Saturday Pebble Report: Pomeranz shines again

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 11, Iowa Cubs 1

Every position player on the Sky Sox team reached base at least once last night. Particularly of note was Matt McBride, whose two hits were a double and a home run; he drove in four runs and walked once. Ben Paulsen and Charlie Blackmon had three hits apiece. The Sky Sox offense struck early and often, scoring in the second, fourth, fifth, and eighth innings. They chased Cubs starting pitcher Brooks Raley from the game early. He exited the game after four innings of work, in which he allowed 8 runs on 11 hits and 3 walks.

Drew Pomeranz had an excellent night on the mound. He allowed four hits and two walks, and pitched into the seventh inning. He frustrated Cubs batters all night, and in between the 2nd and 6th innings, he induced 12 consecutive outs. Against the first batter he faced in the seventh inning, he gave up his only extra base hit of the night, a double to RF Darnell McDonald. Rob Scahill allowed a double- the only other extra base hit of the night- to Logan Watkins, which allowed McDonald to score.

Tulsa Drillers: Off day

Modesto Nuts 3, Bakersfield Blaze 6

Tyler Gagnon was hit for 5 runs on 8 hits against the Bakersfield blaze. He gave up three doubles, a triple, and a homer. After a great 2012 with the Tri-Cities and Asheville teams, Gagnon has struggled this year; he owns a 6.69 ERA and is giving up home runs at a higher rate than at any other point in his career.

The Modesto offense scored 3 runs off of 7 hits and only two walks. David Kandilas was the only player with multiple hits, and Juan Crousset was the only player with an extra base hit. Kandilas' line drive single in the 6th scored the first run of the game for Modesto. Ryan Casteel was 1-for-3, before being ejected in the bottom of the 6th arguing a call with the home plate umpire. Overall, Casteel has been enjoying a great season with Modesto, and is demonstrating far more power than any other time in his career.

Asheville Tourists 2, Kannapolis Intimidators 5

Asheville had been enjoying a 6 game winning streak at their own ballpark, but an ineffective start from Ben Hughes, as well as lack of timely hitting for the offense, ended this. Hughes allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits and 3 walks. He left the game after the 5th inning. Alving Mejias, Brook Hart, and Raul Fernandez held the opponents scoreless for four innings. Kyle Von Tungeln went 2-for-4 with a triple, while Rosell Herrera was 2-for-3 on the night.

If you are not yet paying attention to Rosell Herrera, you should be. His two hits last night went for doubles. He has reached base in 15 consecutive games. Of his 45 hits, he has 17 extra base hits, with 11 doubles and 6 home runs. He owns a .464 wOBA and a 1.026 OPS Part of Herrera's OPS is also due to better plate discipline. He is putting up a higher walk rate than at any other time in his career, at 10.9%.