The Springs, W 8-5: Joe Koshansky led the offense with three hits (two homers for 24 this season) and five RBI. His second homer, a two-run shot, came in the top of the ninth to give the Sky Sox some breathing room. Christian Colonel drove in two and Matt Miller knocked in the other run.

Mark Redman struck out six on his way to allowing three runs in six innings. Edward Valdez made his Triple-A debut and allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings. Ryan Speier struck out two on the way to his third save. Former Rockie Jose Capellan started the game for Omaha and was tagged for five runs in six innings. He also walked five.

Tulsa: The Texas League had the day off.

Modesto, W 4-3: Modesto scored its first three runs in the third inning on a Jason Van Kooten single, a wild pitch, and a Travis Becktel RBI double. Stockton would score three runs to tie the game before the top of the ninth, when Nick Haley scored on a Mike Paulk single after reaching on a walk and advancing to second on an errant pickoff attempt.

Brandon Durden went five innings and allowed two runs, but it was Jon George who came through when it counted the most. George allowed a leadoff triple in the ninth before following that with back-to-back swinging strikeouts and a fly out.

Asheville, L 2-4: Bo Bowman hit his second home run for Asheville in the seventh inning (then ejected in the ninth), and Everth Cabrera stole his 66th base. Cory Riordan allowed three runs (one earned) in six innings. He threw two wild pitches, walked three, and struck out five.

Tri-City, W 15-2: Christian Friedrich is back to form after a rough outing on July 31. He allowed both runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out nine. Sean Jarrett held Spokane hitless over the next 1 1/3 innings while striking out three and walking one. David Parker threw in the final two innings of the game and saw no runs score.

The box scores for the hitters was filled with numbers across every row and column. Johnny Bowden hit his two solo homers, Chris Vasami smacked a three-run homer, and Charlie Blackmon was a homer short of the cycle in his 4-for-4, one-RBI night. He also stole his ninth base. Patrick Rose drove in three runs and hit a triple, Thomas Field had two doubles as part of his three-hit, one-RBI night. Except for James Sims, the other starters, Erik Wetzel, Scott Robinson, and Leonardo Reyes also drove in runs.

Casper, L 6-9: Dan Houston likes the big fly. That would be all right if he was a hitter, but he's a pitcher and those three homers he allowed last night don't fly well. He allowed seven runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings. He also struck out six.

Wilin Rosario drove in two runs on his ninth homer, Orlando Sandoval knocked in three runs (two on a triple), and Eliezer Mesa had the other two.

Colorado Springs, W 12-9: While he didn't start for the Rockies last night, Jason Hirsh did take the mound for the Sky Sox . . . with unpleasant results. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits and three walks in seven innings. He surrendered three gopher balls. Mark Redman allowed four hits and an unearned run over the last two innings of the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kenny Perez hit a three-run homer to tie the game at nine. Two more batters got on base  and Adam Melhuse delivered the second three-run homer of the game to give the Sky Sox the victory.. Mike McCoy and Christian Colonel both had two doubles and an RBI earlier in the game.

Tulsa, L 5-12: Not a good night to be a Tulsa pitcher. Chaz Roe allowed eight runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings. He struck out five, committed two errors, and threw a wild pitch. Andrew Johnston made his first appearance for Tulsa and allowed a solo homer. Adam Bright and Jarrett Grube also allowed some runs, but it was Edward Valdez who didn't allow a run. The pitchers allowed five homers.

Justin Nelson and Rick Guarno hit back-to-back solo homers in the seventh, with the latter having two RBI and three hits.

Modesto: Off.

Asheville, W 6-4: Sheng-An Kuo saw four runs score in five innings. He allowed seven hits, struck out four, and walked four. Matthew Reynolds went the next three innings and allowed only a hit and a walk.

A Brian Lapin RBI single in the second, a Brian Rike RBI walk in the third, and a Darin Holcomb sac fly and a Kevin Clark two-run single in the fourth gave the Tourists a 5-3 lead. In the eight inning, Mike Mitchell tripled and then scored on a Darin Holcomb single. Everth Cabrera stole his 61st base.

Tri-City, L 6-7 in 11 innings: Brad McAtee went 1+ inning and allowed two runs. He walked three batters in the first, but no damage was done that inning. With a walk and a hit by pitch to start the second, McAtee then gave up a two-run single. He left the game thereafter. Rod Scurry allowed two runs in his three innings of work and David Parker saw two runners cross the plate in one inning. Bobby Paschal and Sean Jarrett allowed two hits over the next four innings before Carlos Luna allowed an RBI single in the top of the 11th.

