BPKC Hitter of the Day: MJ Melendez 2-4 2 HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Stephen Greenlees 3.2 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 0-4 GO-FO 50p/34k

Augusta GreenJackets 5 Lexington Legends 4

Lexington starter Jackson Kowar wasn’t quite as sharp as he had been in his previous two starts as the right-hander gave up a run in his two and one-third innings of work. The righty, after working a perfect first inning, gave up a hit and a walk in the second before getting out of the jam. In his final inning of work, Kowar struckout the first hitter allowed a single and walked a hitter before being lifted for Garrett Davila who allowed one of the runners around to score. After a couple of scoreless innings, Davila ran into trouble in the sixth inning with a single and a walk sandwiched around a couple of outs. Manager Scott Thorman elected to go to the bullpen with Robert Garcia but the power lefty struggled with his control, walking a pair of batters and uncorking a wild pitch and a wild throw that allowed two runs to come in to tie the game. After a third walk, another wild pitch gave Augusta the lead. Outfielder Brewer Hicklen connected on a solo home run the very next inning to tie the game. It was Lexington’s third home run of the night having already received the 18th and 19th home runs of the season from MJ Melendez earlier in the game. Tied 4-4, the Legends ran into some misfortune as a Nick Pratto throw to second in an attempt to double off a runner would bounce off the back of Heliot Ramos, allowing him to get to third base. One hitter later a sacrifice fly would give Augusta the lead. That lead held up until the ninth where Kyle Isbel would make a play for the fourth home run of the game for Lexington but his fly and the Legends comeback bid would die at the wall to end the game.

Brewer Hicklen: 3-4 HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Nick Pratto: 1-3 R, BB, 2K, SB (21)
Jackson Kowar: 2.1 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 3 K 3-1 GO-FO 51p/30k

Lynchburg Hillcats 10 Wilmington Blue Rocks 7

The Wilmington bullpen couldn’t hold a two-run lead and may have put the team’s season on the brink with their loss on Tuesday. After starter Andres Sotillet’s struggles continued with five runs allowed in the first two innings the Rocks offense countered with seven runs of their own including a pair of two-run home runs by Emmanuel Rivera and D.J. Burt. Despite that 7-5 lead reliever Corey Ray and Anthony Bender struggled in the seventh innings, giving up a solo home run, two walks, and three consecutive singles during the four run inning. That lead would be enough with Wilmington’s offense getting stymied over the last four innings in the loss. The loss put Wilmington five games back with just seven games to play.

Emmanuel Rivera: 3-5 HR, 2 RBI, CS
D.J. Burt: 1-4 HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB (31)
Meibrys Viloria: 1-4 2R, BB

Tulsa Drillers 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 5

The Naturals Scott Blewett struggled early with three runs allowed in the first inning before settling in for an eight-inning start. The big righty would give up two more runs in that time but each time the offense would have the answer, scoring single runs in the first three innings and a pair in the seventh to tie things back up. Tied 5-5 in the ninth, reliever Franco Terrero failed to get an out, giving up a pair of singles before committing a throwing error on a safety squeeze which allowed Tulsa to walk the game off for the win. The loss pushed the Naturals season one step closer to ending, now 4.5 games back of the Drillers for first place with seven games to play.

Erick Mejia: 1-4 2R, 2b, BB, SB (34)
Samir Duenez: 1-3 RBI, BB
Jecksson Flores: 1-2 R, RBI, BB, SB (26)

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Reliever Richard Lovelady blew his third save of the season after allowing two runs in the seventh inning in the first game of the series with Colorado Springs. The two runs put Omaha down 4-3 after Frank Schwindel and Donnie Dewees had hit a pair of home runs to give the Chasers the lead. Down 4-3 in the ninth Omaha would move the tying run 90 feet away but Jorge Soler struckout to end the game and eliminate the Chasers from the playoff race.

Nicky Lopez: 0-3 BB
Frank Schwindel: 2-4 HR
Donnie Dewees: 2-4 HR, 2 RBI

Bluefield Blue Jays 5 Burlington Royals 4

The Royals starter Malcolm Van Buren’s struggles continued on Tuesday night. After working three shutout innings that featured six strikeouts, his control wavered in the fourth. A pair of walks sandwiched around a double and a single ended his day with one out in the inning and eventually four runs to his line. Those runs and another in the sixth inning off reliever Jose DeLeon put Burlington behind 5-0. A three-run rally in the sixth inning that featured RBI hits by Eric Cole and Brhet Bewley and another run in the seventh got the Royals within a run but they were unable to get the last run in the loss.

Eric Cole: 1-4 R, RBI
Brhet Bewley: 2-3 RBI, SB (7)
Isaiah Henry: 1-4 R 3K

Grand Junction Rockies 5 Idaho Falls Chukars 3

Playing for a chance to take the wildcard lead in Pioneer League playoffs, the Chukars didn’t get a good start from Kris Bubic. The Stanford lefty worked just three innings, walking five hitters and hitting another in that time while also giving up three hits to allow four runs in that time. Those runs countered Chase Vallot’s two-run home run in the second inning. The Chukars scored in the fourth frame to pull within a run but could get no closer in the loss.

