Just four games on the docket with the affiliates going 1-3.
Player movement – Ryan O’Hearn and Logan Moon were moved to NW Arkansas to make room for Hunter Dozier.
Audio with Assistant GM of Player Personnel J.J. Picollo
HR Roll Call Frank Schwindel 2 (20), Darrell Miller Jr. (3)
BPKC Hitter of the Day: Frank Schwindel 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jacob Bodner 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 3-1 GO-FO, 36p/20k
Iowa Cubs 8, Omaha Storm Chasers 7
A pair of former Storm Chaser playoff starters faced off in Papillion on Monday. The 2014 PCL championship game starter Aaron Brooks started for the I-Cubs, tossing three efficient innings before running into trouble in the fourth. On the other side, ’14 National Championship game starter Christian Binford was running into similar fourth inning problems.
With the game at 1-0 Iowa, the fourth inning got interesting when Billy Burns dove and came up empty on a sinking two-out line-drive with the bases loaded. The ball got past Burns and all three runners scrambled home to give the Cubs a 4-0 advantage. Omaha answered in their half of the inning with a Frank Schwindel home run (19) and a two-run single by Garin Cecchini to pull within a run. One inning later after the Cubs had pushed their lead back to two with a solo home run off Binford, the Chasers and Schwindel were back at it again off Brooks, this time with a mammoth 437-foot blast (20) to left-center and an RBI single by Brayan Pena that gave the Chasers a 7-5 lead.
Unfortunately, that lead was short lived for Omaha. Reliever Seth Maness gave up a three-run sixth inning that featured a two-run home run by Taylor Davis. The Cubs bullpen would take control of the game from there, retiring the final 11 Chasers hitters.
Frank Schwindel 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Bubba Starling 0-5
Eric Stout 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 25p/16k
Frederick Keys 9, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3
The Rocks answered a four-run Keys second inning with a three-run frame of their own Monday, but their bats would go silent from there. While the Willmington offense went silent the Keys were playing music with their bats, scoring a pair in the fourth, another in the fifth and two more in the seventh for an easy win.
Most of the damage came on starter Colin Rodgers as the lefty gave up eight hits and walked four while allowing six runs in three innings.
Brandon Downes 2-4, 2b
John Brontsema 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Billings Mustangs 17, Idaho Falls Chukars 13 – F/12
The Chukars got involved in one of those classic high scoring Pioneer League affairs. The two teams exchanged leads five different times prior to extra innings with Billings jumping out to an 8-2 lead through six innings only to watch Idaho Falls comeback and take a 10-8 lead after eight innings. The Reds rookie affiliate wouldn’t mail it in though, scoring three runs to take the lead into the bottom of the ninth. Of course that lead didn’t last long with Darrell Miller Jr. hitting a solo home run to send the game to extra innings.
After the teams exchanged runs in the eleventh inning Billings blew the game open with five runs in the twelfth to finally build a lead that Idaho Falls couldn’t overcome.
Brewer Hicklen 3-6, 2b,, 3b, 2 RBI
Matt Morales 1-6, R, 2b, BB, RBI
Travis Jones 1-5, R, BB, SB
Burlington Royals 9, Danville Braves 8 – F/10
The Royals trailed 8-6 into the ninth inning of their third game of four versus the Danville Braves. That deficit was quickly sliced in half thanks to a leadoff single by Jose Sanchez that started the inning and a triple by Seuly Matias. A sacrifice fly by Benji Cash quickly tied the game to push the game to extras. In the tenth, Braves pitcher Cutter Dyals lost control of his pitches following an error that allowed Jose Marquez to reach. With Marquez on, Dyals pushed him to second with a wild pitch prior to Ryan Dale sacrificing him to third. With the winning run on 90 feet away and just one out Dyals did it again, uncorking a second wild pitch that allowed Marquez to race home for the winning run.
Seuly Matias 1-5, R, 3b, RBI, 2 K
Sebastian Rivero 1-5, R, 3 RBI, 1-2 CS/Att
Jordan Floyd 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 36p/25k
#WalkoffFeeling pic.twitter.com/p1x1NRpDAI
— Burlington Royals (@BRoyalsKC) August 15, 2017