Colorado Springs, L 5-13 - After the end of the sixth, the Sky Sox held a 5-4 lead. Josh Towers pitched the first five innings and allowed all four runs. Luis Vizcaino came in for the sixth and things went smoothly for him (after the leadoff triple). Then Chris George came in. He allowed two doubles and two singles to score three runs. Juan Morillo came in the next inning, issued three straight walks, and then recorded his first out. A single scored the first run in the eighth. Landon Powell had a two-run groundout as Doug Bernier committed a throwing error. In the ninth, we saw more of the same as Steven Register allowed three runs, all unearned. On back-to-back plays, Eduardo Cornejo and Joe Koshansky committed errors. The first run scored on Koshansky's error, and the other two scored on a ground out and a single.

Joe Koshansky went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a two-run homer (12). Christian Colonel had two hits, one for a double.

Tulsa, L 8-9 - Losing 4-7 entering the top of the sixth, the Drillers scored a run in each inning. Unfortunately, two runs in the bottom of the sixth gave the Rockhounds enough room to win the game. Matt Miller and Jeff Kindel both had two hits and two RBI, and Jeff Dragicevich had a solo home run for his eighth of the season (and three fielding errors). Corey Wimberly and Dexter Fowler each had two hits as well. Wimberly also added two stolen bases for 23 on the season.

Xavier Cedeno allowed nine runs (five earned) on eight hits and four walks. He struck out six. Jon George and Darren Clarke held opposing batters to three hits and no runs over the final 2 2/3 innings.

Modesto, L 1-5 - Anthony Jackson had a double to leadoff the game and eventually scored on a Mike Paulk sac fly. Nick Haley had two hits and Jay Cox had one. Modesto had only those four hits. Jackson (15), Cox (1), and Haley (6) each stole a base.

Esmil Rogers pitched valiantly for seven inning, allowing only one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Will Harris came in for the eighth and allowed a two-run homer, an RBI single, and a RBI double to lose the game.

Asheville, W 6-4 - Helder Velazquez went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI, and two stolen bases (6). The game also saw Everth Cabrera hit a triple, score on a Mike Mitchell sac fly, and steal a base (36). Mike Mitchell also stole two bases (21). Brian Rike played and went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and three strikeouts.

Sheng-An Kuo liked the number six tonight. He picked up his sixth winning after pitching six innings. He allowed two runs on six hits, and walked two and struck out six. Craig Baker struck out three in the eighth before Randall Taylor struck out three to pick up his 18th save.

Colorado Springs, W 10-9 - The Sky Sox won this game after Roy Corcoran hit Sean Barker with the bases loaded. Jayson Nix scored the winning run. The Sky Sox were actually entered the inning with eight runs, but a Chris Frey triple and a Christian Colonel RBI single to score Frey tied the game. In the third inning, Doug Bernier had an RBI triple, Frey had an RBI single, and Jayson Nix followed those two with an RBI double. In the eighth, Colonel doubled in Frey and Nix, Edwin Bellorin singled in Colonel and Joe Koshansky, and Rick Guarno had a sac fly.

Josh Towers went six innings, allowed six runs on 13 hits, and struck out five. Steven Register picked up his third win after allowing the go-ahead run at the time in the top of the ninth.

Tulsa, L 6-17 - Matt Miller (6) and Jeff Dragicevich (7) each had a homer, and Daniel Carte and Justin Nelson drove in two runs each.

Tomas Santiago allowed five runs in 3 1/3 IP; Jonathan George saw five runs cross the plate in 1 2/3 IP; and Luis Gonazlez witnessed six men cross the plate in 1 1/3 IP (he also walked four). Two of Gonzalez's runs crossed home when Casey Weathers came in. Weathers allowed those two runs to score and was charged with one run for himself in 2/3 IP. He struck out two. Duke Sardinha, a first baseman, pitched the last inning, allowing only a hit. Of the 17 runs scored, 10 of them were driven in by Midland's Tommy Everidge on two three-run homers and a grand slam. "Power of the mustache," former Rockies' farmhand Joe Gaetti says.

Santiago and manager Stu Cole were ejected in the fourth inning. Santiago hit a batter and then threw a pitch over the head of the next batter, being ejected for that. Cole was tossed right after that.

