The affiliates went 3-1 last night, with a couple of wins coming in atypical fashion.
The Sky Sox (20-29), who have struggled to keep anyone off the board in 2011, won a pitcher's duel. Colorado Springs scored two in the 4th inning on a Matt Macri double, and that's all they would need. PuRPs Charlie Blackmon and Chris Nelson both had multi-hit games to lead the Sky Sox. Billy Buckner (1-1) got the win with five shutout innings. Jim Miller gave up Fresno's only run of the game, a solo shot in the 9th, but picked up his 3rd save.
The Drillers (25-21) won on the strength of three 3-run innings (in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th). Six different players had multi-hit games for the Drillers (who had 16 hits in all). James Cesario led Tulsa with a 3-5 night, a 3 run homer, and five RBIs, while the resurgent Scott Beerer added a 4-5 night. Rob Scahill earned the win (4-3) with seven innings of two run ball, while Adam Jorgenson got his 11th save of the year.
Modesto 18, High Desert 10If you want an idea of what baseball would look like if it were played on the moon, look no farther than High Desert. The Nuts (23-25) had 20 hits on the night and had five innings in which they scored multiple runs. Seven players had multi-hit games and four had three or more hits. Leading the way for Modesto offensively was 1B Kiel Roling, who went 4-6 with his 6th and 7th homers, driving in five men in all. Modesto's other big boppers, RF Mike Zuanich and 3B Nolan Arenado (PuRP 4), each added three hits and a home-run (11 for Zuanich, 5 for Arenado).
Even noted glove man Josh Rutledge got in the act, with the shortstop going 3-6 with a double, a triple, and 4 RBIs. Rutledge has really been impressive in High A, hitting a singles-heavy .315/.415/.396.
Top PuRP Tyler Matzek started, but unfortunately he didn't stick around long enough to take advantage of the great run support. He lasted only one inning, giving up five runs on three hits and five walks -- yuck. Matzek's ERA is now at 9.82, while his K/BB ratio is 37/46 -- it's safe to call Matzek's 2011 campaign a disaster so far.
Alan DeRatt got the win (3-2) though he allowed five runs and nine hits in four innings. Coty Woods then came in and shut High Desert down, going four scoreless innings to record his first save of the year.
The Tourists (22-26) weren't able to take advantage of 5 Hagerstown errors as they lost a close one. Toolsy shortstop Cristhian Adames went 3-4 with 2 RBIs to lead Asheville offensively. PuRP Kyle Parker (6) and Dustin Garneau (5) each added solo homers for Asheville, while Chandler Laurent contributed a double and triple.
Peter Tago's second start wasn't as successful as his first one, as he gave up four runs (two earned) in four innings on six hits and five walks. Nonetheless, Asheville took a one run lead into the 8th inning, but Bruce Kern blew up, allowing four runs (two earned) on two hits.