AAA Colorado Springs: W 8-7, 37-43
Starter Kurt Birkins was cruising along against the Salt Lake Bees until the fifth, when he was torched for four runs, two of which scored on a double off of Nick Bierbrodt who had come in to finish the inning. Scott Rice pitched a clean inning in his Colorado Springs debut, while Matt Wilhite gave up a run. Taylor Buchholz also gave up a run on a leadoff triple, followed by a ground out. Other than that, a throwing error by Omar Quintanilla and a hit batter, Buchholz's inning was not particularly bad. The Sky Sox didn't start their offense until the 7th inning. The team rallied in the bottom of the ninth for five runs, winning the game in walkoff fashion on a Jay Payton double scoring Chris Frey, who was just activated after a couple weeks on the Temporarily Inactive List. Mike Paulk hit his second home run of the season, while Payton had 3 hits, raising his average to an impressive .328. Matt Miller, Chris Nelson and Michael McKenry also had two hit nights.
AA Tulsa Drillers: W 6-2, 33-42
2008 number one draft pick Christian Friedrich finally got his first win of the season last night, giving up two runs (both solo home runs from the Corpus Cristi Hooks) in 6 innings, along with 9 strike outs. Reliever Chris Malone relieved him in the 7th and received a rare 3 inning save. The Drillers got off to a hot start, scoring 3 runs in the first inning on a Jason Van Kooten home run. Charles Blackmon and Bronson Sardinha also hit home runs in the game, while Van Kooten, Ryan Harvey and Warren Schaeffer all had two hit nights. 1B prospect Kiel Roling struck out 3 times.
A+ Modesto Nuts: L 10-7, 42-36
Starter Dan Houston gave up 8 runs (6 earned) in 5 innings. Two more Bakersfield runs given up in the 9th inning by reliever Kurt Yacko would keep the lead insurmountable for the Nuts. Those contributing to the 7 runs of offense for Modesto included Tim Wheeler with a solo home run, James Cesario (who is having a fantastic season) with a 2 run single and 2 RBIs for catcher Beau Seabury. Jordan Pacheco, who was serving as designated hitter, had a rare 0-5 game.
A Asheville Tourists: L 8-7, 35-42
Kannapolis put up a 7 run 7th inning off of starter Wes Musick. Only one of the 7th inning runs was earned, however, as second baseman Angelys Nina committed a 2 out fielding error, his eleventh of the season. Four straight hits followed, including a 2 run home run. Reliever Chad Rose came into the game to finish it, allowing an inherited runner to score, but pitching cleanly the rest of the time. Asheville fought back in the 9th, putting up 4 runs, but it would not be enough. Nina hit his third home run of the season, and Avery Barnes (who had a 3 hit night) hit his second.
A Short Tri-City Dust Devils: L 4-3, 7-6
Starter Edwar Cabrera struck out 8 batters in just 5 innings, but relievers Clint Tilford and Ricky Testa were unable to keep the Tri-City lead against the Spokane Indians, giving up 2 earned runs each in the 8th inning. Chandler Laurent hit his second home run of the season to drop the deficit to 1 run, but that was all that was left offensively in the game. Laurent continued his hot start to the season with 3 hits, the entire rest of the team collecting only two, singles from Jared Simon and Nathan Hines.
Rookie Casper Ghosts: L 6-2, 6-5
Alejandro Barraza got off to a bad start, giving up 4 runs in the first inning. He settled in until the 5th, giving up two more runs, and was replaced by relievers Matthew Crocker and Kenneth Roberts, who each pitched two innings of one hit baseball to follow. Most of the Ghosts offense was scattered singles, with a couple of doubles (including Corey Dickerson's fifth). Jeffrey Squier was the only Ghost to record 2 hits.