Chase Vallot: 1-3 2R, HR, 2 RBI
Jose Caraballo: 1-3 BB
Kris Bubic: 3 IP 3 H 4 R 4 ER 5 BB 3 K 2-3 GO-FO 72p/41k

Tuesday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day Donnie Dewees 4-5 HR, 2b, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Jon Heasley 5 IP 3 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-2 GO-FO 55p/42k

Las Vegas 51s 12 Omaha Storm Chasers 11

A home run derby broke out at Werner Park Friday night as the two teams combine for nine home runs in the game. Chasers starter Arnaldo Hernandez entered the game with seven home runs given up on the year and left with eleven as the right-hander got dinged for four blasts in four innings including three for two-run shots. In addition to the home runs the 51s hit seven doubles in the game including five off Hernandez during a 16 hit barrage that led to 12 runs. The Chasers countered with nine runs from the second through the fifth inning to draw close as they knocked out 16 hits of their own in the game but a scoreless streak left them down three runs into the ninth. After back to back home runs by Nicky Lopez and Billy Burns in the ninth pulled them with one Vegas got the final out to end the game.

Nicky Lopez 2-4 2R, HR, RBI, BB
Frank Schwindel 3-6 2R, 2-2b, HR, 2 RBI
Donnie Dewees 4-5 2b, HR, 4 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Springfield Cardinals 3

The Naturals Scott Blewett gave his club a quality start with six innings of three-run pitching (2 ER). For much of the season, it has been a struggle for Blewett as he’s had trouble getting out hitters from either side with both hitting above .300 against him prior to this game. During this one, though the right-hander was missing some bats, striking out a season hit eight while retiring the first eight hitters he faced on the night. Attacking the zone with first pitch strikes Blewett gave up a solo home run in the third inning before running into some trouble in the sixth. The Naturals offense quickly countered the home run in the third with a triple by Anderson Miller and a sacrifice fly before connecting on their own home run an inning later via Kelvin Gutierrez’s opposite field home run. Three singles and Kort Peterson’s throwing error helped plate two runs but a double play got Blewett out of the sixth prior to Gutierrez answering again with a rbi single. The bullpen made that lead hold up over the final three innings while the Naturals tacked on with another Gutierrez rbi single and Samir Duenez’s rbi double for the final winning margin.

Grand Junction Rockies 3 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

A rare lack of offense for Idaho Falls led to a defeat Friday night. The two starting pitchers started the game with four scoreless innings before Chukars starter gave up two runs on a pair of doubles and a couple Idaho Falls defensive errors. An inning later Grand Junction expanded their lead with a run with another double, this time off reliever Domingo Pena. That 3-0 lead would prove too much for the Chukars offense that was limited to just a run on four hits in the loss.

Jose Caraballo 1-4 RBI
Tyler James 1-2 R, 2BB, K
Nick Hutchins 1-3 Bb, 2k

Friday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Khalil Lee 3-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Gerson Garabito 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 9-3 GO-FO, 99p/65k

Round Rock Express 5, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The four-run sixth frame against starter Zach Lovvorn pushed the Chasers deficit to 5-1, which proved too much to overcome on Sunday. It was Lovvorn’s third consecutive loss and his third outing in a row of five runs or more allowed as the righty gave up five hits, four for doubles, and two walks in his six innings. The Chasers went 0-4 with runners in scoring position, scoring their only runs with solo home runs by Frank Schwindel and Donnie Dewees.

Josh Staumont: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 22p/14k
Frank Schwindel: 1-4, HR
Donnie Dewees: 1-3, HR, BB, 2K

NW Arkansas Naturals 5, Tulsa Drillers 2

The Naturals received a second consecutive quality start from Emilio Ogando while the Naturals bats did enough against Mitchell White, the Dodgers #9 prospect (Baseball America), to earn the win. A four-run third inning that featured four Naturals hits and a leadoff error by the Drillers was the key. Samir Duenez drove in a pair with a single and scored on Alex Liddi’s double to put the Naturals up 4-0. A Khalil Lee RBI double countered the Drillers run in the fifth. From there, Ogando and the bullpen did the rest with three relievers tossing the final three innings to earn the win.

Erick Mejia: 1-4, R, SB (26)
Samir Duenez: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
Anderson Miller: 1-3, 2b, BB, SB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 8, Frederick Keys 1 – F/7

The Rocks used some erratic Frederick pitching in the first inning to build a lead and starter Gerson Garabito made it stand up in a complete game effort. A leadoff walk to Blake Perkins was the first of four walks in an inning that also featured a pair of hit by pitches and two singles during the six-run first inning. A leadoff walk to Emmanuel Rivera in the second led to another run and Gabe Cancel’s double in the third pushed the advantage to 8-0. The only blemish on Garabito’s line was a third-inning solo home run as the Dominican right-hander completed the seven inning game with just one run allowed on five hits. It was Garabito’s third start of seven innings in his last four.