Modesto, L 0-4 - Victor Ferrante hit his eighth double and Geoff Strickland stole his 14th base. The Nuts managed only six hits.

After a two singles and a sac fly in the first, Esmil Rogers shutdown the Visalia Oaks between the second and seventh innings. He didn't allow a hit or any base runners. In the eighth he allowed a leadoff double, that runner scoring on a homer two batters later. A second double scored the third run of the inning. Rogers went 7 2/3 innings, allowed four runs on six hits, and struck out four.

Asheville, W 9-5 - Jhoulys Chacin put in another great performance: 8 IP, 7 H, 2/1 R/ER, 1 BB, 9 K. Andy Groves started the ninth, allowed three hits and three walks, and saw three men cross home plate. Randall Taylor came in with two outs and the bases loaded to record his 15th save.

Jeff Cunningham led the offense last night with two homers (10), a three-run and a two-run. That accounted for five of his six RBI. The other one came in a bases-loaded walk in the fifth. Darin Holcomb had an RBI single and an RBI walk, which came in the fifth after Holcomb's. Brian Rike had an RBI sacrifice double play. Mike Mitchell scored, but Jeff Cunningham also attempted to tag up and was thrown out at third. Everth Cabrera stole his 32nd base.

Colorado Springs, W 11-5 - Ian Stewart hit his 10th and 11th homers, his fifth and sixth on the road. The second one came in the eighth inning and was a grand slam. Jayson Nix had a solo homer in the first inning. Joe Koshansky hit his seventh in the third inning. Cory Sullivan drove in two runs, and Seth Smith had his second triple of the season and stole his ninth base.

Cedrick Bowers held Fresno to two hits in five innings. He struck out eight. Victor Zambrano allowed three runs in 2/3 IP. Juan Morillo pitched a clean ninth inning.

Tulsa, L 4-6 in 12 innings - Justin Nelson had his fourth homer of the season in this extra-inning affair, but it came in the fifth inning. Corey Wimberly went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two stolen bases (16). Matt Miller drove in two runs. Chris Nelson had his 16th error of the season.  The Tulsa World can tell you how the Drillers failed to win in the ninth, and how the game ended in the 12th.

Tomas Santiago didn't find the strike zone, as he walked six. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in 5 1/3 IP. Casey Weathers walked two but did not allow a run in his one inning of work. Ryan Mattheus struck out two in the ninth.

Modesto, L 2-8 - Esmil Rogers allowed eight runs in four innings. He allowed seven hits, walked three, and struck out six. Tommy Baumgardner and Will Harris held San Jose hitless for the next three innings, while Andrew Johnston allowed the only hit after Rogers left the game.

Matt Repec and Travis Becktel had two hits each, but Victor Ferrante had a double, the only extra-base hit. He also walked twice. Cole Garner had the other hit.

Asheville, L 3-4 - Jeff Cunningham's two-run double and Brian Lapin's RBI single in the sixth inning put the Tourists ahead 3-1, but it was not to last. A bunch of singles and a fielding error by Brian Lapin in the bottom of the inning put Savannah ahead for good with a one-run lead. David Christensen had two hits and stole his sixth base, Brian Rike stole his ninth base, and Everth Cabrera swiped his 20th base. Cabrera also struck out three times, but Beau Seabury struck out in all four ABs.

In addition to Lapin's error, starter Sheng-An Kuo, Warren Schaeffer, and Jeff Cunningham each committed and error.

Sheng-An Kuo allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks in 5 1/3 IP. Edgmer Escalona pitched a scoreless 2 2/3 innings.

Colorado Springs, L 1-6 - The Sky Sox had eight hits with three coming off Seth Smith's bat. Joe Koshansky drove in the love Sky Sox run. Ian Stewart's fifth double was the only extra base hit the team had last night.

Josh Towers lasted seven innings, allowed six runs on 11 hits, and struck out six. Victor Zambrano threw two clean innings and struck out three.

Tulsa, L 5-9 - Justin Nelson led the offense with three hits and two RBI. The two RBI came on his third homer of the season. Jeff Kindel had two hits and one of the three doubles Tulsa had. Jeff Dragicevich and Justin Nelson had the other ones. Daniel Carte, Dragicevich, and Neil Wilson drove in the other three runs.