Charlie Blackmon led the offense with his 4-for-6, two-RBI night. He played a part in the Dust Devils' four-run second inning by driving in the fourth run. Jordan Pacheco scored on a wild pitch, Patrick Rose singled in Leonardo Reyes, and Radames Nazario doubled in Rose to complete the scoring in that inning.

Casper, L 1-8: Omar Duarte allowed four runs in four innings and struck out seven. Brandon Dill struck out five over the next two innings but also surrendered a solo homer. Eric Schaler allowed three runs on four walks and no hits in the eighth. He started the inning with a swinging strike out that turned into a wild pitch, sending the runner  to first. Then there was a walk, a HBP, and an RBI double play. He threw another wild pitch and walked the next three batters. On the third walk a second run scored. The third run of the inning scored on a wild pitch. It was a memorable night in the  wrong way for Schaler.

Eliezer Mesa drove in Casper's only run in the second on a single.

Colorado Springs, L 0-2 - Christian Colonel, Edwin Bellorin, and Jeff Dragicevich each had two hits, and Cory Sullivan had a double for the lone extra-base hit for the Sky Sox. Valerio De Los Santos allowed one run on two hits over six innings and struck out seven.

Tulsa, W 12-3 - In his rehab start, Jeff Francis allowed one hit in 3 2/3 innings and struck out two. Jarrett Grube finished he fourth inning before Ching-Lung Lo went the final five innings.

Tulsa hitters combined for 15 hits, only three of them for extra bases. Matt Miller and Tony Blanco each had a double in their 3-for-4 and 3-for-5 nights. Both drove in two runs. Daniel Carte drove in two, Brian Esposito had a triple and an RBI, and EY Jr., Dexter Fowler, Jeff Kindel, Corey Wimberly, and Justin Nelson each drove in a run. Young stole his 30th base and Wimberly his 45th.

Modesto, W 4-3 - Matt Repec's homer in the eighth tied the game at three and Mike McKenry's hit into an RBI groundout in the ninth to give Modesto the lead. Mike Paulk had a two-run single in the second. Anthony Jackson had two hits and stole his 29th base.

Brandon Durden and Chris Malone each went four innings, the former allowing two runs. Andrew Johnston pitched in the ninth for his 22nd save.

Asheville, L 5-6 in 10 innings - Everth Cabrera and Mike Mitchell each drove in two runs. In the bottom of the ninth, Cabrera and Mitchell had back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at five. Bo Bowman received a promotion from Tri-City to Asheville and went 2-for-5 in his debut.

Robinson Fabian struck out nine in six innings, but also allowed four runs. Matthew Reynolds took the loss after allowing the winning run on a single. He started the inning by retiring the first two batters. The third batter hit a double and advanced to third on a throwing error by Rike.

Tri-City, L 2-3 - Parker Frazier allowed an unearned run on four hits in six innings and struck out two. Carlos Luna allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow the save and lose the game.

Chad Lembeck tripled in Patrick Rose in the second inning and Charlie Blackmon scored on a throwing error in the following error. Blackmon singled and then stole second before moving to third on that play.

Casper, L 0-5 - Kane Simmons and Zack Murry each ahd two hits in this quiet contest for Casper. Jeff Fischer went six innings, allowed two runs, and struck out six. Ronny Lopez allowed another two and Kurt Yacko saw the other run score. Isaiah Froneberger struck out two in his scoreless inning of work.

Colorado Springs, W 6-5 - Poor Chris Frey was lonely yesterday, as he was the only starter to not have a hit. Even Frankie Morales, who we know was originally an outfielder, had a hit and an RBI. Most of the damage was done on singles, but Christian Colonel had a solo shot in the fifth. In fact, the first six batters all had at least two hits, with Adam Melhuse collecting three.

On the pitching side of things, Morales allowed only two runs on three hits, but he also walked five batters. Of his 103 pitches, 53 went for strikes. Matt Daley allowed three runs, allowing one hit and walking three. Cedrick Bowers actually saw two of those runs score before Alberto Arias and Steven Register closed out the game. Register picked up his 15th save.

Tulsa, L 5-6 - Jeff Kindel two-run homer in the eighth inning was part of a four-run ininning that tied the game at five. Alas, Darren Clarke put some men on in the bottom of the eighth and then saw Ryan Mattheus allow the go-ahead run to cross home plate.

