Colorado Springs, L 2-4 - Not much was done offensively last night, but Seth Smith had two hits (his double being the only extra-base hit for the Sky Sox). Glendon Rusch allowed four runs and walked four in 4 2/3 innings. Half of those runs came on a third inning home run. Cedrick Bowers, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman held Tacoma to one hit (Bowers) and two walks (Morillo) over the final 3 1/3 innings. Newman struck out three.

Tulsa, W 4-3 in 11 innings - David Parrish's first homer was an important one since he hit it in the top of the 11th to give Tulsa the lead. Earlier in the game, Dexter Fowler had three singles and an RBI, Eric Young Jr. had two singles and an RBI, and Tony Blanco hit his 14th homer.

Chaz Roe went six innings, allowed two runs, and walked three. Ryan Mattheus, Adam Bright, and Darren Clarke held San Antonio to two hits over the next two innings. Casey Weathers blew the game in the ninth, allowing a run on a HBP, a walk (his second one, an IBB, came after the run scored), and a single. Jarrett Grube held San Antonio to a hit over the final two innings.

Modesto, L 4-5 in 10 innings - Mike McKenry went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Jay Cox had a solo homer (3) in th eighth inning to tie the game at four. Brandon Durden started the game, went four innings, and allowed foru runs on a solo homer and a three-run sho. Chris Malone struck out four over his three innigs of relief.

David Patton took the loss after pitching 2 2/3 innings. Michael Massaro, the leadoff batter for the inning, reached base on a single and then advanced to second on a throwing error by Patton on the pickoff attempt. After a strikeout, the next batter appeared to single in Massaro, but Anthony Jackson gunned him down with his throw to McKenry at the plate. The batter advanced to second and scored on a single by the next batter.

Asheville, W 9-3 - Robinson Fabian went six string innings, allowing only two runs. Joey Williamson pitched the final three innings to pick up his first save. He allowed one run on a homer and struck out three.

Everth Cabrera fell a homer short of the cycle, drove in two, and stole his 51st base; Kevin Clark drove in three on a ground out, a sac fly, a and a single; Darin Holcomb drove in two on a sac fly and a double; and Jeff Cunningham (13) and Helder Velazquez (6) each had a solo shot.

Tri-City, W 5-3 - Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Chris Vasami and Thomas Field each had a triple (and an error) Field and Patrick Rose accounted for the other two RBI.

Jonnathan Aristil yielded three runs over six innings to Boise. He walked two and struck out four. Bobby Paschal allowed three hits in two innings, but Boise was unable to do anything else. Austin Chambliss picked up his fifth save.

Casper - Off.

Colorado Springs, W 5-4 in 12 innings - Tied at three at the end of regulation play, this game went a few more innings. After Salt Lake took a 4-3 lead in the 11th, Joe Koshansky his his 16th homer to tie the game. Jonathan Herrera singled to start the bottom of the 12th and moved to second on a sac bunt by Chris Frey. Dustan Mohr stepped in the box and saw a wild pitch by the pitcher and a throwing error by the catcher score Herrera for the win.

Glendon Rusch allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and allowed 11 hits. Alberto Arias, Juan Morillo, and Josh Newman combined for a hitless 4 1/3 innings. Morillo, however, did walk a batter. Arias did not let a runner score after Rusch left the game with the bases loaded. Josh Towers picked up the win after pitching the final two innings.

Tulsa, W 3-2 in 10 innings - In the top of the 10th inning, David Parrish reached base on the pitcher's fielding error on a sac bunt attempt, which moved Justin Nelson over to second (who reached on a walk). Eric Young Jr. then reached on the pitcher's throwing error on a force attempt. With the bases loaded, Dexter Fowler entered the box and was hit by a pitch. Nelson scored the winning run. Fowler also had an RBI in the third inning. Eric Young Jr.'s two hits were a double and a homer (5).

Brandon Hynick turned in an outstanding eight innings. He allowed the runs on solo homers. He walked one and struck out four. Ryan Mattheus picked up his 12th save.

Modesto, L 8-9 - Down by two in the seventh, Victor Ferrante's sac fly, Matt Repec's three-run homer, and Jay Cox's solo homer put the Nuts ahead 8-5. Repec had a two-run homer earlier in the game, giving him five RBI on the night.

