LHP J.C. Cloney went five strong innings, allowing only two hits while walking one and striking out two. Marcelo Martinez and Janser Lara kept Lexington in the fight, combining for three innings of one-run ball, and closer Tad Ratliff worked out of a late-game rally as Lakewood loaded the bases and threatened to force a fifth game.

Lakewood righty Spencer Howard also went five innings, allowing a single run on three hits, walking none and striking out six. Reliever James McArthur stifled Lexington’s offense over three shutout innings, giving up only one hit, walking one and striking out two. Connor Brogdon took the loss in his inning of relief (1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K).

The Legends went down in order in the first, with Kyle Isbel flying out to LF Matt Vierling on a 2-1 pitch middle-in, MJ Melendez working the count before a swinging strike three right around his knees put him away, and Nick Pratto lifting a pitch right down the heart of the plate to RF Jhailyn Ortiz to end the inning. Cloney got Vierling to whiff on a 1-2 pitch on the outer third of the plate, but CF Simon Muzziotti stayed inside a pitch on the black and sent a base hit to short. Muzziotti stole second, but 1B Jake Scheiner flew out to LF Brewer Hicklen and C Rodolfo Duran‘s grounder to SS Cristian Perez went for the third out when Perez tossed to 3B Manny Olloque, who tagged Muzziotti to end the inning.

Hicklen got the top of the second underway when he flew out to Muzziotti on a 1-1 change-up that split the plate, Olloque took a 98-MPH heater to left that Vierling had to chase to the warning track, and Perez grounded to 2B Dalton Guthrie on the first pitch he saw for the third out. In the home half, Ortiz popped up to Perez (also on the first pitch), who had to chase it into the middle of the diamond. SS Nick Maton smacked a liner just to the right side of second, but 2B Ricky Aracena made a great diving grab to put him away. DH Colby Fitch reached on an miscue by Aracena, then swiped second when Aracena dropped the throw from Sebastian Rivero. Cloney walked Guthrie, but 3B Jose Antequera left them stranded when he lined out to Aracena.

In the top of the third, Howard struck out RF Cal Jones on a 3-2 pitch up and in, then Rivero struck out looking. Aracena flew out to Vierling to end the top half. Vierling led off the bottom of the inning with a 1-3 ground-out. Muzziotti sent an 82-MPH slider into center for a base knock, but was nabbed at second by about five feet on Rivero’s throw to Aracena. Scheiner popped up to Pratto on a 3-0 outside pitch to end the inning.

Isbel grounded into a 4-3 putout on a 93-MPH middle-low fastball to start the top of the fourth. Melendez ripped a 92-MPH inside fastball deep to right, but foul. Howard countered with an 81-MPH change-up that Melendez swung over, but an 0-2 curve got way out of control and Melendez took first on a HBP. He then took second when Howard’s first pitch to Pratto nearly took out his right ankle. At this point, Howard’s velocity was consistently 3-4 MPH lower than his first-inning fastballs. Pratto struck out looking on a 1-2 inside 81-MPH change-up. Duran struck out looking to begin the bottom of the inning, while Ortiz grounded out, Olloque-to-Pratto, and Maton flew out to Jones in right.

The Legends got a little offense going in the top of the fifth, as Olloque led off with a base hit to left. Perez cracked what would turn out to be a key hit in this pitchers’ duel, driving a double into left to score Olloque, moving to third when Jones sent a slow bouncer to second. Maton ranged past the second-base bag to field it, but had no play. Rivero went down on strikes, and Aracena popped out to Duran on a bunt attempt. Jones was able to swipe second, but Isbel struck out after working a full count. In Lakewood’s half, Fitch, Guthrie, and Antequera went down in order.

McArthur took over on the hill to start the sixth, retiring Melendez, who struck out looking, and Pratto, who lined out to Viering. After walking Hicklen, Olloque sent the first pitch he saw into center. With runners at first and second, Perez ended the inning when he popped up to Antequera. Marcelo Martinez took over in the bottom half, retiring Vierling on a fly-ball to Isbel. Muzziotti caught everyone off-guard when he dropped a push-bunt past Martinez and beat it out to first. Scheiner walked next, and Legends pitching coach Mitch Stetter made a visit to the mound (along with the Lexington infield, en masse), a meeting that home plate umpire Justin Whiddon tried in vain to bring to a conclusion. Martinez induced a pop-out from Duran, put away by Aracena (infield fly rule in effect). That would bring an end to Martinez’s night, with Janser Lara taking over. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Ortiz shot a 2-2 99-MPH (!) pitch off the low-outside corner into right to score Muzziotti and tie the game. Scheiner was sent right behind him, but Jones gunned him down at home.

McArthur got Jones to fly out to center on a 71-MPH curve on the outside corner to start the seventh. Rivero also flew out to center on a 92-MPH fastball that caught an awful lot of the plate. Muzziotti had to sprint back and to his right to get to it. Aracena turned on and grounded a 1-0 fastball to Scheiner to end the top half. Lara’s velocity varied widely (along with his location) as he faced Maton to lead off the bottom half of the inning. The Lakewood shortstop fought an eight-pitch battle before popping up to Rivero for the first out. Fitch worked one of the best at-bats seen all night, coaxing the walk out of Lara after working his way through ten pitches. Guthrie flew out to left and Antequera grounded into a 5-4 force-out to end the inning.

To begin the eighth, Isbel lined out to Scheiner on a bunt attempt, the ball (somehow) jumping off his bat on a low trajectory all the way to first base and just inside foul territory. Had one not seen the drag-bunt attempt, one would have thought it was a swinging out. Melendez took a short hack at a high 76-MPH curve but struck out on the pitch. Pratto took a hard cut at a 1-1 pitch that came right down the middle at 87, but grounded out to first for the third out. Lara came back to the mound for the bottom of the inning, inducing a 4-3 ground-out from Vierling on a low-and-away 94-MPH fastball. Muzziotti grounded out to Perez, and the Lexington shortstop had to rush to make the out at first. Scheiner flew out to Isbel to end the inning.

Connor Brogdon took over for McArthur in the top of the ninth. Right out of the gate, he had some trouble with locating and Hicklen drew the walk. Working the count to 1-1 in between three attempts to pick off Hicklen, Olloque drove a 1-1 slider into center when it caught a bit too much of the plate. Now with runners at the corners, manager Marty Malloy and the Lakewood infield rallied to Brogdon. Perez drove an 0-2 97-MPH fastball into right for the first out, but it would score Hicklen and the Legends would take a 2-1 lead. Brogdon intentionally walked Jones, then struck out Rivero. Aracena followed by grounding out to Scheiner.

As closer Tad Ratliff took over in the Lakewood half of the ninth, Carlos Diaz took over at third. Duran worked a seven-pitch at-bat into a lead-off single. Matt Kroon entered to pinch-run for the Lakewood catcher. Ortiz followed with a grounder to Diaz to force Kroon at second. After Maton went down on swinging strikes, Fitch sent a slider into left for a base hit. Another slider, this one to Guthrie, was bounced back to Ratliff, who lunged to stop the come-backer but deflected it away from a charging Perez, and Guthrie reached to load the bases. Stetter and the infield paid a visit to Ratliff to break up the action and perhaps give Ratliff a chance to take a deep breath. On the first pitch he saw, Antequera grounds to Diaz, who took the force at third for the final out of the game, the series, and the season.

