Tacoma fell to Colorado Springs, 2-1. Another strong effort by Jeff Harris went to waste, as a pair of runs scored in the third inning by the Sky Sox held up. Mike Esposito kept the Rainiers in check for seven innings, allowing just four hits and a walk, and potential rallies against the bullpen fell short, as Tacoma couldn't take advantage of a leadoff double in the eighth or a leadoff single in the ninth (Ramontiago grounded out with Choo on third and one out in the top of the eighth, Tacoma's best chance to tie it up). Choo led the offense with two doubles, while Greg Dobbs picked up two more hits to raise his line to .337/.382/.500. Notables:
Harris: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 K
Nageotte: 2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Dobbs: 2-4
Choo: 2-3, 2 2B
Leone: 0-4
Gonzalez: 1-4
Santiago: 1-3
San Antonio's offense was also stymied, and the Missions lost to Frisco 4-1. Juan Sandoval failed in his attempt to scatter 11 hits, as the four runs in five innings would indicate that more than few of them came in sequence, but the San Antonio lineup couldn't get anything done anyway, scraping together just four hits (three doubles), a walk, and a hit batter. Ismael Castro, Jesse Hoorelbeke, and Jon Nelson had the doubles, while TJ Bohn added a single and scored a run. Notables:
Sandoval: 5 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 2 K
Bohn: 1-4
Hoorelbeke: 1-4, 1 2B
Nelson: 1-3, 1 2B
Castro: 1-3, 1 2B
Harris: 0-2, 1 BB
Inland Empire beat up on Rancho Cucamonga, 8-1. Jason Mackintosh had one of his strongest outings of the year, going seven strong while allowing just six baserunners and fanning eight, and the 66er offense picked him up early, scoring four runs in the first three innings. Sebastien Boucher led the way from the leadoff spot, blasting a home run and reaching base three times, while Carlos Arroyo and Luis Oliveros also had two-hit days. Michael Garciaparra had his first hit in what seems like forever, although it probably hasn't been quite that long. Notables:
Mackintosh: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
Boucher: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB
Balentien: 1-2, 1 2B, 1 BB
Arroyo: 2-4
Oliveros: 2-4, 1 3B
Garciaparra: 1-4, 1 2B
Lahair: 1-3
Cabrera: 1-5
Wisconsin put away Clinton in extras, 7-6 (10). It was tied at six entering the bottom of the tenth, when a little smallball got the job done:
Chris Colton walks.
Oswaldo Navarro out on a sacrifice bunt to first baseman Ian Gac. Chris Colton to 2nd.
Brent Johnson singles on a line drive to center fielder Brandon Boggs. Chris Colton scores.
That's how it's supposed to go, although it rarely works out that way. It's a good thing the T'Rats pulled it off, too, because they blew a late 6-3 lead, with Stephen Grasley allowing one in the eighth and Jon Lockwood, Eric O'Flaherty, and Matt Tuiasosopo combining to allow two more in the ninth (Lockwood walked the bases loaded, then was relieved by O'Flaherty, whose pitch to Ben Harrison was hit to Tuiasosopo, who made a two-run error. Whew). Julio Santiago went seven in the start, while Yung-Chi Chen and Rob Johnson picked up six of Wisconsin's twelve hits. O'Flaherty, for what it's worth, struck out five of the six batters he faced. Notables:
Santiago: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Lockwood: 0.2 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 2 K
O'Flaherty: 1.2 IP, 5 K
Chen: 3-5
Johnson: 2-5, 1 BB
R Johnson: 3-5
Navarro: 2-4, 1 2B
Green: 1-5, 1 2B
Everett was clipped by Salem-Keizer, 9-8. Robert Rohrbaugh had an ugly start, chased after just 3.1 innings, but the real problem came in the bottom of the sixth, when David Asher turned a tie ballgame into a 9-5 defecit. The Aquasox attempted a rally a few minutes later, when Jeff Flaig hit a two-run homer and Ron Prettyman followed with a blast of his own, but the one-run gap would hold up for the remainder. Trevor Heid raised his batting average to .333 with a three-hit day, while Flaig had two in the game. Notables:
Rohrbaugh: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 K, 1 HR
Heid: 3-4, 1 2B
Flaig: 2-5, 1 HR
Saunders: 1-4, 1 HR
Prettyman: 1-4, 1 HR
Eastley: 1-3, 2 BB
Santin: 1-3, 1 BB
Coming up: Andrew Lorraine for Tacoma, Thomas Oldham for San Antonio, Mumba Rivera for Inland Empire, Ivan Blanco for Wisconsin, and Paul Fagan for Everett.