Thursday Pebble Report: Tom Murphy leads Tulsa to a win

Double-A Tulsa - W 14-6 (57-57)

The Drillers reached .500 on the season after defeating the A's affiliate to cap a season-best five game winning streak. Tulsa took advantage of four Midland errors, including two in the first, to unload an offensive barrage against the worst team in the Texas League. After finishing as the first half leaders, the Drillers currently sit in second place after the all-star break.

Freshly promoted Tom Murphy (#11 PuRP) led the Drillers with three hits and three runs scored on four at-bats. The catcher from Buffalo, also contributed an RBI and has four hits, to only one strikeout, in his first two games of Double-A. Third baseman Jayson Langfels homered for the fourth time in seven games. The Kentucky native has 11 long balls on the season and is batting .215 with a .648 OPS. Starter Tim Gustafson had a rough fourth inning that skewed his pitching line of eight earned runs on six hits allowed, four walks and seven strikeouts. Relievers Leuris Gomez and Ken Roberts combined to pitch 4.1 shutout innings to secure the win.

High-A Modesto - L 6-8 (57-59)

Lefty prospect Tyler Anderson (#10 PuRP) made his return to the Nuts mound for the first time since May 17th. The Oregon alum was failed by his defense, which gave up three unearned runs on two errors and more on a dropped catch in the third by center fielder Tyler Massey that was ruled a hit. Tyler's final line was seven runs allowed (four earned) on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts.

The Nuts mounted a furious rally in the ninth, which started with them down 8-2 to Lancaster. After scoring four runs with no outs, the game turned into an ump show as two Nuts were ejected and a blown call ended the rally. Harold Riggins was on first when pinch hitter Jared Simon took a strike on the inside that made the count 3-2. Sam Mende, who has been on the disabled list since May 17th, was ejected from the game for arguing the call from the bench. This is an account of the following play as described by Brian VanderBeek of the Modesto Bee:

Simon then hit a slow ground ball into the hole, where shortstop Carlos Perdomo corralled it, bobbled it, double-clutched, then squirted a weak throw to second, where Riggins already was standing upright, having long since completed his pop-up slide.

Base umpire Paul Clemons never hesitated in calling Riggins out, a spirit-dashing, rally-killing call that made fans wonder at which level of tee-ball they'd ever seen a call blown so absurdly.

Catcher Will Swanner (#13 PuRP) had four RBI in the game with a 2-for-4 effort, including a pair of doubles. Shortstop Trevor Story (#4 PuRP) matched the two doubles and is slowly getting his feet under him after batting .240 in June, .250 in July and is now sitting at .316 through five games in August.

Low-A Asheville - L 5-6 (55-58)

Down by two going into the ninth, the Tourists attempted a late rally which fell just short against the Royals affiliate. Right fielder Derek Jones singled with one out in the ninth and moved up on a wild pitch. The game was then delayed for 31 minutes by rain before being resumed. Jones moved to third on another wild pitch and ultimately scored on a Jose Briceno groundout. Down by one, Jason Stolz struck out to end the game. Even with the delay, the game ended in less than two hours.

Designated hitter Juan Ciriaco paced the Tourists with three hits, including a double to raise his season average to .282. Catcher Jose Briceno had one hit and shortstop Rosell Herrera (#8 PuRP) added a double for an RBI. Starter T.J. Oakes pitched well, going six innings and allowing just two earned runs on five hits and five strikeouts.

Rookie Grand Junction - L 10-11 in 10 innings (24-22)

It was a tough fielding day for the Rockies, who committed eight errors, including four by catcher Jairo Rosario. The errors led to Orem's final five runs scored in the game. The Angels affiliate continued to run on Jairo, who struggled to control it and ended up allowing five stolen bases. Second baseman Dom Nunez (#21 PuRP) also contributed a pair of errors, including one in the 10th which allowed the winning run to score.

Nunez partially redeemed himself at the plate with a three run home run in the seventh that was part of a 3-for-5 effort. First baseman Miguel Dilone had a pair of doubles on the night and Jairo contributed a triple as part of his two hits in the game. Starter Zach Jemiola endured a rough start, walking four batters and allowing six runs on six hits to raise his ERA to 4.00.

DSL Rockies - L 2-5 (27-29)

Starter Lorenz Ozuna was fair in his distribution, allowing five ground outs and five fly outs, to go with his four strikeouts on the night. Ozuna's final line was four runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. Ozuna has been solid since a nightmare relief appearance on July Fourth, in which he gave up nine earned runs on 4.1 innings pitched. Since then, the 18-year-old has allowed just one earned run in five appearances, with 10 strikeouts in his last three starts.

Right fielder Yonathan Daza raised his average to .293 with a pair of hits, including a double. Daza also added a walk and run scored to his line. Left fielder Omar Carrizales contributed a hit and a walk in the game.