Lara earned the win (though he also picked up a blown save; baseball is a weird game), his first of the series, while Ratliff earned his third save. The Lexington closer finished all four games of the series (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K).

Lexington was most recently in the championship in 2001, their first year of existence, and were up 2-0 in the series vs. Asheville when the terrorist attacks on 9/11 occurred. The remainder of the series was canceled, and the two teams were named co-champions. Cloney’s five shutout innings came in his first appearance since September 1^st. The two teams combined to leave 15 runners stranded.

Kyle Isbel, Nick Pratto, Cristian Perez, and Jeison Guzman had a pair of hits each, and Daniel Lynch gave the pitching staff four solid innings on which to build, as Lexington took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Lynch came loaded for bear, as he hit 95 on his second pitch of the game, and 97 (and inside) on Jake Scheiner, who still ended up reaching on an slow-rolling infield single that Perez fielded and threw to second in an unsuccessful attempt to nab Matt Vierling, who reached on Pratto’s error. In the bottom of the inning, Rodolfo Duran popped up to Manny Olloque at third, then Jhailyn Ortiz grounded into a force-out as Perez nabbed Scheiner on a 6-4 putout to Ricky Aracena at second.

In the top of the second, Perez picked up a base knock, then advanced to second, on an infield single off of an incredibly low-and-outside pitch that SS Nick Maton had to bare-hand, his throw getting well past Scheiner at first. RHP Andrew Brown then balked Perez to third. With Cal Jones popping up to Scheiner, Guzman sent a 93-MPH outside fastball to the left field wall, scoring Perez. After Aracena drew the walk, Isbel singled to center after Brown threw him back-to-back change-ups, driving in Guzman. Vierling cut into shallow center for the play and dropped the ball, allowing Aracena to score just ahead of the throw home. Isbel then had to slide back into first after Duran threw to second to head off Isbel. However, Scheiner wasn’t covering first and Isbel made it back easily. Duran got another shot at gunning down Isbel, this time springing out of the crouch and blocking a 1-0 curve that bounced about a foot in front of the plate.

Maton reached on an error by Aracena to start the bottom of the second, and after Madison Stokes went down on strikes, he made it to third on a Dalton Guthrie double to right. Jose Antequera got Maton home on a sac fly to Isbel in center, but Guthrie was left stranded after Vierling flew to Brewer Hicklen in left.

In the top of the third, Brown had trouble locating and walked Melendez. This was followed by a single from Pratto off a 2-0 inside fastball grounded to right that turned into runners on second and third after the ball got past Ortiz. Hicklen sacrificed to center and Melendez came home. After a strikeout for Olloque, Perez lined a single into left off a 2-1 fastball and Pratto scored. Vierling threw home in a failed attempt to get the runner, but Duran cut down Perez at second when he tried to advance on the throw.

Lynch got Muzziotti to start the bottom of the third on a 1-0 fastball that he tried to pull, only to ground out to Pratto. Scheiner was able to send a 94-MPH heater to center for a base hit, and Duran reached when Olloque couldn’t stop his grounder. Scheiner and Duran advanced into scoring position when Lynch was called for a balk. Ortiz worked the count full after Lynch worked back from a 3-0 count, and Scheiner scored when Ortiz put the next pitch in the air to Cal Jones in shallow-right-center, whose throw to third kept Duran at second. Maton struck out to end the threat.

After Jones worked the count full but struck out to start the top of the fourth, Guzman sent a base hit into right. Aracena followed that with a single of his own, Guzman advancing to third. Brown was able to induce the double-play grounder from Isbel on a high-and-inside pitch to end the inning.

Stokes grounded to Perez for the first out of the bottom of the inning, but Guthrie sent a 1-2 pitch into right field that Lynch left high in the zone. Jose Antequera sent his own base hit into left on another high pitch, but Vierling grounded into a 5-4 force-out, once again on a high pitch in virtually the same spot. Muzziotti struck out swinging on a low-and-away pitch, stranding two.

The top of the fifth began with Melendez grounding out to Scheiner at first. Back-to-back singles by Pratto and Hicklen put runners on first and second, though this was followed by back-to-back fly-outs to center by Olloque and Perez and it all went for naught. Scheiner started the Lakewood half with a “single” to Perez after an eight-pitch battle with Legends reliever Garrett Suchey (it hit the heel of his glove, but he had to range back into shallow-left-center to get it). Duran walked on five pitches, then Ortiz struck out on three pitches, foul-tipping a 79-MPH curve into Melendez’s glove, while trying to hit the ball to Pennsylvania. Maton singled on a 1-0 change-up that sat high in the zone, but Jones’ throw home kept the bases loaded. Stokes drove in Scheiner on a base hit to center, and that would be it for Suchey.

With RHP Collin Snider taking over, an 0-1 95-MPH fastball ended in a 5-4-3 double play, and with it the best chance Lakewood had to even the score.

A 1-2-3 top of the sixth took the BlueClaws only six pitches to get through, as RHP Luis Carrasco‘s easy heat (96-97) dominated Lexington’s batters. Third baseman Antequera made a very good throw to retire Aracena for the third out, coming in and just over the foul line on the weak grounder, then throwing across his body to Scheiner to get the runner. Snider began the bottom of the inning with a 95-MPH inside on the Lakewood third baseman. He sent the next pitch, another fastball up and in, to his counterpart at third, but Olloque’s bad throw was more than Pratto could handle, and thus allowed Antequera to reach. Vierling grounded into what might have been a 6-4-3, but Perez had to get a handle on the ball when it hopped inches from his feet, and Vierling beat out the turn from Aracena. Muzziotti lined 96-MPH heat on a hard liner to Olloque, who gloved it for the second out. Scheiner singled to center and Vierling moved up a base, but Duran flew out to Hicklen to end the inning.

Isbel lost an eight-pitch at-bat with Carrasco to start the top of the seventh. Melendez sent a liner into center that Muzziotti booted, then advanced to second when the Lakewood center fielder semi-casually threw the ball back to the infield. After Pratto walked, Hicklen struck out and Melendez was caught while trying to swipe third, the final out of the inning. In the bottom half, RHP Daniel Duarte took over from Snider, with Ortiz striking out swinging, Maton striking out looking, and Stokes grounding out to Duarte.

It was a quiet top of the eighth, with Olloque, Perez, and Jones out in order. In the bottom half, Olloque was lifted for Carlos Diaz. Duarte added another pair of strikeouts in Guthrie and Antequera to start the bottom half, but Vierling would send an 87-MPH slider to left for a two-out double. Muzziotti, however, was first-pitch-swinging and flew out to Isbel.

