Healthy White strong for Drillers

Alex White is more concerned about getting healthy than what his future may hold. Judging by Thursday's outing, one might help him take care of the other.

On the heels of teammate Drew Pomeranz's flirtation with perfection Wednesday, White scattered three hits and a walk over 7 2/3 innings as Double-A Tulsa blanked Midland, 8-0.

White threw 54 of 81 pitches for strikes and earned his first Texas League win in his latest rehab outing, his fourth start since coming over from the Indians in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade.

The former first-round pick and the Rockies' No. 4 prospect extended his scoreless streak to 15 1/3 innings, but more important was continued success in his recovery from a strained ligament in his right middle finger that kept him out for two-and-a-half months.

"My arm feels good and my finger feels good, and I think that's the most important thing," he said.

He's not worrying over a callup to the Majors or Triple-A Colorado Springs either.

"I can't think about that right now. The biggest thing is getting healthy. We (Pomeranz, Joseph Gardner, Matt McBride and I) are here for a reason. They think we can pitch at a high level and help out the organization. ... I want to pitch effectively and every fifth day."

Pomeranz tossed seven innings of two-hit ball in his debut for the Rockies organization, a 6-0 shutout of Midland.

"I didn't try to think about that at all. He threw a great game last night, but we are different pitchers. He's a big lefty," the right-hander said. "Those guys (the RockHounds) like to swing the bat, and that helped us both out. It really benefited me that they swung early in the count."

North Carolina native and former Tar Heel White has been able to work deeper into each game as he rebuilds arm strength. He went one inning in his Tulsa debut, 3 2/3 innings in his second start and four frames in his third before falling just shy of eight Thursday.

"Everything felt good. I was in the zone, I threw a lot of fastballs, hit my spots, worked inside and pitched to contact," he said.

White loaded the bases in the eighth by hitting Adam Heether, giving up a single to Jeremy Barfield and walking Tyler Ladendorf. With two outs, he was relieved by Dustin Molleken, who induced an inning-ending flyout from Matthew Sulentic.

Hector Gomez, Ben Paulsen and Wilin Rosario homered to lead Tulsa's offensive charge.