Tyler Matzek had his ground-ball game working wonders on Sunday. The left-handed starter picked up 10 outs on the ground and notched four strikeouts in seven innings of one-run ball, leading Triple-A Colorado Springs to a 3-2 victory over Oklahoma City.
Matzek threw only 87 pitches in his seven innings of work, which is pretty efficient for a guy who has been known to rack up a lot of deep counts. Matzek did walk three Oklahoma City batters, but he also gave up only six hits and was the beneficiary of a couple of double plays.
The 23-year-old former first rounder now has 37 strikeouts in 38⅔ innings and lowered his ERA to 4.19.
Offensively, the Sky Sox were led by Jason Pridie, who had a pair of hits -- including a double -- and scored a couple of runs. Ryan Wheeler singled, drove in a run and walked twice and Dustin Garneau tripled and scored.
Drillers offense explodes behind Anderson
Double-A Tulsa racked up 17 hits and plated eight runs behind starting pitcher Tyler Anderson, who worked through five solid frames before giving way to a shaky bullpen. Still, the Drillers rallied on to win, 8-6, largely due to a five-run seventh inning, which was capped off by a pinch-hit, three-run homer from Brian Humphries.
Ryan Casteel and Jared Simon had two hits apiece while Tom Murphy and Tyler Massey each drove in a pair of runs in support of Anderson, who struck out seven and walked only one in five innings. Anderson scattered seven hits but only two runners crossed the plate under his watch. The 24-year-old southpaw has a 2.57 ERA through seven starts and boasts a 1.43 GO/AO ratio.
Nuts falter in late innings
High-A Modesto lost its 28th game in 38 chances after being outscored, 6-1, in the final three innings against Stockton. Every Nuts pitcher allowed at least one run with the exception of Alving Mejias, who was brought in to get the final out of the ninth inning in relief of 40-man roster occupant Raul Fernandez, who allowed four runs -- though only one was earned -- on three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Trevor Story and Will Swanner had two hits apiece while Francisco Sosa tripled and walked three times.
Senzatela, McMahon lead Tourists to win
Antonio Senzatela allowed only one earned run in five innings of work and Ryan McMahon doubled twice and scored a pair of runs in Asheville's 4-3 win over Rome.
A pair of errors by catcher Jose Briceno hurt Senzatela, who allowed five hits, to the tune of two unearned runs. However, Senzatela didn't walk a batter, struck out three and induced seven ground outs to help his cause. Troy Neiman played a big part in ensuring Senzatela left with a victory by tossing three scoreless innings. The 23-year-old right-hander out of Chico State in California has struck out 29 batters and walked only one in 21 innings of work this season.