Lefty Keylan Killgore came out to pitch the top of the ninth, retiring Guzman on a fly-out to left and Aracena on swinging strikes. Isbel singled to center when Killgore located back-to-back pitches in the same middle-high part of the zone. Duran lost hold of a middle-in pitch from Killgore and Isbel took off for second, then advanced to third on a wide-ranging throw to second. A wild pitch later, Isbel scored to make it 6-3, Lexington. After Melendez walked, another wild pitch to Pratto allowed him to move to second. Killgore got Pratto on a swinging strike three after ten pitches, but Duran still had to throw him out at first when the pitch skipped off his glove and rolled a couple of feet away. Lakewood’s final three outs were not nearly as eventful, as closer Tad Ratliff sat down Scheiner and Duran on strikes, with Ortiz popping up to Melendez in foul territory to end the game.

Snider picked up the win, with Duarte earning the hold and Ratliff getting his second save of the series. Lakewood’s Brown took the loss.

Lynch threw 57 of his 79 pitches for strikes over four innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits, walking none and striking out four. Suchey was 14-24 for strikes, giving up one run on three hits in a third of an inning before giving way to Snider, who was 12-18 for strikes in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Duarte’s four strikeouts in his two shutout innings of relief were another highlight for the Legends. He spotted fifteen of nineteen pitches for strikes. Ratliff followed suit, with 11 of 15 in the zone.

Tonight, Lakewood’s Spencer Howard (9-8, 3.78 ERA) will get the start. Lexington will counter with JC Cloney (3-1, 2.73 ERA with Lexington; 12-1, 2.21 ERA overall). First pitch time is 7:05 PM, EST.

We saw another dominant performance by a Legends starter, this time RHP Jackson Kowar (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K), who followed up his Sept 5^th win vs. the visiting Rome Braves in the first round of the playoffs (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K) with another excellent showing. Kowar landed 67% of his pitches for strikes (69 pitches, 46 strikes), sat 94-95 mph with his fastball and touched 96 several times throughout the night. He made it look effortless.

Following Kowar, LHP Marcelo Martinez put the hammer down with a fastball that seemed anything but. Sitting at 87-89 mph and pairing it with a breaking ball at 75-77, he seemed to mystify Lakewood batters over two scoreless innings (1 H, 0 BB, 4 K). After giving up a lead-off single to Simon Muzziotti, Jake Scheiner struck out swinging on a pitch near the heart of the plate, Rodolfo Duran popped out to Nick Pratto, And Jhailyn Ortiz flew out to CF Kyle Isbel. All three batters made outs on pitches that cut well into the outer third of the strike zone and just about belt-level.

Martinez continued to live on the outer third of the plate in the seventh, breezing through Madison Stokes, Dalton Guthrie, and Jose Antequera, and all in or very close to the same part of the strike zone in which he set up residence in the sixth.

Janser Lara hit a speed bump in the eighth, giving up a lead-off single to Matt Vierling on an 0-2 pitch that caught an awful lot of the plate. Muzziotti grounded out to Cristian Perez on a waist-high pitch but moved Vierling up to second. After Scheiner flew out to center on a pitch right down Broadway, Duran turned hard on a middle-in pitch and dropped it over the left-field wall and cut Lexington’s lead to three.

Visions of Monday night danced in our heads.

The Legends’ batters went down in order in the bottom of the eighth. The top of the ninth brought Tad Ratliff (whom I am tempted to nickname “Bulldog”) to the bump. Ratliff came right at lead-off batter Maton, who swung at a (seemingly) fat pitch, but only managed to ground out to Aracena. Stokes was next, and he went down easily on three swinging strikes (all outer-third). Guthrie started his own brief two-out rally, singling past Perez, but Antequera lost a six-pitch battle to the Lexington closer to close out the victory for the Legends.

On the offensive side, Lexington started off with MJ Melendez‘s first-pitch homer to opposite field off of Lakewood lefty Kyle Young. Pratto walked and swiped second after several pick-off attempts, then Brewer Hicklen walked behind him. Third baseman Manny Olloque grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the threat.

Beyond a hard-hit single by C Sebastian Rivero in the bottom of the second, the Legends had nothing going in the inning. However, the third had Isbel singling to center and moving to third on a Pratto double to right, an inside pitch that wasn’t inside quite enough. When Hicklen grounded to Maton at short, he reached first when Maton went for the easy out at third. Pratto was erased, but Isbel scored on the play, making it 2-0, Lexington.

The fourth inning was a quiet one, and other than an Aracena base knock to left, there was no action of which to speak. Isbel grounded out to move Aracena into scoring position, but Melendez struck out on a 1-2 pitch that just nicked the low-outside corner, and Pratto flew out to center on a 2-2 outside pitch.

It was all outs for the Legends in the sixth, with Hicklen, Olloque, and Perez going down in order. The (lucky) seventh was another story.

Cal Jones led it off with an 0-2 worm-burner right through the middle of the infield, and after Rivero and Aracena both flew out, Isbel continued what became a two-out rally when he sent a base hit on the same path through the infield and into center, moving Jones to second. Melendez followed suit with his own single, this on a two-strike count, and Jones scored. When Muzziotti tried for Jones at home and Duran couldn’t corral the throw, both runners moved into scoring position. Lakewood reliever Julian Garcia let one fly and Duran couldn’t get to it, allowing Isbel to score. Pratto tacked on a run when he scored Melendez on a right-field single, and that would be it for Garcia. RHP James McArthur (1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K) took over and put out the fire when he struck out Hicklen looking.

By now, it was 5-2, Lexington, and the last home game of the season at Whitaker Bank Ball Park would end that way.

With the series tied at one, the Legends hit the road for Lakewood, NJ, to play Game Three of the Championship tomorrow at 7 PM in the BlueClaw’s First Energy Stadium. LHP Daniel Lynch faces RHP Andrew Brown (6-3, 2.10 ERA, 14 appearances, 68 2/3 IP, 49 H, 2 HRA, 16 BB, 58 K).

Making their second appearance in the South Atlantic League Championship, as they were declared co-champions while holding a 2-0 lead in their inaugural season with the Asheville Tourists when the September 11^th attacks occurred, the Lexington Legends got off to a very good start Monday. They had dominant pitching, inning after inning. Their defense was firing on all cylinders. Everything was going smoothly.

And then, it wasn’t. The Legends went down to defeat against the Lakewood BlueClaws in eleven innings, 6-5.

Starting righty Yefri Del Rosario did his level best over six innings, striking out seven and walking two while giving up a single hit in the process. Lakewood had to wait until the fifth inning for that one-base knock from SS Nick Maton, which ultimately went for naught. After walking lead-off batter Matt Vierling, he got Simon Muzziotti on a high, bounding one-hopper to 1B Nick Pratto, then set down Jake Scheiner and Rodolpho Duran on swinging strikes.

Lexington got on the board first when Pratto walked and Brewer Hicklen crushed a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall. Del Rosario gave up a walk to Madison Stokes, but induced a couple of fly-outs to left and a pop-up to Ricky Aracena to strand the Lakewood runner.

Cal Jones singled on a fastball on the outer third of the plate, a hard liner to left off of Lakewood starter Damon Jones. Sebastian Rivero went down on strikes and Aracena popped up to his counterpart at second, Dalton Guthrie, but Kyle Isbel reached on a bad throw by Maton and Jones advanced to third. The threat was ended when C MJ Melendez flew out on a 2-0 pitch to Muzziotti in center.

