios allowed only two earned runs -- but also two homers -- in five innings of work. Rafael Betancourt made his first rehab appearance of the season, striking out a batter while working around a hit and a walk in a scoreless sixth.