Rox Girl checks in at her RMN blog with her top 10 Rockies prospects. Will she stick to it when we have our end-of-the-season PuRPs poll?

Colorado Springs, L 8-15 (completion of 8/14 game) & W 6-1: In the first game, Sean Smith allowed five of the runs, but Valerio De Los Santos must be on life support after the beating he received last night. He allowed nine runs on 15 hits in five innings. Infielder Kenny Perez pitched the last inning of the game. Matt Miller drove in two of the run as he went 2-for-5.

Franklin Morales went six innings in the seven-inning second game. He walked five struck out three, and allowed the run. Christian Colonel hit a two-run homer, his 10th.

Tulsa, W 4-2: Justin Nelson (18) and Tony Blanco (23) each hit solo homers last night. Brandon Hynick held Springfield to three hits in seven innings and struck out four. Ryan Mattheus struck out three on his way to his 16th save.

Modesto: No game scheduled. Brian VanderBeek looks at what an 8-team California League may look like in two years.

Asheville: No game scheduled. Darin Holcomb was named the SAL Player of the Year, and Joe Mikulik the SAL Coach of the Year (second in a row).

Tri-City, L 0-7: Sheng-An Kuo second start with the Dust Devils was completely forgettable. He was charged with six runs on eight hits over two innings. Not much else to report.

Casper, L 1-2: Jose Gonzalez drove in the only run for Casper and Jimmy Cesario hit a triple. Omar Duarte allowed both runs in four innings. Alan Deratt allowed one hit over the next three innings and struck out three. Isaiah Froneberger struck out two over the last two innings of the game.

The Springs, W 6-2: Joe Koshansky hit a three-run homer, his 28th, in the eighth inning to give the Sky Sox a four-run cushion. A Jeff Dragicevich RBI single, a Mike McCoy sac fly, and a Matt Miller RBI single accounted for the other three runs.

Greg Reynolds, making his first start in nearly a month, fared well. He allowed no runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three. Valerio De Los Santos allowed both runs, but Steven Register and Ryan Speier held Salt Lake to one hit over the last 2 2/3 innings of the game.

Tulsa, L 6-7: The Tulsa offense exploded out of the gate, only to falter almost immediately after. In the first inning, a Tony Blanco RBI double, a Jeff Kindel RBI groundout, a run scored on a wild pitch, and Justin Nelson's 17th homer gave the Drillers a 4-0 lead. Blanco would go on to add two more RBI.

But then Josh Hall, making his first start for the Drillers, took the mound. Using 105 pitches,  he allowed all seven runs over the next 3 1/3 innings (2, 2, 2, and 1). Jarrett Grube kept the game in check over the next 3 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on only two hits.

Modesto, L 1-2: Esmil Rogers turned in a solid six innings last night. He surrendered a run and struck out three. Unfortunately, the Modesto offense didn't show up. The offense managed one run on six hits, two each by Daniel Mayora and Lino Garcia and one each by Victor Ferrante and Jason Van Kooten. Ferrante had the RBI in the first.

Jon George allowed the winning run in the eighth, and Will Harris followed with a clean 1 1/3 innings and three strikeouts.

Asheville, L 8-14: Not a good night to be an Asheville pitcher. Robinson Fabian allowed eight runs in 4 1/3 innings, Sheng-An Kuo allowed seven hits and three runs in 1 2/3 innings, and Joey Williamson allowed three over the last three innings of the game.

Darin Holcomb went 4-for-5 with a double, three RBI, and a double. Bo Bowman and Warren Schaeffer each collected three hits and an RBI. Kevin Clark knocked out two doubles for his two hits. David Christensen struck out three times.

Tri-City, W 3-2 in 11 innings: Johnny Bowden's RBI single in the fourth gave the Dust Devils a 1-0 lead, but they immediately went down 1-2 after the end of the top of the fifth. Patrick Rose's homer in the bottom of the ninth, his third, sent the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, Charlie Blackmon led off with a fly out, but then the bases became loaded on an Erik Wetzel walk (who stole second after that (his second of the night, fourth this season)), an intentional walk to Patrick Rose, and a Johnny Bowden hit-by-pitch. Leonardo Reyes drove in Wetzel on a sac fly to win the game.

