BPKC Hitter of the Day: Travis Jones 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI, SB (3) 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Julio Pinto 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 0-2, GO-FO 27p/18k

Lexington Legends 9, Greenville Drive 6

The Legends countered a five-run inning by Greenville with one of their own on Wednesday to finish off a three-game sweep of the Red Sox farm club and a 6-1 homestand. Reliever Dillon Drabble came in for Garrett Davila in the sixth with a runner on and struggled mightily. He hit the first two batters he faced before walking in a run and giving up an inside-the-park home run on a ball that eluded Michael Gigliotti’s grasp. The 2016 draftee plunked one more hitter before being lifted for Julio Pinto who promptly ended the five-run frame and would go on to retire all seven hitters he would face on the afternoon. Trailing 6-1 with two outs in the seventh inning, Lexington would take advantage of a run-scoring error that allowed their inning to keep going. With the extra out and the bases loaded, Travis Jones doubled to bring in all three baserunners and quickly pull the squad within a run. A triple by MJ Melendez, his second of the day, would bring Jones in to even the score. An inning later, the Legends would put the game out of reach with a sac fly by Oliver Nunez and a two-run home run from Marten Gasparini to push the advantage to three runs, more than enough for Tyler Zuber to finish off the win.

Seuly Matias: 0-1, 2R, BB
MJ Melendez: 2-4, R, 2-3b, RBI
Travis Jones: 2-5, R, 2b, 3 RBI, SB (3)

Salem Red Sox 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks  

Coming into Wednesday’s game with Salem, the Rocks hitters were 1 for 20 with runners in scoring position. Things didn’t get much better, but a mammoth 3-run blast by Chase Vallot in the top of the fifth inning provided Wilmington a 4-2 lead. Up to that point, 11 of the 14 balls that Salem had made contact with had come on the ground, resulting either in hits or outs against starter Jace Vines. In the fifth, he couldn’t duplicate those results, giving up a pair of line drive hits sandwiched around a walk and another groundball single that helped generate three runs for Salem. Trailing 5-4, the woes with runners in scoring position continued with the Rocks missing out on two more opportunities to finish off the three-game sweep. They ended the series going an abysmal 3 for 29 with runners in scoring position.

Chase Vallot: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 K
Meibrys Viloria: 1-2, BB, 2-3 CS-Att on defense
Bryan Brickhouse: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 19p/10k

Memphis Redbirds 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The Chasers offense continued their scoring struggles in another loss to Memphis Wednesday afternoon. With just five runs scored in five games this season, the Chasers plated just a pair in the fifth on a double by Ryan O’Hearn. That would be their only hit with runners in scoring position. Those two runs pulled them within a run following a three-run third inning against starter Trevor Oaks that included a pair of run-scoring doubles by Tyler O’Neill and Adolis Garcia. Those runs would prove to be enough for the win despite a quality start from Oaks and shutout relief work by Richard Lovelady and Mike Broadway.

Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, 2b, 2 RBI
Hunter Dozier: 1-4, R, 2K
Ramon Torres: 2-4, R, 2b, BB

HR Roll Call: Alex Liddi (1), Xavier Fernandez (1), Michael Gigliotti (1) 

BPKC Hitter of the Day :Michael Gigliotti 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB (1)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Foster Griffin 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5-4 GO-FO, 87p/54k

Lexington Legends 5, Greenville Drive 4

One of those ugly Low-A affairs broke out on Tuesday with 10 combined errors, but the Legends pitchers kept it together a touch better to earn another early-season win. Lexington’s starter Nolan Watson and a pair of relievers limited Greenville to just eight singles and one walk with the defense committing six errors behind them which led to four runs (2 ER). The Lexington offense countered themselves, getting two runs in the first with back to back doubles by Marten Gasparini and Nick Pratto. After Greenville took the lead in the fifth frame, outfielder Michael Gigliotti drove in a run to knot it back up before a Sebastian Rivero sacrifice fly brought home the lead run an inning later. After another Lexington error tied things up in the top half of the seventh, Gigliotti gave Lexington their lead back with his first home run of the year. From there the Legends bullpen shut things down to push their record to 5-1.