It was two more strikeouts for Del Rosario in the top of the third, when 3B Jose Antequera went down looking, Vierling flew out to Jones, and Muzziotti whiffed on a fastball right down the heart of the plate.

Pratto started the bottom of the third with a shot over the right-field deck that he hit off of an inside fastball, down 0-2 in the count, giving the Legends a 3-0 lead. Hicklen and 3B Manny Olloque grounded out to Antequera, SS Cristian Perez drew the walk but was stranded when Jones swung on a third strike in the dirt and was tossed out at first by Duran.

The top of the 4^th was uneventful, as Scheiner grounded out to Perez, while Duran and Jhailyn Ortiz added to Del Rosario’s “K” collection. The bottom of the fourth saw Lexington tack on another run when Isbel doubled on a 1-2 inside pitch and Melendez brought him home on a short drive to center, extending Lexington’s lead to 4-0.

After Maton finally gave Lakewood their first base hit of the night in the top of the fifth, Stokes was called out on strikes after an eight-pitch battle and Guthrie grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Lexington faced off against righty reliever Gustavo Armas and got nothing out of him beyond a seven-pitch Hicklen walk. Hicklen was cut down at second on a steal attempt with Jones batting after Olloque popped up and Perez did the same to Scheiner.

Lakewood had nothing going in the top of the sixth, but Jones led off the bottom of the inning a hard-hit single, deep to left, that was cut off quickly by Vierling. Rivero dropped a nice sac bunt to move Jones to second, but only after Armas tried twice in vain to pick him off. Aracena struck out swinging, but Isbel once again came through, driving in Jones to make it 5-0, Lexington. Isbel would be nailed at second on a steal attempt.

As RHP Janser Lara entered the game in the seventh, he got Scheiner on a ground-out to Aracena, walked Duran on four somewhat controversial pitches (at least two could have been strikes), Ortiz struck out swinging. Lara walked Maton, but Stokes struck out on a 2-2 pitch and stranded two runners in the process.

The bottom of the seventh saw walks to Melendez and Hicklen, but little else, as Pratto and Olloque struck out swinging and Perez lined out to Scheiner on what sounded like a much harder-hit ball than it actually was.

The eighth inning was a routine one for both sides. The ninth, however, was not.

With RHP Daniel Duarte on the mound for his second inning of work, Josh Stephen singled on a 3-2 pitch that caught the heart of the plate. Scheiner was first-pitch swinging, swatting a hard-hit grounder to right. Duran followed this with the first of three straight homers for Lakewood. Ortiz hit a solo shot to right, and that would be it for Duarte as he gave way to RHP Tad Ratliff with Lakewood down by one.

Maton chased Ortiz’s homer with his own solo shot to right, and the BlueClaws had tied the game. This all happened before Lexington could get a single out.

Isbel, Melendez, and Pratto went down in order, and it was extra-inning time.

Ratliff retired Vierling, Stephen, and Scheiner in order to start the tenth inning. After Hicklen struck out looking, Olloque shot a laser beam to the center-field wall for a one-out double. SS Jeison Guzman entered to pinch-run for him, and new pitcher Connor Brogdon entered the game for Lakewood. He began by putting Perez on intentionally, but Jones and Rivero couldn’t get the winning run home.

With Garrett Suchey entering the game in the eleventh inning, Duran singled and move to second on Ortiz’s sacrifice bunt. After Maton grounded out to Perez, Duran moved to third. Stokes drove in what would be the winning run on a single to center after Such threw three straight pitches in the same zone and Stokes caught onto it.

Lakewood’s Zach Warren closed it out in the bottom of the inning, striking out Aracena, getting Isbel on a fly-out to right, and walking but stranding Melendez after Pratto ended the game striking out on a pitch in the dirt.

A tough loss for the home team, to be sure, but Game Two will see Jackson Kowar on the hill for the Legends facing LHP Kyle Young. The 6’10” Young has compiled a 13-5 record over four minor-league seasons, with a 2.74 ERA and 26 walks against 141 strikeouts in 151 1/3 innings. He recorded a .230 BAA in 59 1/3 innings this season across three leagues, with the vast majority of his innings at Lakewood. He gave up 9 walks in that span. He has never faced Lexington in his career.

Game Two of the South Atlantic League Championship is Tuesday at Whitaker Bank Ball Park at 6:05 PM.

BPKC Player of the Day: Nick Pratto 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB

Lexington Legends 3, Rome Braves 1
Lexington leads series 1-0 (best of three)

The Legends started their playoff series with the Rome Braves on Wednesday night with first round pick Jackson Kowar on the hill. The former Florida Gator, who excelled in the College World Series this past season, held his own against the Braves, working efficiently as the right-hander tossed just 57 pitches in his five innings of work. The Legends took a lead in the first inning when Kyle Isbel reached first on an error before stealing second. First baseman Nick Pratto quickly drove in Isbel to give the Legends a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Rome threatened with a leadoff single followed by a double to put two in scoring position with no outs, but Kowar stiffened, getting a lineout before ending the inning with a pair of strikeouts. The next inning though, Kowar made a mistake by giving up a solo home run to Hagen Owenby to even up the game 1-1. The Legends answered with a stolen base by Cristian Perez after his leadoff single and Sebastian Rivero’s RBI single that gave Lexington a 2-1 lead. The very next inning, Pratto tacked on with another home run, his third in his last four games. The Legends bullpen of Janser Lara and Tad Ratliff were dominant over the final four innings, tossing up zeroes to give Lexington a 1-0 advantage in the best of three series. Lefty Daniel Lynch will start the second game of the series for the Legends on Friday night.

Jackson Kowar: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 4-2 GO-FO, 57p/36k
Janser Lara: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2-1 GO-FO, 34p/25k
Cristian Perez: 1-3, R, SB
Sebastian Rivero: 1-3, RBI

Idaho Falls Chukars 8, Ogden Raptors 7

The Chukars were eliminated from the Pioneer League postseason on Wednesday night when Grand Junction secured the playoff spot with a 3-1 win over Orem. Despite that, Idaho Falls received a good start from Zach Haake who gave them three innings of shutout ball with three strikeouts on 41 pitches. The Chukars pounded out eight runs, with five coming in the fifth inning on six hits including four doubles to take an 8-1 lead after seven innings. That lead was just big enough as the bullpen gave up six runs in the final two innings before Daniel James struck out the final hitter of the night to strand the potential tying run on second base.

Zach Haake: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2-3 GO-FO, 41p/24k
Rubendy Jaquez: 2-5, 2R, 2b, RBI, 2 SB
Nathan Eaton: 1-2, R, 2 RBI, BB, SB, CS

They face off against the Rome Braves (71-62 overall, 40-29 in the first half), the first-half champion of the Southern Division in the South Atlantic League. The Legends (76-60 overall, 39-29 in the second half) finished the year as the Southern Division second-half champs, clinching in the first game of a four-game series at Greenville to end the regular season.

