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Colorado Springs 4, Round Rock 1
Tyler Chatwood was sharp in what was likely his last Minor League tune-up before joining the big club. Chatwood spread five hits around in his 6.1 innings of work while striking out eight. The only blemish on his scorecard was a solo home run to Brett Nicholas. Chris Martin cleaned up the bottom of the seventh to preserve the victory.
The Sky Sox only mustered four hits, but they made them count. In the top of the second the Sox benefited from two errors, a walk, and a hit by pitch to bring two runs across. Later, Josh Rutledge knocked a two run homer to right field in the fifth. That was more than enough in support of Chatwood.
Colorado Springs 0, Round Rock 6
The nightcap of the AAA double header did not go well, however. Yohan Flande battled wildness in his three innings of work; of his 58 pitches, only 32 were strikes. He walked two and only struck out one. His final line: 3 innings, 3 earned runs off 3 hits. Dan Houston was not much more successful in relief, surrendering another three-spot while allowing five hits.
The offense couldn't muster much, scattering six singles and double but unable to push a run across. Jason Pridie went 2 for 4 while Josh Rutledge and Kyle Parker went 1 for 3. The team went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, which will kill you.
It was another strong, efficient start for top prospect Eddie Butler. Butler threw 7 innings in 84 pitches, 63 of which were strikes. He struck out seven while walking none. He allowed six hits and two runs while avoiding hard contact throughout.
This was a back and forth game until the 9th inning, when San Antonio put a three-spot on the board, cracking the two-two tie. Scott Oberg was responsible for that 9th inning, allowing a home run, a double, and two singles.
Offensively, the Drillers managed 10 hits and two home runs, but still only put three runs on the board. Tom Murphy (3) and Dustin Garneau (2) were responsible for those solo shots. Murphy, arguably the best prospect in the organization not named Butler, Gray, or Dahl, has had a fantastic start to the year. He's hitting a slick .333/.368/.833(!) so far in the young season. Keep it up Murph!
The Drillers made things interesting in the 9th, when, down by three, the first two batters singled. Then, with only three outs to spare, Delta Cleary was asked to sacrifice bunt. *Facepalm*. Two ground outs later and the game was done.
Modesto fell to 0 and 6 this season in convincing fashion. Ben Alsup got knocked around over his 4.2 innings pitched, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits, including three homers. Of the fourteen outs he recorded, 10 came via strikeout. Strange.
Trevor Story smacked a double as part of a one for four day, continuing his encouraging start (.346/.393/.654). He could cut down on strikeouts, with 10 in six games, but he's getting good wood. Will Swanner also had a base hit, but offense was scarce for the Nuts.
Asheville had a fascinating top three in the lineup last night, with David Dahl, Raimel Tapia, and Ryan McMahon, all three of whom are major prospects to watch. Dahl and Tapia went 1 for 4 each, while McMahon went 0 for 1 with three walks and two runs scored. Jordan Patterson went 3 for 4 and Jose Briceno 2 for 4 with two RBIs, but it wasn't enough to lift the Tourists to victory. They were mostly muzzled by Dovydas Neverauskas (lol) while putting a four-spot on Will Kendall.
Konner Wade gave up all six of the runs in his five innings of work.
More baseball! The Tourists scored all five runs via the dinger, with a three run blast from Patterson and a two run shot from McMahon. McMahon also walked and Tapia hit a double (Dahl was hitless in the second game of the double-header).
Johendi Jiminian gave up two unearned runs in five innings while striking out six as both he and Tapia committed errors.