Nick Pratto: 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Seuly Matias: 0-3, 2K, HBP
Nolan Watson: 5.1 IP, 6 H 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 8-1 GO-FO, 89p/62k

Salem Red Sox 3, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

For the second night in a row, Wilmington was unable to take advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position in dropping a game in Salem. The Rocks went 1 for 9 in those situations without driving in a run, while Salem used back to back doubles in the fourth to plate a pair of runs before using another double in the fifth to push their advantage to 3-0. Wilmington’s only run came via a solo home run from Xavier Fernandez in the seventh, but would strand multiple runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth to drop their third game in a row.

Khalil Lee 1-4, 2K
Gabe Cancel 2-3, 2b, BB
Kort Peterson 2-4, 2b

NW Arkansas Naturals 4, San Antonio Missions 0

A couple former 1st round pitchers were in a groove Thursday afternoon as Foster Griffin and Cal Quantrill helped their respective clubs play a quick getaway game. Naturals starter Griffin faced the minimum through five innings after getting double-play groundouts to erase singles in each of the first three innings. Padres #3 prospect Cal Quantrill matched Griffin before a two-out single off the bat of Donnie Dewees snuck through the left side which allowed Samir Duenez to come home. The Missions would load the bases off Griffin in the sixth with two outs and the #1 prospect in the organization at the dish in Fernando Tatis Jr., but Foster would get him to fly out to center to end the threat. From there, the Naturals bullpen cruised through the final three innings while the bats tacked on a solo home run in the seventh by Alex Liddi and a two-run double in the eighth by Corey Toups to secure the final margin of victory.

Samir Duenez: 0-2, R, 2 BB, SB, CS
Nicky Lopez: 0-1, R, 3 BB, SB (3)
Donnie Dewees: 1-4, RBI, SB

Memphis Redbirds 7, Omaha Storm Chasers 0

Omaha starter Heath Fillmyer struggled mightily in his first start with his new franchise in Memphis. After the A’s former farmhand worked around a pair of walks in the first inning, he couldn’t escape the second, giving up seven consecutive hits and getting tagged for seven runs after reliever Kevin Lenik let a pair of inherited runners come in. Those runs were more than enough with Omaha going scoreless on six hits and three walks.

Ryan O’Hearn: 1-4, 2b
Hunter Dozier: 2-3, BB
Kevin Lenik: 2.1 IP, 1 h, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Wednesday Probables:
Lexington – Garrett Davila
Wilmington – Jace Vines
Omaha – Trevor Oaks

Boxscore Link

Starting Pitcher – Foster Griffin

The Royals 2017 representative in the Future’s Game got off to an outstanding start in Wilmington and at NW Arkansas before slowing down toward the end of the season. Finishing the season with 28 starts and 161.1 innings, Griffin has set career-best in those categories as well as strikeouts while going 15-7 on the season.

Honorable Mention – Jace Vines with a 12-8 record and 3.45 ERA across three levels.

Cam Gallagher (Minda Haas Kuhlmann Photo)

Catcher – Cam Gallagher

As most of you saw when Gallagher arrived in Kansas City, the 24-year-old catcher brings a high defensive IQ to the field, controlling the running game (35% caught stealing) and calling a good game as well. The difference in his development this season is he has started to help some on the offensive side, hitting .292 this season for Omaha. Over his last 43 games, which includes time in Kansas City, Gallagher has hit .321/.351/.463 with five home runs.

With a player like Salvador Perez ahead of him, the impact that Gallagher can provide will always be limited. However, he’s shown himself that he’s able to take over the #2 catcher role whenever the front office should deem that necessary.

Honorable Mention – Nick Dini compiled a .381 OBP at Double-A NW Arkansas

First Base – Frank Schwindel

The right-handed power hitter has had a breakout season, combining to put up a .329/.349/.541 line between NW Arkansas and Omaha. The 2013 18th round pick slammed his way to a promotion to Omaha after just 34 games, hitting .350 in that time. Once in Triple-A Schwindel took a little time to adjust, hitting just .221/.236/.346 through his first 35 games in Omaha, then he caught fire. All he’s done since is hit .375 over his last 63 games for the Chasers with 15 home runs and 56 RBI. The 66 extra base hits from Schwindel led all Royals minor leaguers by a country mile and makes this selection as easy as any on this list.

