Yesterday the Arizona Fall League started play and, as noted yesterday, the Colorado Rockies have their minor leaguers on the Phoenix Desert Dogs. The Desert Dogs faced the Mesa Solar Sox and lost the game in 10 innings.
On the hitting side of things, Eric Young, Jr., starting at DH, had the best start of the bunch. EY had a hit in three at-bats and scored one of the two runs knocked in by Rusty Ryal's triple. Chris Nelson, the starting second baseman, went 0-for-3 and struck out twice. Nelson struck out 21% of the time in 329 plate appearances for Tulsa in 2008. Mike McKenry did not start the game, but he did come in as a pinch-hitter in the 10th. He struck out to end the game. Toronto's J.P. Arencibia will likely be the Desert Dogs' primary catcher.
Shane Lindsay was the only Rockies pitcher to see action yesterday. He pitched the eighth inning, allowing two hits. He sued only 13 pitches to get out of the inning, but only six of them went for strikes. Arizona's Max Scherzer started the game, went seven innings, allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, and struck out four. Those two runs scored on a homer in the first inning.
The Desert Dogs take on the Solar Sox again later today.