Xavier Cedeno allowed two unearned runs over five innings. Justin Nelson hit a homer earlier in the game and Dexter Fowler walked three times.

Modesto, L 4-5 - Victor Ferrante and Mike McKenry each had a two-run homer in the contest, and that was about it for the offense. Keither Weiser allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings.

Asheville, L 3-4 in 11 innings - Gotta give a whole lot of credit to Riordan last night despite allowing a run in the ninth to tie the game. Riordan went nine innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits. He struck out eight. Craig Baker allowed a leadoff homer in the 11th. 

Helder Velazquez, Kevin Clark, and Beau Seabury each had an RBI, and David Christensen had two hits. Mike Mitchell stole his 41st base. Brian Rike continued to pileup the strikeouts, collecting three more.

Tri-City, W 5-4 - Austin Rauch's second homer of the season was a big one since it won the game for the Dust Devils. Down 3-4 in the ninth, Rauch stepped to the plate with ne out and hit the ball out of the park. Erik Wetzel had two hits and drove in two runs. Charlie Blackmon had two hits and stole his sixth base.

Christian Friedrich had a good start, striking out eight over five innings and allowing one run on two hits. Sean Jarrett, who's on his way back from injury and surgery, allowed three runs, but saw two of them score while Austin Chambliss was on the mound.

Casper, L 11-19 - Casper gave it a go in the ninth for a comeback, but only five runs scored. Dan Houston went three innings, allowing four runs on three hits. Alan Deratt allowed seven runs in two-thirds of an inning, and Andred Marrero saw five score in 1 2/3 innings.

Carlos Martinez, Wilin Rosario, and Shane Lowe led the offense with two hits each, but Lowe failed to drive in a run like the the other two. Almost everyone had an RBI, including the pinch-hitters, and it's too long to list.

Colorado Springs, W 5-1 - Jason Hirsh picked up his second win after throwing five innings of one-run, two-hit ball, but also walked seven. Matt Daley, Juan Morillo, Steven Register, and Ryan Speier each threw a scoreless inning of relief.

Ian Stewart hit his 17th homer, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, and with three hits last night Christian Colonel raised his batting average to .356, third best in the PCL.

Tulsa, W 5-4 in 11 innings - Jeff Kindel had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth with a bases-loaded situation, but he struck out (Daniel Carte failed immediately after that with a fly out). Kindel recieved a chance at redemption in the bottom of the 11th and seized it by singling in Dexter Fowler from second base. Tony Blanco went 3-for-3 with a double, a three-run homer (18), and four total RBI. Alan Johnson went six innings, allowed three runs (two earned) and walked four.

Modesto, L 2-4 - Wes Roemer carried a perfect game into the seventh for Visalia before Daniel Mayora doubled. Mike Paulk doubled in Mayora and Cole Garner singled in Paulk. Those were the only three hits the Nuts collected last night.

Keith Weiser went seven innings, allowing three runs in the sixth. He struck out five. Andy Graham allowed the other run on a homer.

Asheville - Postponed due to wet grounds.

Tri-City, W 9-6 - Tri-City hitters combined for 16 hits last night. Johnny Bowden hit his first home run, a two-run shot, as part of his 3-for-5,  three-RBI night. Bo Bowman and Patrick Rose each drove in two runs while Thomas Field and Jordan Pacheco each drove in one. Field alos walked three times. Charlie Blackmon had four singles and scored twice.

Brad McAtee struck out five over five scoreless innings. Rod Scurry allowed four runs, two scoring when Andy Groves came in and allowed three hits.

Casper - No games were scheduled for the Pioneer League last night.

Colorado Springs, W 10-6 - The Sky Sox win this without hitting a home run. It was a multi-RBI night for several players: Cory Sullivan and Ian Stewart (two hits) drove in two and Jayson Nix (three hits) drove in three. Two of Christian Colonel's hits were doubles. He, Doug Bernier, and Chris Frey each drove in a run. Bernier, Colonel, and Nix drove in four of those runs in the eight inning to break a 6-6 tie.

Valerio De Los Santos allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings, and Steven Register allowed a run in the top of the 8th to blow the save. He picked up the win after the already-mentioned four-run eighth by the Sky Sox.

Tulsa, L 2-4 - Tony Blanco hit his 17th homer last night and Dexter Fowler had two hits, but, with men on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, Fowler grounded out on the first pitch he saw. Xavier Cedeno allowed one run (on a homer) in five innings. He also struck out five before leaving the game as a result of back spasms. Adam Bright was charged with two runs, but they scored when Ryan Mattheus took his place on the mound. Mattheus allowed one additional run.

