A good day for the affiliates with five wins and just a pair of losses.
HR Roll Call Raul Mondesi (6), Xavier Fernandez (5), Brandon Dulin (4), Jonathan McCray (2), Ryan Dale (1)
BP KC Hitter of the Day – Brandon Dulin 3-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI
BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Garrett Davila 6 IP 6 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K 2PO 9-3 GO-FO
Memphis Redbirds 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2
The Redbirds used the longball to take advantage of Kris Medlen on his final rehab outing. All five runs came via home run with Randal Grichuk knocking two out that scored three runs and Jacob Wilson also hitting a two run home run. The Chasers were unable to answer with home runs of their own, scoring just two runs on nine hits and a walk while going 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
Hunter Dozier 2-3 BB
Kris Medlen 5.2 IP 6 H 5 ER 2 BB 5 K 3-6 GO-FO 88p/55k
Orlando Calixte 1-4 R, 2b
Midland RockHounds 5 NW Arkansas 3
Lefty Matt Strahm was missing most of the bats he faced in his first start back from the All Star break but a few connected to ruin his and the Naturals teammates night. Three home runs allowed among the four hits allowed off Strahm accounted for four runs and a Midland win. This despite the lefty setting a season high nine down via strikeout in his six innings. The four runs pushed aside the three runs that the Naturals scored in the first four innings via a Frank Schwindel two run first inning double and a fourth inning Logan Moon RBI single. NW Arkansas went scoreless over the final five innings thanks in part to three double plays that they grounded into in the fifth through seventh innings.
Ryan O’Hearn 2-3 R, BB
Frank Schwindel 2-4 2b, 2RBI
Matt Strahm 6 IP 4 H 4 ER 2 BB 9 K 3-3 GO-FO 97p/59k
Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Winston-Salem Dash 4
Some big extra base hits, a rarity for the Rocks, paced Wilmington to a win in the first game of their series at home with Winston-Salem. Trailing 4-0 Raul Mondesi got things started for the Rocks with an RBI double in the third inning, scoring Chad Johnson and moving Austin Bailey to third base where he would score from one hitter later on a Alfredo Escalera groundout. Two innings later a pair of doubles from Samir Duenez and Wander Franco helped plate three runs and give Wilmington the lead. That lead would get stretched to three runs in the sixth inning when Mondesi would blast a two run home run to centerfield, his sixth home run of the season. Those runs would be plenty to secure the win with the bullpen blanking the Dash over the final five innings.
Alfredo Escalera 1-4 R, RBI
Chad Johnson 1-2 R, 2BB
Austin Bailey 1-2 2R, 2b, 2BB
Lexington Legends 5 Rome Braves 4
Braves prospect Touki Toussaint struggled with the strikezone early which gave the Legends an advantage that they jumped on. An RBI single from Brandon Dulin plated the first run of the inning just before an Xavier Fernandez three run home run to give Lexington a 4-0 lead after the first inning. Toussiant would settle down to complete four innings with just that damage allowed while Lexington’s first round pick, Nolan Watson, would give up a pair of home runs in the 4th and 5th combined with an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3. A run in the sixth inning by the Braves would tie things up and cost Watson a win despite a solid performance for the righty. Despite losing the lead the Legends wouldn’t drop the game thanks to Dulin’s fourth home run of the season that the bullpen made stand up over the final two innings.
Nolan Watson 5 IP 5 H 3 ER 0 BB 5 K 2 HR 0-3 GO-FO 96p/58k
Xavier Fernandez 2-3 HR, 3 RBI, BB
Anderson Miller 1-3 R, BB
Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Grand Junction Rockies 6
The Chukars watched a pair of walkoffs in two of their last three games prior to Thursday nights game but gained some redemption with their own walkoff in game one versus Grand Junction. The Rockies gained leads three different times in the game but each time Idaho Falls answered in an ugly game that featured nine combined errors. Back and forth the teams went until the tenth inning when a hit by pitch pushed the winning run into scoring position where they would come around from following the Rockies fourth error of the game to walkoff for the good guys.
Meibrys Viloria 1-1 2R, RBI, 2BB, HBP
Colton Frabasilio 1-3 3R, 2b, 2BB
Brian Bayliss 3 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
Burlington Royals 6 Bristol Pirates 0
Lefty Garrett Davila pitched above the level he is at despite not overpowering the Pirates. Despite just two strikeouts he was never in much trouble working around six hits and a walk with a pair of pickoffs, a couple of double plays and nine groundouts earned on the night. The offense backed up Davila well with eight hits and five walks with three doubles and a home run in that mix to plate six runs in the win. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera plated a pair of runs with two more hits as he continued his torrid start to the season.
Emmanuel Rivera 2-3 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Jonathan McCray 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
Jose Veras 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K
DSL Royals 7 DSL A’s 1
The pitching staff stiffled the A’s offense, limiting them to just three hits and one run while the offense got plenty of help courtesy six errors from the opponents. Third baseman Angel Medina pitched in, reaching base five times during the game while scoring a pair of runs.
Angel Medina 3-3 2R, 2b, 2BB
Juan Peguero 2-4 R, RBI
Randy Acevedo 6 IP 2 H 0 R 2 BB 3 K 10-2 GO-FO