BPKC Hitter of the Day – Chris DeVito 4-4 R, 2-2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day – Cristian Castillo 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 7-2 GO-FO 50p/36k

Lexington Legends 7 Rome Braves 4

The Legends big prospects led the way to another win over Rome on Saturday. The Braves jumped out to a 3-1 lead after three innings, hitting a solo home run off Carlos Hernandez in the second to tie the game before scoring a pair on a couple of singles in the third inning. In the fifth, the Legends countered with a run scoring infield single by Ricky Aracena prior to Cal Jones driving him in with a double. Now tied 3-3 Lexington would take the lead in that inning on a groundout by Cristian Perez. While Hernandez was settling down, getting through six innings with those three runs allowed his battery mate MJ Melendez was taking over the game. After scoring a run in the second after a single Melendez hit a bomb of a home run to center in the sixth to expand on the lead. While doing that offense Melendez was controlling the running game as well, tossing out two potential base stealers and also picking a runner off first base. The Legends final run was tacked on by outfielder Seuly Matias connecting on his 22nd home run of the season, a shot that got over the left-center fence.

Seuly Matias 1-4 HR,2 K
MJ Melendez 2-4 2R, HR, 2-2 CS/att, PO
Carlos Hernandez 6 IP 8 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 5 K 4-3 GO-FO 72p/51k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 Winston-Salem Dash 1

The Blue Rocks pitching staff and first baseman Chris DeVito helped carry Wilmington to a win over the White Sox farm club. The first baseman who has struggled most of the first half went 4 for 4 with a pair of doubles in carrying the offense. Scoreless into the seventh inning DeVito doubled with two outs in front of a Vance Vizcaino single to score the game’s first run. In the ninth DeVito was the one with a two out hit, driving in Gabe Cancel following his double earlier in the inning to push the lead to 2-0. In the ninth, closer Bryan Brickhouse gave up a couple of singles, just the fifth and sixth hit he’s allowed during the season, which scored a run after an error by Vizcaino before securing the final out and his twelfth save of the year.

Bryan Brickhouse 2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 3 K 1-2 GO-FO 24p/16k
Gabriel Cancel 1-4 R, 2b
Carter Hope 3 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 3-3 GO-FO 35p/25k

Tulsa Drillers 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

A pair of home runs did in Foster Griffin and the Naturals on Saturday. After the Naturals manufactured a pair of runs in the first and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead Griffin served it up on the sixth. After an infield single and a walk, the lefty left a changeup over the plate and Jacob Scavuzzo hammered deep to left to put Tulsa up 3-2. The very next pitch ended up over the fence as well after DJ Peters connected on a solo home run to push the lead to 4-2. The Naturals brought the tying run to the plate in each of the next three innings but just a Jecksson Flores solo home run could be produced as they dropped another vital game in the first half race. The loss put the Naturals behind first place Arkansas by two games as they head into their four-game set with the Travelers starting on Sunday.

Foster Griffin 5.1 IP 7 H 4 R 4 ER 2 BB 5 K 4-2 GO-FO 82p/53k
Nicky Lopez 1-3 RBI
Jecksson Flores 1-3 HR, BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 9 Reno Aces 5

The Chasers starting pitcher Glenn Sparkman navigated the highly offensive ballpark pretty well Saturday night while the Chasers offense knocked around Reno pitching. Despite ten hits given up in five innings, Sparkman got through five innings with just three runs allowed. On their end, the Omaha offense connected on 19 hits, including five extra-base hits to score nine runs. Infielders Jack Lopez and Corey Toups each connected on opposite field home runs while all nine hitters in the lineup had at least one hit on the night. The Chasers bullpen gave up three more hits and a pair of runs via Reno’s third home run of the night but it wasn’t enough as Omaha took the win.

Jorge Bonifacio 3-5 R, 2b, RBI
Corey Toups 2-4 HR, BB
Glenn Sparkman 5 IP 10 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB 2 K 7-2 GO-FO 107p/72k

Idaho Falls Chukars 12 Ogden Raptors 4

The Chukars hitters waited the Raptors pitchers out in this one, walking nine times on 190 pitches during the game while also connecting on twelve hits n the game. Of those twelve hits, six went for doubles which led to twelve runs on the board and a comfortable win. Starting pitcher C.J. Eldred made his first start since season ending Tommy John surgery during his final season at the University of Iowa, going six innings while allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out three to earn his first win with the organization.

C.J. Eldred 6 IP 8 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 3 K 7-4 GO-FO 84p/54k
Rudy Martin 1-2 2R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Manny Olloque 2-4 R, 2-2b, RBI, BB

Saturday Boxscores

Sunday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic 3-5 3.03 ERA 1.16 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 4-4 5.77 ERA 1.53 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo 2-2 4.16 ERA 1.25 WHIP
Lexington – TBD
Idaho Falls – Ismael Maldonado

BPKC Hitter of the Day Elier Hernandez 3-4 2R, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Arnoldo Hernandez 6.1 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 8 K 2-6 GO-FO 97p/60k

Asheville Tourists 6 Lexington Legends 4

The Legends had a reliever struggle in relief of Janser Lara that put the game out of reach late in this one. It was the hard-throwing Lara that gave Lexington a solid start, working five innings with seven strikeouts against five hits and one walk. The only damage off Lara came in the fourth after Lexington had taken a 2-0 lead with a two-run triple from Brewer Hicklen. In that fourth Lara gave up a solo home run to Casey Golden, now tied with Seuly Matias for the home run lead, prior to a triple by Ryan Vilade to knot the game back up 2-2. That score held up until the seventh when reliever Sal Biasi struggled to end the inning, allowing five hitters to reach with two outs including a pair of run-scoring doubles as part of a four-run frame. The Legends would get a run back in the ninth via a Hicklen rbi groundout but the rally would end there in the loss.

Janser Lara 5 IP 5 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 7 K 0-5 GO-FO 84p/56k
Nick Pratto 2-4 2R, 2K
MJ Melendez 1-4 R, 2b

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Salem Red Sox 3

The Rocks received another quality start from Arnoldo Hernandez as the right-hander seemed to find a groove after giving up a home run to Bobby Dalbec. At that point in the game Hernandez had given up a pair of hits and not yet recorded a strikeout through one complete inning but from that point he got much more aggressive, striking out a season high. In addition to the strikeouts, Hernandez would yield just one more hit while working through six and one-third innings. A three-run third inning which featured an Oli Nunez two-run double and a rbi single by Khalil Lee to drive in Nunez had given Hernandez a lead to work with. That 3-2 lead was added to in the seventh with a wild pitch that scored Chris DeVito after the catcher tried to throw him out at third and tossed it away. The 4-2 lead was secured by Bryan Brickhouse with one and one-third innings of work despite the hard-throwing right-hander allowing his third hit of the season. Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera had to leave the game after an injury during a swing he made late in the game.

