Colorado Springs, W 5-3 - The Sky Sox scored all five runs in the fifth inning. Cory Sullivan drove one run in on a ground out; Jayson Nix hit a two-run homer (14); Ian Stewart singled and Seth Smith scored on that play after an error; and Edwin Bellorin doubled in Stewart.

Franklin Morales allowed only two runs (on a homer) over 6 2/3 innings, walked four, and struck out four. Ryan Speier allowed the other run on the way to his second save.

Tulsa, W 8-1 - Brandon Hynick went eight innings, allowed one run on five hits, walked two, and struck out one. He also drove in a run. Jeff Kindel went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Daniel Carte drove in two runs, and Dexter Fowler collected two hits and an RBI.

Modesto, W 5-2 - Aneury Rodriguez threw eight shutout innings last night for the Nuts. He allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out six. David Patton allowed two runs on four hits.

Jay Cox led the offense last night with a double and a homer to drive in two runs. Daniel Mayora and Mike Paulk drove in the other runs. Anthony Jackson stole his 21st base.

Asheville, W 4-3 - Despite allowing two runs in the top of the ninth, Randall Taylor saved his 24th game. Connor Graham started the game, went seven innings, and allowed one run on three hits and four walks. He struck out five.

Darin Holcomb drove in two runs on his 11th homer to reach base for the 30th consecutive game, and Brian Rike drove in a run. Everth Cabrera and Kevin Clark each walked twice, the former scoring once and the latter twice. Cabrera stole his 52nd base. Jeff Cunningham had three hits.

Tri-City, L 5-12 - Juan Nicasio was knocked around for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings, all scored in the third. Five runs of them scored on three consecutive singles. Andy Groves allowed four runs over the next three outs.

Charlie Blackmon had a two-run triple in the fifth and drove in a total of three runs. Johnny Bowden had a double and an RBI. Thomas Field went 2-for-2 with two walks.

I received some photos from someone who attended Wednesday's Tri-City game. You can check them out by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.

Christian Friedrich should make his debut on Wednesday. It also mentions that Hector Gomez had TJ surgery earlier in the week.

Casper, W 5-2 - Wilin Rosario had two doubles, one of which drove in two runs in the fifth. A run scored earlier that inning on an error. In the top of the ninth, back-to-back wild pitches scored two more runs. James Sims went 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs scored, and two walks. He also stole his second base.

Dan Houston struck out eight  and allowed one run on his way to a three-hit, six-inning performance. Isaiah Froneberger struck out three, as did Kurt Yacko in the bottom of the ninth.

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Colorado Springs, W 13-1 - Christian Colonel went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a double, a home run, and two RBI. Doug Bernier went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run, and two RBI. Edwin Bellorin had three RBI, two on a home run. Sean Barker had a two-run triple as a pinch-hitter for Mark Redman in the sixth. Jonathan Herrera, Seth Smith, and Joe Koshansky picked up one RBI each.

Mark Redman held Fresno scoreless over six innings and allowed only two hits. Juan Morillo pitched hte final 1 2/3 innings, striking out two, and walking none.

Tulsa - Postponed due to wet grounds. Todd Ritchie is now part of the rotation.

Modesto - All-Star Break.

Asheville, L 3-8 - Darin Holcomb hits his 10th homer, a solo shot, and scored twice. Everth Cabrera and Cory Riordan both committed two errors last night while David Christensen had one to place the team's total at five. Riordan allowed five runs (one earned) over five innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Tri-City, W 3-1 - After Salem-Kaizer's sac fly in the top of the second, Tri-City answered with a Patrick Rose sac fly and a Scott Robinson run scored on a Thomas Field ground out. In the eighth, Patrick Rose started the inning with a triple and scored two batters later when Leonardo Reyes put down a sac bunt. Reyes wound up on first after a missed catch by the second baseman.

Kenny Durst held Salem-Kaizer to three hits and one run (zero earned) in five innings. He walked four and struck out three. Michael Marbry, Ethan Katz, and Austin Chambliss allowed two hits over the next four innings, both by Marbry. Chambliss picked up his second save.