Both the Legends and the Braves are young teams, with the average age of each team’s batters under 21 years old. The Legends finished first in the league in runs scored (682; 4.98 R/G), fourth in hits (1151), second in homers (137), first in steals (164), third in team average (.258), and second in OPS (.733). Rome finished seventh in runs scored (578), third in hits (1176), sixth in homers (89), eleventh in steals (78), third in team average (.258; tied with Lexington), and fifth in OPS (.699).

Lexington’s pitchers finished seventh in team ERA (3.62), sixth in hits allowed (1119), second in most HR allowed (129), eleventh in fewest BB allowed (349), and sixth in strikeouts (1147). Overall, Rome finished in ninth in team ERA (3.74), seventh in hits allowed (1085), eighth in HR allowed (86), first in fewest walks allowed (422), and seventh in strikeouts (1143).

By now, the overall talent level on this Lexington roster is no secret, and they took on even more prospects in the last couple of months of the season. Their pitching staff received a significant boost. The loss of RHP Carlos Hernandez (6-5, 3.29 ERA in 79 1/3 IP, 82 K, 3.57 K/BB ratio) might have been felt more acutely had the Legends not added pitchers like LHP Daniel Lynch (5-1, 1.58 ERA in 40 IP, 47 K, 6 BB), RHP Jackson Kowar (3.42 ERA in 26 1/3 IP, 12 BB, 22 K), and LHP JC Cloney (2.73 ERA in 29 2/3 IP, 9 BB, 18 K) was like adding nitrous to an engine that was slowly, but consistently, revving faster as the season came to a close.

Starting Game One will be RHP and 2018 1st-round pick Jackson Kowar, who has made nine short appearances for the Legends this year. Over 26 1/3 innings, Kowar racked up 22 strikeouts against 12 walks. His 19 hits allowed, even over this short sample size, is evidence of his ability to command a plus fastball in the low-to-mid 90s along with a plus change-up in the low-80s that shows good tail and sink, and is delivered with precisely the same arm speed, slot, and release as his fastball when it’s at its best. He mixes in a slurvy breaking ball that is solid enough for a third pitch, but his command with it is still somewhat inconsistent. The Royals have kept his time on the mound short as a precautionary measure against overwork, so a four-inning start is a definite possibility.

He will face off against RHP Alan Rangel (4.09 ERA, 125 1/3 IP, 31 BB, 105 K), who posted a sterling 2.12 ERA in six starts over the month of August, but got knocked around in away games (3.14 ERA at home, 5.05 ERA on the road), and gave up six runs (five earned) and two homers over five innings in his only appearance at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. Perhaps also of note, he allowed a .810 OPS vs. RHH, while lefties had a tougher time (.668 over 57 PA).

RHP Tad Ratliff (1.68 ERA, 48 1/3 IP, 53 K, 10 BB, 10 SV) has been outstanding out of the pen, this year, and is the de facto closer. RHP Janser Lara (3.41 ERA, 23 appearances, 8 starts, 66 IP, 28 BB, 75 K) has steadily improved over the last few months, and can give the Legends a long stint in relief or start the game, though he has been outstanding as a reliever (1.98 ERA in 36 1/3 relief innings; 5.91 ERA in 35 innings as a starter). He brings a fastball that sits 94-95 and a tight slider around 83-84 with good tilt. Lara struck out 25 batters in 18 relief innings in August, so he ended on a high note. 2017’s 26th-round selection RHP Garrett Suchey (1.36 ERA in 21 appearances, 33 IP, 4 BB, 30 K) was a lock-down arm in his professional debut season. A 15th-round pick last year, LHP Robert Garcia (13 appearances, 24 IP, 31 K, 11 BB) and RHP Daniel Duarte (6 appearances, 11 2/3 IP, 11 K, 5 BB) show early signs of promise.

This is a quick look at some of the key batters heading into the first round of the SAL Playoffs.

1B Nick Pratto (.280 BA, .786 OPS 33 2B, 14 HR, 62 RBI, 22 SB in 127 games) is still a month away from his 20^th birthday. That alone says a lot about Pratto’s talent. While he hit the wall in June (.225 BA, .589 OPS in 25 games), he slowly picked up steam in July (.258, .717 OPS in 25 games) and caught fire in August (.358, 1.005 OPS, 20 RBI in 28 games). The steals were a little surprise, but he runs well enough, especially for his position.

C MJ Melendez made a lot of noise this year, becoming the single-season leader in home runs for teen-aged Class-A catchers. Sounds like a lot to say, but 19-year-old catchers don’t typically push 20 homers in their full-season debut. Melendez finished with 26 doubles, nine triples, and 19 homers, driving in 73 runs (.251 BA, .814 OPS in 111 games). In 73 games behind the dish, he threw out 42 percent of base thieves, a dramatic increase from 2017’s 26 percent, though last year he made only thirty appearances at catcher. While he did commit 13 errors (w/ 8 passed balls), there’s no reason for concern there; Melendez’s calling card is his agility, arm strength and glove work, and his defense will improve over time. He’s highly athletic, moves very well (not only for his position), and is an above-average base-runner. By all appearances, Melendez is a safe bet to make it to Kauffman, perhaps by 2021.

OF Brewer Hicklen (.307, 18 doubles, 17 HR, 65 RBI, 29 SB in 82 games at Lexington) returned to the Legends after a 22-game stint in High-A Wilmington that didn’t pan out for him (.211, .573 OPS in 22 games), and the timing could not have been better. With RF Seuly Matias going to the DL because of a thumb laceration, incurred while moving his bags from the baggage compartment on the team bus, the team was going to need that boost to the offense. Hicklen does a lot of things well; he covers lots of ground in the outfield with sure-handed glove work (71 games in OF, 2 errors, 1.87 RF/9), he squares up the ball frequently and has shown a great deal of pop (18 doubles, 3 triples, 17 homers), and he steals bags fearlessly. It seemed that, once he swiped second, he was almost a lock to try for (likely successfully) third immediately afterward. Isbel was a similar runner, in terms of style and aggression. Hicklen also brings added energy to this lineup, though it’s not as if they lack for it. At 22 years old, with his current tool profile, it’s safe to say that his performance at Wilmington is no concern.

SS Cristian Perez (.278, 14 doubles, 37 RBI, 10 SB) isn’t a power bat, but makes a lot of contact and shows a very good eye at the plate. Perez has struck out a total of 94 times over his 194 career games (784 PA), only 43 this year, and while he isn’t likely to walk much (53 BB, career; 11 in 2018), he doesn’t need to. He puts the ball in play with regularity, and aside from a .221 BA/.566 OPS in 24 games in July, Perez has been one of them more consistent hitters on this team. A .348 BA/.756 OPS in June certainly made an impression, during which he struck out only six times in 91 plate appearances. Yet another nineteen-year-old player on this Legends roster, Perez had little difficulty adjusting to Class-A competition. A .252 average vs. RHP (.354 in 92 PA vs. LHP) is acceptable, and should improve in 2019. Making 14 appearances at third base after the loss of Dennicher Carrasco, Perez sometimes struggled with the throw to first, but he also made some low throws from short (10 errors in 69 games at SS, 3 errors in 14 games at 3B). Second base may be in his future, though he could certainly gain arm strength over the next year or two.

