Saturday Farm Report: Holliday Delivers 1st HR in Comeback Attempt
Matt Holliday added his first home run of the comeback attempt in Triple-A Albuquerque's 4-1 victory at Fresno on Friday night. In the seventh game of his comeback attempt, Holliday, 38, also struck out three times.
The idea behind Holliday's having joined the Rockies organization with one game at rookie Grand Junction on Aug. 1 is to the Rockies hope of being able to add a veteran bat to the lineup for the stretch drive.
He is hitting .286 in his first six games with the Isotopes.
The home run came off Brady Rodgers, who was the 2016 Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year and made his MLB debut that year with the Astros, but underwent Tommy John surgery last season. Rodgers was making his 10th start of the season, seventh at Fresno.
In Friday's Games
AAA Albuquerque (54-63) won 4-1 at Fresno. In addition to Holliday, Tom Murphy (.286), sent down by the Rockies earlier in the week, hit a home run, his 17th of the year for Albuquerque. Brett Oberholtzer (5-9, 6.00) allowed one run on five hits and a walk, striking out one, in seven innings. DJ Johnson (4.40) earned his 15th save.
Class AA Hartford (53-62) lost 7-5 against Bowie. Matt Pierpont (1-4, 2.31) gave up two runs in the ninth. Frank Duncan (4.03) started and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks, striking out three, in 6 2/3 innings. Sam Hilliard (.272) hit his eighth home run.
High A Lancaster (30-18 2nd half; 63-55) lost 7-4 at Rancho Cucamonga. Tyler Nevin (.319) hit his 12th home run, and Bret Boswell (.385) hit his fifth home run since being promoted from Asheville. He also singled, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Antonio Santos (2-2, 5.12) allowed three home runs in five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out eight.
Low A Asheville (24-22 2nd half, 51-64) won 9-4 at Greensboro. Casey Golden (.272) hit his 26th home run, a three-run shot in the sixth that gave the Tourists a 4-1 lead. Ryan Vilade (.271) had a double and triple, scored two runs and drove in one run. Will Gaddis (6-5, 4.60) allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out four, in seven innings.
Short-season A Boise (5-10 2nd half; 26-27) lost 14-7 to Spokane. Mike Nikorak worked one inning in his second start of his comeback, allowing one run on two hits and a walk, striking out one. It was his second appearance after a 23-month recovery process. Pearson McMahan (2-3, 6.52) suffered the loss, allowing eight hits, four earned, on nine hits and two walks, striking out six in 4 2/3 innings. Terrin Vavra (.312) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, three RBI and his third home run. Willie MacIver (.305) was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and his fourth home run.
Rookie Grand Junction (9-4 2nd half; 30-22) won 11-5 against Helena. Hunter Stovall (.294) was 1-for-3 with three RBI on a fourth-inning single, and sacrifice flies in the first and fifth innings. Jared Skolnicki (2-0, 3.12) was credited with the win, striking out one in 1 2/3 innings. Trent Fennell (4.09) started and allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits and two walks, striking out two.
Dominican Summer League South (20-39) lost 15-4 to Mets1. Stalyn Stanchez (0-2, 9.53) gave up four runs, three earned, on three hits and two walks, striining two batters in his start. Junior Guerrero (.152) was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Dominican Summer League Northeast (41-18) won 8-6 at the Mariners. Bladimir Restituyo (.302) hit his second home run, Walking Cabrerra (.259) his fifth, Bryan Quijada (.289) his second, and Vladimir Dilone (.272) his third. Calros Perez (4-0, 2.14) was credited with the win, allowing on run on two hits, striking out two in 1 2/3 innings. Enrique Castillo (3.86) worked two innings, striking out three for his first save. Calos Gonzalez (3.69) started and allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and two walks, striking out three, in 5 1/3 innings.