Colorado Springs, W 9-5 - A six-run third inning helped secure the victory for the Sky Sox last night. Cory Sullivan doubled in Clint Barmes (who started the inning with  single), Joe Koshansky hit a two-run homer (17), pitcher Sean Smith drove in two on a single, and Barmes drove in the first of his two RBI on a single. Barmes and Rick Guarno each had three hits. 

Sean Smith picked up his first win after allowing four runs in the sixth inning. He pitched 5 2/3 innings. Alberto Arias did not allow the two inherited runners to score.

Tulsa, W 8-1 - The  Drillers had a big fifth inning. The scoring started when Xavier Cedeno drew a bases-loaded walk. EY Jr. followed with an RBI single before Dexter Fowler drove in two on a double. Matt Miller then singled in EY and Fowler. Tony Blanco drove in EY and Fowler in the previous inning.

Xavier Cedeno threw eight strong innings. He allowed one run on five hits.

Modesto, W 8-5 - The Nuts scored four in the fourth and three in the fifth on their way to the victory. Mike Paulk went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Mike McKenry went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Anthony Jackson went 3-for-5 and scored twice.

Aneury Rodriguez allowed two runs over five innings and struck out four. Andrew Johnston loaded the bases in the ninth, allowed one run to score, and then recorded the final out of the game.

Asheville, L 0-5 - The Tourists had five hits (Holcomb had two), but combined to strike out 14 times. Augusta starter Madison Bumgarner struck out 10.

Bruce Billings went five innings and allowed five runs, only two earned. Three errors (Warren Schaeffer, Helder Velazquez, and Lars Davis) contributed to that. Robinson Fabian, Edgmer Escalona, and Joey Williamson combined for three innings of one-hit relief.

Tri-City, W 7-1 - We have a Josh Sullivan sighting. He went three innings, allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out two. He also had a wild pitch and hit a batter. Sullivan is making his way back from tendinitis in his right elbow. Brad McAtee went four innings, allowed his opponent's one run, and struck out four in picking up the win.

In the fourth inning, Josh Banda drove in Bo Bowman who reached on a triple. In the fifth, Chad Lembeck scored on a throwing error on a force attempt and Austin Rauch scored on a sac fly. In the ninth, Austin Rauch drove in two, Leonardo Reyes singled in one, and Radames Nazario hit a sac fly.

Casper, W 9-4 - The balls were flying out of the yard last night. Outfielder Eliezer Mesa went 3-for-4 with two homers (solo and two-run) and four RBI. Wilin Rosario, last night's designated hitter, stroked two homers (two-run and solo). James Sims didn't hit his first two homers of the season as Mesa and Rosario did, but he did have his first, a two-run shot. Carlos Martinez added two hits and stolen base.

Dan Houston allowed his two runs on a two-run homer in the third inning. He went three inning and struck out three. Alan Deratt allowed two hits over the next four innings and struck out four. Andres Marrero surrendered a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

Colorado Springs, L 5-6 - Seth Smith had his ninth home run, a two-run shot in the first, and Cory Sullivan had his fourth, a three-run homer in the fifth. Sean Smith threw seven innings of four-hit, two-run ball. Both runs were off solo shots. Juan Morillo allowed a run in the eighth, but it was Matt Daley who blew the game in the ninth. He allowed three runs on four singles and two walks.

Tulsa, W 6-3 - As mentioned during the game thread, Dexter Fowler had two doubles last night to increase his total to 20 on the season. His two RBI scored on the second one. Matt Miller went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Eric Young Jr. had two hits, and Daniel Carte stole his fourth base.

Xavier Cedeno turned in a solid 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks. Ryan Mattheus struck out two on his way to his 10th save. The Drillers turned four double plays (five if you include a play in the eighth, according to the Tulsa World).

Modesto, L 2-6 - Jason Van Kooten collected three of Modesto seven hits last night. All seven were singles. Van Kooten had two errors on the same play in the first inning. Aneury Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) in that inning on two hits. He allowed two more hits and walked over the next five innings. At the end of six innings, Rodriguez had struck out five and allowed only those two runs at the start of the game. Chris Malone allowed four runs on six hits in the seventh, but Andy Graham and Andrew Johnston combined to pitch a scoreless final two innings.

Jay Cox should be back with the team today after returning home to deal with a family emergency.

Asheville - All-Star Break.

Colorado Springs. L 2-3 - Jayson Nix had his eighth homer and Dustan Mohr hit an RBI double to score the runs.

Glendon Rusch made the start for the Sky Sox and picked up the loss. He allowed three runs over seven innings. Micah Bowie pitched the other inning and allowed two hits.

Tulsa, W 12-3 - In the bottom of the first, the Drillers countered NW Arkansas' sac fly with five runs. Matt Miller and Jeff Kindel had RBI singles before Daniel Carte hot a three-run homer (7). In the bottom of the fourth Miller had another RBI, and Kindel had a sac fly. No, Daniel Carte did not have another home run. Jeff Dragicevich hit a grand slam (9) instead. Kindel (4) homered in the sixth to score the twelfth run. Dexter Fowler had three hits, Eric Young Jr. stole his 14th base, and Corey Wimberly swiped his 28th base.

