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

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

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

Iowa Cubs 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 5

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6 Potomac Nationals 1

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Corpus Christi Hooks 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Lexington Legends 5 Greenville Drive 2

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Idaho Falls Chukars 7 Ogden Raptors 4

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Burlington Royals 7 Danville Braves 6

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

AZL Padres 7 AZL Royals 4

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

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

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

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 5, Omaha Storm Chasers 4

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

San Antonio Mission 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 3

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Lexington Legends 6, Greenville Drive 4 F/10

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

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

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Ogden Raptors 7, Idaho Falls Chukars 6 F/10

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

Princeton Rays 15, Burlington Royals 6

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

Boxscore Link 

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

AZL Mariners 7, AZL Royals 5 F/10

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

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

Boxscore Link

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

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

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

Boxscore Game 1
Boxscore Game 2

HR Roll Call: Frank Schwindel (20), Brandon Downes (10), Travis Maezes (13), Jonathan McCray (6), Seuly Matias (7), Cal Jones (1) 

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Esteury Ruiz 5-5, R, 2b

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Yender Caramo 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 12-1 GO-FO, 73p/54k

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

The Chasers once again couldn’t get the offense moving at home, dropping the third game of the four game series with Colorado Springs. The only run came via a Whit Merrifield double in the third inning while Colorado Springs scored three runs off starter Christian Binford to hand him his tenth Triple-A loss. The bullpen whiffed six hitters over the final three innings, but the offense couldn’t get anything moving to drop another game.

Boxscore Link

Andrew Edwards 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 14p/11k, 1-0 GO-FO
Whit Merrifield 1-4, 2b, RBI
Reymond Fuentes 2-4, 2b, SB (13)

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Corpus Christi Hooks 1

Starter Yender Caramo had his sinker working Tuesday night, earning 12 ground outs over six innings on the way to a win. First baseman Frank Schwindel rewarded Caramo for his effort with a three-run home run in the third inning. The bullpen finished off the final three innings scoreless as the Naturals increased their lead in the division to 1.5 games with a loss by Arkansas.

Boxscore Link

Corey Toups 1-2, R, 2b, RBI, 3 BB
Frank Schwindel 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
Mark Peterson 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, Sv (8)

Game 1
Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Frederick Keys 3

The Rocks powered their way to a game one win. The power came via first baseman Samir Duenez and Brandon Downes, as the pair each drove in two runs during the doubleheader-shortened game. A first inning double by Duenez plated the first run, while Downes scored the second run of the inning on Elier Hernandez’s single. With the game tied at 3-3 in the fifth inning, it was a Duenez single and Downes two-run home run that that quickly pushed Wilmington up 6-3. The runs gave Glenn Sparkman the win, his first win in Wilmington since 2014.

Boxscore Link

Glenn Sparkman 6 I,P 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 69p/56k
Samir Duenez 2-3, R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Brandon Downes 2-4, 2R, HR, 2 RBI

Game 2
Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Frederick Keys 2

The Rocks bullpen combined to limit the Keys to just two runs in Wilmington’s second game win. A foursome lead by Derek Gordon limited the Keys to just a run in the fourth and another in the sixth, both credited to the line of Jake Newberry. A pair of fifth inning singles gave Wilmington the doubleheader sweep, the first from Brian Bien and the second coming off the bat of Elier Hernandez.

Boxscore Link

Elier Hernandez 2-3, R, RBI
Brian Bien 1-3, RBI
Robert Pehl 2-2, R, 2-2b, BB

Asheville Tourists 6 Lexington Legends 1

The Rockies for a second night in a row used an older pitcher that over-matched the Lexington hitters. The Legends came up with just three hits on the night, only two of which came against 24 year old Drasen Johnson in his six innings. The Legend starter, Gerson Garabito, couldn’t match the effort, giving up three runs in five innings, while walking four and giving up six hits. Reliever Daniel Concepcion also gave up three runs in his two innings while Lexington’s only run came on a Travis Maezes solo home run.

Boxscore Link

Travis Maezes 1-4, HR
Chase Vallot 0-2, 2BB
Jecksson Flores 1-3

Game 1
Burlington Royals 6 Johnson City Cardinals 2

The Royals pounded out six of their twelve hits in the second and third innings to plate all six of their runs and go onto a game one win. Second baseman Jonathan McCray connected on his sixth home run of the year in that second inning to give Burlington a 2-0 lead. One inning later an error with the bases loaded pushed two runs across before Nathan Esposito’s double scored a run to push their lead to 6-0. Former Alabama pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett tossed the first five innings with just one run allowed before turning things to Alex Close who finished off the final two innings.

Boxscore Link

Geoffrey Bramblett 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 6-3 GO-FO
Gabriel Cancel 3-4, 2R, 2b
Jonathan McCray 2-3, 2R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Game 2
Johnson City Cardinals 3 Burlington Royals 1

The Royals squandered an opportunity at multiple runs in the fifth inning, while the Cardinals did not in the second game loss. Trailing 1-0, the Royals first three hitters reached base with a double sandwiched around a pair of singles. Unfortunately Gabriel Cancel was tossed out at the plate on Jonathan McCray’s double which limited the Royals to just one run in the inning. The Cardinals quickly answered in their half of the fifth, getting a big two out bases-loaded single to put up a 3-1 lead. The Royals would bring the tying run to the plate in both of their final two innings but couldn’t get anything done.

Boxscore Link

Jonathan McCray 1-3, R, 2b
Chase Livingston 1-3, RBI
Vance Tatum 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 0-2 GO-FO

Billings Mustangs 3 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

The Chukars offense once again was silent in a road game in Billings. For the second night in a row Idaho Falls was limited to just three hits, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position in the loss. The pitching staff gave up 11 hits of their own, but limited the damage to just three runs in dropping another road game.

Boxscore Link

David Edwards 2-3 2-2b
Yeison Melo 1-3 BB
Reinaldo Cepin 4 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 1 Bb 2 K

AZL Royals 9 AZL Mariners 7

A 7-2 deficit wasn’t too much for the Royals to overcome on Tuesday night thanks to some big power by a couple of a young hitters. The score stood at 7-2 after five innings after Anthony Bender was touched up for five runs in his two innings on six hits and reliever Colton Howell gave up two more. Then, the Royals Seuly Matias blasted a grand slam to pull within the game within a run. The Royals weren’t done in that frame loading the bases again ahead of a walk by Cal Jones to tie the game up at 7-7. The game would stay tied until the bottom of the eighth when Jones would connect on his first pro home run to push the Royals up 9-7 and give the squad a comeback win.

Boxscore Link

Cal Jones 2-4, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Seuly Matias 1-2, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB
Jeison Guzman 3-5, 2R, 2-2b

DSL Red Sox1 2 DSL Royals 1 F/11

The Royals lost a pitching duel in extras despite a five hit day from Esteury Ruiz. Just one other hit on the day for the squad besides Ruiz and an 0-4 performance with runners in scoring position cost the Royals to drop another game to the first place Red Sox.

Boxscore Link

Andres Martin 1-5, CS (3)
Luis Alcantara 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Yarelmy Garcia 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K