BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cristian Perez 3-5 2R, 2b, RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 4 IP 2 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 3K 7-1 GO-FO 71p/46k

Transactions – OF Brewer Hicklen promoted to Wilmington from Lexington and OF Kyle Isbel promoted from Idaho Falls to Lexington.

Lexington Legends 10 Greenville Drive 3

Former Florida Gator and 1st round pick Jackson Kowar made his second start for Lexington, struggling with the strikezone again somewhat in his abbreviated outing. The right-hander walked a pair in the first before tossing a wild pitch to move two into scoring position. With the two on, he gave up an RBI double to drive in two runs before getting a strikeout to finish off the inning. In his second inning of work he got a strikeout before giving up a pair of singles, the second of which was a bunt single that was perfectly placed down the line prior to stranding the runners with a pop out and a groundout. The Legends offense quickly countered the two-run innings with a four-run frame of their own with three rbi hits and an RBI groundout to take a 4-2 lead through two. Lefty Garrett Davila would replace Kowar in the third inning, yielding just an unearned run over the next four innings. After an insurance run in the eighth, the Legends broke the game open with a five-run ninth inning with a pair of rbi singles by Matt Morales and Cristian Perez before Manny Olloqued doubled in a pair to give Lexington their eventual winning margin.

MJ Melendez: 0-5 RBI, K

Jackson Kowar: 2 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 2 K 3-0 GO-FO 40p/24k

Springfield Cardinals 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Defensive errors helped the Cardinals towardsthree runs in a one-run defeat of NW Arkansas. Struggling starter Emilio Ogando gave his teammates a quality start, working six innings of one-run baseball with the only run allowed coming on a sacrifice fly after Ogando had moved them forward with an errant pickoff attempt at first. That unearned run tied the game after Erick Mejia had given NW Arkansas a 1-0 lead with a two-out double that scored Khalil Lee from first base. After the teams exchanged another run each, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez made a two-out fielding error that allowed the Cardinals to take the lead and the eventual win after the Naturals failed to counter in the ninth.

Khalil Lee: 0-1 R, BB, K 2 Sac
Jecksson Flores: 2-3 R
Erick Mejia: 1-3 2b, RBI, BB

Nashville Sounds 11 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

Not much to see in this one with starter Zach Lovvorn giving up eight runs in the first two innings while the offense put together just five hits in the blowout loss.

Josh Staumont: 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 5 K 2-1 GO-FO 65p/35k
Nicky Lopez: 0-4
Ramon Torres: 3-4 2b

Garrett Davila, LHP

3-4, 4.08 ERA in 15 starts, 64 IP, 23 BB, 46 K, 15 HRA

I’ve seen a lot of Davila, both this season and in 2017, and the more I see of him, the more he intrigues me. There are a few reasons for that.

First off, Davila was a 4th-round pick out of South Point HS (Belmont, NC) in 2015, and at the time he was ranked 20^th nationally among lefties and 3^rd in North Carolina by Perfect Game. He was then working with an upper-80s fastball, a slurvy breaking ball, and a changeup that showed good fade and sink. Davila now sits around 90-92, working in a curve at 76-79 with two-plane movement, and a circle-change at 83-84 that shows potential as a plus pitch. He demonstrates excellent arm speed and feel for the change, and has been able to lean on it as a secondary offering if his curve abandons him.

Second, it’s important to note that six of those 15 homers allowed came in a two-game span (June 24^th at home vs. Columbia; June 30^th at home vs. Asheville), in which he allowed three homers in each game. Take those away, and his ERA drops around half a point. Also, while those homers drove up his OPS over the last month (.879 in previous four starts), he’s allowed only a .191 BA against in that same span.

Oddly enough, his OBP vs. LHB is 84 points higher than vs. righties (.370 vs. LHB; .286 vs. RHB).  He’s put up some of his best numbers with runners on base (.186 BA, .605 OPS w/runners on).

Third, while he has shown fly-ball tendencies this season, he has the tools to induce grounders when he’s at his best. In the four games in which he’s allowed 10 or more fly-balls, he has given up two or fewer runs (24 total IP, 7 runs allowed, 4 HRA), so even when opposing batters are putting the ball in the air with regularity, he’s mitigated the damage. A refined curve and more consistency with his change-up, and he could turn the corner. Yes, the HR/FB% is exceedingly high (19.5%), but again, much of that is due to a homer-happy June (8 HRA in 17 1/3 IP). He sometimes drops his arm a bit/dips his left shoulder in his drive to the plate, and that could leave him up in the zone from time to time.

When asked about what has helped him the most, this year, Davila was emphatic that concentrating on location and command with his fastball has done a great deal for his progress:

“Just improving my fastball command has helped me the most. I’m able to locate the fastball, and it just makes it that much tougher for the hitters.”

Davila has time on his side; he’s only 21 years old, and it’s understandable that a high-school pitcher might have a bit of a learning curve going into pro ball without the benefit of college experience. He has handled himself well on the mound, and typically seems to be unfazed by bad games. Long-term, I could see him becoming a 4^th or 5^th starter, and his floor would likely be as an effective middle reliever and potential spot starter, assuming he maintains his three-pitch arsenal into the high levels of the minors. Davila was reported to be throwing in the mid-nineties during his senior year, before the Royals gave him the summer off to work out and give his arm a rest.

