Pioneer League notebook

Billings Mustangs (Cincinnati Reds)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Mustangs tied their season high with a three-game winning streak and finished the week 3-2. Their Aug. 8 game with Helena was suspended in the fourth inning and will be completed Sept. 4. The Mustangs are 3-3 in the second half, 1.5 games out of first place in the North Division and 15-29 overall.

WHO'S HOT: OF Yorman Rodriguez appears to have regained his stroke after a brief slump. He's 6-for-19 in his last five games and has driven in three of the 12 runs the Mustangs scored in that span. ... Billings' pitching staff, after posting 5.56 and 4.88 ERAs in June and July, respectively, opened August with a 2.78 ERA in the first eight games.

WHO'S NOT: Just about everyone not named Yorman. As a team, the Mustangs are hitting .194 and averaging 2.2 runs in their last 10 games, and they are batting .234 with 2.4 runs per game in their previous five.

COMPLETE EFFORT: LHP Luca Panerati threw the Pioneer League's first complete game, allowing one unearned run in a 2-1 victory over the Helena Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader Aug. 8. True, it was a seven-inning contest, but it still goes into the league stats as a complete game. "I'll still keep it," said Panerati, who improved to 2-4 while lowering his ERA to 6.20 in nine starts. "I'll take it."

Casper Ghosts (Colorado Rockies)
WEEK IN REVIEW: After starting the week with a pair of wins, the Ghosts dropped four straight and remained four games back in the South Division. Casper is 2-5 in the second half and 12-24 overall.

WHO'S HOT: RHP Chris Balcom-Miller continues to baffle Pioneer League hitters. On Aug. 7, Balcom-Miller struck out 11 and allowed just three hits in six innings. His 1.15 ERA (five earned runs in 39 innings) continues to be the league's lowest. Balcom-Miller was named Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row and third time this season. ... 1B Jared Clark is hitting .414 (12-for-29) in his last 10 games, including home runs on three consecutive nights.

WHO'S NOT: SS Joseph Scott had just two hits in 16 at-bats (.125) for the week. He's hitting .188 on the season. ... Of the four batters RHP Juan Rodriguez faced in the eighth inning of Casper's 18-3 loss in Orem, he walked three of them and hit the other. All four runners scored. ... RHP Juan Gonzales absorbed his fourth loss after giving up six earned runs and 11 hits in four innings. The outing raised Gonzales' ERA to 8.92. He is winless in eight starts.

SLICK FIELDER: In 29 games in left field, Avery Barnes hasn't committed an error. Among outfielders with a 1.000 fielding percentage, he leads with three assists.

Great Falls Voyagers (Chicago White Sox)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Voyagers suffered through a four-game losing streak on their way to a 2-4 week, which left them 3-4 in the second half and two games off the pace. The first-half North Division winners are 24-21 for the season.

WHO'S HOT: After a prolonged slump, Matthew Harughty is 4-for-10 in his last six games, while fellow SS Zachary Kayne is 11-for-29 (.379) in his last eight. ... OF Johny Celis is hitting .357 (5-for-14) in his last five games. ... OF Kyle Colligan has just three hits in his last 15 at-bats, but two have gone out of the park.

WHO'S NOT: 3B Jesus Avila and 2B Jeffrey Tezak couldn't get much going for the Voyagers. Avila had just two hits in 12 at-bats (.167) for the week, while Tezak had just two hits in his last 15 at-bats (.133).

GETTING SOME RELIEF: RHPs Matthew Hopps and Brandon Kloess are getting it done out of the bullpen. Hopps, who picked up a save this week, has allowed just one earned run in his last 7 2/3 innings. Kloess has three saves in his last four appearances and has allowed just two earned runs in his previous 21 1/3 innings for a 0.84 ERA.

Helena Brewers (Milwaukee Brewers)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Brewers fell into last place in the North Division with a 2-3 week, which left them 2-4 for the second half and 2.5 games behind the leader. With a suspended Aug. 8 game against Billings to be completed Sept. 4, the Brewers are 22-22 overall for the season.

WHO'S HOT: IF Mike Brownstein and OF Chris Ellington put together identical 6-for-17 (.353) stretches during the week. Ellington added a home run and five RBIs to his line, while Brownstein drove in three. ... 1B Sean Halton hit .400 (6-for-15) in his last four games. ... RHP Hiram Burgos picked up a win and a save in two appearances, allowing one earned run in 5 2/3 innings and striking out eight.

WHO'S NOT: 2B Cutter Dykstra is in a 0-for-23 skid and has just four hits in his last 33 at-bats. ... RHP Joel Morales has allowed eight earned runs in his last four appearances, a span of 4 1/3 innings for a 16.63 ERA.

FILLING IN ADMIRABLY: When Joshua Prince was promoted to Class A Wisconsin at the season's midpoint, the Brewers had holes to fill at shortstop and at the top of the order. Brownstein has done well moving to the leadoff spot -- after going 0-for-4 his first game there, he's hit in five straight. Michael Marseco has taken over the shortstop position and is 5-for-16 (.313) in five games since joining the Brewers.