Jonnathan Aristil surrendered both runs in 5 1/3 inningsand struck out five. Hector Luna, Zach McClellan, and David Parker combined to hold Yakima hitless over the next 3 2/3 innings. Brandon Miller picked up the win after pitching the last two innings and allowing a hit.

Casper: Casper just can't get a break. They were scheduled to play two games, the first being the completion of a game suspended on August 14 due to wet grounds. Well, both games failed to take place due to wet grounds. Casper hasn't played since the August 14 game was suspended.

Colorado Springs, W 12-4: Valerio De Los Santos allowed two unearned runs and walked three in five innings. Josh Towers entered in the seventh inning and allowed two runs on five hits to "blow" the save. Luckily for him, the offense in the bottom of the seventh had something to say about that.

Earlier in the game, Doug Bernier hit his ninth homer, a two-run shot, and Edwin Bellorin had another triple, this time bringing in a run. In the bottom of the seventh, Christian Colonel started the scoring with an RBI single, which was (after a pitching and defensive changes) followed by a Joe Koshansky grand slam. A few batters later, Chris Frey had a two-run triple and then scored on an Humberto Cota single.

Tulsa: Postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader when Midland hosts Tulsa over the weekend.

Dexter Fowler's season would be complete if he wins the gold medal with Team USA and then gets called up.

Modesto, L 2-6: Jhoulys Chacin wasn't his usual sharp self last night. He allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one. Those runs were split evenly between the third and fifth innings with two of them put on the scoreboard by a home run. Andy Graham, Tommy Baumgardner, and James Burok allowed one hit over the last four innings

Matt Repec and Nelson Robledo each had two hits. One of those hits for both went for doubles; Mike McKenry also had a double.

Asheville, W 9-8 in 10 innings: Despite two runs allowed in the top of the 10th, the Tourists came back to win in the bottom of the inning. Brian Rike started the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a Darin Holcomb single. Both moved to theor next respective bases on a Jeff Cunningham walk. Bo Bowman then singled in Rike and Holcomb. Kevin Clark put down a sac bunt to move Cunningham into scoring position, who scored the winning run on a David Christensen single.

Darin Holcomb went 3-for-5, two of those being doubles (42). The first double scored two in the first inning. Beau Seabury hit his first homer of the season, and Everth Cabrera stole his 69th base.

Tri-City, W 3-2: Down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, a Patrick Rose RBI ground out and a Jordan Pacheco RBI single tied and won the game for the Dust Devils. Pacheco also had an RBI triple in the previous inning to put his team on board for the first time in the game.

Parker Frazier allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. J.R. Murphy struck out three in 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Casper, W 8-7: Wilin Rosario hit two homers, both solo shots, and is now at 11 for the season. Kiel Roling hit his fourth, a two-run shot. Chad Jacobsen went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. Delta Cleary and Zack Murry knocked in the other runs.

Dan Houston went five innings, allowed four runs on four hits, struck out four, and walked three. Brandon Walker didn't allow a run in his inning of work, but Alan Deratt was charged with two runs after Isaiah Froneberge allowed  those inherited runners to score. Kurt Yacko picked up his eighth save after allowing an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth.

As our most recent FanShot mentions, the Rockies' Official Website lists Jason Hirsh as the probable starter for tonight's game against the Pirates' Ian Snell. But both papers today are speculating that the more likely candidate is Valerio De Los Santos. The RMN's Jack Etkin believes that De Los Santos was held out of Saturday's game (which allowed Josh Towers to suck in that game) so he could be ready for today's game. The Denver Post says the Rockies "are likely to call up" De Los Santos.