Modesto, L 7-10 - Six of Modesto's seven runs came by way of the home run. Daniel Mayora had two, his first two of the season, Michael McKenry had a two-run shot for his ninth, and Jason Van Kooten had one in the ninth for his second. Van Kooten and Anthony Jackson each had three hits. Modesto native Jackson sat down with Brian VanderBeek for this Sunday's interview.

Esmil Rogers allowed 10 runs (five earned) in 3 2/3 innings. Daniel Mayora had two fielding errors during those innings. Brandon Durden allowed one hit and struck out five over the next 4 1/3 innings.

Asheville, W 13-6 - It was a good night for Warren Schaeffer as he went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored, and two walks. Kevin Clark hit his 13th homer, a two-run shot (and put a big dent in the hood of his car after hitting hitting a homer during BP). Mike Mitchell and David Christensen drove in two each. Christian stole his 10th base, and Everth Cabrera his 54th.

Sheng-An Kuo allowed a grand slam in the third inning and failed to make it out of that inning. Edgmer Escalona allowed two runs over the next 4 1/3 innings, striking out five. Matt Reynolds struck out four over the final two innings.

Tri-City, W 4-1 - Parker Frazier had a no-hitter going through five innings before allowing a leadoff single to start the sixth. His line for the night: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP. Ethan Katz allowed a run in the eighth, but Austin Chambliss struck out two on his way to his seventh save in the ninth.

Leonardo Reyes hit a home run in the seventh to give the Dust Devils the lead, and Thomas Field drove in two on a single the next inning. Patrick Rose scored from second earlier in the eighth on a throwing error by the pitcher on Johnny Bowden's sac bunt.

Casper, L 2-13 - Casper hitters combined for four hits. Wilin Rosario, who had one of the hits, walked twice. Marco Duarte allowed seven runs in the first two innings of the game, only two earned. Carlos Martinez and Orlando Sandoval had errors in the five-run first inning. Brandon Walker allowed two unearned runs, Andres Marrero put three across home plate, and Juan Rodriguez allowed the other run.

Colorado Springs: W 12-2

I'm liking what I've been seeing of Sean Smith. He's keeping the ball down and not giving up a whole lot of damage. He didn't quite make it a full six innings yesterday, giving up the two runs in that frame and showing signs of weakness after shutting out Portland to that point, but he did pick up and deserve the win. The Sky Sox part of the score indicates that runs probably could have been given up a lot more easily with less effective pitching last night. On that offensive side, Ian Stewart hit his fourteenth AAA homerun of the season and Jayson Nix (3 hits) and Christian Colonel (4 hits) each had big nights.

Tulsa: L 0-5

The Drillers were shutout and limited to three hits, one by starter Brandon Hynick, who also happened to meet the quality start threshold with three runs allowed in six innings.

Modesto: L 2-6

Daniel Mayora went two for four and is batting .421 for the month of June after starting the season miserably. He's still showing little power, but the contact skills are looking much better. Esmil Rogers took the loss after going five innings and allowing four runs.

UPDATE: according to the comments Jhoulys Chacin has finally been promoted from Asheville and will join the Nuts this weekend.

Asheville: L 3-9

Connor Graham had one of his least effective outings of late, allowing five runs in as many innings including two off of a homerun in a three inning third. Everth Cabrera had a pair of hits and a pair of stolen bases (49 out of 56 on the season now) as well as his twentieth error of the year in the loss.

Tri-City: W 2-1

There was no scoring in this contest until Bo Bowman and Johnny Bowden broke through in the top of the ninth, and then Austin Chambliss bended a little, but didn't break in the bottom half for the save in the Dust Devils win. Juan Nicasio pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk and struck out nine with five of the six outs he got off of contact coming on groundballs.

Casper: W 3-2

Kane Simmons went four for four with two doubles and a homerun, while Dan Houston, Chad Rose, Brandon Walker and Kurt Yacko put in a sparkling effort on the mound in this Ghosts victory. With four more strikeouts in an inning and a third yesterday (notching his fourth save of the season already), Yacko has been perfect in four and two thirds innings this season, striking out nine of the fourteen batters he's faced. Rose also has nine K's in four and two thirds innings this season, albeit a few more baserunners, and Houston also looked sharp in five innings, allowing the two Idaho Falls runs, but only on three hits and he struck out seven.

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 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, 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.