There’s reason to believe that he may yet add 1-2 MPH to his avg fastball. If he can do so, then at his peak KC might have a lefty who sits around 93 and deals a curve and change that are both at least ML-average.

Photo Credit: Clinton Riddle

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

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Andrew Beckwith 2 IP 1 H 1 R (free baserunner) 0 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-0 GO-FO 30p/20k

Augusta GreenJackets 4 Lexington Legends 3
Lexington Legends 8 Augusta GreenJackets 7 F/9

The Legends starters in both games of the doubleheader gave up three-run home runs in the first inning. Starter Garrett Davila in the first game hit a couple of batters around an error by third baseman Dennicher Carrasco’s error before Manuel Geraldo’s three-run home run put Augusta up. From that point Davila was solid, limiting Augusta to just three hits while matching a season-high seven strikeouts. Outfielder Seuly Matias tied the minor league lead for home runs with his fifteenth of the season, a 418 foot shot to center. Reliever Sal Biasi gave up a run in the seventh inning which proved to be the difference maker after a Travis Jones two-run home run in the seventh pulled Lexington within a run. In the second game Jacob Gonzalez hit a three run home run off starter Janser Lara to put the GreenJackets up 3-0 once again. Two more runs in the third and fourth innings put Augusta up 5-1 but the Legends battled back in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring four runs with the help of four hits around an error. Shortstop Cristian Perez doubled in a run in that frame while Jones connected on a single that tied the game up. The two teams exchanged runs late with Augusta scoring in the sixth before MJ Melendez tied it up with a single up the middle with one down in the seventh. In extras the two teams exchanged free runners in the eighth inning before Tyler Zuber kept the free runner from scoring in the ninth before Mr. Clutch, Travis Jones walked it off in the ninth with a bases-loaded single to left to score Perez.

Seuly Matias 1-7 HR, 2K
Travis Jones 4-8 2R, HR, 2b, 4 RBI, BB
Brewer Hicklen 3-6 R, 2b, BB, 2 SB

Salem Red Sox 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks once again couldn’t capitalize on offense, wasting a solid Jace Vines start in the process. The Rocks scored a run in the first and got a solo home run by Vance Vizcaino in the ninth but went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position to put up just two runs on the board. Right-hander Vines gave up a run on a pair of singles in the first and then reeled off six straight scoreless innings. Unfortunately, Vines ran into trouble in the eighth after a throwing error by Gabe Cancel preceded a pair of hits during a three-run frame to take a 4-1 lead on the way to the win.

Jace Vines 7 IP 7 H 4 R 3 ER 1 BB 4 K 11-2 GO-FO 94p/56k
Khalil Lee 2-4 2-2b
Vance Vizcaino 3-4 2b, HR

Midland RockHounds 11 NW Arkansas Naturals 4 

The Naturals starter gave up seven runs for the third straight game while the offense just couldn’t cash in enough. Starter Zach Lovvorn gave up eleven hits and three walks in just four and two-thirds while getting touched up for those seven runs. The bullpen didn’t fare much better with both Franco Terrero and Grant Gavin giving up a pair of runs in the lopsided loss. Outfielder Elier Hernandez stayed hot with another 3 for 4 effort to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, he’s hitting .500/.521/.783 during that time.

Elier Hernandez 3-4 R
Nicky Lopez 1-5 R
Erick Mejia 1-4 RBI, BB

Oklahoma City Dodgers 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 7

A rough start for Heath Fillmyer put Omaha in a big hole that they nearly dug out of before just falling short. The right-hander acquired from the A’s gave up three home runs during a seven-run start over five and one-third innings. Omaha trailed 8-3 into the seventh when Frank Schwindel connected on a solo home run in the seventh before again leaving the yard in the ninth as part of a three run inning but the comeback bid would come up one run short in a second consecutive loss.

Adalberto Mondesi 1-5 R, 2b, RBI
Paulo Orlando 2-5 2b, 3b, RBI
Cam Gallagher 1-3 R, RBI, 2 BB

Friday Boxscores

Saturday Probables
Omaha – Josh Staumont 1-1 1.82 ERA 1.50 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 2-4 5.81 ERA 1.75 WHIP
Wilmington – Ofreidy Gomez 2-3 4.28 ERA 1.63 WHIP
Lexington – Nolan Watson 3-5 6.56 ERA 1.83 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Erick Mejia 4-5 2R, 2b, 2 HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 7 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K 10-6 GO-FO 96p/57k

Recent Transactions Lexington – Activated IF Ricky Aracena, Dennicher Carrasco from DL. Optioned to Idaho Falls IF Julio Gonzalez, activated from Arizona LHP Robert Garcia.

