Thursday Pebble Report: Eddie Butler arrives fresh from New York

Double-A Tulsa - W 4-3 (45-49)

The Drillers offense struggled against Royals veteran Danny Duffy, who struck out 13 in only 5.1 innings pitched. Third baseman Jayson Langfels was the hero of the night, knocking in a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to give Tulsa the win.

Left fielder Kyle Parker (No. 5 PuRP) began the scoring in the first with a two-run home run against Duffy. It was Parker's 16th homer of the year and fourth in his last 10 games. Starter Tim Gustafson went six innings and scattered four hits, allowing one earned run and notching three strikeouts.

High-A Modesto - W 2-0 (48-49)

Two Futures Game participants squared off as Eddie Butler (No. 3 PuRP) returned to the mound, going five full innings without allowing an earned run. Eddie scattered four hits and struck out two batters on the night. His ERA sits at 2.81 after the outing. Reliever Scott Oberg earned his 20th save of the season in a two-strikeout ninth that lowered his ERA to 1.56 on the year.

The Giants' Kyle Crick matched Butler, going five innings without allowing a hit and striking out six, though he did walk five batters. Third baseman Niko Gallego was the hero of the game, blasting a two-run homer in the eighth with Harold Riggins on base to produce the only runs of the game.

Short-season Tri-City - L 1-2 (15-18)

Starter Johendi Jiminian had a solid pitching effort for the Dust Devils against the Texas Rangers' short-season affiliate on Wednesday. Johendi went six scoreless innings, scattering five hits and earning a pair of strikeouts. The Dominican earned most of his outs through the fly ball and saw his ERA fall to 3.12 on the season.

Designated hitter Chris O'Dowd was responsible for the Devils' lone run with a double in the third inning. First baseman Sean Dwyer earned the RBI after going 2-for-4 at the plate. Some notable names in the game included: Spokane catcher Joe Jackson, who went 0-for-3, and the home plate umpire, Adrian Gonzalez.

Short-season Grand Junction - W 5-4 (16-10)

Center fielder Raimel Tapia extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a two-hit performance on Wednesday. Tapia is batting .406 in his first season in the United States. First baseman Correlle Prime ignited the offense with an eighth-inning triple that scored Jose Briceno and Jordan Patterson. Prime later came around to touch home plate when Jairo Rosario doubled in the same inning.

Starter Zach Jemiola lasted just 4.2 innings, but allowed only two earned runs, with five hits and four strikeouts. Zach was able to get most of his outs via the groundball and lowered his ERA to 3.86 on the year. Reliever Carlos Estevez pitched just two games for Tri-City last year, but the 6'4 pitcher has a 1.76 ERA in nine games for Grand Junction. Carlos earned the win after striking out five batters in just 2.1 innings.

DSL Rockies - L 2-3 (21-18)

Starter Carlos Polanco pitched a gem for the Rockies, going eight innings and allowing just two hits and one earned run. Polanco struck out four, walked two and saw his ERA fall to 2.72 on the year.

Center fielder Denzel Richardson led the Rockies in offense, going 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored. Henry Garcia, Hamlet Marte, Randy Reyes and Jonathan Piron joined Richardson with two hits apiece. Richardson was caught stealing for just his second time in seven attempts.

Low-A Asheville - (50-41)

Postponed due to rain.