Gabe Cancel: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B
Blake Perkins: 1-3, R, RBI, 2BB
D.J. Burt: 2-3, R, RBI, BB

Gm1 – Burlington Royals 9, Greeneville Reds 2
Gm2 – Greeneville Reds 6, Burlington Royals 1

Eight runs in the first three innings keyed the Royals victory in the first game with leadoff hitter Jeison Guzman scoring a pair of runs and Eric Cole driving in three while scoring two of his own. Starter Austin Cox earned the win while pitching five innings with two runs (1 ER) allowed during that time. The second game went the other route with starter Marlin Willis giving up five runs (4 ER) on four hits and five walks in just 3.1 innings. The offense was unable to counter, connecting on just three hits in the seven inning shortened game.

Eric Cole 2-7, 2R, 2b, 3 RBI, BB
Jose Marquez 2-6, 3R, 2-2b, 2BB, 2 SB
Jeison Guzman 3-4, 2R, BB, SB

Idaho Falls Chukars 12, Missoula Osprey 8

The Chukars offense built a big lead early and hung on for a win late. The lineup put up 14 hits, walked eight times and scored 12 runs with an 11-4 lead through five innings. Outfielder Jose Caraballo keyed the way with two runs scored and four runs driven in with his 3-5 day at the plate. Starter Jon Heasley struggled in the first inning surrendering four runs (3 ER), with three of those runs coming on a home run. The right-hander finished off his four innings before giving way to Domingo Pena who tossed the final five innings around four runs given up.

Offerman Collado: 3-6, R, 2b, RBI
Jose Caraballo: 3-5, 2R, 2b, 4 RBI, BB
Angel Medina: 2-5, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables

BPKC Hitter of the Day – Jose Caraballo 2-4 R, 2-2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day – J.C. Cloney 7 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 9-3 GO-FO 79p/54k

Transactions – Khalil Lee promoted to NW Arkansas
Jason Adam promoted to Kansas City, Justin Grimm put on the DL
Michael Emodi and Hunter Strong placed on Burlington roster, Isaiah Henry transferred to Surprise roster.
Emmanuel Rivera transferred to Arizona on a rehab assignment.

Kannapolis Intimidators 4 Lexington Legends 1

The Legends difficult start the second half continued in Kannapolis after a bus ride that normally takes under seven hours arrived some 11 hours later. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or White Sox pitcher Parker Rigler just spinning a good outing, but whichever it is, the Legends struggled to a 1 for 9 effort with runners in scoring position. The Legends scored their only run in in the fifth inning after Cristian Perez singled, stole second and scored on a Marten Gasparini single. Starter Andres Sotillet after working five scoreless innings struggled in the sixth, giving up a leadoff single before hitting a pair of batters to load the bases. One hitter later Sotillet would give up a double to score two runs before giving up another two-run single to push Lexington down 4-1. The Legends would get a runner in scoring position in three of the final four innings but failing to push anyone home.

Seuly Matias: 1-3 HBP
Nick Pratto: 1-3 BB
Cristian Perez: 1-4 R, SB (5)

Lynchburg Hillcats 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks were limited to just four hits on Wednesday, scoring a run in the first before being blanked over the final eight innings. Starter Ofreidy Gomez matched that effort for five innings giving up a solo home run in that time in a 1-1 game. The right-hander couldn’t get through the sixth without any damage, allowing four runs when Lynchburg connected on three extra bases hits with a run-scoring triple, a double and a two-run home run to take a 5-1 lead that would be more than enough to finish off Wilmington.

Blake Perkins: 1-4 R
Rudy Martin: 1-3 2b, K
Anthony Bender: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 0 K 2-1 GO-FO 11p/6k

Round Rock Express 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The Chasers lost to Round Rock for a third consecutive game, this time with a late two run home run off the bullpen. Starter Glenn Sparkman worked six innings with six strikeouts, allowing six hits and three runs (2 ER) with three hits in the third to plate two runs and a passed ball leading to an unearned run in the fifth. The offense got Sparkman off the hook with a pair of seventh inning home runs from Donnie Dewees and Ryan O’Hearn, the latter a two-run home run that scored Jorge Bonifacio. That even score wouldn’t last long as Sam Selman would give up a single and a walk before Coach Poldberg would turn to Jake Newberry. That move would fail for Poldberg when Newberry gave up a three-run home run to Tommy Joseph to give Round Rock a 6-3 lead. The Chasers scored and put the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth on a rbi double by Paulo Orlando but Ramon Torres would strikeout and pinch hitter Frank Schwindel flew out to end the threat.

Jorge Bonifacio: 1-4 R
Donnie Dewees: 1-4 HR
Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4 HR, 2 RBI

Idaho Falls Chukars 5 Grand Junction Rockies 1

Lefty J.C. Cloney won his third consecutive decision to start his season with another impressive start. Working seven innings for the second time in three tries Cloney tossed shutout baseball while creating nine groundouts along next to five strikeouts. The Chukars offense backed him up quite nicely, scoring five runs in the first five innings with four different hitters driving in runs including a two-run double by Jesus Atencio in the fourth inning. The win pushed Idaho Falls back to three games above .500 early in their season.