Honorable Mention – Chris DeVito used a hot start in Lexington to connect on 21 home runs in his first full season.

Second Base – Gabriel Cancel

A seventh round selection in the same ’15 draft that brought the third baseman on this list, Cancel has shown off the results at the dish with the flash in the field that could make an impact in the middle of the diamond. Other than Schwindel, there aren’t many players who have been as strong in the second half of the season as Cancel, hitting .309/.367/.548 with nine home runs among his 26 extra base hits. He’s been a catalyst to the Legends second ranked offense in the league.

“Cancel has been a complete player showing the ability to drive the ball; make consistent contact. He turns a great double play and he continues to get better each year. We think he’s developing at a good rate given the age and the performance at the level he’s been at. He’ll continue to get better as he works on the fundamentals of the game as he continues to gain playing experience.” – Ronnie Richardson Royals Director of Minor League Operations

Honorable Mention – John Brontsema hit .323 in 52 games for Lexington before a promotion.

Shortstop – Raul Mondesi

We’ve been writing about Mondesi and his exciting tools for quite a few years, but this is the first season in which we’ve seen him employ those tools for an extended amount of time. True, these numbers – .305/.340/.539 and 41 extra base hits in 85 games – came after significant struggles in Kansas City, but they’re still positive nonetheless. Making a significant impact on offense and defense, Mondesi showed consistent play throughout Omaha’s season with his lowest OPS in a month being his .836 in June.

The numbers in Triple-A hopefully show that the Royals should be ready to pull the training wheels off and let Mondesi compete at the plate at the major league level, instead of asking him to bunt every fourth at bat.

Honorable Mention – Nicky Lopez was impactful at High-A before a promotion to Double-A.

Third Base – Emmanuel Rivera 

The lack of Top 100 players in the Royals system suggests to some that there isn’t talent here. That’s just not the case. Some may not know who Emmanuel Rivera is now, but if he keeps adding to his trophy case they will soon enough. It started the last offseason when Rivera went to winter ball and won the Puerto Rican Winter League Rookie of the Year, hitting well against much older players. Building on that winter, Rivera arrived in Lexington and became the team’s most consistent performer being named to the South Atlantic League’s Post Season All-Star squad as the league’s best third baseman while leading the league in hits and winning the league’s batting title on the finald day of the season.

Along with the impact at the dish, Rivera shows good range and a strong arm at third. The Royals believe he could be an above average defender at the position in the future.

“We’re excited to see the steps that he continues to take. He profiles at the position, showing the ability to make consistent hard contact.”  – Richardson

Honorable Mention – Oliver Nunez continued showing off his on base ability by reaching base at a .382 clip for Burlington.

Lee after a walk-off home run (Instagram @jetskigirl55)

Right Field – Khalil Lee

The power and speed that Lee has flashed in his first full season have been an exciting addition to the Royals farm system, making an impact in numerous categories. Starting Thursday’s game, Lee has 17 home runs, 20 steals, and a 12% walk rate while being one of the youngest players in the league at just 18 to start the season. On top of the impact on offense, Lee’s cannon for an arm has provided 14 outfield assists on defense leading all Royals players in the system in that statistic.

Are there things Khalil needs to improve? Yes. He’s not afraid to get into long counts and his swing-big-at-all-times approach has him leading the South Atlantic League in strikeouts by a good distance. He’s also been caught on the bases 18 times. Still, in a system that is lacking in impact talent, Lee’s name is definitely one on scouts and writers minds and an appearance in a Top 100 isn’t as far off as one might think.

Center Field – Michael Gigliotti 

Last season Nicky Lopez jumped on this team despite being having less time to establish himself as a draft pick that same year. This year Gigliotti followed the same path, getting on base at a high clip, playing superior defense at a premium position, and making an impact with speed on the bases while showing enough pop to keep pitchers honest. The .320/.420/.456 line in 64 games dwarfs all other possible center fielders that could’ve been chosen for this list.

Left Field – Jorge Soler 

Fans would’ve preferred seeing Soler’s numbers and playing time in Kansas City this season as opposed to Omaha, but it is what it is, and what Soler was for Omaha was an excellent power hitter. He led the Chasers with 24 home runs despite playing just 74 games. It wasn’t just all power for Soler either, as the outfielder reached base at a .388 clip which led all Royals minor leaguers this season thanks to 50 walks earned by the slugger.

