Pomeranz a success in return

Drew Pomeranz capped an amazing year with an outstanding performance Monday, then accomplished something many players dream of.

Pomeranz tossed three perfect innings as the Double-A Tulsa Drillers beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, 4-2.

The Rockies' No. 2 prospect struck out three in his first start since Aug. 17. A few days after taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in his Drillers debut, Pomeranz underwent an emergency appendectomy that seemed likely to end his season.

"I honestly didn't know what to expect at first," Pomeranz said. "I didn't know how long the recovery time was; I was just bummed that I might be out for the rest of the season. I felt great three days after the surgery. I had the surgery on a Saturday and was hopping around on Sunday, was on the bike on Wednesday and threw on Friday."

After Monday's game was over, Pomeranz was informed that -- with the Drillers' season at an end -- he would join the Rockies on Tuesday.

The promotion caps a whirlwind year for the fifth overall pick in the 2010 Draft. Pomeranz was traded to Colorado as the player to be named later in the deadline deal that shipped Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland.

Pitching for three teams, the Tennessee native has proven to be dominant, no matter which uniform he is wearing. Pomeranz is 4-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 20 starts across two levels. He struck out 118 batters over 101 innings and yielded only two hits in 10 frames for the Drillers.

"Honestly, I'm pretty pumped about it," he said. "It's pretty much the most ridiculous year ever, I don't know what to say."

Having missed two weeks, Pomeranz was anxious to get out on the mound one more time before the end of the season. But he didn't expect to go out on such a high note.

"I didn't sleep last night, I was so pumped just to get back out there and pitch," he said. "I was so excited to get back out there and pitch, and to throw that well I felt like it had to do with how I felt. I felt great, I was locating my pitches for strikes."

Rob Scahill (12-11) finished out the game, taking a no-hitter into the eighth before allowing a leadoff single to Anthony Seratelli. He was charged with two runs on six hits and struck out three over six innings.

Mike Zuanich was 3-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs scored for the Drillers, while Michael Mitchell went yard. Former first-round pick Tim Wheeler singled in his fourth and final plate appearance to reach 300 total bases for the season.