Meanwhile in Miami, @Foster_Griffin retired both batters he faced in the #FuturesGame. #RaisedRoyal pic.twitter.com/EWUG91XDud

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 9, 2017

Via @Royals

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (15), Dean Anna (4), Gabe Cancel (9), Marten Gasparini (7), Cristhian Vasquez (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cristhian Vasquez 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Cristian Castillo 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 7-9 GO-FO

Iowa Cubs 9, Omaha Storm Chasers 4

If you’re looking for positives at the Triple-A level, then it’s been positive that Kyle Zimmer has been able to bounce back in relief. The negative is that the stuff isn’t what it once was in terms of fastball velocity which leads him to get hit hard at times. After striking out a pair,  Zimmer gave up a home run, a single and walked two before getting lifted for Miguel Almonte. This appearance pushed Zimmer’s ERA to 6.75 at Triple-A this season.

Triple-A All-Star shortstop Raul Mondesi left the game after avoiding being hit by a ball in his first at-bat.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 2-5 ,HR
Jake Junis 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, HBP, 79p/56k, 4-5 GO-FO
Cam Gallagher 1-4, 0-4 CS-Att, PO
Miguel Almonte 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 21p/17k
Kyle Zimmer 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR, 32p/18k

San Antonio Missions 6, NW Arkansas Naturals 1

Starter Emilio Ogando gave up just two hits in his 5.1 innings, but the Missions did everything they could with those hits, scoring three runs with a two-run home run and another with a single. Reliever Yunior Marte struggled with his command, giving up two walks and some hard-hit balls when ahead in the count to allow three more runs in his 2.2 innings.

Boxscore Link

Emilio Ogando 5.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 4-3 GO-FO, 90p/52k
Yunior Marte 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 43p/24k
Nicky Lopez 0-3, R, SB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Potomac Nationals 1 

The Royals Mexican-born lefty, Cristian Castillo, came into his start second in the Carolina League in ERA. Much of Castillo’s peripherals to this point suggest he’s been fortunate to put up that ERA, as hitters had 24% line drive rate against him, with a less than average K-rate (17.8%) and walk numbers aren’t that special (8.1%). What the lefty has done is control hitters with runners on (.223/.302/.325), and pitched to his home park and the league’s ability to dwarf home runs (3.6% HR/FB). These won’t be easily repeatable traits when he pitches at Double-A and Triple-A against more advanced hitters.

All of these things were on display in this start for Castillo, who tossed eight scoreless innings with six strikeouts against no walks while allowing just three singles.

Boxscore Link

Cristian Castillo 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 7-9 GO-FO
D.J. Burt 1-3, R, BB, SB (26), CS (12)
Nick Heath 2-4, 2b, 2 RBI
Chase Vallot 0-4, 2K
Chris DeVito 0-4

Greenville Drive 6, Lexington Legends 5

An error on a missed catch by first baseman Manny Olloque led to a second run scoring in the sixth inning which ended up being the difference.

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Khalil Lee 2-4, R
Gabe Cancel 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Marten Gasparini 2-4, HR
Emmanuel Rivera 2-4, R, 3b, RBI

Orem Owlz 14, Idaho Falls Chukars 4

The Chukars got blasted by Orem once again. This time six errors from Idaho Falls led to 10 unearned runs.

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Cristhian Vasquez 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI
Julio Gonzalez 2-4, 2b, RBI, BB, 2E (3)

Danville Braves 5, Burlington Royals 4 

Michael Gigliotti has shown off the patient approach (17.9% walk rate) the Royals liked upon drafting him, while also flashing some good pop (.222 ISO) and speed on the bases with five steals. It will be interesting to see if the Royals take a similar path as Nicky Lopez with Gigs, playing the entire year at Burlington before skipping him to the Carolina League next year.