Khalil Lee 1-3 RBI, BB
Bryan Brickhouse 1.1 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 2 K 0-1 GO-FO 34p/18k
Chris DeVito 2-3 2R, 2b

Midland RockHounds 11 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

This start for Foster Griffin didn’t go that well as the lefty was hit often and hit hard while he stayed aggressive in the zone for a bit too long. In seven inning Midland connected on sixteen hits which accounted for nine runs against Griffin despite him throwing 69 strikes on 90 pitches without walking a hitter. The Naturals couldn’t match that type of offensive night of their own, collecting nine hits and just three runs in a losing effort.

Foster Griffin 7 IP 16 H 9 R 8 ER 0 BB 6 K 4-3 GO-FO 90p/69k
Nicky Lopez 0-4 K
Donnie Dewees 1-5 R, 2b

Omaha Storm Chasers 11 Round Rocks Express 1

The Chasers had on of their largest offensive outputs of the season Friday night in Papillion, putting up 17 hits on the board while scoring 11 runs. A 4-1 game was broke open in the sixth when Round Rock turned to former major league pitcher Tim Lincecum. The Chasers quickly countered with three runs, getting a run on an error that scored Terrance Gore and a two-run home run by Frank Schwindel to push the advantage to 7-1. A reliever for Round Rock, Michael Roth, wouldn’t fare much better giving up three more runs with a two-run by Humberto Arteaga double mixed in to put the game well out of reach.

Adalberto Mondesi 1-4 2R, 2b, RBI, BB
Ryan O’Hearn 1-3 R
Cam Gallagher 3-4 2R, RBI, BB

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic (lhp) 1-5 3.66 ERA 1.31 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 2-3 5.87 ERA 1.54 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo (lhp) 1-2 4.70 ERA 1.28 WHIP
Lexington – Andres Sotillet 2-2 3.35 ERA 1.30 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day Frank Schwindel 3-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Glenn Sparkman 7 IP 4 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 11-4 GO-FO 105p/74k

Transactions LHP Dan Tillo promoted to Wilmington, LHP Cristian Castillo put on DL.

Salem Red Sox 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 5

Starter Gerson Garabito’s control issues have been a problem this season with the right-hander regularly giving free baserunners and some hard contact as he struggles with his command in the zone. It was more of the same in this one for the Rocks with the right-hander walking five hitters on the day and allowing plenty of hard contact. The Wilmington offense staked Garabito to a 2-0 lead in the first inning before Garabito allowed a run on a triple and a sacrifice fly. It appeared like Garabito got an inning-ending double play ball but Gabe Cancel dropped the flip from the shortstop leaving both runners safe. With a reprieve in the inning Salem prospect, C. J. Chatham unloaded on a pitch deep over the leftfield wall to give Salem a 4-2 lead. A walk allowed by Garabito in the fifth led to another run before his day ended after six innings. Slumping first baseman Chris DeVito had a big day at the plate for the Rocks with a rbi double in the seventh as part of a three double two run inning and hit a solo home run in the ninth but an insurance home run off Carter Hope had given Salem the insurance they needed an inning prior.

Chris DeVito 2-4 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Khalil Lee 1-4 RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4 RBI

Springfield Cardinals 1 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals ran into a rehabbing buzzsaw as the Cardinals stud pitching prospect Alex Reyes dominated them for seven and two-thirds innings. The Baseball Prospectus #8 overall prospect struckout thirteen Naturals hitters while allowing just a single by Luis Villegas and three walks. The Naturals starter Andres Machado gave up the games only run on a solo home run in the second before finishing five and two-thirds ball with four strikeouts. NW Arkansas was unable to get anything going when Reyes left in the eighth as the Springfield pen finished off the shutout.

Nicky Lopez 0-3 BB, K
Anderson Miller 0-2 BB, SB
Andres Machado 5.2 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 4 K 7-5 GO-FO 98p/64k

Omaha Storm Chasers 4 Iowa Cubs 2

The Chasers received another solid start from newcomer Glenn Sparkman in the third game of their four-game series with Iowa. The right-hander changed speeds from 90-94 mph with his fastball, controlling it and commanding it as usual while mixing in his low 80s change and curveball to keep hitters off balance. That control and command yielded just two three ball counts against him, walking one hitter on the night while allowing just four hits and one run. The lone run was via a double in the sixth inning followed two-base error after Billy Burns dropped a ball as he tried to avoid colliding with second baseman Jack Lopez. Despite the error, Burns contributed plenty, scoring a pair of runs with a leadoff double in the third inning and another leadoff hit in the fifth. That fifth inning featured a two run double by Frank Schwindel who later scored in the inning as part of a four-hit night. Reliever Josh Staumont struggled in the ninth to finish the game off and was relieved by Brandon Maurer, earning his second save in the process.

Billy Burns 2-4 2R, 2b
Cam Gallagher 2-4 RBI
Josh Staumont 1 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 1 K 1-0 GO-FO 30p/20k

Saturday Boxscores

Sunday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 2-3 3.15 ERA 1.35 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin (lhp) 2-4 3.98 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Wilmington Gm1 – Arnaldo Hernandez 4-1 2.97 ERA 1.40 WHIP
Game 2 – Dan Tillo (lhp) 1-1 4.35 ERA 1.23 WHIP
Lexington Suspended Game
Game 2 TBD

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Rudy Martin 1-1 2R, HR, SB (9), PO (1), 3BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yunior Marte 2.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 0-1 GO-FO 33p/22k

Transactions – Cal Jones (6th Rd 2016) and Janser Lara were promoted to Lexington from extended spring training while Dillon Drabble was moved to the Burlington Royals roster.

Lexington Legends 6 Augusta Green Jackets 5

The Legends continued their winning ways with a win in the opening of Augusta’s new SRP Park. The early season recipe has been to fall behind and then come back with a big inning to take back the lead and the eventual win. That’s the recipe and with a pair of mistakes that led to a three-run frame and a 5-1 deficit after five innings. Lexington scored in the sixth on a Seuly Matias RBI single to pull within three runs. One frame later came the big inning with an error helping to load the bags with no outs for the Legends. At that point, Nick Pratto singled in a pair, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch that also scored Marten Gasparini to tie the game. A walk of MJ Melendez and an error on a pickoff throw allowed Pratto to score, giving Lexington the lead in the sixth. The pen shut things down over the final four frames with Andrew Beckwith finishing the final one and one-third scoreless to secure his first save of the season.