Brandon Hynick allowed all three runs (two earned) in seven innings. The last two came in his final inning. He walked two and struck out three.

Modesto. L 3-4 in 11 innings - In regulation innings, this game was tied at one. Travis Becktel had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the 10th, Nick Haley's RBI single put the game into another inning of baseball, but Stockton scored two in the top half of the inning. With two outs, Anthony Jackson scored in the bottom of the 11th on a fielding error by the center fielder, followed by a Victor Ferrante strikeout to end the game.

Simon Ferrer made the start and did well. In five innings, he held the Ports to only a run on five hits and a walk. Chris Malone and Will Harris each had two innings of no-run ball before giving way to other pitchers in extra innings. Andrew Johnston allowed one run on three hits in the 10th, and Andy Graham allowed two runs in the 11th on a three hits (the runs scoring on a double and a single).

News and notes from Brian VanderBeek's latest blog entry: Aneury Rodriguez received a five-game suspension, and the others three games; Troy Tulowitzki is rehabbing with the Nuts; Geoff Strickland was released; Todd Ritchie starts for the Nuts tonight.

Asheville - No game scheduled. The Tourists can clinch a spot in the playoffs this week.

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.

Colorad Springs, W 8-4 - Joe Koshansky drove in five runs last night, and only one came by the way of a home run. In the first inning, he drove in Juan Castro and Ian Stewart (both reached on walks) on a single. He doubled in Stewart and Sean Barker in the third, and then homered in the sixth. Barker went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

John Koronka went 5 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits. Matt Daley allowed two hits in 2 1/3 IP. Steven Register had a clean ninth inning.

Tulsa, W 7-0, L 3-9 - The first game saw Dexter Fowler hit his fourth homer, a a three-run shot. Matt Miller added two RBI, and Corey Wimberly and Tony Blanco had one each. Blanco and Chris Nelson had the other extra-base hits for the Drillers, both doubles. Nelson stole his fourth base.

Ching-Lung Lo beat Arkansas in a seven-inning, two-hit, complete game shutout. He walked two and struck out two.

The second game wasn't as nice for Tulsa pitching. Five errors contributed to the score. Jon George and Luis Gonzalez combined to allow eight runs, but only three were earned. George had a throwing error, and Duke Sardinha, Jeff Dragicevich, Tony Blanco, and Luis Gonzalez committed fielding errors. Casey Weathers pitched a clean ninth.

Jeff Dragicevich had a two-run homer and Dexter Fowler followed his fourth homer in the first game with his fifth in the second game. Jeff Kindel had two hits.

Modesto, L 3-7 - Keith Weiser went only 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out five. According to his manager, the defense led to some of Weiser's troubles:

"Weiser was outstanding," Weinstein said. "In the first inning, we have to make some plays behind him, and in the second inning, we have to make a play. It could have been 3-0 in our favor into the fifth. He had to throw a lot of pitches because we didn't do a very good job defensively."

Daniel Mayora had an error in the third and fifth innings while Geoff Strickland had the other in the fifth inning. In his blog entry for the game, Brian VanderBeek writes that there were a few other plays on defense that should have been made (we also find out that Hector Gomez is progressing in Tucson). In the seventh inning, Will Harris allowed  four straight singles with two runs scoring on the fourth one. Andy Graham, James Burok, and Brandon Durden combined to allow two hits in 3 1/3 IP.

Cole Garner singled in Nick Haley in the first, which tied the game. Entering the bottom of the fourth, the Nuts were down by two, but a Victor Ferrante (who tripled to start the inning) scored when Matt Repec reached second base on a fielder's choice and an error. Anthony Jackson then scored Repec a little while later. The game was tied at three, but it wouldn't last for long.

Asheville, L 6-7 in 13 innings - Down four to nothing in the bottom of the sixth, Darin Holcomb hit his seventh homer to bring the score within one run. In the bottom of the ninth, Jeff Cunningham hit his sixth homer to send the game into extra innings. Fast forward to the bottom of the 12th, the Tourists are down two runs. Mike Mitchell doubled before Brian Rike came to bat. Rike hit his eighth homer, tying the game at six. Randall Taylor came in to start the 13th and promptly allowed a homer to the first batter he faced. There were no heroics in the bottom of that inning.

Mike Mitchell had four hits in the game, Helder Velazquez stole his second base of the season, and Kevin Clark stole second and third in the sixth (but did not score).

Bruce Billings went five innings, allowed four runs on nine hits, and struck out seven. Joey Williamson, Matt Reynolds, and Craig Baker held Charleston to one hit, two walks, and no runs over 4 2/3 IP.  Craig Rodriguez allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in 2 1/3 IP.