The Royals tied the game on a run-scoring triple by Jose Marquez but stranded him there. The Braves answered with a walkoff single by Isranel Wilson who drove in four runs.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 1-4, R, 2b, BB
Jeison Guzman 0-5
Seuly Matias 1-3, 2BB
Sebastian Rivero 1-3, R, BB

HR Roll Call: Corey Toups (11), Mauricio Ramos (9), Mike Hill (9), Anderson Miller (6), Chris DeVito (9), Cristhian Vasquez (3)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Cristhian Vasquez 3-4, 3R, HR, RBI, BB

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Christian Binford 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 85p/52k

Omaha Storm Chasers 8 Iowa Cubs 1

The Chasers pitching staff tossed a gem in a convincing win over Iowa on Thursday. Lead by starter Christian Binford the Chasers limited the I-Cubs to just three hits and one run with neither reliever allowing a hit. A three-run third inning put a firm grip on the game for Omaha before a four-run ninth strangled the life out of it. Lead by Jorge Bonifacio’s three hits, two runs scored and two driven in, the Chasers connected on twelve hits and eight runs in the win.

Boxscore Link

Tony Cruz 3-4, 2b, RBI, BB
Hunter Dozier 1-4, 2R, 2b, RBI, BB
Andrew Edwards 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 21p/12k

Springfield Cardinals 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3 F/11

The Naturals bullpen gave up a lead and then lost a game to Springfield that shrunk their lead in the division to just a half of a game over Arkansas. Second baseman Corey Toups quickly put the Naturals up 1-0 in the first inning with his third leadoff home run during the month of August. A home run by Mauricio Ramos in the sixth put NW Arkansas up 3-1 after Springfield had scored it’s only run off Yender Caramo in the third inning, but it wouldn’t be enough. Reliever Evan Beal took a couple of hitters to get situated, unfortunately that was two hitters too late as the righty allowed a two run home run in the seventh after he entered to start the inning. From there Beal settled to toss two scoreless innings, but the damage was done and the game went to extra innings tied at three. After the Naturals would miss out on a chance to take the lead in the tenth with a one-out double, the Cardinals would walk it off in the eleventh for the win with a one-out home run by Allen Staton off reliever Tim Hill.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 2-5, HR
Alfredo Escalera 2-5, R
Humberto Arteaga 2-4, 2-2b

Lynchburg Hillcats 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

An uncharacteristic outing for reliever Jake Newberry put the L in the column for Wilmington in the series finale versus Lynchburg. An Anderson Miller first inning home run and Corey Ray’s solid outing had the game knotted 1-1 through seven innings. Enter Newberry, a reliever with a 2.05 ERA this season across two levels  likely had the Rocks feeling good about their chances, but things didn’t go well with the righty loading the bases and then giving up a bases-clearing triple prior to a sac fly to put Wilmington in a 5-1 hole. A Mike Hill home run trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the ninth prior to the Hillcats shutting the door for the win.

Boxscore Link

Mike Hill 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Anderson Miller 1-3, HR, BB
Corey Ray 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 3-1 GO-FO, 83p/55k

Lexington Legends 6 West Virginia Power 4

Despite 13 walks allowed, the Legends came out ahead over West Virginia with some nifty pitching navigation. The first two pitchers on the hill walked 10 of those hitters, but the staff as a whole kept the Power powerless with a 1 for 13 effort with runners in scoring position and a couple multi-run innings gave Lexington a lead. A two-run single by Colton Frabasilio gave Lexington a 2-0 lead that stood up until they could add more in the fifth. In that inning, Roman Collins plated a pair with a triple prior to scoring on a sac fly to push the lead to 5-1. That lead was enough to stand up for the Legends despite all the free passes allowed.

Boxscore Link

Julio Pinto 4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 5-3 GO-FO, 85p/44k
Roman Collins 2-4, 2R, 3b, 2 RBI, BB
Xavier Fernandez 2-3, R, 2 RBI, BB

Orem Owlz 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 0

Not much went right for Idaho Falls in their second game with Orem last night. Just eight singles led to few scoring chances as the team went 0-3 with runners in scoring position to get shutout while the pitching staff was tuned up. Three different pitchers combined to allow 12 hits and 8 runs, with starter Reinald Cepin giving up most of the damage in his five innings, allowing two home runs in that time.