Nick Pratto: 1-4 R, SB, 2 RBI, BB
Jeison Guzman: 2-4 R, RBI, SB
Seuly Matias: 1-4 RBI, BB, SB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Lynchburg Hillcats 2

The Rocks home opener turned into the Rudy Martin show on Thursday evening for Wilmington. The speedster was on base all night long, took attention each time and showed off a little power. After leading off the game with a walk, Martin was picked off on the second pickoff attempt by starter Zach Plesac, the first time he’s been picked off this season. Starter Anthony Bender would work around baserunners most of the night, allowing five hits and a pair of walks in his four innings but yielding just an unearned run in that time. Plesac would no-hit the Rocks for five innings, yielding four walks, including a pair to Rudy Martin who stole his ninth base in the third inning but was left stranded. Trailing 1-0 into the sixth and still without a hit, Martin would jump on a 0-1 pitch, taking it out to right-center for his first home run of the season to knot up the game 1-1. The Rocks took a brief 2-1 lead but Ofreidy Gomez’s control got lost, and it was quickly tied at 2-2. With the game tied into the bottom of the eighth, Martin walked for the third time in the game, continuously drew throw after throw to first before advancing first to third on a single by Emmanuel Rivera that drew a throw, allowing Rivera to advance to second. With a pair of runners in scoring position, Chris DeVito would connect on a line drive to right to drive them both in, giving Wilmington a lead that Walker Sheller would secure in the ninth for the win.

Rudy Martin: 1-1 2R, HR, 3 BB, SB (9), PO (1)
Khalil Lee: 0-3 BB, OF Assist
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-4 R

Corpus Christi Hooks 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals pitching wavered and the bats couldn’t push runners around the bases despite 11 hits on the night. Starter Zach Lovvorn could muster just three and two-thirds innings as he nibbled around the zone, walked four, gave up three hits and a pair of runs. That second run had tied the game up after Alfredo Escalera had given the Naturals a 2-1 lead with his two-run double in the top of the fourth inning. Tied at 2-2 NW Arkansas squandered runners on second with no outs in both the fifth and sixth innings before going silent for the rest of the game. Reliever Yunior Marte kept things silent for the next two innings, but Corey Ray couldn’t match that effort, quickly giving up a run after facing just three hitters before giving up another run and taking the eventual loss.

Donnie Dewees: 3-4 R
Samir Duenez: 1-4 2b
Nicky Lopez: 2-4

Memphis Redbirds 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

Jonathan Dziedzic’s defense didn’t do him any favors in another loss on Thursday for the Chasers. Errors in both the first and third innings led to runs, with a Tyler Collins error on what should’ve been the second out without any baserunners opening things up for a three-run inning. The Chasers offense ,which hadn’t scored more than two runs in any game coming in, woke up slightly with a pair of solo home runs by Frank Schwindel and Nick Dini in addition to a pair of RBI by Hunter Dozier. That wouldn’t be enough after Wily Peralta gave up a run in his inning of work and the Chasers stranded Jack Lopez at second in the ninth after a one-out double.

Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4
Frank Schwindel: 2-4 HR
Hunter Dozier: 1-3 2 RBI

HR Roll Call: Brewer Hicklen, (4), Cal Jones (6), Jose Caraballo (4), Nick Pratto (4)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Pratto 4-6 3R, 2-2b, HR, 3 RBI, BB, CS (4)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Sal Biasi 5 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 0-6 GO-FO 72p/48k

Omaha Storm Chasers 4 Nashville Sounds 3

A three run third inning that featured five singles gave Omaha an early 3-1 lead. That lead stood up until the seventh inning when the Sounds got a pair of runs off reliever Seth Maness thanks to a pair of walks he inherited from Mark Peterson. From that point, the game stayed tied into extra innings as Maness worked four innings, taking the game into the 11th inning. Prior to him leaving, the Chasers had given him the lead when Hunter Dozier blooped a single over the second baseman’s head with two outs to score Ramon Torres.

Lefty Sam Selman would shut the door in the bottom half of the inning on just 11 pitches, striking out the side to secure the save.

Boxscore Link

Sam Selman 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 11p/9k
Ramon Torres 0-4 R, RBI, SB (15)
Frank Schwindel 1-5 RBI
Hunter Dozier 1-5 RBI

Tulsa Drillers 16 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Drillers followed their name and drilled the Naturals in this one. Starter Corey Ray took the brunt of it, allowing seven runs in just one and one-third innings, giving up seven hits and two walks in that time. Things didn’t get much better for the relief staff as three different pitchers allowed nine more runs on 13 hits as Tulsa compiled 20 hits during the game. The Naturals offense didn’t do much on their end either collecting just three hits while getting just one runner into scoring position the entire night.

Boxscore Link

Same Duenez 0-4
Ryan O’Hearn 1-1 2 BB

Game 1
Down East Wood Ducks 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

Starters Jared Ruxer and Rangers Wes Benjamin matched each other zero for zero until Down East got to Ruxer for a pair of runs in the sixth inning to take a lead and pick up an eventual win. The Rocks had runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings but failed to score in both innings to take the loss.

Boxscore Link

Game 2
Down East Wood Ducks 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

In the second game, the Rocks got on the board with an RBI single by Chris DeVito in the first inning and an RBI double by Colton Frabasilio in the second. Unfortunately, their bats would go silent from there and a four run Wood Ducks fourth inning would do them in. Starter Cristian Castillo took the loss to fall to 7-12 on the season as the lefty continues to struggle in the season’s second half.

Boxscore Link

Chris DeVito 1-5 RBI, BB
Wander Franco 1-5 2b, BB
Jared Ruxer 5.2 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 2 K 6-6 GO-FO 93p/62k

Game 1
Augusta GreenJackets 4 Lexington Legends 0

The Legends went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and Augusta didn’t fare much better going 0 for 4, but the Giants affiliate hit for power to take down the Legends in game one. Starter Gerson Garabito gave up three solo home runs and the GreenJackets scored another run with help from a Lexington error in the shutout win.

Boxscore Link

Game 2
Augusta GreenJackets 5 Lexington Legends 3

The second game was similar to the first with the Legends going 0 for with runners in scoring position and the GreenJackets connecting on a pair of long balls to gain the victory. All three runs for Lexington came via outs while Augusta hit a pair of home runs off reliever Collin Snyder to gain control of the game in the middle innings.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 2-5 2b
Emmanuel Rivera 0-6
Khalil Lee 1-6 2b
Gerson Garabito 6 IP 5 H 4 R 3 ER 2 BB 6 K 95p/57k 6-5 GO-FO

Pic via Post Register Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls Chukars 6 Grand Junction Rockies 4

Hard throwing Janser Lara gave Idaho Falls a quality start, tossing six innings while allowing five hits and three runs. The Dominican righty struck out seven hitters in those six innings while walking just one hitter. The Chukars offense backed Lara with six runs, scoring two runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings. Included in that outburst was a home run from ’17 draftee Brewer Hicklen that traveled a reported 455 feet.