De Los Santos, a southpaw, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005 when he was with the Marlins. Did I mention yet that he's only started two games in the majors, both for the Brewers in 2000? Not that they mean much, but they were his first two games of that season. In the first one, he allowed one run on two hits in five runs. In the second one, he was rocked for eight runs on nine hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. If anyone looks at Game Scores, that start was good enough to garner a nine. Just to make some comparisons, Kerry Wood's 20-K game had a Game Score of 105 and Kip Wells had a seven in his third-of-an-inning start on July 21.

Calling up De Los Santos makes sense if Jeff Francis is indeed activated later this week. If Jason Hirsh comes up, I want to see him get more than just a start. No need to jerk him around.

Who or what did U-Ball thank for his recent performances? "'I have to say thank-you to July,' said Jimenez."

The Rockies are about to finish a deal with Tyler Massey today, their 14th round draft pick. The story indicates his signing bonus will be close to what second rounders are getting this year, but this article from the RMN mentions a $400K signing bonus, just under what second rounders have received. Massey can play either first base or the outfield corners and will report to Casper after signing.

The second link above also mentions that the Yankees and Rays have scouts in town for the series against the Dodgers in order to see Brian Fuentes pitch. They'll want to watch him in close- and late-inning situations, but more games such as last night's and that won't happen.

At least we know Kip Wells won't be in the rotation for long:

"We're looking for somebody to help us solidify the starting rotation," manager Clint Hurdle said before the game.

"(Wells) is going to get the first shot at that. This is not going to be eight, 10 starts to figure it out. This needs to be something you come in, you embrace, you make pitches, you keep the ball down, you throw strikes and we'll go from there."

But then it's likely that anyone the Rockies plug into the rotation for Wells wouldn't be able to do what Hurdle wants him to do. Josh Towers? Franklin Morales again? Jason Hirsh? They're just as likely to fail in the rotation, but there's always Valerio De Los Santos.

Todd Helton says the Rockies don't want him hitting yet because they believe one swing could aggravate his injury again.

Colorado Springs, L 0-2 - Christian Colonel, Edwin Bellorin, and Jeff Dragicevich each had two hits, and Cory Sullivan had a double for the lone extra-base hit for the Sky Sox. Valerio De Los Santos allowed one run on two hits over six innings and struck out seven.

Tulsa, W 12-3 - In his rehab start, Jeff Francis allowed one hit in 3 2/3 innings and struck out two. Jarrett Grube finished he fourth inning before Ching-Lung Lo went the final five innings.

Tulsa hitters combined for 15 hits, only three of them for extra bases. Matt Miller and Tony Blanco each had a double in their 3-for-4 and 3-for-5 nights. Both drove in two runs. Daniel Carte drove in two, Brian Esposito had a triple and an RBI, and EY Jr., Dexter Fowler, Jeff Kindel, Corey Wimberly, and Justin Nelson each drove in a run. Young stole his 30th base and Wimberly his 45th.

Modesto, W 4-3 - Matt Repec's homer in the eighth tied the game at three and Mike McKenry's hit into an RBI groundout in the ninth to give Modesto the lead. Mike Paulk had a two-run single in the second. Anthony Jackson had two hits and stole his 29th base.

Brandon Durden and Chris Malone each went four innings, the former allowing two runs. Andrew Johnston pitched in the ninth for his 22nd save.

Asheville, L 5-6 in 10 innings - Everth Cabrera and Mike Mitchell each drove in two runs. In the bottom of the ninth, Cabrera and Mitchell had back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at five. Bo Bowman received a promotion from Tri-City to Asheville and went 2-for-5 in his debut.

Robinson Fabian struck out nine in six innings, but also allowed four runs. Matthew Reynolds took the loss after allowing the winning run on a single. He started the inning by retiring the first two batters. The third batter hit a double and advanced to third on a throwing error by Rike.

Tri-City, L 2-3 - Parker Frazier allowed an unearned run on four hits in six innings and struck out two. Carlos Luna allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow the save and lose the game.