The Tulsa defense committed five errors: Chris Nelson had two fielding ones for 15 on the season, Dexter Fowler committed his second on a missed catch, Neil Wilson erred on a throw, and Tony Blanco committed a fielding error. The Tulsa World says the wind takes some blame for the miscues.

Alan Johnson allowed eight runs on 12 hits to fall to 1-5 on the season. Hainley Statia's three-run triple in the sixth was part of a five-run inning. Adam Bright allowed two hits and struck out two in two innings of relief.

Modesto, W 7-5 - Anthony Jackson hit a two-run homer for his first of the season as part of his 3-for-5, two-RBI, two-run, two stolen base (11) night. Jay Cox fell a homer short of the cycle and drove in one run. Cole Garner hit his eighth double and stole his fourth base.

Esmil Rogers allowed one run on five hits and two walks over six innings. Tommy Baumgardner (2/3 IP) and Will Harris (1 1/3 IP) relieved for Rogers, and Baumgardner allowed a run. James Burok allowed a three-run homer and did not record an out in the ninth inning. Andrew Johnston came in and recorded his eighth save.

Brian VanderBeek sat down with Simon Ferrer and discussed his transition to the mound.

Asheville, W 8-0 - Jhoulys Chacin improved to 5-1 after last night's performance. He allowed no runs on four hits in seven innings pitched. He walked two and struck out five. Edgmer Escalona preserved the shutout by pitching the final two innings.

David Christensen hit his first two homers of the season, both were solo shots. His first came in the first inning right after Jeff Cunningham hit a three-run shot. The other came in the third inning. Everth Cabrera stole his 18th base, and Rike his eighth.

Colorado Springs, L 4-11 - Ooof! Victor Zambrano got lit up last night. Through the first two innings of the game, Zambrano allowed only a homer and a walk. Then came the third inning. He pitched to eight batters without recording an out. He surrendered two doubles, a triple, a homer, and a wild pitch that inning. All together, he allowed eight runs (seven earned). Omar Quintanilla had a fielding error during the second at-bat in that long frame. Juan Morillo pitched the next two innings, allowed three runs on three hits, two walks, and two wild pitches. He struck out three. Chris George, Matt Daley, and Steven Register held Sacramento scoreless over the remaining innings. Daley struck out four during his two innings of relief.

Edwin Bellorin (2) and Ian Stewart (6) had homers last night. Seth Smith doubled in Omar Quintanilla for his only hit of the night. Q had three hits to go along with his error.

Tulsa, W 8-3 - Chris Nelson drove in four runs last night on a ground out, a single, and a two-run single. The other Nelson, Justin, went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Dexter Fowler drove in two runs while Daniel Carte had a double and three strikeouts. EY Jr. (8), Corey Wimberly (8), and Chris Nelson (2) each stole a base.

Tomas Santiago limited his opponents to one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven, walked two, and threw two wild pitches. Luis Gonzalez walked two and allowed no hits, but gave up two runs (one earned). Adam Bright and Jarrett Grube had clean sheets last night.

Modesto, W 5-1 - Esmil Rogers turned in a great start for the win by the time he reached his pitch limit in the sixth inning (51/3 IP). He allowed one run on four hits and three walks. He struck out eight batters. Brandon Durden made his second appearance of the season and pitched a clean frame. David Patton and Tommy Baumgardner combined to strike out four batters over the last 2 2/3 IP.

Every Nuts batter had at least one hit last night. Jay Cox, Matt Repec, and newcomer Tony Blanco had two-hit nights (a double each for Blanco and Repec). Anthony Jackson, Jason Van Kooten, Victor Ferrante (on a triple), Nelson Robledo, and Cox drove in the runs. Jackson stole his seventh base.

Asheville, W 11-6 - It was a good night for Asheville homers tonight. Jeff Cunningham hit his second of the season (two-run), Kevin Clark his third (two-run), Helder Velazquez his second (solo), and Lars Davis his third (three-run). Cunningham had two more RBI in the ninth off a single, and Velazquez had an RBI triple in the game. Brian Rike, though he did not have a hit, walked three times, and Clark walked twice and scored three times. David Christensen stole his third base after getting to first via the walk in the ninth.

Sheng-An Kuo didn't have the best of  starts. He allowed five runs (three earned) on ten hits over 4 2/3 IP. He walked two and struck out two. Joey Williamson went out for 1 2/3 IP and struck out five batters. He allowed one of the two inherited runners to score. Craig Rodriguez allowed the runner he inherited from Williamson to score and blow the lead. He struck out three in 1 2/3 IP. Randall Taylor struck out two to end the game.