Reliever Andrew Beckwith tossed the final three innings while allowing just one run to earn the save.

Boxscore Link

Janser Lara 6 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 7 K 1-5 GO-FO
Brewer Hicklen 1-5 HR
Matt Morales 2-4 R, BB, 4 SB

Burlington Royals 5 Bristol Pirates 2

The Royals 11th round pick, Sal Biasi, tossed matched Bristol’s starter with five shutout innings before Cal Jones unloaded on his sixth home run of the season to break the scoreless tie. An RBI triple in that same inning by Sebastian Rivero tacked on another run and the Royals scored a pair of insurance runs in the ninth after the Pirates had trimmed the lead to one in the seventh.

Boxscore Link

Oliver Nunez 2-5 R, RBI
Cal Jones 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
Jeison Guzman 2-3 R, BB
Sal Biasi 5 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 0-6 GO-FO 72p/48k

Game 1
AZL Royals 8 AZL Giants 2

Starter Randy Acevedo gave the Arizona squad a complete game, and the bats gave him a win in game one of the doubleheader. Shortstop Cristian Perez, first baseman Nick Pratto, and outfielder Jose Caraballo each had two hits and multiple RBIs with Caraballo connecting on a three run home run as part of a five run fifth inning.

Boxscore Link

Game 2
AZL Giants 5 AZL Royals 2

After the Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Nick Pratto’s solo home run, pitchers Stephen Greenlees and Bryan Johnson would give that lead away, allowing five runs over the first four innings. Those five runs proved to be enough as the Royals would score just one move after a Pratto double.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 4-6 3R, 2-2b, HR, 3 RBI, BB, CS (4)
Cristian Perez 2-4 R, 2b, 2 RBI
Randy Acevedo 7 IP 7 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 2 K 10-7 GO-FO

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Jake Kalish 2-8 3.14 ERA
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 14-7 3.40 ERA
Wilmington – Colin Rodgers 2-6 4.68 ERA
Burlington – Andres Sotillet 3-3 6.02 ERA
Idaho Falls – TBD
AZL Royals – TBD

HR Roll Call: Mauricio Ramos (11), Chris DeVito (21), Matt Morales (1), Cal Jones (5), Reynin Reynoso (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Robby Rinn 4-5, R, 2-2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Cristian Castillo 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 104p/67k

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, Springfield Cardinals 1

Three Naturals pitchers limited Springfield to one run while the offense did enough in a pair of innings to earn the series win.

Starter Corey Ray navigated nine baserunners in 4.2 innings; allowing just a run in the fourth before turning things to the pen. That run was countered though with two runs by the Naturals in their half of the fourth, getting a home run by Mauricio Ramos and a run on a balk that brought home Nicky Lopez.

From there, the NW Arkansas bullpen allowed just two hitters to reach base in the final 4.1 innings. Meanwhile, a pair of doubles by Logan Moon and Donnie Dewees led to another two-run inning for the Naturals, which turned out to be plenty of a cushion for Matt Tenuta and Richard Lovelady.

Boxscore Link

Donnie Dewees 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Samir Duenez 1-3, BB
Ryan O’Hearn 0-4
Nicky Lopez 2-3, R, BB
Richard Lovelady 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 12p/9k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Salem Red Sox 1

The Rocks starter Cristian Castillo had a quality start for the first time in nearly a month and the offense provided a late, clutch home run to win a pitching duel over the Red Sox affiliate.

Making his 25th start of the season, Castillo worked seven innings, allowing five hits, a pair of walks and striking out six while controlling the zone with 67 strikes on 104 pitches. The one run allowed was on a pair of errors in the second but quickly evened up in the next inning by Brandon Downes and his RBI single.

The game stayed tied at one until the eighth. Chris DeVito blasted an absolute no doubt 393-foot bomb to right to give the Rocks the lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Chris DeVito 2-4, HR, 2 RBI
Brandon Downes 3-3, R, RBI, BB
Cristian Castillo 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 104p/67k

Lexington Legends 12, Asheville Tourists 11

The Legends outslugged Asheville, building a big lead at the expense of a local legend then hanging on late for the victory.

Kansas local boy Riley Pint failed to retire a hitter in the first inning, allowing six hits and walking three while Lexington piled up nine runs. Leadoff man Michael Gigliotti had two hits in the inning, doubling to get the party started, then collecting a single and an RBI later in the frame.

The Legends had to keep tacking on runs, scoring in three different innings but barely hanging on as their starter gave up seven runs and the bullpen got touched up for four more.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 2-5, R, 2b, RBI, BB
Khalil Lee 1-4, R, BB
Emmanuel Rivera 3-4, 3R, 3 RBI
Gabe Cancel 2-5, R, 2b, 2 RBI
Gerson Garabito 5.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 88p/58k, 7-5 GO-FO

Ogden Raptors 9, Idaho Falls Chukars 6 F/10

The Chukars bullpen let a lead slip away versus the Raptors. The offense took a 6-5 lead when Matt Morales connected on his first home run in the seventh.

From that point, the Chukars offense went scoreless and Ogden scored on a sac fly in the ninth to push the game to extras. Once in extra innings, the Raptors Luis Paz connected on a three-run home run to push the game well out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Matt Morales 2-5, 2R, HR, RBI
Brewer Hicklen 2-4, R, 2-2b, RBI, BB

Burlington Royals 6, Princeton Rays 5

Speedster Cal Jones has been muscling up as of late for the Royals, connecting on three home runs in his last five games. His latest home run was a two-run job to left-center in the seventh to give the Royals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 2-3, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, BB
Dennicher Carrasco 3-4, 2-2b, 2 RBI
Cal Jones 1-4, HR, 2 RBI

AZL Royals 6, AZL Rangers 2

The Royals plated a pair of runs in the first inning and tacked on another to grab an early 3-0 lead. Those runs were enough thanks to four pitchers limiting the Rangers to two runs.

Lefty Marlin Willis did much of the heavy lifting with five innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and a walk while earning 12 ground outs in that time.