Casper - Postponed due to rain.

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 11-4  - With Ian Stewart and Seth Smith gone, the Springs' offense didn't slow down last night. Joe Koshansky hit for the cycle last night, and he hit the triple he needed in the eighth inning. He drove in four runs. Christian Colonel also had a big night, having all three of his hits go for doubles. Sean Barker hit a triple also and drove in three. Edwin Bellorin had three hits and three RBI.

John Koronka picked up his fifth win after going six innings. He allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks. Juan Morillo pitched the ninth and struck out three.

Tulsa, W 7-3 - Ching Lung Lo went six innings and allowed three runs (two on a first inning homer and the other on a solo shot in the third). He limited Midland to five hits and struck out three. Edward Valdez picked up a "save" by pitching a scoreless two innings. He allowed only two hits and struck out two.

Six of seven runs came via the home run. As part of his 3-for-4 night, Matt Miller hit his fifth homer. In the fourth inning, Jeff Kindel hit a two-run shot for his third, and Justin Nelson hit his sixth. In the sixth, Tony Blanco hit a two-run homer for his seventh. Dexter Fowler had a double (8) and an RBI.

Modesto, W 4-1 - Keith Weiser was one out away from throwing a shutout, but it was not to be. Weiser wound up with this line: 8 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R/ER, 4 K. Andrew Johnston recorded the last out for his 11th save.

The Nuts scored all four runs in the bottom of the third. Geoff Strickland doubled in Jay Cox and Matt Repec to start the scoring. Mike Paulk's sixth double scored Strickland, and Mike McKenry's single scored Paulk.

Brian VanderBeek sat down with Nick Haley recently, discussing Haley's Crohn's disease.

Asheville, W 4-2 - Entering the bottom of the eighth, the Tourists were tied 1-1 with the Catfish. In the bottom of the second, Brian Rike (batting sixth now) singled in Darin Holcomb (who reached base on the first of two doubles last night). So, Helder Velazquez stepped to the plate to start the eighth. He unloaded his fourth homer to break the tie. After Beau Seabury reached on a missed catch error and Everth Cabrera singled, Mike Mitchell sac bunted the two over to second and third. Kevin Clark struck out for the second inning, which gave way to Darin Holcomb. Holcomb then singled in Seabury and Cabrera to give Asheville a 4-1 lead. Cabrera also stole his 30th base.

Bruce Billings allowed one hit in seven inning on six hits and two walks. He struck out five. He did not, however factor into the decision. Craig Baker picked up the win after pitching a scoreless eighth. Randall Taylor allowed a run on two hits and a sac fly, but picked up his 14th save.

I always feel like celebrating when the entire system from top to bottom get victories on the same night. So I'm going to pop open the champagne here today.

Colorado Springs: W 5-3

Yorvit Torrealba -through no fault of his own, he's the same Yorvit he's always been- seems to be inching closer to being a piece that the Rockies could afford to lose in a trade to help the team by the end of July. Before any of the pilers on scoff at his having any value in that regard thanks to the misery he brings us at the plate, catchers are usually at a premium to begin with, and his September/October last year will have contending teams hoping that strong finishes are just part of his M.O. Plus the huge question that teams had with him in the winter -the health of his shoulder- has been minimized.

At any rate, the reason he's become expendable has more to do with the strong play of Chris Iannetta with the Rockies and of Edwin Bellorin with the Sky Sox. Bellorin went four for four yesteday with two doubles (10 on the year so far) and three runs batted in and picked a runner off second base. That's always an impressive play to me to have enough of a gun to catch somebody drifting from across the diamond. Anyway, he's having his second straight solid season with the Sky Sox.

Ian Stewart hit his fourth triple of the season and at 142 PA's, you can pretty much just quadruple his counting stats to see the kind of pace he's going at: 36 HR's, 16 3B's and 16 2B's. Of course, this would be assuming that his batting average on balls in play stays 43 points lower than it's ever been his career and he doesn't start getting even more hits. It's not going to and he will. Ian's seriously having an excellent season when you look past the batting average.