Chad Lembeck tripled in Patrick Rose in the second inning and Charlie Blackmon scored on a throwing error in the following error. Blackmon singled and then stole second before moving to third on that play.

Casper, L 0-5 - Kane Simmons and Zack Murry each ahd two hits in this quiet contest for Casper. Jeff Fischer went six innings, allowed two runs, and struck out six. Ronny Lopez allowed another two and Kurt Yacko saw the other run score. Isaiah Froneberger struck out two in his scoreless inning of work.

Colorado Springs, L 1-2 - Cory Sullivan had two hits and the RBI, but that's pretty much it for the offense. Valerio De Los Santos allowed one run on two hits and a walk in five innings. De Los Santos struck out six. In between Juan Morillo's and Steven Register's innings of relief, Josh Towers allowed a run over his two innings of relief.

Tulsa, L 2-4 & L 3-7 in 13 innings - Tulsa scored two runs in the first inning of the first game and didn't score in the remaining eight. Tony Blanco had an RBI single and Jeff Kindel hit into an RBI ground out to put the Drillers on board. The six hits the Drillers had came in two-hit nights for Blanco, Corey Wimberly, and Matt Miller. Wimberly also stole his 39th base. Xavier Cedeno allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Game 2: Springfield's catcher Matt Pagnozzi and Tulsa's catcher Brian Esposito wound up pitching multiple innings at the end of the game. Pagnozzi recorded the victory. Esposito pitched four innings and allowed four runs on two doubles in the 13th (the second one plating three). Corey Wimberly had two more hits and stole his 40th base, and Dexter Fowler recorded a hit an walked three times. Jeff Dragicevich, Justin Nelson, and Eduardo Cornejo each had multi-hit nights.

Modesto,  L 4-6 - Jay Cox hit his sixth homer, a two-run shot in the second, and Mike McKenry had an RBI double in the sixth. Daniel Mayora had three hits, all singles, but nothing else to show for them. Anthony Jackson stole two bases to increase his total to 25. Keith Weiser allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings. Weiser allowed only one extra-base hit, an RBI triple.

Asheville, W 6-1 - Cory Riordan delivered one of his best starts of the season by going the distance for his seventh win. He allowed one run on six hits and three walks and struck out eight.

Everth Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored, two RBI, and three stolen bases (57). Lars Davis had two hits and an RBI, while Brian Rike drove in a run. Actually, all six runs scored in the seventh inning.

Tri-City, L 5-8 - Tri-City had a four-run third inning after Charlie Blackmon's RBI single and Josh Banda's three-run homer. Ryan Peisel drove in a run in the sixth to tie the game at five, but Boise scored three runs over the seventh and eighth innings. Juan Nicasio allowed five runs in four innings, which was followed by a scoreless inning by David Parker. Brandon Miller and Tyler trice allowed two and one runs in their appearances.

Casper, L 0-6 - Kane Simmons and Orlando Sandoval each had a double, which were two of Casper's three hits. Dan Houston allowed two runs on one hit and four walks in four innings. Kurt Yacko allowed three runs (one earned) in the eighth

Colorado Springs, W 10-6 - The Sky Sox win this without hitting a home run. It was a multi-RBI night for several players: Cory Sullivan and Ian Stewart (two hits) drove in two and Jayson Nix (three hits) drove in three. Two of Christian Colonel's hits were doubles. He, Doug Bernier, and Chris Frey each drove in a run. Bernier, Colonel, and Nix drove in four of those runs in the eight inning to break a 6-6 tie.

Valerio De Los Santos allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings, and Steven Register allowed a run in the top of the 8th to blow the save. He picked up the win after the already-mentioned four-run eighth by the Sky Sox.

Tulsa, L 2-4 - Tony Blanco hit his 17th homer last night and Dexter Fowler had two hits, but, with men on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, Fowler grounded out on the first pitch he saw. Xavier Cedeno allowed one run (on a homer) in five innings. He also struck out five before leaving the game as a result of back spasms. Adam Bright was charged with two runs, but they scored when Ryan Mattheus took his place on the mound. Mattheus allowed one additional run.

