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It didn't take long for Trevor Story to get back in the swing of things.
Story went 3-for-3, falling a double short of his second cycle of the season in High-A Modesto's 7-5 win over High Desert on Thursday. The 21-year-old shortstop, who hadn't played for the Nuts since landing on the disabled list after a May 22 contest, was hit by a pitch on a 2-0 count in his final plate appearance. The highly touted infield prospect is now hitting .335/.422/.581 in 167 California League plate appearances.
Story hit for the cycle on April 7 against Visalia in a 5-for-6 performance that raised his average from .188 to .364. He's dipped below .300 just once since then.
Devin Burke picked up the win for the Nuts (24-47) despite giving up three home runs. Shane Broyles tossed 2⅔ innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one hit and striking out four.
Might as well add that High Desert designated hitter Burt Reynolds went 0-for-3.
Sky Sox rough up Walker
Triple-A Colorado Springs pounded Mariners top prospect Taijuan Walker to the tune of seven runs on seven hits--including a couple of homers--in five innings in an eventual 8-7 victory in Tacoma.
After the Sky Sox fell behind by a pair of runs after the first inning, 24-year-old catcher Michael Ramirez crushed a two-out, three-run homer off of Walker to put his team up by a run. Colorado Springs starter Brian Burres wasn't able to hold the lead in the bottom half of that frame, but his offense picked him up in the third with a couple more runs before infielder Angelys Nina, who was penned into the cleanup spot by Glenallen Hill despite entering the game hitting .231/..293/.336, launched a two-run homer off of Walker in the fifth. Nina finished with a pair of hits and drove in four runs.
Tacoma scored a run in the fifth then added two in the eighth off of Rob Scahill to tie the game. It wasn't until the 14th inning, when Tim Smalling reached on an error that plated Evan Frey, that the Sky Sox were able to break through with the go-ahead run.
Nina, Ramirez and Delta Cleary, who now leads the team (as it's currently constituted, at least) with a .304 average, were among those who finished with two hits. Leuris Gomez and Wilton Lopez were the most valuable arms out of the pen. Gomez struck out five while allowing two hits and two walks in two scoreless innings to earn a hold. Lopez whiffed three batters in a pair of perfect frames in extras.
Other games
NW Arkansas 4, Tulsa 2: Joey Wong and Jayson Langfels had two hits apiece, but the Drillers struck out 15 times against Naturals pitching. Tulsa reliever Ken Roberts struck out a pair of hitters in two scoreless innings.
Asheville 1, Augusta 0: Zach Jemiola and Troy Neiman combined for a shutout despite having little breathing room thanks to a rare inept performance by the Tourists' offense. Jemiola lasted 6⅔ innings, working around six hits and three walks to lower his ERA to 5.86. Neiman struck out two and walked one in 2⅓ hitless frames and now has 50 punch-outs compared to only 12 walks in 38⅓ innings this season.
Tri-City 2, Everett 1: The Dust Devils plated the eventual winning run in the seventh inning on back-to-back doubles from Sam Bumpers and David Bergin. Outfielder Marcos Derkes had two hits and scored a run out of the leadoff spot and relievers Dylan Thompson, Josh Mueller and Scott Firth combined for five scoreless innings.
Ogden 4, Grand Junction 3; Grand Junction 6, Ogden 3: The Rockies took three out of four from the Raptors in their Pioneer League season-opening series by winning the rubber match in the second half of their doubleheader on Thursday. They did that, in large part, by stealing eight bases in 13 attempts in that game. In the Game 1 loss, Randy Reyes homered for the second time in as many games and led the team with three hits in the two games.
DSL Rockies 6, DSL Giants 5: The Jimenezes Anderson and Wilkyns, as well as Jonathan Piron, had three hits apiece. Leadoff hitter Manuel Mendez added two, both of which were doubles. Four Rockies relievers combined for four innings of one-hit ball, allowing the team to rally in the ninth and 10th for the win.