Andres Martin: 2-3 R, RBI, BB, SB (3)
Nathan Eaton: 1-4 RBI
Kyle Isbel: 1-4 RBI

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Jon Dziedzic 3-6 3.97 ERA 1.31 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 3-8 6.19 ERA 1.64 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 2-6 4.32 ERA 1.51 WHIP
Lexington – Yefri Del Rosario 0-3 10.45 ERA 2.42 WHIP
Idaho Falls – TBD
Burlington – Randy Acevedo 0-0 5.40 ERA 2.00 WHIP

The Dominican Royals have a player off to an outstanding start to his career in Venezuelan born 17-year-old Diego Maican. The 6’3 180 lbs right-handed hitter has a hit in all 10 games this season for the Royals1 squad with 17 hits in 33 at-bats. A Royals official told me that the reason Maican was signed was due to the scout’s belief in his bat with a simple compact swing with gap power. Currently at DH due to a leg problem, Maican will be a corner outfielder in the future and could be one I watch for during fall instructs when he turns 18 in October.

Friday Charleston River Dogs 10 Lexington Legends 4 – HR MJ Melendez (11)
Saturday Charleston River Dogs 8 Lexington Legends 5 – HR Dennicher Carrasco (9), Brewer Hicklen (8)
Sunday Columbia Fireflies 5 Lexington Legends 3 – HR Seuly Matias (24)

The theme for all three Legends games was the same this weekend with their starting pitcher struggling to prevent hits, runs and keeping balls in the field of play while the Legends hit plenty of home runs of their own but not doing enough around it. The worst of the bunch was Friday’s starter Yefri Del Rosario who the Yankees farm club roughed up for eight hits, eight runs (7 ER) and three walks in just two and one-third innings. The right-hander has struggled to a 10.45 ERA in three starts while allowing five home runs in just 10.1 innings. Starter Carlos Hernandez continued his recent struggles after a good start to his season, allowing nine hits and five runs in just four innings while Garrett Davila gave up three solo home runs in just four innings on Sunday. The Lexington bats hit grand slams on Friday and Saturday while Seuly Matias connected on his 24th home run on versus the Mets Low-A team on Sunday but it wasn’t enough in any of the games.

Seuly Matias: 1-8 HR, 4K didn’t play on Saturday
MJ Melendez: 3-11 HR, 5 RBI, 2 K, CS
Nick Pratto: 3-12 R, 2b, 3K

Friday Potomac Nationals 10 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0 
Saturday PPD
Sunday Wilmington Blue Rocks 11 Potomac Nationals 5 – HR Gabe Cancel (4), Meibrys Viloria (3)

Friday’s game got away from Wilmington in the eighth inning when reliever Josh Mitchell failed to get an out, allowing seven runs in the process to turn a 3-0 deficit into double digits. The offense didn’t threaten much, getting just four hits during the game and going 0-5 with runners in scoring position. The Sunday game was a seven-inning affair as the first game of what was supposed to be a doubleheader that didn’t happen with rain postponing the second game. Starter Nolan Watson gave up four runs in the first and five in total in just four innings but the Wilmington offense did plenty to make up for it, scoring 11 runs on 11 hits and four walks. All the runs came off major league pitcher Jeremy Hellickson including a pair of home runs via Gabe Cancel and Meibrys Viloria. It was Viloria’s grand slam that gave Wilmington the lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way while Cancel paced the rest of the offense with three hits and three runs driven in while Cristian Castillo worked the final three innings scoreless to earn the win.

Khalil Lee: 3-7 2R, 2b, 3 RBI, SB
Gabe Cancel: 4-7 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, SB
D.J. Burt: 2-7 R, 2b, RBI, BB

Friday Tulsa Drillers 9 NW Arkansas Naturals 3 – HR Kelvin Gutierrez (6)
Saturday Tulsa Drillers 4 NW Arkansas Naturals 3
Sunday PPD

Starter Foster Griffin’s difficult season continued on Friday when the lefty gave up 10 hits and seven runs including three home runs. Newcomer Kelvin Gutierrez hit his first home run with the organization in the lopsided loss. The Naturals led Saturday’s game from the third inning until newly promoted reliever Bryan Brickhouse was rudely introduced to Double-A when Will Smith connected on a three-run home run to give Tulsa the lead in the eighth and eventually the win after a scoreless ninth.

Kelvin Gutierrez: 1-7 HR, BB, SB

Nicky Lopez: 2-7 R, BB
Anderson Miller: 2-6 R, RBI, 2 BB

Friday Omaha Storm Chasers 6 Oklahoma City Dodgers 3 – HR Lucas Duda (2)
Saturday Oklahoma City Dodgers 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 5 – HR Frank Schwindel (13), Billy Burns (2)
Sunday Omaha Storm Chasers 8 Oklahoma City Dodgers 0 - HR Ryan O’Hearn (8), Donnie Dewees (3) Humberto Arteaga (3)

The Chasers offense led the way for two weekend wins with six home runs over the three-game set including a big Sunday afternoon. In all the club knocked out 30 hits over the three games with newcomer Donnie Dewees finishing a double short of the cycle on Sunday. Starter Glenn Sparkman gave the Chasers a quality start on Friday and Richard Lovelady’s two scoreless innings allowed the offense’s four runs seventh take home the win thanks in part to Jorge Bonifacio two-run double. Three different hitters went deep on Sunday with Arteaga clearing the bases with a grand slam that put the game well out of reach with Trevor Oaks spinning the fourth scoreless start of his young Omaha career. The right-hander worked six scoreless innings with just four hits and a walk allowed while striking out seven, the highest mark since joining the organization.