Modesto, L 7-10 - Six of Modesto's seven runs came by way of the home run. Daniel Mayora had two, his first two of the season, Michael McKenry had a two-run shot for his ninth, and Jason Van Kooten had one in the ninth for his second. Van Kooten and Anthony Jackson each had three hits. Modesto native Jackson sat down with Brian VanderBeek for this Sunday's interview.

Esmil Rogers allowed 10 runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings. Daniel Mayora had two fielding errors during those innings. Brandon Durden allowed one hit and struck out five over the next 4 1/3 innings.

Asheville, W 13-6 - It was a good night for Warren Schaeffer as he went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored, and two walks. Kevin Clark hit his 13th homer, a two-run shot (and put a big dent in the hood of his car after hitting hitting a homer during BP). Mike Mitchell and David Christensen drove in two each. Christian stole his 10th base, and Everth Cabrera his 54th.

Sheng-An Kuo allowed a grand slam in the third inning and failed to make it out of that inning. Edgmer Escalona allowed two runs over the next 4 1/3 innings, striking out five. Matt Reynolds struck out four over the final two innings.

Tri-City, W 4-1 - Parker Frazier had a no-hitter going through five innings before allowing a leadoff single to start the sixth. His line for the night: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP. Ethan Katz allowed a run in the eighth, but Austin Chambliss struck out two on his way to his seventh save in the ninth.

Leonardo Reyes hit a home run in the seventh to give the Dust Devils the lead, and Thomas Field drove in two on a single the next inning. Patrick Rose scored from second earlier in the eighth on a throwing error by the pitcher on Johnny Bowden's sac bunt.

Casper, L 2-13 - Casper hitters combined for four hits. Wilin Rosario, who had one of the hits, walked twice. Marco Duarte allowed seven runs in the first two innings of the game, only two earned. Carlos Martinez and Orlando Sandoval had errors in the five-run first inning. Brandon Walker allowed two unearned runs, Andres Marrero put three across home plate, and Juan Rodriguez allowed the other run.

Colorado Springs, L 2-6 - 2B, GO, BB, K (backwards), BB, Mound Visit, HBP (Eric Chavez scores), Grand Slam, BB, 1B, GO. That was Franklin Morales' first inning. He hit a second batter the next inning, his final inning. Valerio De Los Santos went the next five innings, limited Sacramento to one hit, and struck out nine. Chris George walked four in 2/3 IP.

Starting shortstop Doug Bernier was thrown out of the game for arguing his strike out in the top of the third, along with manager Tom Runnells. Eduardo Cornejo replaced Bernier and had a two-run single in the fourth to score the Springs' only runs on the night.

Tulsa, L 5-7 - Alan Johnson couldn't complete six innings as he was pulled after 5 2/3 IP. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks. Adam Bright also allowed five hits in his 1 1/3 IP (3/2 R/ER). Casey Weathers pitched an inning, walked three and struck out three. Weathers started the eighth inning with back-to-back swinging strike outs, but then issued three straight walks (a wild pitch happened in between the second and third ones). Weathers escaped that jam by recording a swinging strike out to end the inning.

Tony Blanco hit his sixth home run for Tulsa. Jeff Kindel drove in two runs on a single in the first, as did Jeff Dragicevich. Daniel Carte had two hits and stole his third base. Dexter Fowler stole his 12th base to go along with his one hit.

Modesto, L 7-17 - Chaz Roe made his season debut, and it wasn't pretty. He allowed six runs in the first inning. That inning started with five straight singles, followed by a double, and then a triple. The next three batters went down to end the inning. He allowed two doubles in the second before settling down with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth.