Boxscore Link

Joe Dudek 2-2, 2 BB
Yeison Melo 1-4
Meibrys Viloria 0-3, 2 K

Burlington Royals 11 Elizabethton Twins 0

The Royals pounded out 16 hits while the pitching staff tossed another shutout to win their sixth in a row. Five of the nine hitters had multi-hit games with three different hitters coming out with three hits apiece as they punched out 11 runs in the rout. The beneficiary of the scoring was Garrett Davila, improving the lefty to 6-0 with six innings scoreless despite four walks allowed. The win kept the Royals three games ahead in the divisional race.

Boxscore Link

Garrett Davila 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 7-3 GO-FO
Gabriel Cancel 3-5, 3R, 3 RBI, BB
Kort Peterson 3-4, 2R, RBI, SB (6)

HR Roll Call Gabriel Cancel (3), Cristhian Vasquez (2), Nathan Esposito (2), Cal Jones (2), Angel Medina (3) 

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Cristhian Vasquez 2-4 2R, HR, 3 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Eric Skoglund 6 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 10 K 6-2 GO-FO 85p/63k

Sacramento River Cats 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

For the third game in a row the Chasers scored just one run, losing their seventh in the last eight games. Rehabber Mike Minor gave them a quality start in the loss, allowing three runs (2 ER) in six innings. The lefty gave up four hits including a pair of home runs while walking four hitters on the night. The Chasers lineup struckout 14 times while going 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Whit Merrifield 2-4 R
Hunter Dozier 1-4 2b, RBI
Mike Minor 6 IP 4 H 3 R 2 ER 4 BB 6 K 5-2 GO-FO 88p/52k

San Antonio Missions 1 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals lost a pitching duel on a ninth inning walkoff home run Friday night. Starter Eric Skoglund was outstanding in his six innings,tying a career high with 10 strikeouts while allowing just three singles. The lefty attacked the zone on his 85 pitches, hitting the zone 63 times while earning six groundouts in his start. The game remained scoreless until the ninth when Franchy Cordero took reliever Mark Peterson deep to end the game.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 0-3 BB
Carlos Garcia 1-2
Evan Beal 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 3 K 2-1 GO-FO 24p/16k

Salem Red Sox 7 Wilmington Blue Rocks 6

The Rocks fell behind big and then came up short with their comeback bid. Starter Zach Lovvorn was touched up for five runs in just one and one-third innings on eight hits and three walks. Those runs combined with two more off Jake Kalish put the Rocks behind 7-0 through four innings. The Rocks plated a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth before getting a run in the ninth and the tying run to third with just one out. Unfortunately Robert Pehl struckout swinging and Carlos Diaz grounded out to stomp out the rally and give the Rocks another loss.

Boxscore Link

Cody Jones 3-4 R, RBI, BB
Samir Duenez 1-5 2b, 3 RBI
Luis Villegas 2-3 R, 2b, BB

Augusta GreenJackets 7 Lexington Legends 0

Reliever Franco Terrero got knocked around in the sixth inning for five runs to put a 2-0 game out of reach for the Legends. The offense couldn’t get anything working on their end during the game, collecting just two hits both of which came from Tanner Stanley. Starter Yunior Marte took the loss while giving up two runs over five innings and collecting six strikeouts during the loss.

Boxscore Link

Yunior Marte 5 IP 6 H 2 ER 2 BB 6 K 4-2 GO-FO 87p/55k
Gabe Cramer 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K
Tanner Stanley 2-3

Great Falls Voyagers 7 Idaho Falls Chukars 2

The Chukars offensive woes continued in their first game back from the roadtrip. With the struggles Idaho Falls still had a 2-0 lead through five innings before the defense let lefty Matt Portland down. Errors lead to three unearned runs and a deficit too large for the offense to climb out from.