Speaking of second base, Ricky Aracena (.261 BA, 10 doubles, 40 RBI, 17 steals in 95 games) is slowly building on the promise that led some international scouts to label him the next Rafael Furcal. With almost no present power of which to speak, Aracena’s value lies primarily in his glove. Coming into 2018, he already had 30 games at short with Lexington, and has been learning second base on the fly since SS Jeison Guzman has been getting the bulk of the time at Aracena’s old position. He is taking reasonably well to the keystone (94 games at 2B, 16 errors, 4.21 RF/9), and has the quickness and footwork to settle in permanently. Listed at 5’8”, which may be generous, there is still room for added strength.

CF Kyle Isbel made his Class-A debut on July 19^th and promptly made his presence known. Isbel batted .342 (.984 OPS) over 10 July games, with five extra-base hits and six steals. He also struck out only four times in his 44 plate appearances. August was more of the same, with a dip in Isbel’s average (.286) and OPS (.750), but he tacked on nine doubles, two homers, ten RBI and six more steals. His strikeouts spiked (36 in 121 PA), even though his pitch selection appeared to be advanced for Low-A. Also intriguing was his lack of a platoon split vs. LHP (.354 between Idaho Falls and Lexington in 89 PA, .314 in 204 PA vs. RHP). He demolished rookie-league pitching to the tune of a 1.063 OPS in 119 PA over 25 games.

UT Manny Olloque made his return to Lexington after starting the year in Triple-A Omaha (.544 OPS in 9 games), then heading to the Pioneer League and the Idaho Falls Chukars, where he performed well enough (.317 BA, 1.006 OPS in 11 games). Olloque’s power seems to have improved since last year, as he popped 21 XBH in 48 games with the Legends. The BB/K ratio is atrocious (7 BB, 67 K), but he did seem more comfortable at the plate this year. He definitely slowed down in August, with his OPS dropping 181 points from July (.690 in August, .871 in July), but he finished on the upswing, tallying a .787 OPS in his final 10 games (3 XBH, 10 RBI).

C Sebastian Rivero (.258, 16 doubles, 7 HR, 34 RBI, .692 OPS in 77 games) had a June to forget (.167 BA, .406 OPS in 17 games), but ranged in OPS between .597 (August) and .898 (July) the rest of the year. In 60 appearances behind the plate, Rivero threw out 35% of base-runners, and made only five errors in that time-span (8 passed balls). He took well to the backup role, but certainly could progress further than that in the coming years.

This is bound to be an exciting series. Lexington hasn’t seen playoff baseball in a very long time, and the team is running half a dozen promotions for this series opener, so the place will likely be packed to the gills. More to come after the completion of Game One.

In no particular order, here are 10 good things that have happened to the Royals in 2018:

1. The one-year contracts worked just like they should (mostly). Jon Jay and Mike Moustakas were signed in the early spring for two reasons: provide some reasonably good baseball ability, then get traded for prospects. They held up their end of the bargain (Moose’s WARP as a Royal this year: 2.6, Jay’s: 1.0), and the Royals acquired Elvis Luciano and Gabe Speier for Jay and Jorge Lopez and Brett Phillips for Moustakas. The latter two are in the majors already (and Phillips, thanks to his defense, appears to be at least a useful piece—if he hits, he could be very good). The former two are lottery tickets, probably, but that’s OK since it was highly unlikely Kansas City would receive a top prospect for four months of Jon Jay. For purposes of this point, we’ll ignore that other one-year contracts for Alcides Escobar and Lucas Duda are still on the books. Hey, there’s still a few days to trade those guys!

2. Speaking of trades, the Royals seemed to deal Kelvin Herrera at just the right time. And they got Kelvin Gutierrez, Blake Perkins, and Yohanse Morel for him. Herrera went on the disabled list after posting a 4.50 ERA for the Nationals, just returned to the active roster, and got hurt again Sunday. Meanwhile, Gutierrez has hit .281/.338/.419 for Northwest Arkansas and could be manning third base in Kansas City in the near future. Perkins has a .243/.369/.311 line in Wilmington, but more exciting is that he is, by accounts I’ve seen, playing good defense in center field and is also walking a lot: 46 BBs in 250 plate appearances. And Morel? Well…he’s got an interesting name. He’s also pitched 11 games at the Rookie ball level, so who knows?

3. The Royals didn’t just make trades to supplement the future. They also traded with Cincinnati to get Rule 5 selection Brad Keller and went to the waiver wire to add Rosell Herrera. Keller is just 22 and has shown some promise as a starter (3.69 ERA in 15 starts, covering 83 innings). I don’t think he’s a future ace, but he seems to have a role somewhere on a big league staff. Herrera had a decent start to his Royals career but has slumped recently. Still, he has speed and could be a useful utility player/depth piece. That’s OK, because this year should be all about finding talent in unexpected places and then seeing if it can play in the majors.

4. Whit Merrifield has proven his 2017 season was no fluke, hitting .307/.374/.441 so far this season. That’s nice because it’s always good to have at least one player worth watching in the present, and because he could be a very nice trade chip this winter, should the Royals choose to go that direction. I would hate to see him go, but he turns 30 next January, meaning he is unlikely to be this good when the Royals are ready to contend (even the best-case scenario probably puts this in 2021). And he’s still not arbitration-eligible, meaning he is a good, cheap player. His age means he won’t fetch a top-notch prospect probably, but he could still bring back some valuable younger talent.

5. Adalberto Mondesi looks like a pretty good player. Yes, the four(!) walks in 160 plate appearances is a concern, but the four home runs and 17 stolen bases (with three caught stealing), along with the flashy defense, look promising. The Royals could and should be playing him more often, but the early returns are good.

6. The Royals had lots of draft picks this year: four in the first round, six in the top 100, nine in the top 200. That’s a good way to revitalize a farm system in a hurry. And they are almost certainly going to have the first or second overall pick next year. A couple of this year’s early picks, pitcher Daniel Lynch and center fielder Kyle Isbel, are off to good starts, too—Lynch is 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA at Class A Lexington, and Isbel has a 1.063 OPS for Idaho Falls at the Rookie level. The emphasis the Royals placed on college players in this draft means we should be seeing some of these guys in the majors in two or three years.

Um, let’s see…wow, I just had to decide to find 10 good things, not six, didn’t I? Hmm…ok, here’s one.

7. Players already in the system have had some breakout years. Seuly Matias belted 31 homers for Lexington before suffering a season-ending finger injury over the weekend; he’s still only 19 (he turns 20 on September 4). Khalil Lee got everyone’s attention with an .808 OPS at pitcher-friendly Wilmington in High-A ball. He struggled a bit after a promotion to Northwest Arkansas but had an .842 OPS in the last couple of weeks before he went on the disabled list on August 3. MJ Melendez (.807 OPS at Lexington, and he’s also 19) and Nicky Lopez (.819 OPS at Omaha) have also had nice years. One season after being demoted from Omaha to Northwest Arkansas, Ryan O’Hearn made it to the majors and has already launched six home runs in 69 plate appearances. And his co-first baseman at Omaha, Frank Schwndel, has hit .285/.337/.507 this year. He should be in the big leagues soon.