But the pitching wasn't there late in the game last night. Simon Ferrer allowed three runs (two off a two-run homer) in five innings. Brandon Durden saw two more  runs score in the sixth inning. Andy Graham struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh, but the eighth was his undoing. He began that inning with an out before allowing a double and back-to-back homers. Will Harris came in, recorded the last two outs of the inning, and came back out for the ninth. Jose Vallejo singled after a leadoff out by Marcus Lemon and eventually moved over to third. A Chad Tracy sac fly scored Vallejo.

Asheville, L 2-5 - Sheng-An Kuo allowed only two runs before the start of the bottom of the seventh inning, those coming in the bottom of the first. He only allowed three hits up to that point. So, what happens? A walk, a double, and an RBI single. Matthew Reynolds relieved Kuo, threw a wild pitch to score a run, and then allowed a sac fly. Those three runs broke the 2-2 game.

Kevin Clark hit a two-run homer in the fourth, his eighth of the season. Everth Cabrera had two hits and two stolen bases (47).

Tri-City, W 8-1 - Last night, Parker Frazier certainly showed how much he improved since his time with Casper in 2007. He threw seven innings of shutout ball, allowed only four hits, and struck out three. After a leadoff single in the first, he retired the next 11 batters before allowing consecutive hits in the fourth. The final hit came in teh seventh. Rod Scurry allowed one run in 2/3 IP. Andy Groves struck out three over the last 1 1/3 innings of the game.

Josh Banda drove in two on a double and a sac fly. Charlie Blackmon had a double in the third and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, half of the Dust Devils runs scored. Leonardo Reyes and Bo Bowman had RBI singles, Banda had his already mentioned sac fly, and Jordan Pacheco scored on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt. Two more runs scored in the ninth when a fielding error allowed Patrick Rose to reach base and Jordan Pacheco and Bo Bowman to score.

Casper, W 3-2 - James Sims led off the game with a triple, but was out at home on the next play when Carlos Martinez hit into a double play. Things got better the next inning when Orlando Sandoval doubled at the start of it. Nick Valdez then tripled him in. Later in the inning, Valdez scored on an Alex Feinberg single. In the sixth inning, Valdez hit a sac fly to score Mike Zuanich.

It was good night for the pitchers. Yull Silano did walk three batters, but he allowed only one run in four innings. Brandon Walker pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowed a run on two hits, and struck out three. Adam Jorgensen picked up the win, striking out five over 2 1/3 innings. Kurt Yacko picked up his first save by striking out two in 1 1/3 innings.

Colorado Springs, W 11-9 - Seth Smith went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Two of the RBI came on two sac flies. Cory Sullivan collected four hits in six at-bats, scored three times, and had two doubles. Kenny Perez hit a two-run triple, and Sean Barker drove in two.

Things went mostly well for Glendon Rusch through the end of the fourth. He allowed a run and some hits, but it was the fifth that hurt him. He allowed two singles to start the inning and then saw both men score on a double. After putting another runner on base, Rusch allowed a two-out three-run home run. He would pitch another 1 2/3 innings, leaving after 6 2/3 IP. Matt Daley finished the seventh before giving way to Micah Bowie in the eighth. He struck out one and allowed one hit. Josh Newman allowed back-to-back doubles in the ninth and then saw a pop up to short turn into a two-run single. Another double scored the third run of the inning. Steven Register recorded the final out for his ninth save.

Tulsa, L 5-9 - Brandon Hynick allowed eight runs on 12 hits in seven innings. Three of those 12 hits went for home runs. Dexter Fowler had a big night, going 4-for-5 with two doubles (18), but drove in no runs. Tony Blanco hit his 10th homer, a solo shot in the eighth.

Last week the Tulsa World's Barry Lewis sat down with Rockies assistant general manager Bill Geivett for a Q&A.

Modesto, L 4-6 - Aaron Cook won this game. No, not our Aaron Cook. The Angels have an Aaron Cook, a reliever. Anyway, Simon Ferrer had another solid start, allowing three runs over six innings on five hits and two walks. Andy Graham came in for the seventh and blew the lead by allowing an RBI single and a two-run double. He also pitched the eighth and saw a double play end the inning.

Travis Becktel and Anthony Jackson had RBI singles in the fifth to put the Nuts within one of Rancho Cucamonga. In the seventh, Mike Paulk's double scored Troy Tulowitzki, and Aaron Cook hit Mike McKenry with the bases loaded, putting the Nuts ahead 4-3. Tulo had three hits, two were doubles.

Brian VanderBeek interviewed Andrew Johnston this week.

