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The Rockies affiliates did their best to take the sting out of the current slump the big league team is experiencing, narrowly missing a system wide sweep.
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (9-13)
W: Ibarra, E (1-1, 2.38); L: Gomez, L (0-1, 7.71)
The lone spoilsport in the system was the the Isotopes, but they took the game to 12 innings before Leuris Gomez coughed up five runs, including a home run to former Giants top prospect CF Gary Brown. This game was a parade of familiar faces, including former PuRPs Ryan Wheeler and Josh Rutledge, as the the Topes faced off against top prospect Andrew Heaney.
Albuquerque got to Heaney early and often in this one, scoring in three different innings, totaling four earned runs over his seven innings of work. Dustin Garneau continued his bid for a big league tryout by going 3-5 and collecting his fourth home run of the season, bringing his season line to a gaudy .349/.429/.651not bad for a glove first catcher. Wilin Rosario is struggling with his demotion. Facing a high profile left-handed pitcher like Heaney should be right in his wheelhouse, but instead he went 0-6 with four strikeouts. In other not great news, Tommy Kahnle gave up an earned run for his fifth consecutive outing. His 15.33 strikeout to walk ratio is encouraging, but until Kahnle can keep runs off the board, he is unlikely to be back in Denver soon.
Double-A: New Britain Rock Cats (14-7)
W: Carpenter (2-2, 3.90); L: Crick (0-1, 1.50); SV: House (7)
It was a night of facing top prospects, as forgotten man Will Swanner's solo shot off of top Giants prospect Kyle Crick was enough to win this one. Ryan Carpenter, Nelson Gonzalez and Austin House completed the shut out. Trevor Story had a typical game for him, collecting a double, a walk, and a strikeout. Story's overall line of .360/.462/.640 is a lot of fun to look at. No. 2 PuRP David Dahl finished 0-4 with two strikeouts. Dahl has only reached base once in his last three games. It is easy to forget that these guys are human. Remember that Arenado had a very similar patch like this in Double-A. Dahl is still the best hitting prospect in the system and will likely turn it around soon.
Class A Advanced: Modesto Nuts(9-13)
W: Estevez, C (3-0, 1.54); L: Frias, E (2-2, 4.50)
Jordan Patterson is loving the CAL. The 23 year old outfielder has been beating up the Advanced-A league to the tune of .329/.418/.608, including a 3-3 night that saw him hit an RBI double and score the winning run on a wild pitch. Antonio Senzatela continues his run preventing ways. After tallying a 3.11 ERA in Asheville last year, the 20 year old right hander has a 2.63 ERA in Modesto. Senzatela went seven innings, striking out seven and walking two, but he didn't get a decision. Carlos Estevez is rocketing up the ranks of minor league relievers. He is now 3-0 with two saves and a 1.54 ERA in eight appearances. In Estevez's 11.2 innings pitched, he has has a 16.2 strikeout to walk ratio that reinforces the rave scouting reviews he has received,
Class A: Asheville Tourists (10-12)
W: Polanco, C (1-3, 4.37); L: Lovvorn (0-3, 6.00); SV: Michalec (5)
Another game, another extremely strong pitching performance, this time from Carlos Polanco, who worked seven innings striking out ten and walking none. Gavin Glanz and Josh Michalec each added a clean inning in relief. Omar Carrizales returned and, in completely unsurprising, fashion tripled and scored. An outfield with Carizzales and Wes Rogers in it ought to be able to run down just about anything that gets over the infield. Forrest Wall added another triple, and Kevin Padlo showed signs of life collecting his first multi hit game of the season. Padlo is still so young there will be high school graduates in this draft who are older, so any struggles he has as he adjusts to full season ball are certainly understandable. Something tells me that the umpire in this game had a generous strike zone, given that between the two teams there were 22 strikeouts without a single walk for either side.
Today's probables
Triple-A Albuquerque: Bettis (2-1, 4.50 ERA)
Double-A New Britain: Flande (3-0, 2.19 ERA)
High-A Modesto: Wade (1-1 5.29 ERA)
Single-A Asheville: Howard (0-2 3.75 ERA)