Tulsa: W 4-2

Daniel Carte went three for three and Chris Nelson hit his ninth double of the year in this win. Tomas Santiago pitched effectively and Casey Weathers showed signs that he's actually moving toward being the power pitcher we drafted with two K's in his perfect inning of work. I've started to pay close attention to the gifted base count (errors, wild pitches, balks, etc...) with Tulsa -sloppy play has been too characteristic of this team this season- and last night was thankfully clean in that regard save an HBP by Santiago.

Modesto: W 4-0

Shane Lindsay continues his teasing, mixing in another brilliant start after two crummy ones. Lindsay went seven innings last night giving up just three hits and a  walk and striking out nine. Meanwhile, I don't know where Daniel Mayora's three double night came from, but he needs to have more of them.

Asheville: W 9-3

I haven't spent a lot of time on Sheng An Kuo, partly because I haven't actually had the opportunity to see him pitch yet myself and there's a dearth of information about his pitches in general. Another reason was because three of his first four starts(he did well in his 2008 debut) this season weren't very good:15 2/3 innings with 28 hits, nine walks and fourteen runs allowed in those. In his last three starts, however, he's gone at least seven innings in each, had an exactly 2/1 GB/FB rate on his outs, and that WHIP has gone from a whopping 2.36 in his first four starts to a minuscule 0.96 in his last three. He's not going to be quite this good going forward with his very low K rate, but he could at least be useful to a MLB team if he continues to keep that groundball percentage around the 60% it's been for his career to date.

Brian Rike hit another homerun, a three run shot in the second, and also had an RBI hit in the first inning. The T's offense scored four runs total in each, added their ninth run in the third and then took it easy the rest of the night. Warren Schaeffer wound up with three hits. Rike, Everth Cabrera, Darin Holcomb, David Christensen and Jeff Cunningham had two apiece.

Colorado Springs, L 5-6 - Four of the Sky Sox's runs came in the third inning. And it all started with a John Koronka walk at the beginning of the inning. Jayson Nix had a double, which was followed by a Cory Sullivan driving in Koronka on a single. Seth Smith then drove in Nix on an single. Edwin Bellorin then doubled in Sully and Smith. Sully scored the other run in the first on a Sean Barker ground out. Smith went 4-for-5.

Koronka allowed four runs in six innings. Alberto Arias blew the save in the seventh after a Nick Stavinoha pop up double to Nix tied the game.

Tulsa, L 5-7 - Tony Blanco added two more RBI to his Tulsa total, having seven now in his short stint with the team. He went 3-for-4 with a double. Duke Sardinha hit his first homer, and Jeff Dragicevich drove in two runs.

Xavier Cedeno failed to complete five inning, leaving after 4 2/3 IP. He allowed four runs on eight hits and four walks. Jarrett Grube allowed the other three.

Modesto, L 3-9 - Mike Paulk went 2-for-2 with an RBI double, a sac fly, and a walk.  Anthony Jackson had a sac fly in the ninth to score Mike McKenry. He started the ninth inning with his sixth double.

Shane Lindsay also failed to complete five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and six walks. He struck out five. Brandon Durden allowed two runs in 1 2/3 IP, and Tommy Baumgardner allowed four runs in two inning.

Brian VanderBeek sat down with Will Harris recently.

Asheville, L 4-8 - Brian Rike led the offense with two hits (both doubles) and an RBI.  Everth Cabrera, Darin Holcomb, Jeff Cunningham, and Beau Seabury also had two hits. Seabury drove in two and Holcomb one. Cabrera stole his 16th base, was caught for the third time, and committed his eighth error.

Bruce Billings was knocked around eight runs (seven earned) in 3 1/3 IP. He allowed one run in the first, four in the third (three by way of one home run), and three in the fourth. The last run scored when Joey Williamson was on the mound. Williamson went 4 2/3 IP and struck out four (1.29 ERA on the season). Andy Groves pitched the last inning ans struck out two.

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.