First baseman Nick Pratto reached base four times with a pair of doubles.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 3-4, 2-2b, RBI, BB
MJ Melendez 0-5, 3K
Marlin Willis 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 12-1 GO-FO

DSL Red Sox 7, DSL Royals 4

The Red Sox outslugged the Royals, collecting 15 hits and seven runs in a win.

Boxscore Link

Reynin Reynoso 1-4, HR,2 RBI
Kember Nacero 3-3, 2R, BB

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (20), Chris DeVito (20), Brandon Downes (13), John Brontsema (5), Jake Wakamatsu (3), Cal Jones (4), Oliver Nunez (2), Isaiah Smith (2)

BPKC Hitters of the Day:
Oliver Nunez 4-6 2R, HR, 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Chris DeVito 4-4 2R, HR, 2-2b, 5 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Andres Machado 6.2 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 10 K 5-1 GO-FO 97p/65k

Burlington Royals 13 Bluefield Blue Jays 3

It was quite the night offensively for the Royals with no one having a bigger night than infielder Oliver Nunez. The 22-year old with strong on base skills led off the first inning with a ground out, but that didn’t stop Burlington from busting out with a four run inning. In that frame Cal Jones got the party started with a solo home run before Sebastian Rivera doubled in a pair and Benji Cash brought home the fellow catcher with a single all before Nunez grounded out for the second time in the same inning.

After Cal Jones manufactured a run with a single, a stolen base and scoring on a sac fly in the second inning, Nunez got things going for him in the third. The infielder doubled in Jose Sanchez as part of a three run inning, singled in the fifth and tripled in a run in the seventh. With the game well in hand at 12-3 in the ninth only one hit was left for Nunez but it seemed unlikely for a hitter with just three career home runs that he would get what he needed. Despite that fact, Nunez jumped on a 1-1 pitch from right-handed reliever Jonathan Cheshire, knocking it over the right field fence to complete the cycle.

Boxscore Link

Oliver Nunez 4-6 2R, HR, 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Jeison Guzman 1-4 R, BB
Cal Jones 2-6 R, HR, SB (8)
Dan Tillo 5 IP 7 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 3 K 9-0 GO-FO 76p/52k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8 Frederick Keys 3

After a huge first half in Lexington Chris DeVito has slowed down some with the bat since arriving in Wilmington, but the Girth Quake and his teammates had it going on this night.

Things were rolling from the first inning on for DeVito, connecting on an 0-1 pitch and driving it out the opposite way to give the Rocks a 3-0 lead. Solo home runs by John Brontsema in the second and Brandon Downes in the third pushed the lead to 5-0 for Wilmington before DeVito singled and scored in front of a Wander Franco double that pushed the lead to 6-0.

With the lead at 6-1 in the fifth, DeVito capped Wilmington’s run scoring with a two run double to push the lead out to 8-1. While the Rocks were done scoring DeVito wasn’t done getting on base, walking in the seventh and doubling in the ninth as part of the 8-3 win.

Boxscore Link

Chris DeVito 4-4 2R, HR, 2-2b, 5 RBI, BB
John Brontsema 3-5 HR
Brandon Downes 3-4 3R, HR, BB
Scott Blewett 8 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 3 K HR 107p/75k 15-3 GO-FO

Round Rock Express 2 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

The Chasers received an excellent pitching performance but the offense couldn’t match the effort, losing in a one run game. Starter Andres Machado struck out double digit hitters for the second time this year while giving up just two hits on the night. Unfortunately, both hits resulted in runs after the Venezuelan pitcher gave up a solo home run to slugger Willie Calhoun in the first inning and a run scoring single in the third frame. From that spot, though Machado found a groove, retiring the final 12 hitters he faced while striking out 10 on the night.

The Chasers scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning but failed to take advantage of runners in the eighth or ninth, hitting into double plays in both frames to drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Ramon Torres 1-4
Paulo Orlando 2-4
Frank Schwindel 1-4
Hunter Dozier 0-3
Eric Stout 1.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 1 K 15p/10k
Andres Machado 6.2 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 1 BB 10 K 5-1 GO-FO 97p/65k

Springfield Cardinals 7 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals fell behind 5-0 after just two innings and couldn’t dig out of the hole, falling to the Cardinals Double-A squad for the sixth straight time and twelfth time in the last thirteen games played between the two teams.

Despite the loss, Ryan O’Hearn connected on his 20th home run of the season, giving the slugger three straight 20 home run season. Also of note, Yunior Marte pushed his scoreless streak to 11 innings and six straight appearances while striking out four in two and two-third innings.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-4
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 HR
Donnie Dewees 1-3 RBI, BB
Yunior Marte 2.2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 3-2 GO-FO 41p/26k

Rome Braves 5 Lexington Legends 1

Good pitching often beats good hitting, and that is what happened again on Tuesday night as the league’s best pitching squad limited the league’s second best offense. Three Rome pitchers combined to limit Lexington to just five hits while striking out ten hitters.

Lexington’s starter Nolan Watson couldn’t match that effort, giving up 10 hits in just six innings of work while allowing four runs in that time to fall to 1-12 this season.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-4 CS (18)
Vance Vizcaino 1-3
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4 R
Michael Gigliotti 0-4 2K

Grand Junction Rockies 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 7

The Chukars built a 7-4 lead after their half of the sixth inning only to watch it slip away late.

The Rockies scored a pair in the sixth off reliever Christopher Marte before getting a run in the eighth to tie it up off him. The Chukars went down in order in their half of the ninth before Casey Golden homered in the ninth off Marte to walk it off.

Boxscore Link

Brewer Hicklen 1-5 R, 2K
Amalani Fukofuka 0-4 RBI

AZL Padres2 19 AZL Royals 6

After starter Andy Ferguson left with an injury, five Royals pitchers gave up 20 hits, walked 10 batters and allowed 19 Padres2 runs in a rout. On the flip side, the Royals hitters connected on just six hits in the lopsided loss.

Boxscore Link

MJ Melendez 0-3 R, 2 BB
Nick Pratto 0-3 R, 2 BB

DSL Astros Blue 8 DSL Royals 3

The Royals squad outhit the Astros Blue seven hits to six, but the pitching staff gave 12 free passes, leading to the five run defeat.

Boxscore Link

Braulio Nunez 0.1 IP 0 H 3 R 3 ER 5 BB
Kember Nacero 2-4 2K

Wednesday Probables
NW Arkansas Josh Staumont 4-11 6.37 ERA
Wilmington Jace Vines 12-6 3.30 ERA
Lexington Ofreidy Gomez 6-11 5.44 ERA
Idaho Falls Dillon Drabble 1-2 3.44 ERA
Burlington TBD
Arizona Evan Steele 0-1 0.00 ERA

The news on Ashe Russell stepping away from the game came out via the KC Star on Friday from Rustin Dodd. On Saturday Russell’s agent made a brief statement via Ken Rosenthal to reiterate that it wasn’t a retirement and just a stepping away to clear his head. In my opinion, if Ashe believes this is the best move for him then it probably is as he’s not going to get back to the prospect that made him a first-round prospect without full commitment.

