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.

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.

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.

Colorado Springs, W 7-6 - Cory Sullivan doubled in two runs in the second inning, and Ian Stewart promptly doubled in Sullivan. Sean Barker collected three hits and drove in a run. Juan Castro made his debut for the Sky Sox, had two hits, and drove in a run. Joe Koshansky (who struck out three times) and Rick Guarno had the other RBI. Jayson Nix had a double, and Stewart, Barker, and Colonel each stole a base.

Josh Towers went 5 2/3 innings, allowed four runs on ten hits and a walk. He also struck out four. Matt Daley and Steven Register held Memphis hitless over the last two innings. Register picked up his third save.

Tulsa, L 2-3 - Chris Nelson went 3-for-4 with a home run, his second. He stole his third base of the season as well (Fowler stole his eighth). Daniel Carte drove in the other run. Jeff Kindel had a triple in the sixth and scored on Carte's single.

Alan Johnson went 7 1/3 innings and allowed all three runs.

Modesto - The Cal League had an off day.

Asheville, W 5-4 - David Christensen singled in Brian Lapin twice as part of his 3-for-4 night. He also stole his fifth base. But it was Brian Rike who had the best hit of the night, his seventh homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. He also had an assist and an error.

Jhoulys Chacin allowed four runs in seven innings. He walked three and struck out six. Randall Taylor picked up the win. This was the team's first win when trailing after seven innings.

Colorado Springs, W 9-0 - Seth Smith and Omar Quintanilla had their first homers of the season in this rout of Nashville last night. Smith, who had four RBI, hit a three-run homer in the first, and Quintanilla, who had three RBI, had a two-run shot in the sixth. Cory Sullivan and Joe Koshansky drove in the other two runs.

John Koronka held Nashville to three hits over seven innings. Matt Daley allowed the only other hit before Steven Register struck out two batters in the ninth.

Tulsa, L 5-6 - The Drillers scored four runs in the first inning off a Dexter Fowler RBI double, a Daniel Carte RBI single, and a Jeff Dragicevich two-run home run. In the fourth, Daniel Carte doubled in Chris Nelson to tie the game at five. Unfortunately that was all the scoring for the Drillers last night. To open the fifth inning, Springfield's Luke Gossett hit a homer to left field to gain the lead.

Xavier Cedeno pitched for five innings, allowed six runs on nine hits and four walks, and struck out four. Jarrett Grube, Adam Bright, and Jon George combined to allow three baserunners over the next four innings, but did not give up any hits.

With Eric Young Jr. out with a broken bone in his wrist, Corey Wimberly now plays second. Find out the call up to Tulsa in the Modesto section.

Modesto, W 11-7 - Mike McKenry and Mike Paulk hit their second home runs of the season (three-run variety) and had four RBI each. Tony Blanco hit a mammoth home run to cap a short run with the Nuts. He will play for Tulsa as a result of EY Jr.'s injury. In the seventh, Cole Garner had an RBI double and Matt Repec singled in Garner. Garner also stole two bases last night.

Shane Lindsay threw four innings of four-run, six-hit ball. He walked three and struck out seven. Brandon Durden picked up the win after pitching the fifth and sixth innings. He allowed a run. Andy Graham surrendered two more runs and collected only one out before leaving the game. Will Harris struck out three in 1 2/3 IP. Tommy Baumgardner walked and struck out one in the ninth inning.

Asheville W 6-3 - Helder Velazquez's bat beat Augusta last night as he hit a grand slam in the seventh inning and had an RBI single earlier the game. Brian Rike drove in the other run and walked twice. Everth Cabrera had two hits and stole his 14th base. Mike Mitchell went 3-for-5 with a double, and Darin Holcomb's two hits went for doubles.

Bruce Billings went seven innings, allowed two runs on six hits and two walks, and struck out struck out seven. Randall Taylor picked up his sixth save.

Colorado Springs, L 8- 16 - Multi-hit nights for a number of players. Jonathan Herrera, Edwin Bellorin, and Chris Frey each had three hits, and Bellorin also drive in three runs. Sean Barker and Joe Koshansky both had two hits, and drove in two and one RBI each. Herrera also had an RBI.

Valerio De Los Santos allowed seven runs on ten hits over four innings. He allowed at least a run in every inning and allowed a two-run homer in the third and fourth innings. Sean Smith did not have a memorable debut, or at least not a good debut. He went three innings, allowed five runs, walked five, and struck out five. Three of those runs scored after he left the game and Matt Daley replaced him. Daley prompted served up a grand slam to Landon Powell. Daley would allow three more runs to score after that.

