The affiliates went 4-2 on Sunday with a pair of wins at the rookie level.
HR Roll Call: Alfredo Escalera (5), Anderson Miller (5), Manny Olloque 2 (5), Yeison Melo (3), Jordan Ebert (1)
BP KC Hitter of the Day – Jordan Ebert 4-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI, CS (1)
BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Jake Kalish 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 3-1 GO-FO, 24p/16k
Iowa Cubs 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 3
Alec Mills left after just one inning of work in which he gave up four runs and put Omaha in a hole they wouldn’t be able to dig out from. The injury was a stiff neck and may have lead to a performance that was less than stellar, giving up four hits and walking two. A pair of singles drove in three and a wild pitch scored the other run. The Chasers would get a pair in the first and a run in the sixth, both times to cut the deficit to two runs, but no closer in dropping the second of the four game series.
Tony Cruz 2-3, 2b, 2 RBI
Jorge Bonifacio 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Andrew Edwards 2 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 39p/23k
NW Arkansas Naturals 5 Springfield Cardinals 2
The Naturals received four innings of shutout relief plus a pair of extra base hits to take Sunday’s game. Outfielder Alfredo Escalera put NW Arkansas on the board first with a second inning two-run home run, his fifth of the season. Sprinfield would answer back with a pair of runs in the third inning, getting a sac fly from rehabbing Brandon Moss and a Luke Voit run-scoring single. The game would hold steady until the fifth when a pair of singles and a sac bunt put runners on second and third with one out for the Naturals. With Terrance Gore stepping in, the Cardinals would choose to intentionally walk him to play for the force at any base. Coming to the plate was the suddenly cool Corey Toups, hitting just 2 for 13 since coming back from the injury that cost him a few games and looking to find the hot hand that he was riding prior. Not looking to wait around, Toups jumped on the first pitch he saw, cracking a bases clearing double that put his team up 5-2. Those runs would be enough as the Naturals bullpen finished off the final four innings scoreless to secure the win to get back within a game of first place.
Corey Toups 1-4, 2b, 3 RBI
Alfredo Escalera 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Ashton Goudeau 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2-4 GO-FO, 86p/53k
Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Frederick Keys 3
The two Carolina squads scored in just two of the nine innings, with Wilmington scoring enough to earn the win. The Keys started the game in the first with a single to take a 1-0 lead. The Rocks snapped right back in their half of the frame, getting RBI’s doubles from Anderson Miller, their second hitter of the game, and Brandon Downes to take a lead prior to Downes being brought around for a three-run frame. After three scoreless innings, Wilmington starter Zach Lovvorn struggled with the zone, hitting a batter and walking three with a single sandwiched in there to give up a pair of runs. He gave way to Jake Kalish who got the last out to keep the game tied at 3-3. It wouldn’t stay tied for long when Miller, leading off the inning, hit his second home run with the Blue Rocks to push the lead to 4-3. Three consecutive singles scored Brandon Downes and a wild pitch later scored Samir Duenez to push the Rocks lead to 6-3. From there the two teams would go silent which secured the Rocks second consecutive series win, they will go for a third consecutive series win for the first time this season when they face Salem next.
Anderson Miller 2-4, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI
Brandon Downes 2-4, 2R, 2b, RBI
Mike Hill 2-4 2b
Charleston RiverDogs 3 Lexington Legends 1
The Legends lost the game and series in Charleston when the offense went missing for the third time in the four game set. Just one run was pushed across on seven hits with the squad going one for six with runners in scoring position to let down starter Scott Blewett. The big righty worked six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a pair of walks with a pair of doubles in the fourth and a double in the sixth helping account for the damage. Lexington would load the bases in the eighth and get two on with no outs in the ninth, but were unable to push a run across in either frame to take the loss.
Scott Blewett 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 3-4 GO-FO, 95p/64k
DJ Burt 2-4, 2b, RBI
Jecksson Flores 1-2, R
Idaho Falls Chukars 9 Grand Junction Rockies 6
Four Idaho Falls home runs powered the Chukars to a series-clinching win over Grand Junction yesterday. Things got started in the first when Yeison Melo and Manny Olloque went deep on back-to-back plate appearances to stake Idaho Falls to a 2-0 lead. After the Rockies had claimed a 4-2 lead with back-to-back two-run innings in the third and fourth before Idaho Falls grabbed the lead back in the fifth. Idaho Falls would plate four in that fifth while adding three more in the sixth with infielder Jordan Ebert singling and scoring in the fifth before hitting a two-run home run in the sixth. That sixth inning home run preceded a second Manny Olloque home run to give Idaho Falls a second back to back effort in the game. With the lead at 9-5 the two pitching staffs would slow things down, yielding just a run by the Rockies in the ninth prior to Idaho Falls ending things with another home win, pushing that home record to 18-5 on the season.
Manny Olloque 2-4, 2 HR
Yeison Melo 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI
Nick Heath 2-4, RBI, 2 CS (7)
Burlington Royals 3 Bluefield Blue Jays 2
The Royals finished off their seventh win in a row with an assist from the weather against Bluefield in the first game of the two team’s series. The Blue Jays took an early 2-0 lead with a home run by Bradley Jones and a pair of wild pitches from starter Ofreidy Gomez that pushed around a walk that he had allowed. That 2-0 lead held up until the fourth inning when the Royals put together three consecutive one out singles to plate a run. With two on and one out Gabriel Cancel would walk in front of a pop out that placed the rally in danger with two down until, local product, Logan Gray lined a single to plate both Boo Vazquez and Vance Vizcaino to give Burlington a 3-2 lead. Following three quick outs by Gomez the rains came forcing the end of the game.
Ofreidy Gomez 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 WP, 4-1 GO-FO
Kort Peterson 1-2 – hitting .477 in his last 12 games
Logan Gray 1-2, 2 R