HR Roll Call Ryan O’Hearn (14), Raul Mondesi (11), Alfredo Escalera (4), Reed Rohlman (1), Nick Hutchins (1), Nick Pratto (1), Randor Vargas (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Michael Gigliotti 3-5 2R, 2b, BB, 3 SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Pedro Fernandez 4 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 49p/35k

Omaha Storm Chasers 5 Iowa Cubs 1

The Royals shortstop prospect Raul Mondesi had played 135 games between Triple-A and the bigs, hitting 12 home runs in that time but all 12 had come with no one on. Those days are behind him apparently as Mondesi hit a grand slam for the second night in a row, this one off former Royals prospect Aaron Brooks. First base prospect Ryan O’Hearn hit his 14th home run of the year to tack on an insurance run in the ninth.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-4 HR, 4 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 HR, 2K
Eric Skoglund 4.2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 5 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 98p/52k
Brian Flynn 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 2-2 GO-FO 41p/28k

NW Arkansas Naturals 5 San Antonio Missions 3

Naturals reliever Pedro Fernandez was outstanding in this one when forced to relieve Goudeau early. Working four perfect innings with five strikeouts while blistering the zone with 35 strikes on 49 pitches Fernandez lowered his ERA to 2.70 on the season. The righty came into today with a career-high 53% groundball rate on top of his 23% K-rate and should be considered a possibility for a role in the Royals bullpen within a year or so. Outfielder Alfredo Escalera’s three-run home run off former Royals pitching prospect Aroni Nina was the key hit in this one.

Boxscore Link

Alfredo Escalera 1-3 HR, 3 RBI, BB
Anderson Miller 2-4 R
Samir Duenez 0-5
Andrew Edwards 3 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 43/25k 6-0 GO-FO

Potomac Nationals 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The two sluggers at Wilmington do things in a much different way which makes their path an interesting one to compare going forward. The Royals minor league leader in home runs, Chris DeVito came into the High-A game with a sub 7% walk rate and sub 19% K-rate with around a 20% line drive rate with Wilmington. This is a different approach to what Chase Vallot employs, the catching prospect at High-A has hit at just 15.9% linedrive rate with a 59.1% flyball rate. That extreme flyball rate leads the Carolina league and has led to 11 home runs when mixed with his 14% HR/FB record. Unfortunately, Vallot’s extreme 36% K-rate has led to his overall numbers suffering so far this season but at two years DeVito’s junior one can still continue to dream on Vallot.

That age combined with the premium defensive position makes Vallot a higher profile prospect obviously but his inability to make contact at a decent rate shakes things up.

Boxscore Link

Vallot 0-3 2K
DeVito 0-3
D.J. Burt 1-4 2b, RBI

Greenville Drive 6 Lexington Legends 0

Just turned 19-year-old Khalil Lee entered the night in a tie for 3rd in home runs in the South Atlantic League while also tied for first in walks accumulated. The major focus of his game in the second half should be working on contact (32% K-rate) and becoming a better baserunner. The Legends started the day in 1st or 2nd in most offensive categories in the league but the Drive held them to just three hits.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 0-1 K, HBP, 2BB, CS (15)
Emmanuel Rivera 0-4
Gabe Cancel 0-4 E (13)
Meibrys Viloria 2-3 1-3 CS/Attempts

Orem Owlz 12 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

The Angels rookie squad has beaten Idaho Falls by four or more runs in four of their five games this season after this lopsided affair.

Boxscore Link

Burlington Royals 7 Danville Braves 3

Reliever Tyler Zuber is getting plenty of strikeouts (40%) but needs to attack the bottom of the zone better than he did on Saturday. Still, you want domination out of a reliever and he’s showing he can get over on younger hitters.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 3-5 2R, 2b, 3 SB
Tyler Zuber 2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 4 K 47p/29k 2-0 GO-FO
Cal Jones 2-6 2R, 2b, RBI, 2K
Jeison Guzman 1-6 3K

AZL Padres 6 AZL Royals 3

Royals 1st round pick Nick Pratto hit his first professional home run to tie the game in the eighth after connecting on a sacrifice fly earlier in the game. Stud 18-year-old Dominican prospect Esteury Ruiz walked, stole a pair of bases and scored in the first inning.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto
Esteury Ruiz 0-2 R, BB, 2 SB (4)
Nolan Watson 3 IP 1 H 0 R 1 K

DSL Marlins 8 DSL Royals 7

A pair of 17-year-olds worked in this one with lefty Braulio Nunez making his third DSL appearance, working two scoreless innings. Another 17 years old, Victor Medina gave up three runs (1 ER) to start this one. The Marlins walked the game off with a one-out walk followed by a pair of singles off Royals reliever Kelvin De Los Santos.

Boxscore Link

Reynin Reynoso 2-5 R, RBI
Braulio Nunez 2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 BB 0 K
Rafael Romero 1-3 R, BB

HR Roll Call Raul Mondesi (10), Chris DeVito (18), Roman Collins (6), Khalil Lee (13), Emmanuel Rivera (8), Dennicher Carrasco (4), Jose Caraballo (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Emmanuel Rivera 3-4 HR, 2-2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Andre Davis 6 IP 1 H 2 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 6-4 GO-FO 86p/57k

Iowa Cubs 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 5

Starter Onelki Garcia had problems in the second inning that helped Iowa jump out to a 6-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. The lefty surrendered a solo home run to start the inning before walking three around an error by Raul Mondesi and a pair of strikeouts. With walks scoring two additional runs a Jemile Weeks double cleared the bases to spot the Cubs their lead.

The two teams would exchange runs before Mondesi would atone for his error with a grand slam in the seventh inning on a blast to center. Trailing 7-5 the Chasers could get no closer as the final six hitters would go down in order.

Boxscore Link

Bubba Starling 1-3 R, BB
Raul Mondesi 2-4 HR, 4 RBI, SB (18), E (7)
Miguel Almonte 1.1 IP 0 H 0 BB 12p/7k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Potomac Nationals 1

A rain delay interrupted Scott Blewett’s start in Potomac but it didn’t stop Wilmington from earning another win.

The Rocks got off to a good start in the first inning when the Girth Quake Chris DeVito hit his 18th home run of the season to put them up 2-0. After the rain delayed the game in the third Blewett gave up a run before leaving.

