HILLSBORO, Ore. — Chad Zurat of Clearfield is back in the Class A Short Season Northwest League, where he started his professional baseball career last year with the Tri-City (Wash.) Dust Devils.
The Colorado Rockies farmhand joined the Boise (Idaho) Hawks Thursday after pitching 41.1 innings in 15 appearances for Grand Junction (Colo.) in the first two months of the Pioneer Rookie League season.
Zurat (3-3) left the Rockies with a 3.92 earned run average, reducing that by almost a full run with eight scoreless innings in his last three outings.
Overall, he gave up 50 hits and 25 runs, 18 earned, while registering 16 strikeouts, issuing 16 walks and hitting three batters.
Boise (21-39) currently is last in the four-team Northwest League South Division’s second half with a 7-15 record.
The other teams in the division are the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks), Eugene Emeralds (Chicago Cubs) and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (San Francisco Giants).
Tri-City, now affiliated with the San Diego Padres organization, is in the North Division with the Everett Aquasox (Seattle Mariners), the Spokane Indians (Texas Rangers) and the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays).
Zurat made 10 relief appearances for the Dust Devils in 2014, notching a win in his lone decision and also earning one save.
The right-hander worked 20 innings with 19 strikeouts, five walks and three hit batsmen.
He allowed 36 hits and 23 runs, 19 earned for an 8.14 ERA.