eric stults

Pitcher Esmil Rogers was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list. To make room for Rogers on the 25-man roster, the Colorado Rockies designated left-hander Eric Stults for assignment.

Jason Hammel gave up five runs in the first inning, when he failed to retire the first six batters he faced, and the Arizona Diamondbacks went on to wallop the Colorado Rockies 12-3.

A rough second trip through the Atlanta Braves batting order for Juan Nicasio doomed the Colorado Rockies, who concluded a four-game sweep by the Braves with a 6-3 loss.

Hits and runs rained down on the Colorado Rockies as starter Jason Hammel, most notably reliever Matt Belisle and reliever Clayton Mortensen struggled and the Kansas City Royals pounded the Rockies 16-8.

Center fielder Tim Wheeler was 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and four RBI for Double-A Tulsa on Thursday. Wheeler is now hitting .330 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI.

Ty Wigginton played both ends of a double-header on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Colorado Springs was 2-for-7 with a pair of walks and an RBI.

Juan Nicasio struck out 10 in seven innings on his way to his third win at Double-A Tulsa. It was the longest start of the season for Nicasio, who has walked just three and struck out 30 in 22 innings.

In his second game at Colorado Springs, Ian Stewart contributed a first-inning grand slam to a big night for Sky Sox hitters, who combined to produce 18 hits and 13 runs.

Tulsa’s Juan Nicasio and Asheville’s Edwar Cabrera are off to similar starts in 2011. Both pitchers are 2-1 with impressive ERAs, plenty of strikeouts and a total of three walks between them.

The Double-A Tulsa Drillers collected 20 hits and nine runs against Corpus Christi, including good days from Tim Wheeler, Wilin Rosario, James Cesario and Darin Holcomb.

Starting pitchers for the Colorado Rockies’ minor-league affiliates had a rough day, including an up-and-down performance by Tyler Matzek at Modesto, while outfielder Tim Wheeler continued his solid start as the leadoff hitter at Tulsa.

The Colorado Rockies’ hard-throwing bullpen might be the best collection of relievers in franchise history. But it still has question marks and seven relievers has never been enough to get through a full season.