Once the rain left the Rocks got their bats going with a Roman Collins homer in the fourth to push the advantage back to two. That lead stood firm until the eighth when Collins drove in a run with a single and Jecksson Flores drove in another with a groundout. A sacrifice fly would tack on another in the ninth and relievers Matt Tenuta and Luis Rico finished the job with six scoreless innings with 10 combined strikeouts in the win.

Boxscore Link

Chase Vallot 2-4 R, 2b, BB
Roman Collins 2-4 HR, 2 RBI
Matt Tenuta 3.1 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 5 K

Corpus Christi Hooks 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The Naturals offense couldn’t get much accomplished in Corpus Christi until the ninth of this one but came up just short.

With the game tied at 1-1 starter, Jake Kalish ran into some problems in the sixth, giving up a leadoff single to J.D. Davis and double by Jonathan Singleton to give the Hooks a 2-1 lead. The Naturals would turn to Zach Lovvorn in relief but the righty was unable to shut the door, giving up a ground rule double before an error helped the Hooks push their advantage to 4-1.

After the Hooks tacked on another run in the seventh the Naturals would threaten in the ninth, scoring a run and bringing the tying run to the plate in Jack Lopez but he would pop out to extinguish the rally.

Boxscore Link

Anderson Miller 1-4 RBI
Nicky Lopez 0-2 R, 2BB
Jake Kalish 5 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 2 BB 6 K GO-FO 5-1 91p/61k

Lexington Legends 5 Greenville Drive 2

The first place Legends showed off some power and pitching to defeat Greenville Friday night.

Leadoff hitter Khalil Lee got the offense kick-started in the first inning with his leadoff home run, the 13th longball of the season for Lee. That run held up until the fourth inning when Lee’s two-out error on a flyball may have rattled starter Andre Davis some. The lefty gave up his only hit allowed to the next hitter, a two-run home run by first baseman Tucker Tubbs. The lefty collected himself and pitched outstanding in his six innings with seven strikeouts against just that one hit and one walk.

The offense rewarded Davis for his effort in the fourth inning. Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera connected on a leadoff home run to quickly tie the game. The Legends would walk put two on with two out for Yeison Melo and the hot hitting outfielder would come through with a rbi single to give Lexington the lead. Just one hitter later Marten Gasparini would line an opposite field double down the line to expand the lead to 5-2 for the Legends.

Reliever Anthony Bender would toss two perfect innings before the rains came and ended the game at eight innings completed.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 1-3 HR, BB
Yeison Melo 2-3 R, 2b, RBI hitting .367 in 16 games
Anthony Bender 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 3-0 GO-FO 20p/15k

Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Ogden Raptors 4

With the game tied after Ogden scored in the sixth inning the Chukars bounced back for a couple runs of their own to secure a win.

Idaho Falls had jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first with a bases-loaded single by Jon McCray and a sac fly fromVance Vizcaino after Ogden’s pitcher had walked the bases loaded to start the game. That lead had been lost however after starter Andres Sotillet had given up three runs and Garrettson Harris had given up an unearned run through six frames.

Game tied at 4-4 Kansas City native Logan Gray came through with a two out rbi single to give the lead back to Idaho Falls. That hit was quickly followed up by a Vance Vizcaino triple to push the lead to two runs. Another triple by McCray in the seventh pushed the Chukars lead to 7-4 where Harris shut the door over the final two innings.

Boxscore Link

Jonathan McCray 2-4 R, 3b, 2 RBI
Vance Vizcaino 1-3 R, 2 RBI
Cristhian Vasquez 2-4 2R, 3b, RBI, BB

Burlington Royals 7 Danville Braves 6

It was a rough start for ’17 draftpick J.C. Cloney but he righted the ship and got in position for a much needed win for the Royals. After giving up a leadoff single to start the first inning the Arizona Wildcat product gave up four consecutive two out singles to give the Braves a 3-1 lead after one frame. An inning later Cloney gave up a pair of singles sandwiched around a double to put the Royals squad down 5-1.

Trailing again and looking at possibly their fifth loss in a row the Royals received some good fortune with some shoddy Braves defense as the home squad would commit six errors. In the third, a one-out error opened the door to a three-run home run by Dennicher Carrasco to pull the Royals within a run. A throwing error after a wild pitch in the fourth inning gave Burlington two runs on one play to take the lead.

With the lead Cloney settled, working his final three innings scoreless before turning things over to the Jordan Floyd. The K-State alum would work two scoreless frames and the Royals would tack on an insurance run which would come in handy after Floyd would run into trouble in the ninth. After Floyd had given up a pair of singles to start the ninth the Royals turned to Yerelmy Garcia, who after a sac fly would get the game-ending double play to break their four game skid.

Boxscore Link

Cal Jones 2-5 3R
Jeison Guzman 1-4 R, BB
Sebastian Rivera 2-5

AZL Padres 7 AZL Royals 4

The Royals pitching staff couldn’t slowdown the Padres, giving up 12 hits and seven runs off the two pitchers to provide most of the work. Lefty Josh Mitchell gave up three runs in three and one-third innings of relief, allowing five hits in that time.

The offense nearly tied the game in the seventh when Nick Pratto lined a single to left, but the Padres cutdown shortstop Max Bartlett at the plate to end the rally. The Padres would score two in the bottom half of the inning and the Royals would get just one hit in the final two innings to drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 1-4 2K
Esteury Ruiz 1-4 2b, SB (2)
Jose Caraballo 1-3 HR, 2R, BB

DSL Red Sox 3 DSL Royals 2 F/11
DSL Royals 4 DSL Red Sox 3 F/7

The Royals split a twin bill with the Red Sox Friday, losing in extra innings in the first game and coming out with a one-run advantage in the shortened second game.

In the first game, the Royals limited the Red Sox to just two hits, but the second one pushed helped them put a runner in position to tie the game in the seventh inning. Both teams scored their free baserunner in the tenth but the Royals failed to do so in the eleventh frame and the Red Sox pushed the winning run across when the Royals committed their third error of the game.

Boxscore Link

A throwing error and wild pitch by the Red Sox pitcher in the sixth inning led to two runs which would break a 2-2 tie and give the Royals just enough in the shortened doubleheader game.

