Royals affiliates had a so-so day, going 3-4. The Arizona League Royals had the day off.
HR Roll Call: D.J. Burt (3), Chris DeVito (2), Jecksson Flores (3)
BPKC Hitter of the Day – Chris DeVito, 1-3, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 RBI
BPKC Pitcher of the Day – Kris Medlen 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Omaha Storm Chasers 4, Nashville Sounds 2
Omaha’s offense smacked 13 hits, overcoming three errors by the defense, for a win in the Music City. Kris Medlen, making his first rehab start at Omaha, limited the Sounds to two hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings, while striking out five. He threw 69 pitches, 49 for strikes. The only run he allowed was unearned due to a throwing error by shortstop Ramon Torres. Meanwhile, Reymond Fuentes picked up three hits, while four different Storm Chasers had two hits. Irving Falu had the big hit, cracking a bases-loaded single in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. And a hat tip to Kevin McCarthy, who struck out the rehabbing Josh Reddick to end the game with the tying runs on base for his second save of the year.
Reymond Fuentes: 3-5, R
Jorge Bonifacio: 2-5, 2 R, 2B
Irving Falu: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Tulsa Drillers 2, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 0
Despite outhitting Tulsa, the Naturals were shut out. Northwest Arkansas collected eight hits, but six were singles. Starter Ashton Goudeau allowed five hits and three walks in six innings of work while striking out just one batter. Tulsa pushed across single runs in the second and fourth innings, giving them just enough of a cushion. The Naturals went 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the fourth. They also lost a scoring chance when Terrance Gore grounded into a double play (pitcher to home to third) with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh.
Frank Schwindel: 2-4
Cam Gallagher: 1-2, 2 BB
Corey Toups: 1-4, 2B
Winston-Salem Dash 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1
Wilmington starter Matt Tenuta left the game in the second inning with a sore shoulder, and reliever Colin Rodgers allowed two inherited runners to score as Winston-Salem put up a four-spot in the frame to cruise to victory. Tenuta had allowed a walk and a single, but with two flyouts was almost out of trouble with only one run scoring. But he walked one more hitter before being removed in the middle of an at-bat. Rodgers finished that at-bat by walking the hitter and then gave up a bases-loaded double to give the Dash a 4-0 lead. On the bright side, that was the only hit Rodgers allowed in 5 1/3 innings of relief. The Blue Rocks could only manage six hits, with their lone run coming in the fourth as Brandon Downes walked and Elier Hernandez doubled. Raul Mondesi, in the first game of his rehab assignment following his 50-game suspension, went 0-4 with three strikeouts.
Elier Hernandez: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB
Humberto Arteaga: 2-3, BB
Colin Rodgers: 5 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Hagerstown Suns 7, Lexington Legends 2
Another rough start for Nolan Watson, who allowed eight hits and four runs in just 3 2/3 innings. That put the Legends in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Watson fell to 2-7 with an 8.18 ERA for the season. Torey Deshazier allowed three more runs in 3 1/3 innings of relief pitching to put the game out of reach. Lexington could only muster six hits, although two of them were home runs. Unfortunately both were solo shots, one by D.J. Burt in the first inning and the other by Jecksson Flores in the third.
Anderson Miller: 2-4, 2B
Roman Collins: 0-2, 2 BB
Gabe Cramer: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Grand Junction Rockies 4, Idaho Falls Chukars 2
The Chukars fell behind early and couldn’t come back from a 3-0 deficit. Starter Andres Machado worked four innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks, although he did pick up five strikeouts. Drew Milligan followed with 2 1/3 innings of relief, giving up a run on two hits and two walks while striking out four. The Chukars took advantage of a wild pitch and a passed ball to score two runs in the fourth. With two outs and one on, Nick Heath struck out but reached on a passed ball. Ryan Dale doubled to drive in two but Idaho Falls could not add any more runs.
Yeison Melo: 3-4, 3B
David Edwards: 2-4, R
Ryan Dale: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI
Burlington Royals 5, Princeton Rays 0
Burlington picked up its first win of the young season with an easy 5-0 victory. Three Royals combined on the six-hit shutout, with Garrett Davila earning the win by holding Princeton to three hits in 5 2/3 innings. On offense, Burlington collected nine hits, including Chris DeVito’s second home run of the year. Every starter except Nicky Lopez had at least one hit, but Lopez drew two walks.
Chris DeVito: 1-3, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 RBI
Tyler Straub: 2-3, R
Garrett Davila: 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K
DSL Royals 6, DSL Phillies 4
The Royals jumped out to a nice early lead, scoring four runs in the first three innings. After the Phillies closed the gap to 4-3, the Royals responded with two more runs in the sixth for an insurmountable lead. The Royals pounded out 10 hits, including two doubles and two triples and also stole three bases. The Royals improved to 11-6 on the season with the win.
Janser Lara: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Esteury Ruiz: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B
Angel Medina: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B
Andres Martin: 2-4, 2 R, 2B
Juan Peguero: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B