Night of the Pitcher:

Colorado Springs: L 6-5

Don't blame Greg Reynolds for this one, he rebounded nicely from his disastrous opening day start, pitching five innings and giving up just two runs on four hits. Don't blame Matt Daley, even though he took the loss after a Terry Tiffee solo homerun gave the 51's the difference maker. That was the only hit, only baserunner Daley allowed in an inning and two thirds in his AAA debut. Nope, blame for this one rests solely on the wild shoulders of Juan Morillo, who came in at the start of the sixth with a four to two lead, and left one out later with the game tied and the bases loaded. Daley allowed one more Morillo run to score on a sac fly, but otherwise cleaned up the mess admirably. At this point, however, the mess that Morillo's control issues are leaving our bullpen depth with might call for some professional help.

At this point, we'll want to praise Omar Quintanilla, who had another pair of doubles, and another pair of  walks yesterday. Q's only had two K's in 29 PA's thus far, it's a fantastic contact rate, and he's hit safely in all six games -four times with multiple hits- but unless he starts to rack up a lot more games like last night, it's probably safe to assume that at the moment he's still just AAAron Miles redux. Granted, the way Jayson Nix has started the year, that's probably preferable, but let's wait a while longer before really talking about that option.

Tulsa: L 4-3

Alan Johnson, like Reynolds, rebounded from a subpar initial outing with a sharp six innings yesterday. Johnson allowed just one run on six hits and a walk. He only struck out one, but he did a much better job of keeping his pitches down and had his usual command. Of course, like Reynolds, he handed his lead over to an erratic bullpen member who coughed it up. In this case, Edward Valdez, who had been in the Yankees Nationals system before this season, actually got through one inning unscathed before being hammered in the next frame. The three runs were enough to allow San Antonio to avoid being swept by the Drillers. Daniel Carte doubled and homered (3) and drove in two, Dexter Fowler hit his third triple on the season, Eric Young and Corey Wimberly both do what they do well, got hits and stole bases, and Jeff Kindel doubled and walked, so it appears the Driller offense is starting to kick into gear.

Modesto: W 1-0 (10)

While those first two starting pitching performances were solid, these last two were nothing short of brilliant. Esmil Rogers went seven innings, striking out seven and allowing just five hits (no walks!) and only one for extra bases. On the season, Rogers now has pitched twelve innings with nine K's, eight hits and three walks, giving up just one solo homer for a sparkling 0.75 ERA. In the fifth inning last night , he showed some remarkable poise under pressure, as well. Two leadoff singles left runners on first and third with none out, but he induced a comeback grounder that he fielded, looked the lead runner back to third and fired to get the force out at second. The next batter grounded into an inning ending double play and the shutout was preserved.

Daniel Mayora has had a miserable start to his season -he had just one hit heading into play yesterday- but he proved the offensive hero last night with a lead-off triple in the tenth and scored on a subsequent Jay Cox hit.

BTW, one of the ways Mike McKenry helps his teams is just by making the opponents less willing to run and test his arm. In their first four games, San Jose was ten for eleven in stolen base attempts. In two games against Modesto thus far, they're one for one, but the rate drop from nearly three attempts per game to just half of one is telling.

Dan O'Dowd was at Modesto yesterday to present NL Championship rings to Nuts coaches and staff. As Brian VanderBeek says, it's a nifty gesture that the team doesn't have to do, but knowing how we rely on our farm for success, it certainly has merit.

Asheville: W 2-0

Jhoulys Chacin had a perfect game going two outs into the sixth, and wound up pitching eight innings, allowing just three hits, a walk, an HBP and striking out nine. He gets front page treatment this morning at Milb.com and I'm sure Baseball America will take some notice as well. Chacin still hasn't allowed a run in fourteen innings pitched now, one start in hitter friendly Asheville, one in relatively neutral Kannapolis, so it's not like he's been taking advantage of PETCO-esque ballparks. Chacin definitely seems to be the first under the radar Rockies prospect to grab the national spotlight in 2008.

Craig Baker's been lights out so far this year as well, with six K's in three innings, he picked up his first save last night in the win. Brian Rike scored both Tourist runs, one on a homer in the eighth, one after a single and Kevin Clark double in the sixth.