Uhhh…

8. No one died in the Great Kauffman Stadium Flood of 2018.

9. The Royals got one year closer to having massive contracts for Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy off the books. Gordon only has one more year on his deal, which is worth $20 million annually (plus a mutual option, which at this point I would hope would not even be a consideration for the front office). Kennedy now has two years left at $16.5 million per year. And hey, Gordon has actually been not terrible this year. Not good, mind you (.239/.320/.349), but not as bad as he was in 2017.

And finally…

10. They probably won’t have a worse record than the 1962 Mets, the standard for futility in the modern era with a 40-120 record. Just three more wins to insure they don’t reach 120 losses. I feel fairly confident they can do it.

Phew! Made it!

Please understand, none of this excuses the results this season. I do believe this team has underachieved. Not that they should have been contenders, but they shouldn’t be losing 115 games, either. I think most people and projection systems had them between 90-100 losses, meaning this is on pace to be a 15-20 game underachievement. On the whole, this year is unacceptable. But just because it’s unacceptable doesn’t mean everything is awful.

• Ryan O’Hearn has done a really nice job at the plate for the Royals since he was recalled in late July even if he probably hasn’t played quite enough since coming to the big leagues. His power has been big enough that he has put himself in a position to be a key member of the DongTown City Council in 2019. And I’m really happy that he’s done this, but I still can’t help but wonder if the Royals made the wrong choice in choosing between he and Frank Schwindel. For my money, they probably should have just moved on from Lucas Duda once the deadline passed and called them both up, but I at least worry a bit about the message sent when they called up one guy who was so outperformed by another guy when the situations were identical as far as needing a spot on the 40-man for either of them. While seasonal age makes it seem like Schwindel is two years older than O’Hearn, he really isn’t. He’s about a year and a month older and their AAA numbers aren’t even comparable. O’Hearn hit .243/.324/.423 in 869 plate appearances while Schwindel had hit .303/.340/.517 in 907 plate appearances through Wednesday. I appreciate the Royals looking beyond the numbers, but I don’t think it’s a great look for them to choose O’Hearn over Schwindel. Like I said, I’m glad O’Hearn is producing and I think they should both be up, but even with his early success, I think Schwindel should have been the move from the start. That’s probably unpopular now that O’Hearn has shown so much power early, but it’s how I felt at the time and there’s no reason to change.
• Brandon Maurer is so damn frustrating. Since maybe the world’s most predictable blowup against the Tigers right after the break, he’s now pitched in 11 games, going one inning each time and allowing just one run on eight hits with 16 strikeouts and seven walks. The walks are still high, but he’s routinely hitting the upper 90s on the radar gun and has hit 100 at least a couple times that I’ve seen. This is exactly why he keeps getting chance after chance and why the Royals have been so hesitant to move on from him. That isn’t to say that I believe he’ll actually ever be consistent enough for it to matter, but it’s hard to watch him right now and think there isn’t a spot for him on a bad team next year as well. Which, well, that’s infuriating to me in a weird way. I guess it’s nice that he’s found himself, though I think we all wish that maybe he did either at this time last year after he was acquired or maybe before the deadline so he could be moved. Still, he’s a big time power arm and maybe if he can finish strong, the Royals can fool another team into giving him a shot in the offseason and recoup a little value for him.
• To give a little update on the Royals 2018 draft, I went and compiled the numbers and as a whole, I think there’s some definite statistical success so far. The pitchers have combined for 532.1 innings and struck out 595 while walking 208. That’s 10.1 strikeouts per nine and 3.5 walks. They’ve allowed just 27 home runs, which is kind of crazy. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that many of them are 21 and up in rookie ball, so they should be doing this. But of course, Daniel Lynch has been a revelation, now in Lexington, and Jackson Kowar has been outstanding his last two starts. On the whole, I’m satisfied, but need to something big out of Brady Singer when he finally pitches and I’d like to see Kris Bubic move up to get a couple starts in Low-A as well. On the offensive side, there isn’t the same success, but it’s not all bad. They’re hitting .278/.365/.410 with a 10.8 percent walk rate on the whole. Not much power here, obviously, but they’ve stolen 79 bases in 102 attempts, which is quality for hitters in their first tastes of pro ball. Like the pitchers, it’s quite a few older prospects in rookie ball, but the standout is obviously Kyle Isbel, who was hitting .335/.402/.522 across two levels through Wednesday. Something not often talked about with Isbel is that he has 24 steals in 29 attempts, so there’s some value there. Nathan Eaton is another guy doing very well, but it’s important to remember he’s 21 in rookie ball in a big time hitter’s park and league. Still, .350/.434/.568 will get you to at least take notice.
• This is more of a baseball in general point and I think this has stopped a bit, but success of players like J.D. Martinez has made it seem so simple just to completely change your approach at the plate and, if you have the physical tools, become a quality (or better) big league hitter. I was just thinking about when I read an article in The Athletic yesterday penned by Lars Anderson (subscribe here if you haven’t already, yes I get a gift card but you get a discount too) about how he went to the same coaches Martinez did and was released later that year. It’s just that there’s so much to hitting that I think those who have succeeded in completely altering their approach have somehow made it seem easy to do and you wonder why every player doesn’t. Look at a guy like Whit Merrifield. He’s changed his approach a couple times just in his short time in the big leagues. Last season it resulted in more home runs, while this season the home run power isn’t quite where it was before, but he’s walking a ton more. The Royals will welcome in the Indians this weekend and Yonder Alonso was a poster child for the launch angle revolution last season. He’s been fine this season, but after a really hot start last year, he’s become decent enough, but not great. His .165 ISO is right around league average, which is an improvement over before last year, but not elite or anything and a big reason why he didn’t get a mega contract even coming off a breakout year. Anyway, that’s my get off my lawn moment of the week.

BPKC Hitter of the Day Chris Hudgins 3-4 3R, 2b, 2-HR, 4 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Jackson Kowar 4 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 5-0 GO-FO 58p/38k

Lexington Legends 15 Hagerstown Suns 3

The Legends bats erupted in a blowout win over Hagerstown on Friday night. All nine starters had at least one hit with all but Ricky Aracena connecting on two hits as the squad put together 18 hits. Outfielder Brewer Hicklen connected on a two-run home run in the first before Kyle Isbel’s seventh home run in the third made it 3-0. The score was 6-0 after five when the Legends really blew it open in the sixth inning with an eight-run frame that featured a Marten Gasparini three-run blast. That lead was plenty for Lexington with starter Jackson Kowar on the mound and Garrett Davila backing him up. The 1st round pick from Florida had his best outing yet, striking out five hitters in four innings while allowing just three hits against no walks. It wasn’t Davila’s best outing, allowing three runs with six hits and a pair of walks allowed in three innings before Garrett Suchey toss the final two innings to secure the win.

