Thursday Pebble Report: Scott Oberg leads High-A with 23 saves

Triple-A Colorado Springs - W 5-4 in 10 innings (56-53)

The Sky Sox won in extra innings as Xavier Nady scored on a sacrifice fly by outfielder Tim Wheeler. Nady had doubled in his at bat and reached third on a Reid Brignac sacrifice bunt. The game wouldn't have been close, except right fielder Kent Matthes threw out Kevin Kouzmanoff at home for his 12th outfield assist of the season. Josh Rutledge led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games.

Sean Gallagher had the start against the Marlins affiliate, going five innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking four. Nick Schmidt earned the blown save with two runs given up in the sixth inning. Logan Kensing eventually earned the win with two shutout innings and a pair of strikeouts.

Double-A Tulsa -W 4-0 (52-56)

Double-A veteran Dan Houston pitched a gem on Wednesday against the Cardinals affiliate. Houston allowed just two hits in five shutout innings, walking none and striking out five batters to lower his ERA to 3.59 on the year. Reliever Ken Roberts made an extended appearance, pitching shutout three innings of relief and allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out one batter.

Tulsa enjoyed a power display from three different Drillers; including Jayson Langfels, Dallas Tarleton and Delta Cleary Jr. The long balls all came with the bases empty and Tarleton's was a tape measure job that carried 430 feet while landing in a kids' playground.

High-A Modesto - W 6-3 (54-57)

The Nuts took advantage of a crazy fourth inning to defeat the Reds affiliate in Bakersfield on Wednesday. Outfielder Tyler Massey started the inning with a ground ball single up the middle. Brian Humphries then grounded a ball to the right side which found its way into the outfield where the Blaze right fielder hit the wrong cut off on the return allowing both runners to move up. When Blaze first baseman Steve Selsky tried to make a play at second, he ended up throwing the ball all the way to the warning track in left field, scoring both runners.

Humphries had a pair of hits on the night and the 23 year-old is batting .318 on the season. Shortstop Trevor Story (#4 PuRP) scored a run after getting a hit and a walk on the night. Story has been in a mini hot streak and is batting .306 in his last 10 with an OPS of .835.

Starter Ben Alsup evened his record to 8-8 with the win, going five innings and allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts. Reliever Scott Oberg earned his 23rd save with a perfect ninth that saw two strikeouts and a ground out. Oberg's 23 saves leads all of High-A and ranks in the top five among all minor league relievers.

Low-A Asheville - L 1-5 (54-52)

Starter Jayson Aquino (#12 PuRP) saw his record fall to 0-4 as a Tourist with a loss that allowed three earned runs to score. Aquino struck out eight of the Mets affiliate batters, but gave up eight hits in the process and no walks. The Dominican lasted 6.2 innings and did some worm killing with nine ground ball outs to just one fly.

Most of the hits came from Francisco Sosa (3) and Rosell Herrera (2). Sosa had three doubles on the night and scored the Tourists lone run on a RBI ground out by Max White in the second. Herrera's two hits raised his average to .363 on the year and moves him into second place in the SAL League.

Short-season Tri City - W 5-4 (21-22)

Antonio Senzatela (#29 PuRP) didn't factor into the decision, but had a strong outing nonetheless. The Venezuelan went six innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits and striking out four. The start lowered Senzatela's ERA to 2.81 in the Northwest League. Shane Broyles earned the win in relief, going two shutout innings, without allowing a hit and striking out five batters. Trent Daniel had his 11th save of the year and has yet to give up an earned run on the season while doing so.

Left fielder Michael Tauchman led the Dust Devils in hitting with a 2-for-4 performance, including a double and run scored. Right fielder Julian Yan (HM PuRP) also had a pair of hits and run scored to raise his average to .183 on the season.

Rookie Grand Junction - L 5-9 (21-18)

The Rockies capped a five game losing streak with a loss to the Dodgers affiliate on Wednesday night. Grand Junction's Jordan Patterson started the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning. The Raptors responded with four runs in the first two innings, but Raimel Tapia tied the game in the fourth with a RBI single that extended his hitting streak to a club record 28 games. The former record was held by 2012 first round pick David Dahl (#2 PuRP).

Starter Helmis Rodriguez confounded Ogden's hitters, earning seven strikeouts and scattering just five hits in five innings and allowing five runs to score (three earned). Relievers Carlos Estevez and Carlos Yan gave up the winning runs, with four earned runs in three innings of relief.

DSL Rockies - L 1-2 (26-25)

The Rockies were able to muster very little offense against the Mets affiliate. Only three hits, but reached base an additional six times via the walk. Left fielder Denzel Richardson earned a walk and base hit in the game, stealing his fifth bag, but also getting caught for the sixth time this season. Third baseman Luis Castro went 1-for-3 with a walk, raising his average to .313 on the season. Shortstop Luis Jean scored the lone run after walking and then eventually scampering home on a wild pitch by A. German. The Rockies loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs against the Dominican German, but failed to score any more runs after Luis Castro was thrown out at home and then Luis Brito and Denzel Richardson struck out to end the threat in the inning.

The 18 year-old Lorenz Ozuna made just his second start of the season, lasting five shutout innings and gaining ground balls at an 8-to-3 ratio. Ozuna allowed just two hits and three walks to lower his season ERA to 4.70.