Honorable Mention Outfield – Travis Jones has had an excellent introduction to pro ball with a .947 OPS between Arizona, Burlington and Idaho Falls.

Designated Hitter – Chase Vallot

Playing most of his season at 20 years of age, Vallot proved that he wasn’t above his head in the difficult hitting environment that is Frawley field. Continuing to exhibit his power potential, Vallot put up a solid .206 ISO in 89 games in the Carolina League. That number may not stand out as truly special, but no player that has made it to the majors in the GMDM era has put up a higher number in 200+ plate appearances for Wilmington.

The young catcher continued to show that he can get on base at a high clip (.380 OBP), while improving as a receiver and game caller, helping Wilmington to the third best team ERA in the league.

“Chase is still only 21 and every league he’s been in he’s been one of the younger players in those leagues. His overall development is something we are excited with moving forward.” – Richardson

Relief Pitcher Richard Lovelady 

Under the new draft rules, picks in the back half of the first 10 rounds typically go to players that teams feel they can sign at less cost in order to save money to provide to their earlier round selections. Teams don’t punt on those picks, but they don’t expect to see major impact early. That’s not the case for last year’s 10th round selection however, as Lovelady has zoomed through the system to make it to Double-A in his first full season. With a plus fastball that ranges from 93 to 98 mph, next to the makings of a plus slider with good control and command, Lovelady has blitzed High-A and Double-A hitters to the tune of 77 strikeouts in 66.2 innings while allowing just a 0.95 WHIP and 1.62 ERA this season.

“Our scouts did a tremendous job at evaluating him and identifying him as a player that could compete at a high level and move through the system quickly, and he’s done just that. We’re very excited about Richard and the strides he’s made in his first full season.” – Richardson

Featured Photo – Gabriel Cancel Lexington Legends (Photo via Clinton Riddle Minorleagueball.com)

HR Roll Call: Jorge Soler (24), Michael Gigliotti (4), Jose Marquez (2)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Michael Gigliotti 3-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB (9)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jason Adam 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 34p/21k

Omaha Storm Chasers 9, Nashville Sounds 3

The Chasers top six hitters all had two or more hits while Christian Binford navigated around five walks allowed in seven innings. This allowed Omaha to beat Nashville for the second night in a row.

After Nashville tied the game up at two apiece after four innings, Omaha answered with three straight innings of two or more runs, starting the scoring with another Jorge Soler home run, his 22nd of the season for Omaha. Those runs gave Binford enough cushion as he navigated around his walks by limiting the damage to just five hits in earning his sixth Triple-A win.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 2-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI, SB (21)
Jorge Soler 3-5, HR, 2 RBI
Cam Gallagher 2-5, R
Frank Schwindel 2-5, R, 2b, RBI

Tulsa Drillers 9, NW Arkansas Naturals 3

A starter that the Naturals had come to count on struggled on Tuesday as Emilio Ogando gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings, giving up a pair of home runs in the process. A couple of unearned runs in the sixth off Matt Tenuta pushed the deficit to 9-1 which ended up being far too big of a lead to overcome.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 2-3, R, 2 BB
Ryan O’Hearn 2-4, R, RBI

Augusta GreenJackets 7, Lexington Legends 6

The Legends built a 6-3 lead after four innings only to watch reliever Matt Wynne fail to shut the door in the ninth.

Lexington built their lead with a five-run fourth inning that featured RBI doubles by Meibrys Viloria and Marten Gasparini along with a sac fly by Angelo Castellano. Centerfielder Michael Gigliotti’s RBI single finished the scoring for the Legends as part of his 3 for 3 day that included a solo home run.