Tulsa, L 3-7 - Chris Nelson, Daniel Carte, and Jeff Dragicevich drove in the runs for Drillers while Nelson and Fowler had the only extra-base hits for the team, both doubles.  Fowler also stole his seventh base.

Brandon Hynick went six innings, allowed two runs on eight hits, and struck out six batters. Adam Bright allowed two runs to blow the lead. Jarrett Grube allowed one of the inherited runners to score and gave up three runs himself without recording an out. He walked three, which scored one of the runners Grube put on, and then the one hit Grube allowed turned out to be a bases-clearing double to give Springfield the lead. Ryan Mattheus struck out one batter, his only out in the game, after relieving Grube.

Modesto, L 1-3 - Despite collecting eleven hits (to Visalia's seven), the Nuts lost this one. Simon Ferrer had his best outing of the season so far after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out five. Zach Simons walked three and struck out five in two innings of relief.

Tony Blanco had an RBI triple in the fifth. Daniel Mayora and Victor Ferrante had two hits each. Cole Garner had a double, and he recently sat down with Brian VanderBeek for an interview.

Asheville, W 5-1 in 12 innings - The Tourists scored the first run of the game in the fifth. Kevin Clark led off the inning with a double, who then moved over to third after Nick Noonan missed catching the ball on a pickoff attempt. Clark then scored on an error by the third baseman which allowed Helder Velazquez to reach base. In the 12th inning, Warren Schaeffer's two-run double and Everth Cabrera's two-run single gave the Tourists the victory. Cabrera stole his 13th base. Darin Holcomb hit his ninth double. Brian Rike and Jeff Cunningham struck out three times each, but Lars Davis accounted for five strikes out (16 between the entire team).

Cory Riordan went seven innings, allowed no runs on fours hits. He struck out seven. After Craig Baker allowed an unearned run to score in the eighth, Craig Rodriguez walked three over his two innings of work to pick up the win. Matthew Reynolds struck out two to finish the game.

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.

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.

Colorado Springs: W 7-6

Ian Stewart's was the only slot in the Colorado Springs lineup to not get a hit last night, as even John Koronka made payback for Randy Johnson's two hits the night before with a single, double and two RBI. Humberto Cota had four hits and drove in three, and Omar Quintanilla a pair of doubles in the win.

Tulsa: L 15-5

If any ten run blow out could be considered not as bad as it looks on paper, this one probably qualifies. Brandon Hynick had a bad outing true and his fabled command was off, but the contact against him was weak for the most part, with a lot of bloop singles and soft liners falling in front of the outfield contributing the biggest chunk of the damage off of him last night. Offensively, Dexter Fowler was impressive, with three singles, a stolen base and a long out to left center that would likely have been a homerun in Whataburger Stadium the night before when the wind was blowing out instead of in. Chris Nelson also had a pair of hits, and Neil Wilson three, including a double. Eric Young Jr. broke up his zero for 2008 with a one for five performance. EY also stole a base for the 200th time in his professional career. Daniel Carte followed his two HR performance the night before with a three strikeout performance last night, as Corpus Christi pitchers fed him a steady diet of high heat (often too high) that he couldn't lay off of.

Modesto: L 9-1

The Stockton Ports rotation was dubbed the best in the minors by BA's Ben Badler in a chat yesterday, the performance Henry Rodriguez came up with last night against our beloved Nuts gives an indication why, as he pitched five innings, striking out eight while allowing just three hits and three walks. Our own Rodriguez, Aneury, couldn't match him -unless this was a poker game- lasting only three innings with a pair of sixes (hits and runs allowed) and a pair of jacks. Anthony Jackson continues to impress playing with the home team, walking three times, stealing two bases, and getting a single in five AB's. Mike McKenry and Jay Cox each had their first two hits of the season for Modesto. One of McKenry's was a double off Rodriguez.

Daniel Mayora played shortstop and Nick Haley second for the Nuts, as Hector Gomez was held out as a matter of precaution after x-rays on his shin came back negative according to Brian VanDerBeek at the ModBee's Nuts blog. Gomez is expected to miss a couple of games, but the good news is that it's nothing serious.

Asheville: Postponed

Rain across the Atlantic seaboard forced many games into postponement last night, the game will be made up tonight as part of a shortened double-header. Jason McGill predicts Darin Holcomb will go for the cycle.