AAA - Colorado Springs: W 7-2 (25-29)
Chaz Roe was absolutely spectacular last night, as he did a terrific job navigating through a lineup that includes MLB-type players in Jeff Mathis and Brandon Wood, longtime "AAAA" players like Paul McAnulty, and top prospects such as Hank Conger and Peter Bourjos. In all, Roe allowed just two runs on four hits in his complete game performance. Keep in mind that this was all done in what is probably the second-best hitters park in the PCL. Roe maintained a 14:6 GO/FO ratio, and struck out seven batters while walking three. 71 of his 113 pitches were for strikes. He only ran into trouble in one inning (the third), where both runs, three of his four hits, and one of his three walks were allowed.
Offensively, Brad Eldred, Jay Payton, and Chris Nelson each had three hits for the Sky Sox. Eldred (14) and Payton (3) each had home runs, while Eldred and Nelson (along with Chris Frey and Kaz Matsui) doubled. Perhaps the guy who hit the ball the hardest last night, other than Eldred (whose home run traveled about 475 feet), was Michael McKenry. He did not have any hits to show for it, but he hit the ball on the screws in each of his four at-bats. Unfortunately, three of them were hit in the area of centerfield, which is patrolled by Peter Bourjos, who made spectacular catches on all three of McKenry's lasers. In his last at-bat, he hit a ball to the right field wall, but didn't quite get enough of it despite making a tremendously loud sound off the bat.
I will hopefully be attending the game today as well, so I'll have in-depth analysis for that one as well.
AA - Tulsa: L 7-4 (22-31)
Christian Friedrich was decent in six innings last night, as he tossed a quality start by allowing three runs in six innings. He gave up eight hits, but did not walk anybody and struck out three. However, the normally solid Chris Malone ended up imploding in the top of the ninth inning. In a tie game, Malone, allowed three runs on three hits and two walks before he could get the third out. The Drillers didn't put a whole lot together offensively, as they had just eight hits. Scott Beerer, Kiel Roling, and Jason Van Kooten each had two of those. Charlie Blackmon went 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI, and his average now sits at .111. Wilin Rosario was 0-for-4 with a strikeout and four LOB.
A-ball recaps after the jump...
High-A - Modesto: L 10-5 (29-25)
Ethan Hollingsworth was roughed up a little bit in 5.1 innings of work, as he allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits, two of which were homers. He walked two and struck out five. Isaiah Froneberger wasn't much better in relief, as he gave up three runs on two hits and a couple of walks in three innings of work. It wasn't until Jonnathan Aristil picked up the last out in the ninth that a Nuts' pitcher got away unscathed, as Stephen Dodson also gave up a run at the start of the inning. Modesto actually outhit Lake Elsinore 14-12, but they weren't able to capitalize on their scoring chances with the same efficiency. Thomas Field led the Nuts with three hits, including a homerun, and fell a single short of the cycle. James Cesario also contributed three hits, while Brian Rike, Ben Paulsen, and Maikol Gonzalez each had two. Tim Wheeler went 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
A - Asheville: L 11-2 (23-32)
Not much to say about this one, other than Juan Gonzalez was smacked around in 6.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks. He only struck out one batter. The relief was even worse, as Paul Bargas and Leuris Gomez combined two allow six runs on seven hits (including two long balls) in just 1.2 innings. On a positive note, Nolan Arenado had two more hits (including a double) to raise his average to .371. Angelys Nina had two hits as well.