AAA Colorado Springs – W 7-4, (55-51, 2nd, 7.5 GB)
Guillermo Moscoso had about as odd of a pitching line as you will ever see in this one. 7.0 IP, 4 ER, 10 hits, 10 K’s, and 0 BB. Baseball can be funny like this on occasion – hittable, and yet unhittable at the same time. Moscoso was in line to get the loss when he walked off the mound for the final time at the end of the 7th, but thanks to a five run top of the 8th that included four singles, a walk and an error he and the Sky Sox went home winners.
#15 PuRP Charlie Blackmon continued his hot July with two hits and an RBI and catcher Wilkin Castillo also had a multi hit night. Jonathan Herrera went 0-3 in a rehab appearance.
AA Tulsa – L 5-2, (15-19 (Second Half), 3rd, 8.5 GB)
Josh Outman was mediocre against Arkansas. In 5.1 innings, he allowed four runs, two of them earned, struck out five, and walked two. It’s the fourth straight outing in which Outman has walked two batters – One of many stats you could point to that would illustrate how consistently middle of the road he’s been since being sent to AA.
As a whole, the offense struggled again as the Drillers didn’t get on the board until the 7th inning when both Jimmy Cesario and Jose Gonzalez drove in a run. #1 PuRP Nolan Arenado did provide a bright spot though as he reached base three times including a 4th inning double. He’ll have to continue to be productive going forward as Tulsa’s lineup has been decimated after the promotion of #8 PuRP Josh Rutledge and the injury to #14 PuRP Corey Dickerson. The team has averaged just 2.67 runs in their last nine games.
High-A Modesto – W 8-6, (21-14 (Second Half), 1st)
Christian Bergman’s string of solid outings came to crashing end last night as he allowed six runs in just 5.2 innings. He didn’t allow any free passes, but the eleven San Jose hits proved that he wasn’t fooling anyone.
Fortunately the Nuts scored eight runs for him in what was a well balanced attack. #12 PuRP Rafael Ortega had three hits out of the leadoff position while #10 PuRP Kyle Parker rebounded from his 0-4 showing on Thursday with a hit and a walk in this one.
Low-A Asheville – W 4-1, (18-17 (Second Half), 3rd, 3.0 GB)
Vianney Mayo went six shutout innings and Sam Mende recorded two doubles, but this game will undoubtedly be remembered for the latest Joe Mikulik meltdown. It all centered around this disputed tag play in the bottom of the first inning. While noteworthy, it still doesn’t compare to this iconic tirade from 2006. (Both #3 PuRP Trevor Story and #13 PuRP Will Swanner had the night off.)
Tri-City – L 8-3, (1-3, (Second Half) 4th, 2.0 GB)
Shane Broyles, who had not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his six starts so far this season going into this game, surrendered five earned runs in just 4.2 innings, easily making this his most disappointing outing of the year. It was far too much for Tri City’s light hitting offense to overcome as they managed just two extra base hits all night.
Grand Junction – W 6-5, (20-17, T-1st)
After quickly falling behind 3-0, the Grand Junction offense went to work and piled up six runs in the first five frames before going quiet later in the game. Every starter except Julian Yan reached base at least once while Ryan Garvey and Jason Stolz each had multi hit games. David Dahl went 1-5 and notched his 6th double in just 128 at bats this season. His OPS remains excellent at 1.001.
DSL Rockies – L 7-4, (28-19, 1st)
#27 PuRP Jayson Aquino had allowed just six earned runs in 60 innings pitched on the season entering Friday’s game. That number very nearly doubled in just five innings of work when for the first time all season, he looked mortal – Allowing five runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. He did have an unusually long layoff heading into this game as he had not pitched since July 19th, but either way this is not the type of outing we’ve become accustomed to seeing from this pitcher. The real test now will be how he responds in his next outing.