Wilmington – LHP Josh Mitchell, Oli Nunez promoted from Lexington, RHP Jared Ruxer and OF Brandon Downes promoted to NW Arkansas

NW Arkansas P Jacob Bodner retired, received RHP Andres Machado from Omaha

Omaha RHP Glenn Sparkman promoted from NW Arkansas

Lexington Legends 7 Greenville Drive 3

The Legends starter Garrett Davila did his job on Sunday, working seven innings of one-run ball. The lefty who had struggled with his control last year at the same level walked just one hitter in the game while tossing 57 strikes on 96 pitches and keeping the ball low in the zone to also earn 10 groundouts. With the game tied 1-1 after six, the Legends broke things open with a two-run triple by Jeison Guzman in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead before putting it away in the eighth. In that eighth frame, Nick Pratto opened the inning with his sixth home run of the season before Dennicher Carrasco’s fourth pushed the advantage to 7-1. The Drive scored a couple in the ninth off Tyler Zuber but it was already over after Lexington’s power display.

Seuly Matias: 0-1 R, 2BB, HBP
Nick Pratto: 1-4 HR
Sebastian Rivero: 2-4 R

Carolina Mudcats 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Rocks offense struggled for the second game in a row against the Brewers High-A squad, getting just a three-run home run by Emmanuel Rivera for the offense in their second consecutive loss. The loss was also the fifth in their last six games for Wilmington with starter Cristian Castillo surrendering five runs in six innings on eight hits, five of which were of the extra base variety.  Outfielder Kort Peterson continued his hot hitting with two hits, improving his average to .327 on the season with a .908 OPS on the season.

Khalil Lee: 0-3 R, BB
Emmanuel Rivera: 1-4 HR, 3 RBI
Kort Peterson: 2-3 R, SB, HBP

NW Arkansas Naturals 11 Tulsa Drillers 8

The Naturals hot hitting offense was back at it again on Sunday, jumping on Tulsa starter Devin Smeltzer in his four innings of work. Again it was the top four hitters in the lineup doing much of the damage for the Naturals with Erick Mejia leading the charge with a multi-home run game, the second of his career. The bottom third of the order chipped in with six hits including Anderson Miller’s second home run of the season. Starter Emilio Ogando couldn’t escape the fifth frame to earn the win, allowing five runs before yielding to Walker Sheller who allowed a run for the first time at Double-A on a two-out single in the sixth. The NW Arkansas 10-1 lead was eventually slashed to 11-7 on Franco Terrero’s seventh home run allowed in 14 appearances, Tulsa’s fifth against him. Reliever Jake Newberry gave up a run in the ninth before getting a strikeout to end the threat.

Donnie Dewees: 2-5 2R, 2b
Nicky Lopez: 1-5 R, 2b, RBI
Elier Hernandez: 2-4 R, 2b, RBI, SB (4)

Omaha Storm Chasers 4 New Orleans Baby Cakes 2

The Chasers received a quality start from Glenn Sparkman in his first appearance with Omaha on Sunday in New Orleans. After working through Double-A with just one walk allowed in seven starts Sparkman walked a pair in this one but also limited the Baby Cakes offense to just four hits, allowing only a sixth inning run on a pair of two-out hits. The struggling Chasers offense did enough for Sparkman to earn that first Triple-A win, manufacturing a pair of runs in the fifth with a sac fly and bunt single that scored another. A fielding error in the ninth on a ball hit by Cam Gallagher led to another run before a double play scored the Chasers fourth in the game. Reliever Josh Staumont walked the bases loaded in the ninth but Eric Stout helped him out of the jam by getting the final two outs of the inning with just a run allowed to secure the save for the Chasers.

Cam Gallagher: 2-4 R, RBI, 1-3 CS-Att
Josh Staumont: 0.2 IP 0 H 1 R 1 ER 3 BB 1 K 0-1 GO-FO 28p/11k
Ryan O’Hearn: 1-3 2R, BB

Sunday Boxscores

Monday Probables
Omaha – Trevor Oaks 2-3 3.67 ERA 1.40 WHIP
NW Arkansas – TBD
Lexington – Dan Tillo 1-1 3.72 ERA 1.13 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Ramon Torres 3-5 3R, 2b, 3b, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 6 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 3 K 7-2 GO-FO 61p/39k

Game 1 Lexington Legends 12 Asheville Tourists 2
Game 2 Asheville Tourists 12 Lexington Legends 2

The Legends jumped all over the Rockies Low-A squad in game one, collecting 12 runs on 14 hits in the seven-inning shortened game. Four different Legends hitters had multi-hit games, including Seuly Matias who registered three RBI. Two of the hotter hitters in the lineup, Nick Pratto and Sebastian Rivero, extended their multi-hit streaks to five and four games with Rivero finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Lefty Garrett Davila was the beneficiary of the offensive output, getting the win with six innings of one run ball.

Game two didn’t go quite as well with the Legends defense letting their starter Collin Snider down early before Asheville started to play home run derby. The Asheville club knocked out seven home runs in just six innings, turning the game into the laugher that was game one. Both Rivero and Pratto had their multi-hit streaks broken in game two even though Pratto reached base twice with a hit and a walk.

