Saturday Pebble Report: Pitching gems are the trend of the night

Colorado Springs: 4-1 L (56-55)

It was a classic pitcher's duel for the first seven innings before the Sky Sox lost to the New Orleans Zephyrs. Jeff Manship was perfect through 3 2/3 innings, and allowed only two singles the rest of the night. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. New Orleans starting pitcher Brian Flynn allowed two singles, a double, and three walks, and it wasn't until both starting pitchers left the game that either team was able to score.

In the top of the eighth, Ryan Wheeler, Josh Rutledge, and Reid Brignac hit consecutive singles to score the first run of the game. Rutledge has had at least one hit in every game since his return to Triple-A.

Rob Scahill came out for the eighth inning to replace Manship. He pitched a messy inning in which he allowed two home runs and two doubles. He allowed four runs to score and was tagged with the loss.

Tulsa: 5-0 W (53-57)

Christian Bergman pitched a three-hit, three-walk, 104-pitch, complete game shutout against the NW Arkansas Naturals. He carried a no-hitter through four innings before allowing a single. Four double plays, including an unassisted double play by Kiel Roling, meant that Bergman faced just two batters over the minimum.

For their part, the offense also had a great night. Cristhian Adames and Kyle Parker both hit solo home runs. It was Parker's 19th home run of the year. Angelys Nina was a home run shy of the cycle. Parker, Nina, Joey Wong, and Tyler Kuhn each had multi-hit nights.

Modesto: 5-0 W (55-57)

Jonathan Gray earned the win in his High-A debut against the Stockton Ports. He pitched five innings, allowing only two singles and a wild pitch, and struck out seven. He faced just one batter over the minimum. Ryan Arrowood pitched two hitless innings, and William Rankin allowed a double in an otherwise sharp performance to finish Modesto's shutout.

While the offense only amassed six hits on the night, timely hitting and some flashes of power allowed them to score five runs. Brian Humphries (8) and Harold Riggins (18) both homered and Trevor Story's double led off a three-run seventh inning.

Asheville: 4-3 L (54-54)

Last night's game against the Hickory Crawdads could have ended in a win if it hadn't been for a weak first inning. T.J. Oakes allowed a triple to lead off the game, and surrendered a walk and a single before giving up a three-run home run to put Hickory ahead, 4-0. Oakes settled down after that to hold Hickory scoreless the rest of the game. Four of the five hits he allowed were extra-base hits, though he did strike out 8 batters in his 7 innings of work.

Asheville scored two runs in the second and added another in the third, but stayed quiet the rest of the night. The team strikeout total was sixteen, and six batters struck out multiple times.

Tri-City: 6-3 W (24-25)

Michael Tauchman, Michael Benjamin, and Alec Mehrten each collected two hits -- a single and a double -- as the offense's nine hits fueled a 6-3 win over the Eugene Emeralds.

Johendi Jiminian pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He induced only two groundball outs compared to 10 in the air.

Grand Junction: 4-3 W in 10 innings (22-19)

Grand Junction its six-game skid, winning 4-3 against the Orem Owlz. Zach Osborne collected three hits and Correlle Prime, Jose Briceno, and Ryan Garvey had two apiece. Prime hit his fifth homer of the year and has put up a 1.013 OPS in his last ten games.

Raimel Tapia's 29-game hitting streak came to an end last night, as he went 0-for-4 with a walk. However, Briceno extended his own streak to 16 games. Briceno is hitting .336 with Grand Junction, and his seven homers and 14 doubles have contributed to an impressive .929 OPS.

After falling behind 2-1 through the first six innings, Grand Junction added two runs in the seventh, and Orem came back with a run in the bottom of the ninth to push the game into extra innings. A wild pitch in the 10th inning allowed Robbie Perkins to score the go-ahead run.

DSL Rockies: 4-0 W (27-26)

The DSL Rockies pitching staff delivered a two-hit shutout against the Phillies' Dominican League team. Hector Villareal pitched six innings and allowed two singles and two walks, while Ronald Harvey and Gustavo Brazoban both pitched perfect innings.

The offense amassed 12 hits, including three hits apiece from Omar Carrizales, Jose Rodriguez, and Yonathan Daza. Rodriguez and Randy Reyes each hit a double, the only two extra-base hits of the night.