Asheville, L 3-5 -  Kevin Clark went 3-for-5 with his seventh homer and two RBI. Darin Holcomb drove in the other run. Mike Mitchell had three hits. Connor Graham allowed three runs over five innings, walked four, and struck out five. Craig Baker allowed two runs while pitching the final two innings of the game, leading to the loss.

The Tourists will at least tie for the first-half division championship if they lose today and Charleston wins, but if the Tourists win today that would be better. As Darin Holbcomb said, “Our mindset (Sunday)? We come out and we kill these guys[.]”

Colorado Springs, W 8-4 - Franklin Morales went up against the Angels' Nick Adenhart and both came up short. Adenhart allowed eight runs in 4 2/3 IP and Morales saw four runs in four innings. Morales walked four. Cedrick Bowers (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB), Josh Newman (1 IP), and Matt Daley (1 IP, 1 H) held Salt Lake scoreless after Morales left the game. Salt Lake's bullpen also did the same once Adenhart exited.

Jayson Nix hit his seventh home run to start the bottom of the first inning. Three more runs scored on a bunch of singles and a ground out. One of those singles was by Matt Holliday, who went 4-for-4 with a two-run double in the fourth inning. Christian Colonel had an RBI double (16) an inning earlier, scoring Matt Holliday.

Tulsa, L 5-8 - Chaz Roe had mixed results in his first start for Tulsa. He went six innings and struck out seven. He allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks. Half of the hits went for doubles. The first three frames saw only one opposing batter reach base (on a walk). Roe, however, did not factor into the decision. Aaron Fultz came up empty again after entering a 5-5 game in the eighth. He allowed a homer to the first batter he faced. Casey Weathers allowed two runs in the top of the ninth.

Dexter Fowler (6) and Matt Miller (7) both had solo shots as part of their 2-for-4, two RBI night. They both scored twice, and Fowler had an RBI triple (5). Eric Young Jr. stole his 13th base. Daniel Carte received an outfield assist on a throw to home plate, but Neil Wilson erred on the catch.

Modesto, L 5-10 - Brian VanderBeek narrates the brawl that erupted between the Nuts and the Ports last night (plus news that Modesto will be part of the Rockies organization through 2010). Before that, it wasn't a good night for Aneury Rodriguez. The Ports' five-run second inning was quite troublesome. The damage was done only by singles, a couple of walks, and a fielding error. Rodriguez allowed four more runs over the next three innings before hitting Matt Sulentic and the start of the brawl. Tommy Baumgardner allowed one run and walked three in the next three innings. Andy Graham and Simon Ferrer had clean innings in the eighth and ninth to end the game.

Victor Ferrante had a three-run homer (5).

Brian VanderBeek's interview with Shane Lindsay is up.

Asheville, L 3-7 - Things started off well for the Tourists with three runs in the first. Jeff Cunningham hit a two-run homer, his twelfth of  the season, and Helder Velazquez doubled in Darin Holcomb. Holcomb (24) and Mitchell (15) both had doubles that inning also. Five more hits came but no runs. Kevin Clark also had a double (14). Velazquez had a fielding and throwing error, Cunningham only a fielding one.

Cory Riordan took his fourth loss after pitching three batters into the seventh inning without recording an out. He allowed seven runs (three earned) on seven hits (one being a three-run homer) and two walks. He struck out five.

Colorado Springs, W 12-1 - Mark Redman, Josh Newman, and Victor Zambrano combined for a four-hitter. Redman allowed three of the hits and the lone Sacramento run. He struck out seven.

Eight of the runs scored via the home run: Dustan Mohr's solo shot in the fourth, Joe Koshansky's grand slam in the sixth (13), and Doug Bernier's two-run shot in the second and solo shot in the eighth (4). Koshansky added two doubles (22) and another RBI for five on the night.

The Rockies signed independent league York Revolution infielder Kenny Perez, previously of the Red Sox, D'Backs, and White Sox. When the Rockies called yesterday morning, Perez failed to answer the team twice.

Tulsa, W 7-1 - Wow. Alan Johnson struck out 12 batters last night. He also threw seven shutout innings and surrendered only five hits. Tony Blanco went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, and Matt Miller went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Justin Nelson had a triple and an RBI. Corey Wimberly stole his 25th base.

Modesto, W 1-0 - In the top of the first, Daniel Mayora singled. He moved to second after Mike Paulk singled. Victor Ferrante followed those two singles with an RBI single. That was all the runs scored last night.

