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

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

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

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

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 5, Omaha Storm Chasers 4

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

San Antonio Mission 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 3

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Lexington Legends 6, Greenville Drive 4 F/10

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Ogden Raptors 7, Idaho Falls Chukars 6 F/10

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Princeton Rays 15, Burlington Royals 6

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

Boxscore Link 

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

AZL Mariners 7, AZL Royals 5 F/10

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

Boxscore Game 1
Boxscore Game 2

HR Roll Call: Raul Mondesi (5), Garin Cecchini (2), Donnie Dewees (3) 

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

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Junis 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 3-4 GO-FO, 83p/59k

Omaha Storm Chasers 2, Memphis Redbirds 1

Royals prospect Jake Junis continues to show that he’s ready for a role in the major league rotation.

The right-handed starter made a mistake in the first, giving up a solo home run to Rangel Ravelo to spot Memphis to a 1-0 lead. That lead was quickly erased by a Garin Cecchini home run in the second by Omaha. Then Junis found himself and put the Memphis bats on ice.

Working six innings on just 83 pitches, Junis put away nine hitters via strikeout, allowed just two singles after the home run, and dominated the Memphis lineup. Starting off 17 of the 21 hitters he faced with a first pitch strike, Junis had his repertoire working to keep Memphis hitters on their heels.

Shortstop Raul Mondesi extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a solo home run in the third to give Omaha a 2-1 lead. Both offenses were shut out the rest of the game with Malcom Culver securing the save for the Chasers.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-4, HR, 2 K
Garin Cecchini 1-3, HR
Ryan O’Hearn 0-2, 2 BB

NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Frisco Rough Riders 5

A five-run sixth inning carried the Naturals to a series win in Frisco Thursday night.

Trailing 3-1 after starter Zach Lovvorn gave up a pair of runs in the fifth, the Naturals offense got their ball rolling in the sixth. A strikeout wild pitch allowed Alfredo Escalera to reach to leadoff the frame. A pair of singles by Mauricio Ramos and Humberto Arteaga quickly loaded the bases with no outs for Donnie Dewees. The former Chicago Cubs prospect jumped on a 1-0 pitch, hitting a grand slam to give the Naturals a 5-3 lead.

The Naturals kept the pressure on in the inning, getting a single by Luis Villegas, who advanced to second on another wild pitch before moving to third with a bunt sacrifice. Outfielder Elier Hernandez connected on a sac fly to pad the lead to three runs.

A pair of throwing errors would allow Frisco to get runs in the sixth and seventh, but the bullpen of Pedro Fernandez and Sam Selman would shut things down for the win.

Boxscore Link

Elier Hernandez 2-4, 2 RBI
Corey Toups 2-4, 2-2b, BB
Zach Lovvorn 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 6-2 GO-FO, 95p/58k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 9, Winston-Salem Dash 6

The Blue Rocks evened their series in Winston-Salem with plenty of offense.

The Rocks pounded 14 hits, had 10 hitters reach base, and connected on six extra base hits to work over the Dash pitchers. Things started almost immediately with a Nicky Lopez single to lead off the game. He was quickly was brought home on a triple by D.J. Burt. Outfielder Anderson Miller pushed Burt home with one of his two hits to give Wilmington a 2-0 lead.

Winston-Salem kept coming back, getting a pair in the second and three runs between the fourth and fifth, but it was always after Wilmington had captured the lead. All five hitters at the top of the Rocks lineup reached base at least twice.

Carrying a 6-5 lead into the sixth, the Rocks got a run in that frame on a throwing error that allowed Lopez to score from first. Two innings later, a passed ball pushed the lead to three before another Burt triple and a Miller double put the lead at four runs.

The Wilmington bullpen finished things off after Franco Terrero allowed a run in the eighth.

Boxscore Link

Anderson Miller 2-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 SB (13)
D.J. Burt 2-4, 2R, 2 3b, RBI
Richard Lovelady 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 15p/9k

Augusta GreenJackets 4 Lexington Legends 0

The GreenJackets pitching staff dominated the Legends lineup to for a shutout win in the opener of their series.

Lefty Garrett Williams worked 6.1 innings for Augusta, striking out nine while giving up just four hits and limiting Lexington to an 0 for 4 night with runners in scoring position. From there, the Augusta pen worked the final 2.2 innings of perfect ball, striking out three more.

Lexington starter Geoffrey Bramblett took the loss despite allowing just one run in five innings, giving up a home run in the second inning. The rest of the runs came courtesy of Arnaldo Hernandez in his first appearance of the season, giving up three runs in 3.2 innings.