Minor announcement:

I've started to write a weekly farm report blog with the Rocky Mountain News, but I might have made a mistake with their posting platform so it's not up yet. I'll try and link it when it is. You'll note that they made me give up my pen name for that blog, but my e-mail's still the same. Newspapers are so stodgy that way. Danielle Steel uses a pen name, Ben Franklin had several, why can't I? Anyway, there's that.

Colorado Springs, L 10-12 - It was a good, old-fashion high-scoring game last night for the Sky Sox, just on the wrong end of it. Greg Reynolds had a rough first inning for the Sky Sox, allowing seven runs on eight hits and a sac fly. Two came off Randy Johnson's bat. After that it was a mostly smooth time over the next three innings. He didn't allow another hit, walked one (two total on the night), and struck out one. Juan Morillo pitched one inning, allowed two runs on a single, and walked three. Alberto Arias and Chris George also allowed runs when they were on the mound.

With two swings of the bat, Jonathan Herrera is just one short of tying his home run number from last year with Tulsa. He had a solo shot in the sixth and a two-run shot in the eighth (he had four RBI total last night). Ian Stewart also had a solo homer last night, and Seth Smith drove in three (two off a single, the other off a double).

Tulsa, L 7-8 (11 innings) - Daniel Carte and Jeff Kindel had back-to-back home runs in the second inning before runs became hard to come by. That is, until the closing innings of the game. Dexter Fowler drove in two on a single to center in the eighth, but was thrown out at second while attempting to stretch it out for a double. Carte smashed a ball for a two-run homer in the ninth (after Nelson scored on a passed ball) to give the Drillers the 7-5 lead. Chris Nelson collected two hits and two errors (fielding, throwing) and leadoff batter Eric Young Jr. went hitless, striking out three times.

Alan Johsnon received the call for Opening Day and had a rough go at it. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowed five runs on seven hits, and walked three. Matt Daley needed all of nine pitches to get through 1 2/3 innings. Casey Weathers made his debut in the eighth, struck out one, and threw seven of his twelve pitches for strikes. Pedro Strop wasn't as hot last night as he blew the save in the ninth inning. He hit the leadoff batter for that inning and allowed a single before yielding the double that tied the game. Jarrett Grube pitched the rest of the game and walked four (one intentional). In the bottom of the 11th, he walked Mitch Einertson and then allowed Eli Iorg to double him in for the victory.

Modesto, W 3-2 - Michael McKenry got off to a good start behind the plate as he threw out two runners in the first inning of the game. He would draw a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to drive in the winning run. Matt Repec and Mike Paulk drove in the other runs, the latter's on a sac fly. Anthony Jackson, a Modesto native, collected three hits and scored twice as the leadoff man. Brian VanderBeek will fill you in on the night Hector Gomez had in the field and at the plate.

Esmil Rogers opened the  season for the Nuts and did so with good results. In five innings, he allowed one run on three hits. After giving up a single to start the game, Rogers didn't allow another hit until a homer in the fifth inning (two of his three walks came during that span).  But Rogers didn't have three wild pitches like his opponent , Fautino De Los Santos.  Nor did he strike out six like Santos (he had two). Andrew Johnston picked up the save, walking one in the process.

Asheville, W 5-3 (11 innings) - Jhoulys Chacin took the mound with pretty good results. The good: 6 IP, 4 K, 1 H, 9-5 GO-FO.  The bad: 5 BB. Matthew Reynolds blew the game in the seventh by allowing four runs. He allowed two singles to start the seventh, loaded the bases on a throwing error, and then allowed a grand slam. Joey Williamson came in for three innings and struck out five. Craig Baker picked up the win after pitching the 11th inning and striking out two batters.

Helder Velzaquez led the offense tonight with two hits and three RBI. His first two RBI came in the fifth on a double, and the third one was the game winner in the eleventh. He also struck out three times. Darin Holcomb had a double and an RBI. Everth Cabrera and Mike Mitchell are starting to compete for stolen bases this season, as Cabrera swiped three and Mitchell had two. Cabrera had a nice start as the leadoff batter with two hits and three walks in addition to the steals. Brian Rike gunned down a runner at home in the bottom of the ninth, ending the opponent's threat to win the game.