Nick Pratto: 3-6 2R, 2BB, 2 SB
Seuly Matias: 2-7 R, 2b, 3 RBI
Jeison Guzman: 3-7 R, 2b, 2 RBI

Potomac Nationals 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

For the second straight start, Gerson Garabito struggled mightily with his control, walking five hitters in just three innings which caused a short outing and forced the Wilmington bullpen into early work. The Dominican right-hander walked just 2.2 per nine innings last year, so to say back to back five walk games is a bit out of the norm might be an understatement. Let’s hope this isn’t a lingering problem from his shoulder troubles last season. Garabito navigated around the first three walks in the first inning of this one, but gave up two runs in the third inning following two more walks, limiting him to just three innings of work. Those two runs evened the game up and the Blue Rocks offense went on hiatus from there, collecting just three hits the rest of the way. With little offense, the Nats four runs off the Wilmington bullpen were more than enough to take a game one win in the series.

Khalil Lee: 1-2 2 RBI, 2BB, SB (6)
DJ Burt: 2-3 R, BB
Gerson Garabito: 3 IP 2 H 2 R 2 ER 5 BB 4 K 1-2 GO-FO 72p/38k

Colorado Spring Sky Sox 13 Omaha Storm Chasers 12

A PCL special broke out in Colorado Springs on Wednesday in the first game of the Chasers series with the Brewers Triple-A affiliate. Starter Andres Machado was roughed up in the light air, giving up ten runs (8 ER) in just three innings as he was knocked around for eleven hits in that time. Fortunately for Machado, his offense got him off the hook for the loss coming back from a 10-3 deficit to tie the game and take an 11-10 lead with the help of a seven-run fourth inning that included a Frank Schwindel three-run home run. A strategic decision in the sixth by manager Brian Poldberg might have cost Omaha the game when he decided to play the infield in during the sixth inning with a runner on third, resulting in a pair of groundballs that may have been flagged by the infield getting through resulting in two runs, the second of which would be the game-deciding run.

Frank Schwindel: 2-5 HR, 4 RBI
Hunter Dozier: 3-4 2R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Jason Adam: 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 K 1-1 GO-FO 32p/20k

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha – Heath Fillmyer 1-1 4.85 ERA 1.23 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 0-2 6.92 ERA 2.00 WHIP
Wilmington – Arnaldo Hernandez 1-0 1.80 ERA 1.53 WHIP
Lexington – Dan Tillo – 0-0 1.96 ERA 0.96 WHIP

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Sebastian Rivero 2-3, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jared Ruxer 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0-1 GO-FO, 30p/20k

Hickory Crawdads 4, Lexington Legends 2

The Legends were swept for the first time this season, dropping the third game in Hickory on Wednesday morning. The Lexington lineup struggled to make contact against the three Rangers Low-A pitchers, striking out a combined 14 times including eight via starter Tyler Phillips. The right-handed pitcher allowed just four hits while shutting the team out over six innings. Home runs accounted for three of the Crawdads four runs with Garrett Davila giving up a solo job in the third inning and reliever Hunter Capps allowing a two-run number two innings later. The Legends runs came in the seventh via a two-run single by Sebastian Rivero, but couldn’t push anything else across after.

Nick Pratto: 0-4, 2K
Cal Jones: 1-3, BB
Jeison Guzman: 1-3, SB

Carolina Mudcats 9, Wilmington Blue Rocks 7

For the second consecutive game, Wilmington put on a late ninth inning comeback only to leave the tying runners on base in a loss. The Brewers got after starter Ofreidy Gomez and his piggyback partner Anthony Bender in their six combined innings, tagging the pair for 10 hits and six walks that pushed nine runs across. Wilmington, as they have during the early start to the season, (leads the CL in walks) continued their patient approach at the plate to slowly get back in the game by earning seven walks. Trailing 9-3 into the ninth inning, the Rocks pushed four runs across with a bases-loaded walk to Rudy Martin and a pair of RBI hits by Angelo Castellano and Emmanuel Rivera before Xavier Fernandez popped out to end the rally.

Khalil Lee: 0-5, 3K
Emmanuel Rivera: 2-5, 3 RBI
Rudy Martin: 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB

Wednesday Boxscores

Thursday Probables
Omaha Doubleheader – Andres Machado 0-1, 6.00 ERA 2.00 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Scott Blewett 0-1, 3.86 ERA 1.50 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 0-1, 1.50 ERA 0.67 WHIP
Lexington – Colin Snider 1-1, 2.31 ERA 1.37 WHIP

HR Roll Call: Angelo Castellano (8), Reed Rohlman (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Julio Gonzalez 4-5, R, 2b, 3b, 6 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HBP, 10-2 GO-FO, 83p/49k

Oklahoma City Dodgers 4, Omaha Storm Chasers 3 

The Chasers built an early lead only to watch it slip away in the fourth of five games with the Dodgers. Back to back second inning doubles by Bubba Starling and Frank Schwindel led to two runs in the second to give Omaha a 2-1 lead. In the third inning, Raul Mondesi doubled, stole third and scored on Jorge Soler’s ground out.

The Dodgers answered with two runs in the fourth off starter Andre Machado, hitting a solo home run and getting an Alex Verdugo RBI single to tie the game up. A walk and a pair of singles off Mark Peterson gave the Dodgers a lead. The Chasers would get at least one hitter on base in every inning from the fifth onward, but they were unable to push another run across.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 3-5, R, 2b, 3b, SB (20)
Paulo Orlando 1-3, BB
Frank Schwindel 1-4, R, 2b
Bubba Starling 1-2, R, 2b, RBI

Midland RockHounds 6, NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals were shut out by Heath Fillmyer and company on Thursday night. The A’s righty worked seven innings scoreless, working around four singles and earning 12 Naturals groundouts in the process. While their starter was keeping the ball on the ground, Josh Staumont gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in just 4.2 innings to take another loss.