It was enough as Aneury Rodriguez threw his second nine-inning complete game shutout of the season. It was two-hitter (two singles) and he struck out 10 batters. He faced only 28 batters and used 103 pitches to do it.

Asheville, W 5-2 - Darin Holcomb went 3-for-5 with two double (23) and three RBI. Mike Mitchell also had three hits and an RBI. Lars Davis hit his first triple, and Everth Cabrera stole two bases (40). Cory Riordan allowed ten hits in six inning but surrendered only two runs. He struck out seven. Craig Baker recorded his second save by striking out three in the ninth.

Seven Tourists were named SAL Southern Division all-stars yesterday: starters Jhoulys Chacin, Everth Cabrera, Darin Holcomb, Brian Rike, Mike Mitchell, and reserves Joey Williamson and Randall Taylor.

A new albeit familiar number one, and Jhoulys Chacin skyrockets into the top five. I'll post the others receiving votes in the comments.

Sometimes I just don't even like to look at failure. I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to even acknowledge that it's there. Oh, I know it's there. I can feel it gnawing at my foot like a small dog. Actually, it's probably a big dog, but I just don't want to look at the carnage. Therefore, the Ryan Speier to the DL, Josh Newman recalled news is all I'm going to give you this morning. Try back later.

I guess I could insert a table to make it look like I tried:

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.

What is the answer to what's affecting the Rockies? Jeff Baker's bat helped a bit last night, but his defense left something to be desired, and while Tulo's defense was missed, our lineup has too many automatic outs when he's playing right now. If we can't trust Corpas or Fuentes out of the pen, who can we trust?

I guess there are a few ways you can go about trying to find a solution to these issues. Last night, the method Hurdle chose was to try and fit a square peg in a round hole with the Barmes/Baker combo. It almost worked.

While I doubt Hurdle's going to mess with the Fuentes/Corpas combo, and he probably shouldn't, the Rockes have been tinkering with other parts of the pen. Micah Bowie and Jose Vizcaino apparently had the same injury -I think gooberpitchatitis of the forearm is the technical term- and Bowie now joins the Viz on the DL. Let's hope Josh Newman is as effective a replacement from the farm as Ryan Speier has been.

Colorado Springs, W 12-3 - Ian Stewart and Joe Koshansky each had a homer last night, the fourth one for both. Jonathan Herrera collected two hits, three RBI, and his second stolen base of the season. Edwin Bellorin and Chris Frey had two-hit, two-RBI nights. Seth Smith and Sean Barker combined for six walks and four runs.

Jose Capellan struck out six and and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks in five innings. Those three runs, however, came in the second inning when he hit two and issued two walks. Alberto Arias, Josh Newman, and Steven Register threw four innings of one-hit relief. Register struck out all three batters he faced.

Tulsa, W 8-4 - Big night for the bats as the Drillers had four home runs. Dexter Fowler hit his third of the season in the first inning as part of a 4-for-5, one steal night, Jeff Dragicevich followed in the second inning with his first of the season, Eric Young Jr. also hit his first as part of a 3-for-5 night in the third inning, and Chris Nelson, not to be outdone, hits his first homer that same inning.

Tomas Santiago went five innings, allowed all four runs, and struck out seven. Adam Bright (1 2/3 IP) and Ryan Mattheus (1 1/3 IP) each allowed tow hits, but did not see a run cross the plate. Casey Weathers pitched the ninth and walked one.

The Drillers face a rehabbing Mark Mulder today.

Modesto. W 5-2 - Aneury Rodriguez held Lake Elsinore to two hits over seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Zach Simons pitching line says he allowed two runs, but Andrew Johnston replaced him with one out recorded after the bases were loaded on a single and two hit by pitches. Unfortunately, Johnston balked while facing his first batter, bringing in one run. The second run charged to Simons came on a ground out. Another ground out led to Johnston picking up his fourth save.

Cole Garner was the only player on offense not to record a hit. Mike Paulk, Victor Ferrante, Daniel Mayora, and Geoff Strickland all had two-hit nights. Strickland, however, had the only extra base hits of the nights for the Nuts. Both were doubles. He also had an RBI and a stolen base. Ferrante drove in two runs.

Brian VanderBeek had the chance to interview Dan O'Dowd when he visited Modesto to hand out rings. Check it out here.

Asheville - Postponed. Jason McGill has pieces on Brian Rike and Asheville closer Randall Taylor.