Idaho Falls Chukars (Kansas City Royals)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Chukars went 3-3 on the week and are tied with Ogden for second place, three games behind South Division leader Orem. Idaho Falls is 3-4 in the second half and 20-16 on the season.

WHO'S HOT: The duo of RHP Sugar Ray Marimon and LHP Brendan Lafferty combined for two more wins this week. The pitchers have won the last three games in which just they pitch. In those three outings, Marimon has given up seven earned runs in 15 2/3 innings and struck out 14, while Lafferty allowed just one earned run in 11 1/3 innings and struck out 13. ... RHP Cole White's 1.29 ERA earned him a promotion to the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League. In 12 appearances with the Chukars, White was 3-2 with three saves. He allowed only three earned runs and 15 hits in 21 innings while striking out 23.

WHO'S NOT: Since joining the team Aug. 3, CF Alex Llanos is batting just .077 (2-for-26). The 18-year-old started the season with the Arizona League Royals, where he hit .311 (38-for-122) in 31 games. ... After a hot first half, SS Deivy Batista had two hits and five strikeouts in 19 at-bats (.105) this week.

CUTTING IT CLOSE: Monday's 5-4 win over Billings was the Chukars' fifth straight one-run game. Six of their seven second-half games have been decided by one run, including three 4-3 contests with Ogden. The Raptors won two of those. On the season, Idaho Falls is 11-9 in one-run games.

Missoula Osprey (Arizona Diamondbacks)
WEEK IN REVIEW: After losing the North Division first-half title to Great Falls in a tie-breaker, the Osprey hold a 1.5-game lead in the second half. A 4-2 week lifted the Osprey to a 5-2 second-half record and 26-19 overall.

WHO'S HOT: It was another big offensive week for 1B Paul Goldschmidt, who is among the league leaders in home runs and RBIs and who earned the Pioneer League's Player of the Week honor. Goldschmidt hit .533 (8-for-15) for the week with a home run and five RBIs, and in his last 10 games he's hitting .459 (17-for-37) with two home runs and nine RBIs. ... Goldschmidt's big week overshadowed efforts by OF Ender Inciarte (.438), 2B David Nick (.389), OF Keon Broxton (.353) and OF Bobby Stone (.316, six RBIs).

WHO'S NOT: DH Ramon Castillo had just two hits in 21 at-bats (.095) for the week. He's 5-for-41 (.122) in his last 10 games.

GOING FOR THREE: Broxton hit two triples Aug. 8 against Great Falls, giving him a league-high eight for the season. The Pioneer League record is 11, set by three players, most recently Medicine Hat's Jorge Nunez in 1998.

Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The first-half winners had a rough week, going 2-4 to finish tied for second in the South Division with Idaho Falls. The Raptors are 3-4 in the second half and 24-14 overall.

WHO'S HOT: LF Brian Cavazos-Galvez had back-to-back three-hit games to raise his average to .335. Cavazos-Galvez went 10-for-20 (.500) on the week. ... RHP Steven Ames continues to dominate as the Raptors' closer. He earned his fifth save this week, striking out four in two hitless innings. Ames, who hasn't given up a run since July 12, has his ERA down to 0.98.

WHO'S NOT: RHP Brett Wallach and LHP Antonio Castillo paired to give up 10 earned runs Aug. 5 against Casper. The second inning was particularly ugly. Wallach allowed two singles, a stolen base, two doubles and back-to-back home runs before being pulled. Castillo then issued four walks, threw a wild pitch and gave up a single, triple and stolen base. Wallach's ERA jumped from 2.70 to 7.15, while Castillo's rose slightly to 4.62. Castillo leads the league in walks issued with 25.

HE'LL BE MISSED: RF Jerry Sands was promoted to Class A Great Lakes. Sands was leading the league in home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.457). His 57 hits were second and his .350 batting average ranked fourth.

FIRED UP: Ogden manager Damon Berryhill's ejection Aug. 8 was the third time he was tossed in six games and the second in a row. Berryhill didn't get ejected once in the season's first half.

Orem Owlz (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Owlz won five straight games to go 5-1 on the week and raise their overall record to 20-18. Orem is 6-1 in the second half and has a three-game lead in the South Division.

WHO'S HOT: SS/3B Michael Wing turned it on this week. He is hitting .450 (9-for-20) in his last five games. Prior to a three-run double Aug. 5, Wing had one hit in his last 20 at-bats. ... RHP Mike Piazza earned his first win Aug. 7, pitching three shutout innings and lowering his ERA to 2.28. Piazza has not allowed a run in his last four appearances and more than nine innings.

WHO'S NOT: LF/DH Justin Bass has slowed down some. He went 3-for-19 (.158) on the week to drop his average to .264.

WILD WINS: The Owlz set a franchise record with 23 hits and scored a season-high 18 runs in a Aug. 6 win over Casper. Orem scored nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to smother Casper, 18-3. At the other end of the spectrum, the Owlz beat the Ghosts, 1-0, on Aug. 7 with their third walkoff win in their last five games. Orem also took two from Idaho Falls on walkoff hits.