The pitcher had something to say on that inning after the game:

"The fastball was flat in the first inning and I left a few of them up," said Roe, who started 29 games for Modesto in 2007. "They didn't hit it that hard, and after that first inning I settled down and started getting the ball down."

He'll make one more start before heading to Tulsa, according to the article. Overall, Roe allowed 12 runs (seven earned) in 5 2/3 IP. Brandon Durden allowed five runs (two earned) in 1 IP. Simon Ferrer pitched a scoreless ninth.

There were six errors, two each by Daniel Mayora and Geoff Strickland and one each by Matt Repec and Anthony Jackson.

Every starter recorded at least one hit. Jay Cox led the charge with three and two RBI. Strickland and Mayora also drove in two each. Mayora also walked twice. Mike McKenry drove in the other run on a double.

Asheville, L4-6 - Cory Riordan lasted only three innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. The bullpen held Rome to two hits over the last six innings. Joey Williamson pitched the three innings after Riordan came out and struck out four. Matthew Reynolds and Edgmer Escalona allowed a hit each, but no runs.

The  four runs were driven in by the first four batters. Everth Cabrera had double in three ABs, scored twice, walked twice, and stole his 29th base. Mike Mitchell collected three hits in five ABs and stole his 26th base. Brian Rike had two hits and stole his 10th base. Darin Holcomb drove in his run on a ground out.

Colorado Springs, L 8- 13 - . . . And the next night, the Sky Sox allowed their opponent to score in seven of nine innings. Albuquerque scored at least one run in each of the first seven innings of the game. Valerio De Los Santos allowed nine of those runs in 4 1/3 IP. Matt Daley finished the fifth and allowed one of the two inherited runners from De Los Santos to score. Juan Morillo allowed three runs in the sixth inning. Victor Zambrano allowed the last run (unearned, it was), went two innings, and struck out three. Josh Newman pitched the last inning for the Sky Sox and struck out one.

It was a night for doubles as Cory Sullivan (3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB), Seth Smith (2-for-5, 1 RBI), and Rick Guarno (2-for-5, 1 RBI) each had two doubles. Ian Stewart hit his fifth triple and drove in a run.

Tulsa, W 7-3 - Monday was a good night for both Chris Nelson and Neil Wilson. Nelson started the night with a two-run homer (3) in the first inning (he also had a sac fly in the seventh), and Wilson banged a three-run homer (1) in the seventh inning to make it 7-2 game in favor of the Drillers. Tony Blanco hit his first homer for the Drillers to complete the scoring. It was also a good night for Dexter Fowler. He had a bunt single in the first (and scored on Nelson's homer), and then tripled (4) in the seventh (and scored on Nelson's sac fly).

Brandon Hynick turned in seven solid innings. He allowed two runs on eight hits (one run came off a homer). He walked one and struck out two. Casey Weathers allowed one run on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning. He struck out two.

Modesto, L 0-4 - Victor Ferrante and Cole Garner both had three hits in four at-bats last night. One of Ferrante's hits went for his fifth double.

Simon Ferrer allowed four runs on eights and  four walks in five innings. He also struck out three. Brandon Durden pitched the last three innings and did not allow a base runner.

Asheville, W 3-2 - The sixth inning was the decisive once in last night's contest. In the top half of the inning, Beau Seabury and Everth Cabrera led off the inning with walks. Mike Mitchell put down a sac bunt, but made it to first after catcher Jordan Abruzzo committed a throwing error. Brian Rike and Darin Holcomb got out in the next two ABs. Jeff Cunningham hit a three-run triple to give the Tourists the 3-0 lead. Brian lapin hit a triple in the ninth, but nothing came of it.

In the bottom of the sixth, Cory Riordan allowed a lead off triple, and that guy scored on a double in the next AB. A sac fly scored the second run that inning. That was all Savannah was able to score. Riordan wound up going 7 2/3 innings and allowed those two runs on six hits. He also struck out six. Craig Rodriguez struck out the one batter he faced to end the eighth inning. Randall Taylor picked up his 10th save.