Matt Portland 6.1 IP 2 H 3 R 1 ER 4 BB 4 K
Meibrys Viloria 1-2 BB
Yeison Melo 1-3 RBI

Burlington Royals 9 Princeton Rays 5

The Royals powered up for a big win Friday night in helping Garrett Davila push his record to 5-0.  Three home runs by Royals hitters and eight runs driven in by the same three hitters lead the way. All three home runs came in the third inning with Gabriel Cancel’s two run shot which was quickly followed by Cristhian Vasquez and his two run home run which was backed up by Nathan Esposito’s homer. The Royals starter, Davila, allowed four runs in in five innings while giving up seven hits and two walks in one of his lesser starts of the year.

Boxscore Link

Garrett Davila 5 IP 7 H 4 ER 2 BB 6 K 3-2 GO-FO
Nathan Esposito 2-4 2b, HR, 2 RBI
Kort Peterson 1-4 R, 2b

AZL Royals 11 AZL Mariners 3

The Royals punched out the Mariners pitchers while their pitching staff punched out the M’s lineup. The Royals Jason Vargas punched out six hitters in his two and one-third innings while allowing just two unearned runs on two hits. From there three more pitchers k’d eight more hitters in the final six and two-third innings with just an unearned run allowed. The offense punched out 14 hits and 11 runs including Cal Jones and his second home run in three games.

Boxscore Link

Cal Jones 1-5 3R, HR, 3 RBI
Khalil Lee 2-4 2R, RBI, 2 BB
Jason Vargas 2.1 IP 2 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 6 K

DSL Royals 6 DSL Marlins 2

The Royals plated a run in each of the final five innings to beat the Marlins. Third baseman Angel Medina had a big day at the plate connecting on three hits with a solo home run.

Boxscore Link

Esteury Ruiz 2-5 2-2b
Raymond Lopez 2-5 3R, 2b
Angel Medina 3-4 2R, 3b, HR

HR Roll Call Cristhian Vasquez (1)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Cristhian Vasquez 3-5 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Rex Hill 5 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 3-3 GO-FO 

Memphis Redbirds 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 5

Four runs off the Chasers bullpen in the final two innings ruined Omaha’s chances at a comeback win Saturday night. A two out error by Jorge Bonifacio lead to two runs by the Redbirds in the fourth to put Omaha behind 2-1 after both teams exchanged three scoreless innings to start the game. Four scoreless frames after that were broken up as both teams got their offense going in the final innings. Omaha took a 4-2 lead after Balbino Fuenmayor connected on a double that scored three runs in the eighth. That led was short lived after Andrew Edwards struggled in his half of the inning, giving up two runs on a hit and four walks before giving way to Brooks Pounders to collect the final out in the inning. Back to back doubles by Bonifacio and Reymond Fuentes gave Omaha the lead back in the ninth until Pounders struggled in the bottom half, allowing three singles and a sac fly to allow the Redbirds to walk off a win.

Boxscore Link

Reymond Fuentes 2-5 R, 2-2b
Jorge Bonifacio 2-5 R, 2b, RBI, SB (6), E (7)
Jonathan Dziedzic 5 IP 5 H 2 R 0 ER 3 BB 4 K

NW Arkansas Naturals 7 Tulsa Drillers 5

Starter Josh Staumont settled down after early struggles and his offense came on late in a Naturals win. The fireballing righty gave up three runs in the first two innings, giving up four hits and a pair of wild pitches to allow three runs in that time. From there Staumont allowed just a pair of singles while striking out five in his final three scoreless innings. A run scoring double by Mauricio Ramos and RBI single by Zane Evans helped toward a three run third inning to give the Naturals a 4-3 lead. After a home run off Miguel Almonte gave the Drillers a lead in the sixth the Naturals answered with a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to take the lead back before tacking on another insurance run in the eighth gave them the final two run winning margin.