Boxscore Link

Josh Staumont 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 3-2 GO-FO, 92p/53k
Yunior Marte 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2K, 23p/13k
Ryan O’Hearn 0-3, BB
Samir Duenez 0-4
Nicky Lopez 1-4

Frederick Keys 9, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Wilmington pitching foursome got roughed up for 16 hits and nine runs in another defeat at the hands of the Keys. Starter Jared Ruxer gave up six hits and five runs in just 1.2 innings. Reliever Franco Terrero gave up three runs in 2.1 innings, putting the Rocks down 8-0 after four.

The Rocks offense was kept off the board until the ninth when Chris DeVito scored on a Wander Franco triple prior to him scoring via Travis Maezes single.

Boxscore Link

Chris DeVito 3-4, R, 2b
Brandon Downes 0-3, 2K

Lexington Legends 9, West Virginia Power 0

A pair of Legends pitchers who have struggled at times in ’17 combined to limit West Virginia to just two hits in a convincing win. Lefty starter Garrett Davila worked six shutout innings with just a pair of walks and a single allowed in earning his eighth win of the season.

The offense rewarded Davila with plenty of backing, getting a run in the second on an Angelo Castellano single to drive in Meibrys Viloria. The game stayed at 1-0 until the sixth when Castellano again came through, this time with a three-run home run as part of a four-run inning.

The Legends would continue to pile on, scoring four more runs while reliever Nolan Watson worked the final three innings scoreless to earn his first career save.

Boxscore Link

Garrett Davila 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 10-2 GO-FO, 83p/49k
Michael Gigliotti 3-5, R, 2b, RBI, SB/CS
Khalil Lee 2-5, R, 2b, RBI
Gabe Cancel 1-4, R, BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 17, Billings Mustangs 2

The Chukars put up double digit runs for the second night in a row in a romp against the Mustangs. The story of the night besides the runs was the outstanding effort from starter Janser Lara. The fireballing right-handed pitcher that one scout told me has 20 control had it working on this night, retiring the first eight hitters he faced and not allowing a hit until the fourth inning. Working a career best 6.2 innings, Lara would give up just a two-run home run during his outing while striking out six hitters on the night.

While Lara was spinning good baseball, the offense was working over the Billings pitchers with 22 hits and 17 runs as eight different Chukars batters had two or more hits on the night.

Boxscore Link

Matt Morales 2-6, 2 RBI
Amalani Fukofuka 2-5, 3R
Julio Gonzalez 4-5, R, 2b, 3b, 6 RBI

Princeton Rays 6, Burlington Royals 5

The Royals took a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Reed Rohlman, but reliever Yarelmy Garcia gave it up in the bottom of the ninth. In that inning, the first two hitters reached via a double and a sac bunt that the hitter reached on. A fly out where Seuly Matias threw home advanced the runner from first, leaving Burlington’s manager to load the bases. A sac fly to center would tie the game before Princeton would walk it off with a single to right.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 1-4, 2b, 2K
Jeison Guzman 1-4, R, 2b, RBI
Sebastian Rivero 1-4, RBI

AZL Royals 9, AZL Angels 1

Royals second round pick Evan Steele made his pro debut on Friday working a clean inning on just 12 pitches while striking out all three hitters he faced.

Excellent 1st inn by AZL #Royals LHP Evan Steele. 3 Ks on 12 pitches. FB 89-91, CB 78. 3rd rndr from Chipola.

— Bill Mitchell (@billazbbphotog) August 18, 2017

After Steele left, reliever Randy Acevedo kept the Angels hitless until the seventh inning before giving up a pair of hits and a run in that inning. Despite that run, the offense had already given Acevedo and company a big lead with a four-run frame after single runs in the first and third before capping the scoring with a three-run eighth inning. All nine hitters reached base at least once while Tyler James had two hits and two walks while scoring three runs on the night.

Boxscore Link

MJ Melendez 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 3K
Nick Pratto 1-4, R, RBI, 3K
Evan Steele 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

HR Roll Call: Cheslor Cuthbert (4), Gabe Cancel (12), Emmanuel Rivera (11), Marten Gasparini (9), Brady Cox (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Cheslor Cuthbert 2-5, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Garrett Davila 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9-2 GO-FO, 89/48 p/k

Omaha Storm Chasers 7, Sacramento River Cats 1 

The Chasers bullpen quartet led the way in Papillion to another win. Former starter Brian Flynn kept the Giants Triple-A bats off tune for his 4.1 innings, as the lefty struck out seven against just one hit allowed. Third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert hit a two-run home run in the first frame to give Omaha all the runs they would need after relievers Seth Manness, Eric Stout, and Kevin McCarthy put nothing but zeroes on the board. Fortunately for the pitching staff, the Chasers offense put five more runs put on the board with Cam Gallagher contributing with a two-run single.

