A 2-1 day for the affiliates with wins at Double and Single-A
HR Roll Call: Whit Merrifield (3)
BP KC Hitter of the Day – Raul Mondesi 3-4, 2b, 2R, BB
BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Edwards 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Iowa Cubs 10, Omaha Storm Chasers 3
Lefty Jon Dziedzic fell victim to some Iowa magic in the first inning Monday as the Cubs hit a pair of flairs into the outfield prior to two seeing-eye singles to the right side to take a 1-0 lead. That lead doubled when a ball Albert Almora squibbed off the bat all of 40 feet for an out. The lead ballooned one hitter later into 5-0 when a pop fly off the bat of Dan Vogelbach travelled over the fences thanks to a gusty left-field wind. The Vogelbach home run left the bat at just 92.7 MPH, speeds lower than that have left major league parks just three times this season according to EPSN’s home run tracker. Death by a thousand I-Cub cuts continued with another Vogelbach home run in the 4th, this one off the left-field foul pole. A few more bloops off Dziedzic and reliever Scott Alexander lead to a 10-0 Iowa lead through the top of the 6th inning. The Chasers closed the gap at 10-3 with a Whit Merrifield home run in the bottom half, but rallying opportunities in the 7th and 8th were squashed, leading to Omaha’s first series defeat of the season. Outfielder Travis Snider made his first pitching performance in pro baseball since a 2014 appearance for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The lefty worked two scoreless innings with a strikeout and just one hit allowed. Manager Brian Poldberg was unaware of Snider’s pitching prowess prior to the game but a conversation with him in the dugout as the game started to get out of hand offered an opportunity for the lefty to save a bullpen that has been taxed as of late. The last position player to pitch for the Chasers was Micah Gibbs during a September 2015 loss to the Nashville Sounds.
Jose Martinez 1-4, 2b
Brett Eibner 1-3, BB
Travis Snider 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K
NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Arkansas Travelers 5
Lefty Erik Skoglund has been having trouble getting through the middle innings in his starts as of late. That problem remained in the third game of the Naturals four gamer with the Travelers on Monday when Erik ran into trouble in the 4th inning, giving up a four spot there and another run in the 5th when he got pulled. Fortunately for Skoglund, his temmates took him off the hook with five runs spread over five innings, and a run in the 7th for the final margin. It had been Bubba Starling providing the offense in the prior two games of the series but in this one the damage was provided by the top of the order. The middle infield combo of Ramon Torres and Raul Mondesi reached base a combined six times while scoring four runs. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn kept his bat hot with a two-run single in the 2nd, a run-scoring double in the 4th and another hit in the 7th that pushed Mondesi along to third base. Outfielder Orlando Calixte knocked in Mondesi with a single that proved to be the difference maker, giving the Naturals sole possession of first place.
Ramon Torres 2-4, 2R
Ryan O’Hearn 3-5, 2b, 3 RBI, R
Orlando Calixte 1-3, RBI
Lexington Legends 8 Greensboro Grasshoppers 5
Legends bats woke up with an 11 hit and eight run night with every hitter providing some value either by collecting a hit, a walk or a sacrifice. Second baseman DJ Burt contributed a three hit, three RBI day while Cody Jones scored three times from the leadoff spot. The eight runs were enough to give Scott Blewett his first win since April 12th despite giving up 11 base runners in just five innings of work.
Ben Johnson 2-5, 2-2b, R
DJ Burt 3-5, R, 3 RBI
Scott Blewett 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K