A 4-3 day for the Royals affiliates on Wednesday.
HR Roll Call Joe Dudek (3), Gabriel Cancel (5), Kort Peterson (4)
BP KC Hitter of the Day – Frank Schwindel 2-4 3R, 2-2b, BB
BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Matt Portland 6 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K 6-5 GO-FO 89p/53k
NW Arkansas Naturals 10 Springfield Cardinals 4
The Naturals punched out 15 hits with 10 runs to stay in first place by 1.5 games with 12 games to play. A five run fifth inning that featured a Ryan O’Hearn rbi double and a double from Zane Evans that drove two pushed the Naturals ahead 6-2. Newcomer Samir Duenez hit his third double in two games to drive in another prior to scoring in the ninth to push the final tally to 10-4. The Naturals starter was Glenn Sparkman in his second start back after Tommy John surgery last year, going 3.2 innings with two runs allowed (1 ER) and six strikeouts.
Samir Duenez 2-4 2R, 2b, 3 RBI, BB
Corey Toups 2-5 R, 2b
Glenn Sparkman 3.2 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 6 K 2-2 GO-FO 75p/46k
Lynchburg Hillcats 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3
Wilmington’s Zach Lovvorn gave up five runs in just three and two-third innings to drop his fifteenth decision of the year. Both teams punched out 10 hits, but the Hillcats did more with their offense with a pair of home runs included.
Anderson Miller 2-5 RBI
Brandon Downes 2-4 R, 2b
Zach Lovvorn 3.2 IP 5 H 5 R 5 ER 4 BB 1 K 2 HR
West Virginia Power 6 Lexington Legends 4
The Legends dropped Wednesday’s game when the bullpen gave up a pair of runs in the eighth. Starter Scott Blewett put away 10 hitters via strikeout in his six innings, but also gave up three runs in the second and another in the third inning as part of the seven hits the righty allowed. The Legends trailing 4-0 put up a four run sixth inning, getting a pair of two run singles from Amalani Fukofuka and D.J. Burt to tie the game. The score remained 4-4 until the eighth when Brian Bayliss gave up a two runs to drop the game.
D.J. Burt 2-5 2 RBI
Brandon Dulin 3-5 R, 2-2b
Scott Blewett 6 IP 7 H 4 R, 3 ER 0 BB 10 K 4-0 GO-FO 81p/55k
Idaho Falls Chukars 3 Orem Owlz 2
Lefty Matt Portland tossed up a quality start while Meibrys Viloria and Joe Dudek packed enough punch for the win. Six innings of work highlighted Portland’s four hit and two walk performance in which he earned five strikeouts while earning his fourth win of the year. The Chukars middle of the order catcher Viloria doubled in a run in the first and then scored on Dudek’s home run in the sixth inning. Reliever Jason Freeman tossed the final three innings scoreless to earn the save for the Chukars.
Meibrys Viloria 3-4 R, 2b, RBI
Joe Dudek 1-3 HR, 2 RBI
Matt Portland 6 IP 4 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K 6-5 GO-FO 89p/53k
Burlington Royals 8 Elizabethton Twins 3
The Royals blasted a pair of home runs while the Appy league pitcher of the year earned his fifth win of the season. All Star Kort Peterson hit his fourth home run of the season while also driving in another run in the game. A four run sixth inning padded a one run lead on the way to a win.
Gabriel Cancel 1-5 HR
Kort Peterson 1-3 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Cristian Castillo 5 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB 8 K 1-5 GO-FO
AZL Indians 4 AZL Royals 2
The Royals lost dropped another one on Wednesday, but luckily didn’t lose a game in the standings. Reliever Wade Davis tossed one scoreless inning with a strikeout and one hit allowed. The Royals have a 2.5 game lead in the division with four games to play in the second half.
Khalil Lee 1-4 RBI, CS (4)
Seuly Matias 2-4 R
Anthony Bender 2 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
DSL Royals 4 DSL Red Sox1 1
The Royals came up with a must have game over the Red Sox1 to lower their deficit in the division to 2.5 games with three to play. A pair of Freddy Fermin hits in the second and the fourth innings gave the Royals 2-0 lead prior to a sac fly that score Esteury Ruiz in the sixth pushed them up 3-0. The two teams face off again on Thursday with the Royals trying to cut the lead to 1.5 with two to play.
Esteury Ruiz 2-4 2R
Freddy Fermin 3-3 2b, 2 RBI
Andres Sotillet 5 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K