Donnie Dewees: 4-12 4R, 2b, 3b, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB
Jorge Bonifacio: 4-8 2R, 2-2b, 3 RBI, BB didn’t play Sunday
Trevor Oaks: 6 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 1 Bb 7 K 2-4 GO-FO 85p/62k

Friday Idaho Falls Chukars 9 Grand Junction Rockies 8 
Saturday Orem Owlz 10 Idaho Falls Chukars 6 – HR Rudy Martin (2, 3), Jose Carabello (1)
Sunday Idaho Falls Chukars 11 Orem Owlz 8 - HR Nick Hutchins (2)

The Chukars built big early leads on Friday and Sunday to win two of three games over the weekend. Sunday’s game saw Idaho Falls build a nine run leads in the third and again in the fourth inning only to need reliever Jackson Klein strikeout the potential lead run at the plate with the bases loaded.

Rudy Martin: 4-14 3R, 2b, 2-HR, 3 RBI, 4 K
Kyle Isbel: 2-7 3R, 3 BB, CS
Tyler James: 5-14 3R, RBI, BB, 4 SB, CS

Friday Bluefield Blue Jays 9 Burlington Royals 6
Saturday Bluefield Blue Jays 7 Burlington Royals 5
Sunday Bluefield Blue Jays 5 Burlington Royals 1 – HR Jose Marquez (1)

The Royals haven’t pitched or played defense well in dropping their first six games of the season. On Friday, 1st round pick Daniel Lynch tossed a couple zeroes up before the defense made a couple of errors to help put three runs  (2 ER) on his line in his abbreviated (2.2 IP) start. Three more unearned runs came across with three home runs coming off Bryar Johnson while the Royals had just one extra-base hit in the first game. During the second game of the series starter, Malcolm Van Buren could get just two hitters out while allowing four runs on five hits and a walk in the 1st inning. Relievers Austin Lambright and Yerelmy Garcia k’d 13 hitters in seven and one-third innings following Van Buren but the Jays early lead and three additional runs were enough to overcome the Royals 3 for 15 effort with runners in scoring position. Fifth-round pick Austin Cox pitched well in his three innings on Sunday with just an unearned run against two hits and five strikeouts prior to left-hander Marlin Willis yielding three runs in his first inning of relief before getting through four innings with four allowed. The Royals were no-hit until the last out in the ninth when Jose Marquez connected on a home run.

Juan Carlos Negret: 2-8 3R, 3b, RBI, K, BB
Austin Cox: 3 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 3-1 GO-FO 41p/30k
Daniel Lynch: 2.2 IP 4 H 3 R 2 ER 1 BB 3 K 5-1 GO-FO 31p/26k

Friday Boxscores
Saturday Boxscores
Sunday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Manny Olloque 4-7, 4R, 2-HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Connor Mayes 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 9-1 GO-FO, 83p/60k

NW Arkansas Naturals 11, Arkansas Travelers 10

With the first half title on the line, starting pitcher Scott Blewett struggled, putting the Naturals behind 5-0 after just four innings. Despite that deficit, NW Arkansas answered back in the bottom of the fourth, connecting on a pair of two-run home runs by Jecksson Flores and Alex Liddi to pull within a run. The Naturals kept piling on from there, getting a solo home run from Donnie Dewees in the fifth before a five-run sixth inning put them up 10-5. The big knock in that inning came from Sunday’s hero Erick Mejia, connecting on a two-run triple before scoring in the inning. A seventh-inning single by John Brontsema pushed the lead to 11-5 before Naturals relievers Gabe Speier and Walker Sheller struggled to put the game away, allowing five runs before Andres Machado secured the final out. The two teams will play again tomorrow to decide the division winner of the 1st half.

Anderson Miller: 3-5, 3R
Scott Blewett: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 4-3 GO-FO, 88p/52k
Donnie Dewees: 2-4, HR, BB

Omaha Storm Chasers 6, Reno Aces 4

The Chasers used a pair of three-run innings to defeat Reno on Tuesday. A first-inning double by Frank Schwindel scored one while Lucas Duda and Jack Lopez each singled in a run in the inning. After Reno had knotted the game up with a two-run double off Jason Adam, the Chasers offense countered in the seventh inning. Again, it was Schwindel doubling in a run with fellow first baseman Ryan O’Hearn also getting in the act with a two-run double of his own in the win.