Boxscore Link

Emmanuel Rivera 2-4
Marten Gasparini 1-3, 2b
Geoffrey Bramblett 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

HR Roll Call: Mauricio Ramos (7), Zane Evans (3), Emmanuel Rivera (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Mauricio Ramos 3-8, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Geoffrey Bramblett 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5-1 GO-FO, 72p/50k

Nashville Sounds 4, Omaha Storm Chasers 0

The Royals right-handed starter with wayward control continued his problems with the strikezone on Wednesday night.

Despite just two hits allowed, both doubles, Josh Staumont gave up three runs thanks to seven walks. In the first inning, a leadoff walk was cashed in with an RBI double by Matt Olson. The second inning featured four consecutive one-out walks that pushed the lead to 2-0. Finally, the fifth inning saw a leadoff double that was brought home with a pair of ground outs to push Nashville’s lead to 3-0.

The Chasers offense couldn’t strum a tune, going just 0-2 with runners in scoring position while connecting on six singles.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-4, SB (9)
Billy Burns 2-3, CS (6)
Josh Staumont 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 BB, 6 K, 4-1 GO-FO, 103p/54k

Frisco RoughRiders 7, NW Arkansas Naturals 6 

The Naturals lost their suspended game after it resumed on Wednesday.

With a 6-5 lead after five innings before the game was suspended, the Naturals bullpen of Jake Kalish and Jake Newberry gave up the lead. It was Kalish allowing a seventh inning home run to Luke Tendler that evened things up. The game remained tied until the ninth when Newberry walked Tendler before a pair of singles allowed him to come around and give Frisco a lead.

The Naturals threatened in the ninth, moving a runner into scoring position with one out and to third with two down, but Ruben Sosa flew out to end the rally.

Boxscore Link

Alfredo Escalera 1-4, 2b, 4 RBI
Samir Duenez 2-4, RBI
Humberto Arteaga 2-3, RBI

Frisco RoughRiders 8, NW Arkansas Naturals 5

The two teams exchanged power in the second game with the RoughRiders coming out on top.

Each club hit a pair of solo home runs, along with a pair of three-run innings each before Frisco lengthened their lead late.

Trailing 6-2, the Naturals used a pair of doubles by Mauricio Ramos and Samir Duenez before an RBI single by Elier Hernandez to pull within 6-5.

Unfortunately, the Frisco bullpen would prevent any more action by the Naturals offense. They added two runs in the ninth thanks to a defensive error by catcher Zane Evans before a walk and single off reliever Sam Selman.

Boxscore Link

Zane Evans 1-4, HR
Elier Hernandez 2-4, RBI
Mauricio Ramos 3-4, 2R, 2b, HR, 2 RBI

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 2

The Rocks usually reliable bullpen gave up two runs in the ninth to drop the second game of their series with Lynchburg.

Starter Foster Griffin spun five innings of one-run ball, navigating seven hits and a pair of walks, thanks in part to six strikeouts from the lefty. The only damage done to Griffin’s line was via a leadoff single that came in after a double and a pair of groundouts in the second.

The Rocks scored a pair of single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, each of which tied the game, but a pair of runs off reliever Franco Terrero in the ninth gave Lynchburg their final winning margin.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 1-5, RBI
Travis Maezes 1-3, R, 2b
Foster Griffin 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 6-1 GO-FO, 100p/64k

Lexington Legends 1, Hickory Crawdads 0

The Legends bullpen kept hold of the 1-0 lead that Emmanuel Rivera had given the team prior to the suspension of Tuesday’s game.

Righty Geoffrey Bramblett worked 4.2 scoreless innings, working around three singles and a walk. Behind Bramblett was reliable reliever Grant Gavin, finishing off the final 2.1 innings with just a pair of singles allowed.

Lexington’s pitching staff limited Hickory to just one chance with runners in scoring position in the game to take the win.

Boxscore Link 

Meibrys Viloria 0-2, BB, Defensive CS
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4, HR
Grant Gavin 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, GO-FO 1-1, 29p/21k

Lexington Legends 9, Hickory Crawdads 4

With the second game tied at four, the Legends bats got after Hickory pitching with a run in the fifth and a four-run sixth inning.

Three consecutive singles brought home a run before an error and wild pitch brought home another prior to Kort Peterson’s sac fly. Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera capped things off with a RBI double to put Lexington out in front 9-4.

Reliever Walker Sheller worked a perfect ninth to finish off the win, striking out the side in the process.

Boxscore Link

Walker Sheller 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K, 15p/10k
Manny Olloque 2-3, 2R, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4, 2b, RBI

HR Roll Call Nicky Lopez (2)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Chris Devito 2-4 2R, 2-2b, RBI

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Geoffrey Bramblett 5 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 6 K 3-3 GO-FO 1 HBP

Round Rock Express 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

The Chasers received an outstanding start from Jon Dziedzic and a three-run seventh that placed them in good shape for a win, but reliever Kevin McCarthy couldn’t shut things down. In the eighth inning, McCarthy gave up three hits and a pair of walks in that frame with a two on, no out double by Drew Robinson getting the Express rolling. The Chasers would put two on with nobody out in the ninth but a pair of strike outs following a sacrifice bunt would end the Omaha rally.