Boxscore Link

Josh Staumont 5 IP 6 H 3 ER 2 BB 8 K 2-4 GO-FO 87p/54K
Miguel Almonte 2 IP 2 H 2 ER 0 BB 2 K 2-2 GO-FO 28p/18k
Carlos Garcia 1-3 R, 2b, RBI

Potomac Nationals 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

Five runs in the first inning, three of which came via a home run by Austin Davidson paved the way to another Potomac win over Wilmington. Those first inning runs and another in the sixth came off starter Corey Ray as he dropped his record with the Rocks to 6-6. Wilmington’s offense was limited to just two runs and a 1 for 9 with runners after striking out 12 times on the evening.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-4 SB (23)
Cody Jones 2-4 2 RBI
Chad Johnson 2-4 R

Hickory Crawdads 5 Lexington Legends 1

The Crawdads got after Scott Blewett early for three runs before their pitching staff shutdown the Legends offense on the way to a Hickory win. Just five hits and one run for the Lexington offense that fell victim to 10 strikeouts on the night. The big righty, Blewett, couldn’t complete the second inning after being forced in to a long first that featured three runs on three hits and two walks.

Boxscore Link

Travis Maezes 1-3 2b
Mark McCoy 4 IP 2 H 1 Er 2 BB 3 K
Jecksson Flores 1-3 R, 2b

Great Falls Voyagers 6 Idaho Falls Chukars 5

The Chukars made a push to even the game after falling behind early, but fell a run short. A four run first by Great Falls put Idaho Falls in a big hole and even after they had cut the lead in half, the Voyagers quickly answered to push it back to four in the sixth inning. The Chukars would close the lead to just one run in the eighth after Meibrys Viloria scored on a passed ball, but they couldn’t complete the comeback the full way in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 1-4 R, 2b, RBI, BB – 19 game hitting streak
Luke Willis 4-4 2 R
Ricky Aracena 2-4 3 RBI, SB (10)

Burlington Royals 12 Kingsport Mets 5

The Burlington offense piled up the runs to separate from the Mets on Saturday night. A four run second created the first bit of separation after Emmanuel Rivera chipped in with two of the RBI with a single. A pair of single run innings in the fourth and sixth helped build the lead to 6-3 following those frames before piling on in the final two innings. Two hitters provided the offense in those inning with Kort Peterson doubling to drive in two, scoring later in the inning prior to Cristhian Vasquez’s two run home run in the ninth. The benefactor to all the run support was Garrett Davila who improved to 4-0 despite three runs allowed in 5.1 innings.

Boxscore Link

Garrett Davila 5.1 IP 4 H 3 ER 4 BB 3 K 6-1 GO-FO
Emmanuel Rivera 3-5 R, 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Cristhian Vasquez 3-5 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

AZL Royals 4 AZL Angels 1

Shortstop Jeison Guzman plated a run in the seventh on his second triple of the night, breaking a 1-1 tie on the way to a Royals win. The Royals tacked on with two more runs with a John Brontsema single that plated Khalil Lee following his leadoff double and a Robby Rinn single after Brontsema had stole second. Former TCU pitcher Rex Hill earned the win by tossing five innings of scoreless relief with six strikeouts.

Boxscore Link 

Khalil Lee 2-3 R, 2-2b, BB
John Brontsema 3-4 R, 2 RBI
Jeison Guzman 2-5 R, 2-3b, RBI

DSL Royals 5 DSL Dodgers2 0

The DSL Royals received another outstanding pitching performance, getting a combined shutout from three pitchers. Starter Christopher Marte tossed five innings with just four hits allowed before turning things to the pen to finish the final four innings. Relievers Enderson Rodriguez and Joel De La Cruz tossed the final four scoreless, allowing just two hits and a walk over those innings to finish off the win. The offense scored a run in the third and seventh before a three run eighth finished things off.

Boxscore Link

Raymond Lopez 1-3 R, 2 BB, SB (22)
Cristian Perez 2-4 2 RBI
Christopher Marte 5 IP 4 H 0 R 1 BB 4 K 3-3 GO-FO