Frank Schwindel: 3-4, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4, 2b, 2 RBI
Jorge Bonifacio: 3-5, 2R, 3b

Game 1 – Ogden Raptors 11, Idaho Falls Chukars 8
Game 2 – Idaho Falls Chukars 17, Ogden Raptors 0

The Chukars walked 12 hitters after resuming their suspended game, giving up 10 runs to drop a game that they led 3-1 prior to its suspension. The second game got completely out of hand after the Chukars blew it open with a 12-run third inning. First baseman Manny Olloque, who had at-bats with Triple-A Omaha this season, homered twice and drove in seven runs in the blowout win.

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer 4-5, 5.75 ERA, 1.63 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando 4-3, 5.79 ERA, 2.12 WHIP
Idaho Falls – TBD
Burlington – TBD
AZL Royals – TBD

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Anderson Miller 2-5 2HR, 4 RBI 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Anthony Bender 7 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K 7-4 GO-FO 90p/55k

More Draft Info on Ted Cillis Rd 33 Pick

According to Coach Russo, left-hander Ted Cillis still has some upside left in his profile despite being a graduating senior. The reason for that is that he will finally have the ability to concentrate on just pitching after playing in the field for Hofstra for four years. Due to this, Cillis didn’t get to do the common side work most pitchers get to work on which limited the amount of time he could work on his craft. The left-hander works from a 3/4 arm slot with his fastball with good movement that he can bore in on hitters in the 91-93 mph range, touching 95. Next to the fastball, Cillis fires a plus hard slider according to Russo with a change that has good movement as well. The left-hander had some poor luck last season, going 0-10 while striking out nearly 12 per nine innings but despite that, he was still named on the All-Conference team. The Hofstra program and a left-hander drafted by the Dodgers in the 3rd round this year but Russo compared Cillis quite favorably to him and is quite excited to see what he can do with the Royals once he gets to watch Cillis just focus on pitching.

Columbia Fireflies 4 Lexington Legends 0

The Legends offense couldn’t bust through during their afternoon loss. The club struck out twelve times including three by slugger Seuly Matias as they went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Starter Andres Sotillet was cruising until the sixth inning when he couldn’t record the final out of the inning, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk to fall behind in the outing. Those runs were more than enough before they tacked on another in the ninth during the shutout win.

Brewer Hicklen: 2-4
Cristian Perez: 1-4
Nick Pratto: 1-4 3K

Wilmington Blue Rocks 2 Down East Wood Ducks 1

The Rocks got a pair of early run-scoring hits and then received quality pitching to hang on for the win. Second baseman Gabriel Cancel drove in a run in the first inning with an RBI double to give Wilmington the early 1-0 lead. Two innings later Cancel singled in Nick Heath with two outs to push that advantage to 2-0. That was all the offense that starter Anthony Bender and the Rocks bullpen would need with Bender tossing seven innings with just a run allowed. After Cristian Castillo worked a scoreless eighth hard throwing Bryan Brickhouse finished off the ninth with a perfect inning to earn his eleventh save.

Bryan Brickhouse: 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 1 K 14p/9k
Khalil Lee: 0-4 2K
Gabe Cancel: 2-4 2b, 2 RBI

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Tulsa Drillers 6

The Naturals built a big lead on the way to grabbing hold of first place on Wednesday night. The Naturals bats powered up early and often in the first three innings with three home runs as Anderson Miller unloaded on a three-run shot in the first inning before he and Dewees hit a couple more in the second and third innings. The club scored eight runs in four innings to build an 8-0 lead. Starter Scott Blewett took advantage with four scoreless innings to start the game before a run in the fifth broke that up. After a scoreless sixth Blewett couldn’t record an out in the seventh, allowing three hits sandwiched around a walk that all came in to dent his line. Closer Jake Newberry gave up a run in the ninth but secured the win that put the Naturals in first place with five games to play.

Scott Blewett 6 IP 6 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 5 K 7-5 GO-FO 84p/52k
Nicky Lopez 4-4 2R, RBI, BB
Jecksson Flores 3-4

Tacoma Rainiers 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

The Chasers tied the game late with an eighth-inning home run Jack Lopez only to make a mistake in the field and give the game away. Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio started his stint back after his steroid suspension, singling and scoring in the fourth inning but he ran past a groundball in the eighth which allowed a run to score to give the lead away. A double to the next hitter off Wily Peralta allowed another run to score to put the game away once Omaha went down in order in the ninth.

Jorge Bonifacio: 1-4 R, 2K
Trevor Oaks: 5 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 6-3 GO-FO 66p/44k
Adalberto Mondesi: 0-3R, BB

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer 3-5 5.87 ERA 1.66 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando 4-3 5.84 ERA 2.11 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 2-4 3.88 ERA 1.71 WHIP
Lexington – Yefri Del Rosario 0-1 3.60 ERA 1.20 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Elier Hernandez 4-5, 3R, HR, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Richard Lovelady 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2-0 GO-FO, 28p/23k

Transactions
IF Corey Toups moved to Omaha
LHP Sam Selman activated at NW Arkansas
C Jason Esposito activated at NW Arkansas

Frederick Keys 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

Rocks starter Arnaldo Hernandez had some bad luck and missed some spots in the third inning against Frederick, which made all the difference Wednesday night. In that inning, the righty walked a pair around a well-placed bunt that loaded the bases for the Keys. A sac fly and a double quickly made it 2-0 before an infield single pushed across another run and moved a runner to third. That runner would be brought home on a groundout to put Frederick up 4-0. After Wilmington manufactured a run in their half of the inning, the Keys got a solo home run in the seventh to push the advantage back to four runs. That gap would be enough after the Rocks scored a pair in the seventh, but left the bases loaded in the loss.