Outfielder Logan Moon continued his hot Triple-A hitting with a 3 for 4 night that included a double and a triple.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 0-3, K
Cheslor Cuthbert 2-5, 2R, HR, 2b, 2 RBI
Jorge Soler 1-2, R, 2b, 2 BB
Cam Gallagher 2-4, 2R, 2b, 2 RBI

Springfield Cardinals 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals Emilio Ogando got roughed up in his five innings, allowing eight hits including four that went for extra bases to take his eighth defeat at Double-A. The NW Arkansas offense was held scoreless by Springfield starter Chris Ellis in his seven innings and didn’t dent the board until the ninth when they scored three times, but ultimately came up short.

Boxscore Link

Hunter Dozier 1-3, BB
Paulo Orlando 1-3
Samir Duenez 1-4, R, RBI, 2 K
Nicky Lopez 1-4, SB (20)
Donnie Dewees 0-4, K

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Frederick Keys 2

A pair of relievers that started their seasons in Lexington led the Rocks to a comeback win over Frederick. After Colin Rodgers gave up a pair of runs in the second and Wilmington answered with one on their side, reliever Walker Sheller took over and gave the offense time to work. The former Stetson pitcher worked 3.1 innings and gave up just two singles and a walk.

With Sheller tossing zeros on the board, shortstop Jeckkson Flores was helping out on the offensive side. He doubled and scored on a D.J. Burt single in the fifth before walking and scoring on a Nick Heath single in the seventh. From there, reliever Grant Gavin did the rest, working two perfect innings with four strikeouts to close the game and earn his eighth save between Lexington and Wilmington.

Boxscore Link

Nick Heath 3-4, RBI, CS (5)
Brandon Downes 0-3, BB
D.J. Burt 1-3, RBI

Lexington Legends 9, Hickory Crawdads 1 

The Legends bats got rocking, and starter Garret Davila put together one of his best starts of the season, rolling to a win in Hickory. The lefty Davila spun six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks earning nine groundouts along the way.

The Legends offense rewarded Davila with nine runs, eight of which came via three home runs. Infielder Gabe Cancel connected on his twelfth home run of the year to break the scoreless tie in the fourth. Just two hitters later, his second base partner John Brontsema doubled home Meibrys Viloria to push the Lexington lead to 3-0. An inning later Emmanuel Rivera hit his eleventh home run of the season to bring in Khalil Lee and Angelo Castellano. After reliever Ofreidy Gomez gave up a run, Marten Gasparini capped the game’s scoring with a three-run home run in the ninth.

The home run for Cancel was his seventh of the second half, pushing his line to .356/.400/.701 in the 22 games he’s played since the break.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-5, R, 3b
Gabe Cancel 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 2-5, HR, 3 RBI
Marten Gasparini 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
Garrett Davila 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9-2 GO-FO, 89/48 p/k

Idaho Falls Chukars 7, Great Falls Voyagers 1 F/10

The Chukars received perhaps their best team pitching performance of the season with three pitchers combining for 10 innings of one run baseball. Starter Dillon Drabble got it started by tossing five shutout innings in just his second Pioneer League start, striking out three and working around five hits and a walk. The Chukars gave him a lead in the sixth inning when Travis Jones drove in Matt Morales after his leadoff double.

That lead held up until the eighth when Geoffrey Bramblett gave up a run after working two scoreless innings. The Alabama product would work another inning without allowing anything which would allow the Chukars offense to bust things up in extras. In the tenth, an error by Great Falls allowed Idaho Falls to take the lead but the Chukars didn’t stop there. Two hits and a sac fly put three more runs on the board before Logan Gray doubled in two more to push the score to eventual final 7-1 tally.

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Travis Jones 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (9)
Matt Morales 1-4, 2R, 2b

Burlington Royals 4, Elizabethton Twins 1

Royals third round pick Dan Tillo picked up his first professional win by tossing five shutout innings on 65 pitches for Burlington. The left-handed starter only struck out two hitters against three singles and a walk, but he kept balls on the infield with eight groundouts.

Infielder Jeison Guzman got a pair of hits and scored twice to lead the offense, while the bottom three hitters in the lineup drove in three of the four Royals runs in the win.

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Jeison Guzman 2-3, 2R, BB, SB (3)
Seuly Matias 1-4, RBI
Michael Gigliott 0-4, R, BB, SB (14)
Sebastian Rivera 1-4, RBI, 1-1 CS/Att

AZL Dodgers 5, AZL Royals 3

The Royals lost their fourth game in a row despite Malcolm Van Buren tossing his high inning total for the season. The right-handed former N.C. State commit worked 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on three hits and three walks. While those numbers aren’t all that impressive, Van Buren did strikeout a season-high six hitters.

The game was tied at three into the eighth inning, but a two-run home run by Marcus Chiu off Royals reliever Randy Acevedo put the game out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Angel Media 2-4, R
Brewer Hicklen 1-4, R, CS (2)
Malcolm Van Buren 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 4-2 GO-FO

DSL A’s 3 DSL Royals 2

The Superman kept his outstanding season going, working five more scoreless innings on Thursday. This pushed Delvin Capellan’s scoreless streak to 22 innings which top the 20 inning streak he had to start his season. The righty struck out five hitters, allowed just his second walk of the season and worked around a pair of defensive errors. The offense took a fifth inning lead but the bullpen couldn’t hold it, allowing three runs in the seventh to fall to the A’s again.

