The Royals affiliates went 2-1 with a win at Low-A that brought all four affiliates to a .500 record or better on the season.
HR Roll Call: Elier Hernandez (5), Rudy Martin (1)
BPKC Hitter of the Day: Rudy Martin 3-4, HR, SB
BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Ofreidy Gomez 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 8-4 GO-FO, 88p/64k
Round Rock Express 2, Omaha Storm Chasers 0
Round Rock limited the hot Omaha bats to just four hits splitting the final game of the two team’s series.
Having scored 43 runs in their previous five games, Omaha was held scoreless by three Round Rock pitchers while limiting the Chasers to hits by just two players in their lineup. Second baseman Dean Anna and catcher Parker Morin accounted for the four hits, all singles, while the Chasers went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
Starter Christian Binford was victim to the lack of the offense, taking the loss despite giving up just two runs in 7.2 innings of work. It was a nice bounce-back start for Binford after getting roughed up in his last start.
Christian Binford 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 7-4 GO-FO, 103p/68k
Hunter Dozier 0-2, BB
Eric Stout 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 0-1 GO-FO, 22p/14k
NW Arkansas Naturals 5, Frisco RoughRiders 1
The first Double-A start for Foster Griffin was solid as the former first-round pick earned his first win at the level.
The lefty worked six innings while navigating five hits and a walk, despite just three strikeouts and three groundouts. It appeared as if Griffin had given up a game tying two-run home run in the fourth to Peter O’Brien but after the slugger had rounded the bases manager Vance Wilson requested a conference with the umpires and got the call overturned. The lefty took advantage, allowing just a run in the fifth over his final two innings.
The Naturals scored a pair in the second inning on a Luis Villegas single. A solo home run by Elier Hernandez provided a run in the fifth and Jack Lopez’s double plated two more in the ninth to give NW Arkansas all the offense they would need.
Elier Herandez 1-5, HR
Foster Griffin 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3-8 GO-FO, 86p/55k
Alfredo Escalera 3-4, R
Lexington Legends 5, Asheville Tourists 2
The Legends had a well balanced effort in Asheville for a second night in a row to pull their record to .500 on the year.
Starter pitcher Ofreidy Gomez went seven innings to match his career high, allowing just one run in that time. The Dominican born pitcher pounded the zone with 64 strikes among his 88 pitches while not walking a hitter on the night, earning eight groundouts and striking out six hitters.
The bottom third of the order drove in four of the Legends five runs, with new addition Rudy Martin hitting his first home run of the year. Reliever Anthony Bender worked around a pair of baserunners to close out his third save of the season.
Anthony Bender 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 23p/13k
Khalil Lee 3-4, 2b, RBI, CS (7)
Manny Olloque 1-2, R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 BB