Khalil Lee: 0-1, R, 2BB, HBP, K
Chase Vallot: 0-3, RBI, 2 K, HBP
Meibrys Viloria: 1-4, RBI, 1-1 CS/Att

NW Arkansas Naturals 12, Frisco RoughRiders 8

The Naturals starter Andres Machado struggled mightily, allowing seven runs on 10 hits and four walks in just 3.2 innings. Despite those struggles, the offense flexed their muscles once again to come out on top. On most nights it has been the top of the order speedsters leading the way, but on Wednesday it was the longball as the Naturals clubbed three home runs, two by the muscle in the middle from Elier Hernandez and Alex Liddi. That pair drove in seven of the 12 runs while Jecksson Flores also hit a home run and drove in two. The 12 runs were spread out in three innings with a three-run second with a Liddi double, a five-run third that featured Liddi’s three-run home run and a Luis Villegas RBI double. Those runs gave the Naturals an 8-5 lead, but Machado gave two back the next inning to trim that lead to just one. The margin stood there until Flores cleared the fence with a solo home run and Hernandez brought home three more with his third homer of the season and his second in his last five games. Those runs put the game out of reach and put the Naturals into second place in their division, just one back of Springfield.

Nicky Lopez: 1-4
Donnie Dewees: 1-4, 2R
Grant Gavin: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-1 GO-FO, 27p/20k

Omaha Storm Chasers 8, Oklahoma City Dodgers 5

The Chasers built an early lead with some power and hung on for a win late. A two-run home run by Ryan O’Hearn put the Chasers up in the first. An inning later, Adalberto Mondesi’s two-run blast was part of a four-run frame to expand the lead to 6-0. Starter Glenn Sparkman gave up a pair of home runs, but both came with nobody on as he navigated the other five hits he allowed in five innings to get through with just the two runs allowed. Omaha scored a pair in the sixth when they loaded the bases, bringing in one when Frank Schwindel got plunked before a wild pitch scored another to push the advantage to 8-3. Reliever Justin Grimm gave a couple back, but lefty Richard Lovelady shut things down over the final two innings to secure the save.

Adalberto Mondesi: 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Glenn Sparkman: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5-3 GO-FO, 76p/54k

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Jonathan Dziedzic 2-5, 3.25 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Foster Griffin 2-5, 5.17 ERA, 1.59 WHIP
Wilmington – Dan Tillo 2-2, 4.15 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
Lexington Gm1 – Garrett Davila 3-1, 3.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP
Lexington Gm2 – Janser Lara 1-2, 2.78 ERA, 1.24 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day Donnie Dewees 3-4 2R, 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Franco Terrero 2 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 2-0 GO-FO 35p/20k

Delmarva Shorebirds 9 Lexington Legends 2

Another rough outing for Nolan Watson in this one as the former 1st round pick gave up nine runs on ten hits in five innings. The rough stuff started from the start of the game, allowing the first three hitters of the game to reach including a run-scoring double by T. J. Nichting that led to a two-run first inning. Two more in the second and five more in the fifth with three home runs surrendered for Watson to run his season ERA to 7.88. The offense struggled to get much going on their end getting a two-run home run by Brewer Hicklen but nothing else in the loss.

Brewer Hicklen 1-2 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Seuly Matias 0-3 BB, 2 K
Nick Pratto 1-3 BB, 2 K

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Carolina Mudcats 4

The Rocks took an early 3-0 lead in this one with rbi singles by Khalil Lee, Emmanuel Rivera and D.J. Burt in the first two innings. It was a battle for Gerson Garabito on his side with another three walk start from the right-hander but he escaped five innings with two runs allowed to leave with a lead in hand. Unfortunately, reliever Vance Tatum couldn’t lock things down, giving up a pair of runs on a two-out triple in the seventh. The Rocks quickly answered in the eighth with a rbi single by Kort Peterson before loading the bases with the help of an error and getting a bases-loaded walk to Chris DeVito to take the lead back. Reliever Bryan Brickhouse would enter in the eighth, working around a walk but getting the final six outs to earn his sixth save of the season.

Khalil Lee 2-4 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Emmanuel Rivera 1-5 R, RBI
Gerson Garabito 5 IP 8 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 6 K 3-2 GO-FO 97p/55k

NW Arkansas Naturals 7 Tulsa Drillers 3

The Naturals kept the hits coming on Friday night, finishing one shy of ten for just the second time in their last eight games but nine was enough on this night. The Drillers scored three unearned runs on a leadoff error and five hits off starter Zach Lovvorn in the first inning. In their half of the inning, the Naturals would quickly counter scoring a pair of runs with rbi singles by Erick Mejia and Nick Dini after the first four hitters in the inning all reached with singles. An inning later Mejia tripled in a pair and Nicky Lopez singled him in to give NW Arkansas a 5-3 lead. From there Lovvorn retired eleven of the final thirteen hitters he would face getting through six innings with just those three runs allowed in the first. The Naturals leadoff man Donnie Dewees having scored two runs earlier in the game drove in a pair in the bottom of the sixth to expand the lead and give more than enough room to hang onto the win.

