Rockies minor-league pitcher Joey Williamson has come back down to earth.
It turns out he isn’t from another planet and his right arm isn’t bionic: He finally lost a game.
Losing games is part of a pitcher’s life, but Williamson managed to escape the negative side of his position for 2 1/2 seasons. But Thursday night, his 18-decision win streak was snapped as the Cal League’s Modesto Nuts lost 6-4 to Bakersfield.
“I gave up two home runs and that ended up being the deciding factor,” Williamson said. “It was a fun ride, but you don’t expect something like that not to end. I enjoyed it. We got a lot of laughs as it went along.”
Modesto manager Jerry Weinstein added some grit to Williamson’s comments, noting he hadn’t seen anything to duplicate the streak.
“I don’t think he was happy about it,” Weinstein said. “We’ve used him in every role possible, from starter to reliever to closer. He throws strikes, has sink on his fastball and he’s a competitor.”
Williamson was drafted in the 36th round of the 2007 June draft out of Notre Dame. That season he was 5-0 with Tri-City in the short-season, Single-A Northwest League. Last year, Williamson posted a 4-0 record in 35 appearances for Asheville of the Single-A South Atlantic League.
This season, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander was 9-0 in his first 23 appearances, two with Double-A Tulsa and 21 with Modesto. He starts what he calls a “new beginning” with a 9-1 record, 3.28 ERA, in 68 2/3 innings with 20 walks and 63 strikeouts.
“It was a relief in some ways to get it over with,” Williamson said. “I want to go back to work and focus on the smaller things. I was getting more starts this year and that adds to the odds against something like that continuing. It was fun while it lasted.”
“E.Y.” in lights.
Sky Sox second baseman Eric Young Jr. envisions having his initials in lights someday.
“Once I get established in Denver, I’d like to open a restaurant,” Young Jr. said. “It probably would be called E.Y.’s, and if there’s any room in the mall, I might open it next to Elway’s.”
Young added some muscle to his baseball reputation with two home runs and a triple in Thursday night’s 9-3 Sky Sox victory in Salt Lake City.
Also Thursday, right-handed pitcher Esmil Rogers was promoted to the Sky Sox from Tulsa and earned a win in his Triple-A debut. The 23-year-old right-hander out of the Dominican Republic is 9-2 on the season.
Outside the organization.
Luke French, who signed with the Detroit Tigers out of Heritage High School in 2003, is 1-0 with the Tigers since being called up July 3. . . . Second baseman Colt Sedbrook out of Broomfield High School drove in three runs in his first six games in Springfield, the St. Louis Cardinals’ affiliate in the Double-A Texas League.
Minor-league spotlight
Jason Van Kooten, 2B, Modesto
Jason Van Kooten could tell you from experience that there’s nothing like 17 hits in 10 games to raise a batting average.
Van Kooten, a second baseman for the Modesto Nuts of the Single-A California League, packed a lot into a 10-game stretch in the past week and a half that raised his season’s batting average to .287. His 17 hits included seven doubles, a triple and a home run while scoring 10 runs and driving in six. He hit at a .436 clip in the 10 games.
“There was a little bit of luck involved,” said Van Kooten, who signed with the Rockies in the 2003 June draft out of Regis High School, where he played for coach Tom Severtson.
“There are times when you hit the ball hard and they fall in and there are other times when you hit the ball hard right at somebody. I just keep the same approach at all times and when you get started, the game takes over.”
Modesto manager Jerry Weinstein said his infielder was more than hot during the 10 games.
“He was scorching the ball and swinging the bat exceptionally well,” Weinstein said. “He had some similar stretches earlier in the season.”
Weinstein said Van Kooten has been plagued with injuries in previous seasons, but is going strong in his sixth season in the Rockies’ organization.
“Not all the fruit gets ripe at the same time,” Weinstein said, noting Van Kooten’s progress in player development.
Organizational leaders (Through Thursday)
HITTING: (70 games) Jordan Pacheco, Asheville, .341; Matt Miller, Colorado Springs, .324.
RUNS: Eric Young Jr., Colorado Springs, 76; Mike McCoy, Colorado Springs, 68.
HITS: Miller, Colorado Springs, 105; Charles Blackmon, Modesto, 101.
DOUBLES: Miller, Colorado Springs, 26; Jason Van Kooten, Modesto, 25; Radames Nazario, Modesto, 25.
TRIPLES: Maikol Gonzalez, Modesto, 7; Young, Colorado Springs, 6; Jeffrey Cunningham, Modesto, 6; David Christensen, Asheville, 6.
HOME RUNS: Christensen, Asheville, 13; Ryan Harvey, Tulsa, 11.
RBI: Miller, Colorado Springs, 64; Pacheco, Asheville, 52.
STOLEN BASES: Young, Colorado Springs, 48; McCoy, Colorado Springs, 28.
PITCHING VICTORIES: Esmil Rogers, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 9; Joey Williamson, Modesto/Tulsa, 9.
LOSSES: Keith Weiser, Tulsa, 8; Kenneth Durst, Modesto, 8.
SAVES: Andrew Johnson, Tulsa, 22; Craig Baker, Modesto, 21.
INNINGS: Rogers, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 100 1/3; Cory Riordon, Modesto, 95 2/3.
WALKS: Connor Graham, Modesto, 37; Dan Houston, Asheville, 35.
STRIKEOUTS: Rogers, Tulsa/Colorado Springs, 88; Christian Friedrich, Asheville/Modesto, 86.
ERA: (starters) Adam Eaton, Colorado Springs, 1.80; Juan Nicasio, Asheville, 1.91; (relievers) Matthew Reynolds, Modesto, 1.29; Edgmer Escolona, Modesto, 2.48.
