Colorado Springs: Ian Stewart hit two two-run homeruns as the Sky Sox romped over Luke Hochevar and Omaha, eleven to six. Omar Quintanilla had three extra base hits. Joe Gaetti also homered, and Ed Bellorin and Joe Koshansky each had two hits apiece.
Tulsa: The Drillers were the only team in the system to take a loss last night, as Sam Deduno's recent struggles continued. Deduno allowed five runs in the first inning and Wichita went on to win nine to five. Corey Wimberly had three hits for the Drillers, but he also registered two errors and a caught stealing. Jordan Czarniecki and Christian Colonel also had three hits for the Drillers in the loss.
Modesto: The Nuts took their tour of explosive road offensive efforts to Stockton, where they put up seventeen runs against the Ports. Chris Nelson had four hits, including a homerun, scored four and drove in four. Daniel Carte had a similar day, also with four hits including a homerun, and Nelson Robledo was the third Nut to register four in the hit column. Brandon Durden won his fifth straight decision and struck out nine in six innings, allowing just three runs on seven hits. Durden's K/BB rate has been taking off over the last month, and with his combination of powerful stuff, left-handedness, and groundball tendencies, he shouldn't be discounted as a potential big contributor to the cause if this is a sign that he's putting everything together.
Asheville: Meanwhile, Andy Graham struck out eleven in a complete game shutout of Lakewood. Graham allowed just five hits and a walk, as he continues to mix in stellar outings with a few duds. He had been walking more hitters in July, so cutting that back to only one yesterday was a positive sign in my book. Hector Gomez had three hits, including two doubles, and Michael Paulk, Jason Van Kooten and Victor Ferrante each added two hits apiece. Both of Paulk's hits were also doubles, and he drove in three of the six Asheville runs.
Tri-City: Usually the Dust-Devils' stadium is the system's most reliably pitcher friendly environment, but yesterday twenty-four runs were scored by the two teams playing. Tri-City came out ahead, fourteen to ten. Darin Holcomb was the only Dust-Devil with a homerun, and Tri-City scored the fourteen runs on just twelve hits, but eight walks and multi-hit games by Everth Cabrera, Derek Kinzler, Kevin Clark and Nate Anderson helped fuel the outburst.
Casper: Brandon Miller had some less than impressive results in fifteen innings of relief with Tri-City, but his five inning start for Casper yesterday helps make up for that. Miller didn't allow a run, allowed just three hits and struck out three. Casper's relief corps did just as well, and the Rockies won five to nothing. Chris Vasami homered for Casper in the win.
Update [2007-8-1 14:58:5 by Russ]: As 86 wins in 07 mentioned in the comments, Franklin Morales was promoted to the Springs after the conclusion of last night's game.