Asheville Tourists 8, Lakewood BlueClaws 3
Let's all move to Asheville where the baseball is fun!
The Tourists just keep plugging away. Each of the top five spots in the batting order produced a double in this game, most notably from Raimel Tapia (now leading off) and Corelle Prime whose doubles' each went for two RBI. Zach Osborn had a three hit day, and Wilfredo Rodriguez, Ashley Graeter and Prime all had two-hit days to lead an Asheville offense that never seems to end.
On the pitching side of things, Konner Wade continued to show himself well, tossing a solid 5.2 innings of three-run ball. He struck out five.
The bullpen (Trent Daniel, Tren Blank, Jefri Hernandez) allowed only one hit and kept zeros on the part of the scoreboard that matters.
Tri City Dust Devils 5, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 3
Helmis Rodriguez just continues to pitch well. He added another six inning, two run performance to his ledger without walking a single batter.
In 67.1 IP this season, Rodriguez has an ERA of 2.14, has struck out 35 to 12 walks, and has given up only two home runs.
The Dust Devil hitters put on a show with 14 hits, including five doubles, though surprisingly only plated five runs. Sam Bumpers was 2-4 with a double and an RBI as was Drew Weeks.Multi-hit days were also had by Shane Hoelscher, Josh Fuentes, and Jordan Parris who led the team with three.
Colorado Springs Sky Sox 1, Oklahoma City Redhawks 8
Mike McClendon took a pounding in his 3.1 IP, surrendering eight hits and seven runs (though only five earned) while striking out only one batter.
The bullpen fared much better. Three former MLB players in Rob Scahill, Christian Friedrich, and Chris Martin finished the game, only Friedrich allowing a run.
Outside of the middle of the lineup (well, really inside of it too) the offense for the Sky Sox didn't accomplish much. The only run came on an OKC error so nobody for the Sox recorded an RBI. Kyle Parker went 1-4, while Matt McBride and Tim Wheeler grabbed to hits a piece.
Tulsa Drillers 0, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3
Christian Bergman pitched pretty well but was saddled with a loss do to a complete lack of offense. His line -- 6IP, 5H, 1R, 3K,2 BB -- was solid enough, especially considering that the Naturals weren't exactly mounting rallies and scored their only run off him on a solo home run.
The Drillers only picked up three hits in this game, though they did also walk three time. Silver linings!Trevor Story went 0-3 with a strikeout and a walk, bringing his average in Tulsa to .229.
Tyler Massey's double was the only extra base hit for the Drillers.
Modesto Nuts 6, Visalia Rawhide 8
Let's start with the good news in this one!
David Dahl had a positively Ashevillian performance for him out of the lead-off spot for his new team in Modesto. He went 2-4 with a double, a run scored, a walk and three RBI. Nice.
Now that we've dispensed with the good news, Jayson Aquino is having a rough season and that didn't stop last night. He gave up six runs in four innings while striking out only one and walking four. For a pitcher whose key to success will be missing bats with consistency, this kind of outing is discouraging but still only one outing.