Nick Pratto 2-4 2R, 3b, 3 RBI, BB, SB
Kyle Isbel 2-5 2R, HR
MJ Melendez 2-6 R, 2-2b

Winston-Salem Dash 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3

It couldn’t have been a worse time for Wilmington to hit a losing streak but that’s the case as the Rocks dropped their fourth game in a row on Friday. The offense jumped out of the gate against struggling Alec Hansen for two runs in the first inning with a rbi single by Gabriel Cancel and a rbi triple by Emmanuel Rivera. That lead wouldn’t last long though with starter Andres Sotillet giving up a run in the first and a two-run bomb as part of a three-run second inning to fall behind 4-2. From the two pitching staff’s stood firm until the ninth when Wilmington put the first two runners on with a walk and a single that moved Vance Vizcaino to third. Catcher Meibrys Viloria would score Vizcaino with a sacrifice fly but Jackson Lueck would hit into a double play to end the threat and the game.

Blake Perkins 2-4 R, 2b
Gabriel Cancel 2-4 R, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4 3b, RBI, 2K

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Frisco RoughRiders 2 

Starter Scott Blewett backed up a complete game outing last time out with seven innings of quality pitcher. The right-hander allowed just four hits and a pair of walks while giving up just two runs with five strikeouts. After four shutout innings, the offense came alive in the fifth inning with an Alfredo Escalera two-run home run. That offense kickstarted the offense, getting a run in the sixth inning prior to five runs over the final two innings to blow the game open as two relievers tossed the final two innings scoreless.

Samir Duenez 2-5 2R, 2b
Kelvin Gutierrez 2-5 R
Scott Blewett 7 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 2 BB 5 K 6-6 GO-FO 89p/56k

Colorado Springs Sky Sox 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 5

The Chasers received a quality start from Trevor Oaks as the right-hander tossed two-run ball over six innings but the bullpen struggled in a loss. His replacement, Josh Staumont, struggled mightily while on the hill giving up a single, a pair of walks and a double. A pair of wild pitches and a throwing error would score three of those runners before Staumont’s replacement, Eric Stout would give up a two-run home run to put the Chasers down 7-2. Omaha would attempt a rally in the ninth, scoring three runs with four walks and a Frank Schwindel single but the seventh inning damage had put them too far down to complete the comeback.

Frank Schwindel 1-4 2 RBI, BB
Trevor Oaks 6 IP 7 H 2 R 1 ER 0 BB 2 K HR 8-8 GO-FO 99p/63k
Nicky Lopez 1-4 RBI, BB

Bristol Pirates 14 Burlington Royals 9

The Burlington pitching staff couldn’t hold off the Pirates for the second straight night as their rookie squad piled up 14 runs on 13 hits and 14 free passes handed out by Royals pitching. All four Burlington pitchers walked at least two with lefty Marlin Willis getting touched up for the most damage, allowing six runs on five hits and five walks. The Royals did plenty of damage on their own with nine runs on 10 hits including three home runs. First baseman Chris Hudgins did much of the heavy lifting on that side with a pair of home runs and a double but it wasn’t enough in the loss.

Austin Cox 2 IP 1 H 2R 1 ER 3 BB 4 K 1-1 46p/25k
Jose Marquez 1-4 HR, BB
Juan Carlos Negret 0-5 5K

Great Falls Voyagers 3 Idaho Falls Chukars 2 F/10

The Chukars lost a pitching duel Friday night when their defense let them down in extra innings. Three Idaho Falls pitchers combined to allow just one earned run in the ten inning affair with starter Connor Mayes giving up a second-inning solo home run that tied the game after a Jose Caraballo triple gave Idaho Falls the lead in the first. The game was tied until the tenth when the Chukars defense committed back to back one out throwing errors, the second by pitcher Jordan Floyd which allowed two Great Falls runs to score. The Chukars answered by scoring their free runner in the tenth and placing the tying run at second but back to back strikeouts of Nathan Eaton and Reed Rohlman ended it.

Connor Mayes 5 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 6-2 GO-FO 89p/56k
Nathan Eaton 1-5 R, 2b, 3 K
Jose Caraballo 1-4 3b, RBI

Friday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Kyle Isbel 3-4, HR, 2b, 2 RBI, BB, SB 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Yefri Del Rosario 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5-7 GO-FO, 85p/56k

Lexington Legends 3, Kannapolis Intimidators 1

Since the start of July, Yefri Del Rosario has found his legs at the Low-A level with improved pitching. In his latest start, Del Rosario may have been at his best yet, limiting Kannapolis to just two singles and a walk in six innings. He was very efficient, tossing 56 strikes on 85 pitches while striking out five to keep the opposition bats off the board. On the Legends side, Kyle Isbel started the game with a solo home run before driving in another in the second with a single as part of a two-run inning. Those two hits were part of a three-hit night for Isbel that also included a walk to keep his impressive draft year going. Reliever Tad Ratliff struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season.

Tad Ratliff: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 13p/9k
Sebastian Rivero: 1-4, R, 2b
Janser Lara: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2-1 GO-FO, 30p/20k

Oklahoma City Dodgers 10, Omaha Storm Chasers 5

Omaha fell behind a few different times as the Dodgers built leads of 4-0, 5-4 and 6-5 on Monday. The Chasers answered with four consecutive doubles in the fourth inning to tie the game before using another double by Frank Schwindel to even the score back up at 5-5 in the seventh. Unfortunately, reliever Josh Staumont was very wild on this night, uncorking four wild pitches including one that allowed a run to break the tie in the eighth inning. The Dodgers put the game away in the ninth by piling on four runs off newly promoted reliever Pedro Fernandez with three hits, including a bases-clearing triple after the Chasers chose to load the bases in an effort to induce a double play.

Frank Schwindel: 3-5, 2R, 2-2b – 20 game hitting streak
Nicky Lopez: 1-4, BB
Josh Staumont: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2-1 GO-FO, 41p/23k 4 WP

Princeton Rays 6, Burlington Royals 4

The Appy League’s top team took care of one of the league’s best pitchers as the Rays used a four-run second inning to take the lead before tacking on runs later to defeat Marcelo Martinez and the Royals. The lefty who had given up just one hit in his last two starts gave up four in a row to start that second inning, including a home run off the bat of Grant Witherspoon which capped the four-run frame. A pair of two-out hits in the sixth added another run off Martinez and put Burlington behind 5-3, which would prove to be enough to hang onto the win.

Colby Schultz: 3-3
Brhet Bewley: 1-2, 2R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Marcelo Martinez: 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR, 7-4 GO-FO

Idaho Falls Chukars 3, Billings Mustangs 0

Newly promoted 22-year-old Rito Lugo made his first start for the Chukars and was up to the task early as the lefty started well. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, with his only blemish coming via a second-inning hit by pitch. In the fifth, Lugo ran into some trouble allowing three consecutive one-out singles, but he managed to induce a double play to get out of trouble and maintain a 2-0 lead. That 2-0 lead was provided by a pair of wild pitches in the fourth inning that allowed a run to score before a second moved a runner to third base where he would score from with a sac fly. The Chukars would tack on a run later while Jose Ramirez would follow Lugo’s six scoreless with three of his own to earn the save and close out the win for the Chukars.

Rito Lugo: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 5-5 GO-FO, 74p/54k
Jose Caraballo: 2-4, R, RBI
Jose Ramirez: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 6-0 GO-FO, 42p/31k

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