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Delvin Capellan 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 6-2 GO-FO
Reynin Reynoso 0-2, BB
Kember Nacero 1-5, 4K, SB

HR Roll Call: Frank Schwindel (14), Dean Anna (5), Chris DeVito (19), Freddy Fermin (1), Seuly Matias (5)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Seuly Matias 3-5, 2R, HR, 5 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: A.J. Puckett 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K, 10-3 GO-FO, 98p/65k

Omaha Storm Chasers 6, El Paso Chihuahuas 5 – F/11

Newcomer Andres Machado was outstanding for his first five innings, facing the minimum and striking out five of six hitters faced between the fourth and fifth innings. That run would end in the sixth, however, as the right-hander would give up five quick runs on a walk, two doubles, a single and a three-run home run from Franch Cordero to give El Paso a 5-4 lead. The Chasers would quickly answer in the seventh with a run after a Ryan O’Hearn one-out double and Cam Gallagher RBI single.

The Chasers bullpen put things on ice from the sixth on as Pedro Fernandez, Sam Selman, and Eric Stout combined for six innings of shutout baseball. The Chasers would get a bases loaded walk in the eleventh from Dean Anna to take the lead and eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 3-5, R, 2-2b, 2 RBI, BB
Cam Gallagher 3-5, RBI, BB
Cheslor Cuthbert 1-6, R
Pedro Fernandez 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 38p/23k
Sam Selman 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 33p/23k
Eric Stout 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 24p/18k

NW Arkansas Naturals 8, Tulsa Drillers 7

One of the more interesting results took place at NW Arkansas on Sunday, but prior to that two very erratic starting pitchers threw the ball any which way possible. A pair of hard throwers in Josh Staumont and Dodgers #1 prospect Yadiel Alvarez worked the zone with the regularity of a drunk dart thrower, with each tossing a wild pitch while issuing plenty of walks in four innings of 80+ pitch work each. The Royals’ Staumont gave up a pair of runs in the second frame before allowing one in the fifth and leaving with two on that both came across on reliever Tim Hill.

The Dodgers affiliate led 7-4 into the bottom of the ninth when the Naturals got a hit by pitch and back to back walks to load the bases against closer Corey Copping. After Nick Dini’s two-run single and Nicky Lopez’s single tied the game, Tulsa’s manager Ryan Garko, managing his last game for the affiliate, turned to his left fielder Blake Gailen to pitch to Anderson Miller. A weird decision to say the least for the future University of Pacific head coach who announced he was taking the job ahead of his last game for Tulsa. The results were what one would expect, with Miller lining a double to walk the game off for the Naturals.

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Nicky Lopez 3-4, 2R, 2b, RBI, HBP
Paulo Orlando 2-2, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Samir Duenez 1-4, RBI
Donnie Dewees 2-4, R, RBI, HBP, 2 SB (18)
Josh Staumont 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1-4 GO-FO, 81p/41k

Game 1: Frederick Keys 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

The Royals top pick from the 2016 draft gave up a solo home run in the first inning before settling down and finding a groove versus the Frederick Keys. That hit would be the only one allowed for A.J. Puckett as the first year Blue Rock kept the Keys hitters from elevating his pitches, earning 10 groundouts and striking out four against two walks and one batter that he plunked in his final inning of work. The Rocks would give Puckett a 3-1 lead with RBI singles by Jecksson Flores and Brandon Downes in the second inning and a solo home run by Chris DeVito in the seventh.

Unfortunately for the Rocks, reliever Franco Terrero couldn’t close things out, allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the shortened doubleheader game to take the loss.

Boxscore

A.J. Puckett 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K, 10-3 GO-FO, 98p/65k
Chris DeVito 2-4, HR
Chase Vallot 0-3, BB, 2 K
Brandon Downes 2-4, RBI

Game 2: Frederick Keys 2, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

In the second game, the Rocks went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and reliever Matt Tenuta gave up a run in the sixth inning that broke a 1-1 tie and handed Wilmington another loss.

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Brandon Downes 0-1, 3 BB

West Virginia Power 7, Lexington Legends 1

The Legends lost their sixth game in seven tries as the offense continued their scuffles. Over the last five games, the usually reliable Lexington bats have put up two or fewer runs in every game, with the squad scoring just one run on three hits. Starter Garrett Davila gave up five runs (3 ER) in six innings on six hits and four walks to take the loss and drop his record to 6-6 on the season.

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Khalil Lee 0-4, K
Emmanuel Rivera 0-4, 2 K

Helena Brewers 10, Idaho Falls Chukars 5

The Chukars Julio Pinto couldn’t match his effort last time out, allowing a pair of home runs and five runs total over four innings of four hit and four walk baseball. Reliever Jeremy Gwinn didn’t fare much better, allowing a home run and five runs of his own in three innings. The Chukars offense fell short, hitting one home run and scoring five runs on eleven hits of their own.