Boxscore Link

Parker Morin 1-3 R, 2 RBI
Reymond Fuentes 2-4
Jorge Bonifacio 1-3 R, BB

Arkansas Travelers 2 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

The Naturals offense couldn’t get much working outside of third baseman Mauricio Ramos’s three hits, leaving starter Ashton Goudeau with a tough luck loss. The tall and lanky Goudeau worked four shutout innings to start the night prior to giving up a run in the fifth and sixth that put the Travelers behind. The only Naturals run came via a fourth inning sacrifice fly from Alfredo Escalera but nothing else could come across with just two hits outside of the three provided by Ramos. Lefty reliever Matt Strahm worked one perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Boxscore Link

Matt Strahm 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 2 K 1-0 GO-FO 16p/10k
Mauricio Ramos 3-4 R, 2b
Ryan O’Hearn 0-3 BB

Lynchburg Hillcats 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

Rocks starter Corey Ray couldn’t keep the Hillcats at bay while the offense ran out of runs before the rain ended the game early. First baseman Samir Duenez started the scoring with an RBI single in the first. The Hillcats put that lead on ice in the second, scoring three runs via a pair of doubles off Ray. A double steal and a Duenez RBI single in the third quickly tied it for the Rocks, but a Yu-Cheng Chang home run in the bottom of the frame pushed that deficit back to one. The Rocks would tie it in the fifth, but again it was Chang scoring to push them behind. That lead would hold up until the rain came in the eighth to end the game early.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 2-3 2 RBI
Brandon Downes 2-3 2R, SB (15)
Corey Ray 5 IP 8 H 5 ER 3 BB 4 K 5-4 GO-FO 93p/49k

Columbia Fireflies 3 Lexington Legends 2 F/10

The offense saved Royals 2nd round pick, A.J. Puckett, his second loss with a two run ninth to send the game into extras. Puckett pitched decently, allowing just two hits in the start with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. Unfortunately both hits accounted for runs with a Vicente Lupo home run in the second inning and a run scoring double in the fourth. The Legends trailed 2-0 until the ninth when they plated a pair on a couple singles. The second of which by D.J. Burt tied the game but also cut down Brandon Dulin at the plate to miss out on a chance to win the game. The Fireflies quickly regained the lead in the 10th though and held onto the win this time, putting the Legends away in order in the home half of the inning.

Boxscore Link

AJ Puckett 5 IP 2 H 2 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K 5-4 GO-FO 72p/45k
D.J.Burt 1-4 RBI, BB
Tanner Stanley 1-3 R, RBI, BB

Missoula Osprey 2 Idaho Falls Chukars 1 F/10

The Chukars lost a game in rare fashion in the Pioneer league on Monday, a pitching duel that went to extra innings. Idaho Falls missed multiple opportunities to grab a lead after Missoula tied the game up at 1-1 after two innings. The two teams combined for seven consecutive scoreless innings with the two teams combining for 19 strikeouts against zero walks on the evening. A hit by pitch, a missed catch on a pickoff by David Edwards pushed the runner to third and a single walked things off for Missoula.

Boxscore Link

Reinaldo Cepin 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 BB 4 K 2-3 GO-FO 33p/26k
Nick Heath 2-4 RBI, CS (4)
Yeison Melo 2-4 R, SB (4)

Burlington Royals 4 Bristol Pirates 0

Burlington sandwiched a pair of two run innings around plenty of zeroes to win a 4-0 game. Three pitchers combined to work a shutout with 12 strikeouts against zero walks and just six singles with starter Geoffrey Bramblett improving to 3-1 with the win. Leadoff man Nicky Lopez started the Royals off with a leadoff home run while Boo Vazquez drove in Chris Devito twice during the game with two doubles.

Boxscore Link

Chris Devito 2-4 2R, 2-2b, RBI
Boo Vazquez 2-4 2-2b, 2 RBI
Alex Massey 3 IP 3 H 0 R 0 BB 4 K 3-0 GO-FO

DSL Royals 4 DSL Rays1 2

The DSL squad plated four runs in the second inning on four hits and a pair of walks to build a big enough lead for their outstanding pitching staff to shut things down. The Rays1 could plate just two unearned runs off reliever Janser Lara after starter Christopher Marte tossed five shutout innings and Francis Chavez worked the final three scoreless.

Boxscore Link

Andres Martin 2-3 R, RBI, BB
Christopher Marte 5 IP 3 H 0 R 1 BB 5 K 0-6 GO-FO
Jose Caraballo 2-4 R, 2b