Nicky Lopez 2-4 RBI
Erick Mejia 2-4 2R, 3b, 3 RBI
Jake Newberry 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 1K

Iowa Cubs 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Omaha entered this game with the worst offense in the PCL in OPS and did very little to change that, getting shutout on just three hits through eight innings. This made Heath Fillmyer the likely loser after allowing four runs (3 ER) in six innings, giving up eight hits and three walks with a pair of two-run innings in the third and sixth innings. An insurance run in the ninth off Mike Broadway made it 5-0 heading into the last of the ninth for Omaha. Cubs reliever Dillon Maples quickly walked the bases loaded and walked in a run with one out to leave the Chasers an opportunity at a comeback. With a new reliever in the game, Paulo Orlando singled in a pair to get Omaha within a pair of runs but Humberto Arteaga would strikeout and Billy Burns would groundout to end the rally and the Chasers 1-7 homestand.

Ryan O’Hearn 1-3 R, BB
Hunter Dozier 0-2 R, 2BB
Richard Lovelady 2 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 1 K 0-5 GO-FO 30p/18k

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Scott Barlow 1-0 1.08 ERA 1.20 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 1-3 4.40 ERA 1.73 WHIP
Wilmington – Arnaldo Hernandez 4-0 2.61 ERA 1.48 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 0-1 11.57 ERA 2.57 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Weekend: Donnie Dewees 7-11 2R, 3b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Weekend: Gerson Garabito 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 5 K 6-6 GO-FO 98p/60k

Sunday New Orleans Baby Cakes 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2
Saturday New Orleans Baby Cakes 13 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Baby Cakes took care of the Omaha starting pitching over the weekend, collecting 24 hits off the two starters in 11 innings of work while scoring 18 runs in the two games. Saturday starter Andres Machado gave up 14 hits and 10 runs in his start before Heath Fillmyer allowed 10 hits and 5 runs on Sunday. The Chasers offense couldn’t match that output, scoring four runs in the two games to continue their dismal offensive output. So far this season, Omaha’s OPS ranks third worst in the PCL while New Orleans came in ranked last, but one wouldn’t know it by the 26-8 drubbing they’ve put on Omaha in three games.

Hot – Josh Staumont – 8 consecutive scoreless appearances; 23 K in that time.

Not – Hunter Dozier – 1 for last 25 with 15 K over his last seven games

Sunday Arkansas Travelers 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 2
Saturday NW Arkansas Naturals 10 Arkansas Travelers 4

The Naturals split their weekend with the Angels Double-A squad with the bullpen giving them seven and one-third innings of one-run ball. The offense had no problem collecting hits over the two days, amassing 27 of them but a 1 for 11 effort with runners in scoring position on Sunday left them with a loss. Starter Scott Blewett took the loss after allowing nine hits and three runs (1 ER) while striking out just two hitters. The right-hander’s 1.73 WHIP isn’t likely what Blewett wanted to see to start his season.

Hot – Nicky Lopez – 4 consecutive multi-hit games 10 for 16 with four walks and a pair of extra-base hit.

Not – Samir Duenez – hitting .158 in his last 10 games

Sunday Frederick Keys 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2
Saturday Frederick Keys 12 Wilmington Blue Rocks 9

The Saturday game was a struggle for the piggyback duo of Anthony Bender and Ofreidy Gomez as the two hard-throwing right-handers walked ten hitters in just four and two-thirds innings. The Rocks fell victim to an umpiring blunder in the third inning when a ball that bounced over the fence was incorrectly ruled a home run, resulting in a three-run mistake. That umpiring mistake might have cost the Rocks the game after their comeback bid fell three runs short. In the Sunday game, starting pitcher Gerson Garabito worked seven shutout innings handing the game to the bullpen a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, reliever Vance Tatum gave up three runs over the final two innings to take the loss.

Hot – Xavier Fernandez 7-17 w/ 4-2b, 2R, 2 RBI

Not – Chase Vallot, hitting .096 for the season with a 48% K-rate

Sunday Charleston RiverDogs 5 Lexington Legends 0
Saturday Charleston RiverDogs 6 Lexington Legends 0

The Legends were shutout by Charleston pitching over the weekend, limited to just seven hits in the two games by the Yankees Low-A club. On their side Sunday starter Carlos Hernandez struggled with the strikezone in his first start of the year, walking four and yielding five runs (3 ER) in just two and one-third innings. Struggling with the zone the right-hander hit the zone with just 36 strikes out of 68 pitches.

Hot – Seuly Matias leads the South Atlantic League with 8 home runs

Not – Marten Gasparini 2-17 since May 1, hitting just .202/.228/.315 in his third tour with Lexington