As if the Colorado Rockies outfield wasn’t already crowded enough, Raimel Tapia seems intent on forcing his way to the majors.
Tapia (No. 4 PuRP) went 4-for-5 with a double on Tuesday against Las Vegas, scoring twice and driving in two. This pushed his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the Pacific Coast League. Tapia is now hitting .405/.436/.595 in 24 Triple-A games.
Tapia has already made a brief appearance in the majors this year, going 0-for-7 with a strikeout in two games. Last season he received a September call up and went 10-for-38 in 22 games with no extra base hits. He seems to be trying to force the issue to get back up to the bigs now. Unfortunately for Raimel, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to play him, as Bud Black is still trying to figure out how to work free agent signee Ian Desmond into the lineup. For now, Tapia will have to continue feasting on Triple-A pitching until injury or ineffectiveness necessitates a call back to the Show.
Another top PuRP had a big night on the farm. Brendan Rodgers (No. 1 PuRP) went deep with a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Lancaster a 13-10 lead. Unfortunately the bullpen couldn’t hold on and Rodgers’ 3-for-5 effort went for naught. Rodgers, who missed the start of the season due to injury, is now hitting .373/.397/.576 in the friendly confines of the California League in 12 games.
★ ★ ★
Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes 9, Las Vegas 51s 12
Tapia leads Isotopes offense in loss to Las Vegas | Albuquerque Isotopes News
Raimel Tapia (no. 4 PuRP): 4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI
Jordan Patterson (no. 13 PuRP): 0-for-5
Noel Cuevas: 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI
Daniel Castro: 4-for-5, R, 2 2B
Derrick Gibson: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI
Matt Flemer: 5 IP, 11 H, 8 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Jerry Vasto: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
★ ★ ★
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 5, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 3
Thomas, Fuentes lift Harford over New Hampshire 5-3 | MiLB Automated Insights
Ryan McMahon (no. 7 PuRP): 1-for-3, 2 R, BB
Dillon Thomas: 3-for-4, 2 RBI
Josh Fuentes: 3-for-4, RBI
Parker French (no. 26 PuRP): 61⁄3 IP, 8 H, 3 R/ER, 0 BB, 5 K, Win
James Farris: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, Save
★ ★ ★
High-A: Lancaster JetHawks 13, Modesto Nuts 15
Hilliard, Rodgers shine despite tough loss | Lancaster JetHawks News
Brendan Rodgers (no. 1 PuRP): 3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI
Garrett Hampson (no. 22 PuRP): 0-for-2, 3 R, 4 BB
Brian Mundell (HM PuRP): 1-for-6, R, RBI
Sam Hilliard: 3-for-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Yonathan Daza: 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, BB
Colin Welmon: 41⁄3 IP, 10 H, 5 R/ER, BB, 4 K
★ ★ ★
Low-A: Asheville Tourists 7, Kannapolis Intimidators 5
Comeback effort concludes sweet road trip | Asheville Tourists News
Colton Welker (no. 19 PuRP): 1-for-4, R
Jose Gomez (no. 30 PuRP): 1-for-5, R
Vince Fernandez: 3-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI
Willie Abreu: 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI
Luis Castro: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI
Brandon Gold: 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R/ER, 0 BB, 8 K
★ ★ ★
Thursday Probables
Triple-A Albuquerque: Zach Jemiola (3-2, 5.65 ERA) @ Nashville (OAK), 5:35 pm MT
Double-A Hartford: Sam Howard (no. 20 PuRP, 0-2, 2.40 ERA) v New Hampshire (TOR), 8:35 am MT
High-A Lancaster: Peter Lambert (no. 11 PuRP, 0-3, 5.34 ERA) v Modesto (SEA), 7:35 pm MT
Low-A Asheville: Erick Julio (3-3, 4.04 ERA) v West Virginia (PIT), 5:05 pm MT