Boxscore Link

Edickson Soto 2-3 R, 2-2b
Warling Vicente 1-2 2R, 4BB 2 SB (8), CS (5)
Wilmer Jimenez 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 7-3 GO-FO

J2 Signing Day Notes – A Royals official gave me a little information on the two Venezuelan signees for the July 2nd international signing period. Both players are right-handed hitters with average speed. The Royals scouts believe Jesus Reyes is a plus defender at shortstop and more of a situational hitter. While currently Frank Howard plays shortstop, the Royals are thinking of moving him to catcher where his plus arm, plus hands and good footwork could help him. Any move to catcher will take time but it sounds like Howard is up to it and we can expect to see the two teenagers in the DSL during the 2018 season.

HR Roll Call: Raul Mondesi (9), Logan Moon (4), Angelo Castellano (3), Jonathan McCray (2), Seuly Matias (2), Jesus Atencio (1), Ismaldo Rodriguez (5)

BPKC Hitter of the Day – Jonathan McCray 3-5, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day – Eric Skoglund 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 66p/47k

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 5, Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The Chasers are probably happy to see this run of back to back series with Colorado Springs over after losing for the eleventh time in thirteen games against the Brewers affiliate on Monday.

In this one, the Chasers built a 4-1 lead with starter Eric Skoglund working five innings of one run ball with eight strikeouts on 66 pitches. The Chasers took a 4-1 lead with a two-run sixth inning that featured a Frank Schwindel run-scoring double and Mondesi’s second RBI of the game in the seventh.

Chasers closer Malcolm Culver’s struggles versus Colorado Springs continued with the righty allowing the game’s tying run to cross in the eighth and the winning run to come home in the ninth, while giving up three hits in the process. The blown save for Culver was his third of the season, his second consecutive against the Sky Sox.

Boxscore Link

Bubba Starling 2-5, 2K
Raul Mondesi 1-3, 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB (17), E (6)
Josh Staumont 2.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 0 K, 3-2 GO-FO, 54p/25k

San Antonio Mission 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 3

A four-run fifth inning did in the Naturals in game two of their series with the Padres affiliate.

NW Arkansas jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a RBI single in the first by Nick Dini and a two-run home run in the second by Logan Moon. The team couldn’t expand on that lead though, failing to capitalize on the 12 hits on the day.

After starter Ashton Goudeau worked around leadoff hits in the second, third and fourth. However he couldn’t perform the magic act in the fifth, allowing four straight singles before a two-out double to drive in the Mission’s fourth run of the inning. That run would be enough but the Mission would add an unearned run in the eighth off Richard Lovelady for good measure to secure the win.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 1-5, R
Logan Moon 2-4, HR, 2 RBI
Richard Lovelady 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 24p/17k

Salem Red Sox 3, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 F/12

The Rocks outhit and outwalked their opponent, but couldn’t get it done with runners in scoring position to drop the series finale versus Salem.

The Rocks took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on a Chris DeVito double that plated Brandon Downes. The Wilmington starter, Jared Ruxer, held that up through his seven innings of one-run ball, but reliever Jacob Bodner gave up a two out run-scoring double in the eighth that tied the game.

After Wilmington threatened but came up short in multiple innings, Salem took a lead in the twelfth with a pair of singles after a walk. The Rocks would get a leadoff walk from Downes to start their half of the inning, quickly move him to third on Chris DeVito’s single, but three of the next four hitters would strikeout around a walk to end the Rocks night at 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Boxscore Link

Jared Ruxer 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 7-7 GO-FO, 96p/61k
Brandon Downes 1-3, R, 2BB
Chase Vallot 2-6, 4K

Lexington Legends 6, Greenville Drive 4 F/10

The Legends built an early 4-1 lead only to watch it evaporate which sent the game into extra innings.

The Legends shortstop Angelo Castellano homered in the first inning to put Lexington up 1-0. The Legends added another run following a Gabe Cancel leadoff single in the second before getting two runs in the fourth on a pair of RBI singles by Manny Olloque and Marten Gasparini.

The Legends went cold, going scoreless for the next five innings which gave the Red Sox affiliate an opportunity to get into the game. The Drive pushed starter Arnaldo Hernandez out of the game before he could qualify for the win, getting after him for seven hits in 4.2 innings while driving his pitch count up to 95 in that time. With Hernandez out, Greenville evened the game up with a solo home run in the sixth and an earned run in the seventh after a Cancel error.

The game went to extras where Emmanuel Rivera would connect on a two-out triple to give Lexington the lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Gabe Cancel 2-4, 2R, 2SB (6)
Marten Gasparini 2-4, RBI, CS (8)
Cody Nesbit 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 19/10k

Ogden Raptors 7, Idaho Falls Chukars 6 F/10

Starter Geoffrey Bramblett struggled early, allowing three runs in the first before settling in somewhat to give his team 6.1 innings. The Chukars scored single tallies in three of the first four frames to pull within a run before reliever Christopher Marte allowed a pair of runs, one inherited, to cross in the seventh inning.

Down three, Idaho Falls tied things up in the ninth with a run-scoring double by Jonathan McCray, a Vance Vizcaino RBI hit and a wild pitch that plated a run. The game went to extras where the Raptors walked things off with a two-out run-scoring single.

Boxscore Link

Dalton Griffin 1-5, 2b, RBI
Christopher Marte 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4-3 GO-FO, 59p/38k
Vance Vizcaino 2-5, R, RBI

Princeton Rays 15, Burlington Royals 6

A pair of Burlington pitchers were knocked around Monday in the rubber game of their three-game set in Princeton. Starter Nathan Webb gave up eight hits and nine runs in just 3.1 innings to help the Rays squad jump out to a 10-0 lead. The Royals battled back, getting six runs over the final three innings with the help of a pair of home runs by Seuly Matias and Jesus Atencio. However, those runs were followed by five more Rays runs in the blowout series win.

Boxscore Link 

Seuly Matias 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Michael Gigliotti 1-3, R, 2 BB
Jordan Floyd 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 45p/29k, 5-3 GO-FO

AZL Mariners 7, AZL Royals 5 F/10

The Royals defense and bullpen let a lead get away against the M’s. A three-run fourth inning that featured an RBI hit by Nick Pratto put the Royals out in front, a lead they held until the ninth inning. Reliever Daniel Garmendia gave up the game-tying home run that pushed the game to extras.

In extras, Garmendia allowed the free baserunner to come home and two more on a one-out double while the Royals could score just the free runner in their half of the inning.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto 1-4, R, 3b, RBI, BB
Esteury Ruiz 1-4
Sal Biasi 4 IP, 2H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2-2 GO-FO

DSL Astros 5, DSL Royals 1
DSL Astros 9, DSL Royals 3 F/7

The DSL Royals lost their suspended game that they resumed against the Astros, then lost the second game as the Astros got after the Royals normally reliable pitching staff for nine runs.

Boxscore Game 1
Boxscore Game 2