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Travis Jones 2-4, 2R, 2b, SB (6)
Amalani Fukofuka 1-5, 2b, K

Burlington Royals 10, Bristol Pirates 9

The Royals put up 10 runs in the first three innings, then were forced to hang on. Outfielder Seuly Matias blasted his fifth home run of the year in the first, plating three runs as part of this 3-5 day with five driven in. Those three hits were part of a 15 hit effort by the offense. Pitchers Nolan Watson, Felix Familia and Luis Alcantara all gave up two or more runs in three innings or less, with Watson allowing four in three innings. Fortunately, reliever Tyler Zuber worked a scoreless ninth to save his third contest and secure the win for Burlington.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 3-5, 2R, HR, 5 RBI
Michael Gigliotti 3-4, 2R, RBI, BB, CS (3)
Sebastian Rivero 1-4
Tyler Zuber 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 11p/8k

HR Roll Call Samir Duenez (8), Nick Dini (3), Gabe Cancel (5)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Dini 3-3 HR

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Anthony Bender 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K 1-6 GO-FO 45/29k

Nashville Sounds 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 0 

Nashville starter Chris Smith combined with three Sounds relievers to no-hit the Omaha Storm Chasers on Wednesday night.

The Chasers offense didn’t threaten much the entire night as Smith worked six innings on 93 pitches, earning four strikeouts and seven groundouts before turning things to the bullpen. That pen featuring rehabbing Sean Doolittle worked three perfect innings before Simon Castro walked Ruben Sosa in the ninth. That walk would play no factor after Raul Mondesi and Jorge Soler would each groundout to finish the no-hitter.

Omaha’s Christian Binford took the loss after giving up four runs in five and one-third innings on seven hits. A day after Nashville, the league’s top home run hitting team, touched up Josh Staumont for four home runs they would send two out off Binford.

It was the first no-hitter at Werner Park and the first one versus an Omaha club since 2001.

Boxscore Link

Seth Manness 1 IP 0 H 0 BB 1 K
Raul Mondesi 0-3 BB
Christian Binford 5.1 IP 7 H 4 R 4 ER 3 BB 5 K 2 HR 5-3 GO-FO 102p/62k

Game 2
NW Arkansas Naturals 5 Springfield Cardinals 4 F/7

The Naturals made a final inning comeback to take the second game of their doubleheader with Springfield.

A solo home run from Nick Dini and a two-run job by Samir Duenez gave NW Arkansas a 3-2 lead at the end of the third inning. That lead held up until the fifth when rehabbing reliever Andrew Edwards gave up a pair of runs when he allowed a couple singles, hit a batter and walked another. The second run came in via a bases-loaded walk from reliever Tim Hill who was trying to get the Naturals out of the jam.

Down one run in the final inning, Duenez reached with a one out single. After a second out Donnie Dewees and Humberto Arteaga each singled, the second of which tied the game. Outfielder Logan Moon would walk to load the bases and setting up Alfredo Escalera. The outfielder came through with an infield single to the right side which allowed Dewees to score and walk things off for NW Arkansas.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 2-4 HR, 2 RBI
Donnie Dewees 2-4 R
Humberto Arteaga 2-4 RBI

Game 1
Springfield Cardinals 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 1 F/7

Lefty Emilio Ogando got off to a rough start in game one of the doubleheader, allowing four runs in the first. After a leadoff walk, the Cardinals Magneuris Sierra doubled to put a pair in scoring position. A pair of flyball outs gave the appearance that Ogando may get out of the inning with just one run allowed but a two out single brought in Sierra before a two run home run by Alex Mejia gave Springfield the four spot.

Those runs proved to be plenty with the Naturals getting just two runs on a two out single by Mauricio Ramos in the fifth inning.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 1-3 R, SB
Emilio Ogando 6 IP 8 H 5 R 4 ER 1 BB 3 K 4-5 GO-FO 92p/59k
Mauricio Ramos 1-2 2 RBI

Columbia Fireflies 5 Lexington Legends 1

The Legends didn’t have much luck facing off against Mets pitching prospect Merandy Gonzalez on Wednesday afternoon.

The starter improved to 8-1 while pushing his ERA to 1.56 with just six innings of shutout ball while allowing just three Lexington singles and a walk while on the hill. Lexington starter Garrett Davila couldn’t match that output on his end, allowing 10 hits in five innings including five doubles which allowed Columbia to push five runs across.

The lone Legends run came via a ninth inning home run by Gabe Cancel, his fifth of the season.

Boxscore Link

Garett Davila 5 IP 10 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 1 K 3-5 GO-FO 95p/61k
Gabe Cancel 2-4 HR
Manny Olloque 2-4

DSL Marlins 6 DSL Royals 3

The DSL Royals dropped their first game of the season despite taking a 3-1 lead after four innings.

That lead was built on bases clearing double from Rubendy Jaquez that gave the Royals a two run lead. The Marlins answered back with a pair of runs in the fifth and the Royals bullpen couldn’t hold things down, giving up three more runs in the loss.

Boxscore Link 

Rubendy Jaquez 1-3 2b, 3 RBI
Felix Familia 1-4 R
Reynin Reynosa 2-3 BB