Lexington was rained out, leaving three games on the slate with the Royals affiliate splitting with the Cardinals affiliates at the Triple-A and Double-A levels while the Rocks were shutout by the Keys again.
HR Roll Call Brett Eibner 1,2,3 (7), Tony Cruz (3), Frank Schwindel (5), Carlos Garcia (2)
BP KC Hitter of the Day Brett Eibner 3-5 3 HR 6 RBI
BP KC Pitcher of the Day Alec Mills 6 IP 3 H 0 R 1 BB 8 K 3-2 GO-FO 86p/53k
Omaha Storm Chasers 15 Memphis Redbirds 5
Something about Memphis Redbirds pitching must feel good to Brett Eibner as the Royals outfielder connected on his third multi-home run game versus them in the past three seasons. This time, Eibner did one better than he had in the past, connecting on his first three home run game thanks to two in the fifth inning alone. Those two came as part of a 10 run Omaha barrage that pushed the Chasers to a 13-1 lead. Those two Eibner home runs followed his 3rd inning home run, all three scoring Jorge Bonifacio who reached in base in front of him on all three occasions. All told, the Chasers racked up 17 hits and 15 runs in support of Luke Farrell who improved to 2-0 on the season. Reliever Andrew Edwards collected five strikeouts in his scoreless Triple-A debut over the final two innings.
With the struggles of the Royals right-field options at the plate and Eibner being eligible for minor league free agency following the season, it seems like the right time to see if he can hack the big leagues. After a slow start with the power numbers, Eibner has connected on seven home runs in his last 12 games, pushing his season totals over his excellent 2015 numbers.
Whit Merrifield 2-4 2R, 2b, BB, 2 RBI
Jorge Bonifacio 2-3 2b, 3R, BB, 3 RBI
Tony Cruz 2-4 HR, 3R, RBI
Springfield Cardinals 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 5 F/10
Starter Alec Mills continued his stellar Double-A season with six scoreless innings against Springfield on Thursday. The right-handed starter breezed through the first three innings without allowing a hitter to reach, striking out five in the process. A single in the 4th off the bat of Tommy Pham with one out broke up the perfect effort and just an inning later the Cardinals threatened with the bases loaded and one out. After falling behind 3-0, Mills fought back to a 3-2 count and one pitch later got out of the jam by earning a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. A perfect 6th would follow for Mills with an eighth strikeout to end his night. That start will likely place Mills in the Top 5 in WHIP in the Texas league while also pushing to 1st in total strikeouts in the league.
With Mills excelling, the offense pushed out in front 3-0 with RBI singles from Orlando Calixte and Mauricio Ramos being the featured hits in the 3rd inning. The Cardinals offense rebounded once Mills left the game, scoring four runs between the 7th and 8th inning off reliever Yender Caramo. Now trailing 4-3 in the top of the 9th inning, Naturals hitters Frank Schwindel and Carlos Garcia hit back-to-back homers to push back ahead. Unfortunately that lead wasn’t safe enough when Kevin McCarthy gave up a run in the 9th and a walkoff win in the 10th for a Springfield win.
Carlos Garcia 1-3 HR, 2R
Frank Schwindel 1-5 HR
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 R, BB
Frederick Keys 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
“(Kyle) Zimmer got his work in which is what we want. He got his three innings and felt fine afterward which is all we’re looking for. He was good.” via Jamie Quirk
That is about the only positive that one can take from Wilmington’s Thursday afternoon game. The offense remained on hiatus collecting just three hits and one walk in the game with Corey Toups connecting on two of those hits. The loss was credited to Kyle Zimmer when he uncorked a wild pitch in the first after walking a pair of hitters and allowing a double steal. The righty would find the zone during the next two innings with more regularity, finishing with 30 strikes in 47 pitches with four strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Shortstop Corey Toups his hitting .351 over his last ten games with six extra base hits.
Kyle Zimmer 3 IP 1 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K 47 pitches 30 strikes 3 GO-1 FO
Brandon Downs 0-3 3 K
Corey Toups 2-4 2b