The game would stay 6-3 until the ninth when Wynne, pitching his third inning of work, failed to survive the frame when he gave up a two-run home run and allowed two others to reach. With both runners in scoring position and two outs, the reliever gave up a single through the right side that allowed both runners to score and eventually give the Legends another loss.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 3-3, HR, 2 RBI, SB (6), CS (4)
Vance Vizcaino 2-4, Hit streak 15 games
Emmanuel Rivera 2-4, R

Ogden Raptors 9, Idaho Falls Raptors 7

The Chukars built a 7-4 lead after the top of the fifth inning, but starter Dillon Drabble couldn’t keep Ogden from coming back. The Raptors scored three runs off the starter in the bottom of the fifth to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-5, 2 R
Travis Jones 1-2, 2b, RBI, BB
Brewer Hicklen 2-5, R, 2b, RBI

Burlington Royals 13, Bristol Pirates 12

Each team in this game had an inning where they scored six runs and an inning with five but it was the Royals’ two innings with one run that made the difference. The Burlington squad had just one more baserunner than Bristol despite outhitting them 17 to 10, thanks to 11 free passes giving by the pitching staff.

Eight of the nine Royals hitters had a hit in the game, with only Seuly Matias going hitless. Outfielder Jose Marquez led the way with a 4 for 5 effort that included a double and a home run.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 0-5, RBI
Jeison Guzman 1-4, 2 R, BB
Cal Jones 1-6, R, 2b, RBI

HR Roll Call: Jack Lopez (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Dini 3-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Kevin Lenik 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 42p/27k, 1-0 GO-FO

Player movement 
— Michael Gigliotti promoted to Lexington Legends from Burlington.
— Pitcher Andres Sotillet and catcher Michael Arroyo sent to Burlington from Arizona.
— Outfielder Yeison Melo sent to Wilmington from Lexington.
— 2017 seventh round pick Brewer Hicklen has been promoted from Arizona to Idaho Falls.

Memphis Redbirds 3, Omaha Storm Chasers 2 F/10

The Chasers tied last night’s game in the fifth inning on a groundout by Frank Schwindel but could do no more offensively in dropping an extra inning game. Both teams’ bullpens pitched well, with the Royals newly found reliever Kevin Lenik tossing three innings of shutout baseball. The reliever that the Royals snagged from Independent ball who throws in the mid-90s, struck out four hitters  to push his season total to 28 whiffs in 25.2 innings.

With the game tied into the tenth, recently promoted Jake Newberry struggled in his Triple-A debut. He walked the first two hitters he faced before a pair of one out singles walked things off for Memphis.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 2-4
Jorge Soler 0-2, 3 BB
Frank Schwindel 1-5, 2 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 0-4, 3K

NW Arkansas Naturals 6, Midland RockHounds 4

The Naturals put together a late comeback against the Midland bullpen for the second straight night to defeat the Double-A Athletics affiliate. Trailing 4-3, the Naturals loaded the bases when Midland’s reliever plunked a pair of hitters and the manager chose to walk Humberto Arteaga.

In that situation, Anderson Miller drove in one run to tie the game by legging to first on a force out to keep his squad out of the double play. One hitter later Nick Dini doubled to the right field corner, driving in two runs that would eventually give NW Arkansas the win.

Boxscore Link

Nick Dini 3-4, R, 2b, RBI
Samir Duenez 1-4, K
Donnie Dewees 0-3, R
Paulo Orlando 1-4
Yunior Marte 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 24p/17k

Down East Wood Ducks 7, Wilmington Blue Rocks 5

The Blue Rocks scored three runs in the eighth inning to tie a game at five, but the bullpen couldn’t keep the Rangers High-A squad off the board to drop another game to Down East. In that inning, Jecksson Flores plated two runs with a single, prior to Chris DeVito scoring him with a single of his own.

However in the eighth, recently promoted Jose Veras gave up three consecutive hits to start the inning to put Wilmington back behind and eventually drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Nick Heath 2-5, 2R
Brandon Downes 1-3, R, 2b, RBI

Asheville Tourists 3, Lexington Legends 2 F/10

Both teams were able to navigate around plenty of baserunners in scoring position until Lexington’s Matt Wynne gave up an extra inning hit that allowed Asheville to walk the game off. A combined 2 for 31 effort with runners in scoring position highlighted the game. Kansas native Riley Pint struck out five Legends hitters in 5.1 innings while hitting 100 mph on the gun.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 2-4, 2-2b, RBI, BB, 2K
Gabe Cancel 1-3, 2b, BB
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4, K

Billings Mustangs 14, Idaho Falls Chukars 9

The Chukars lost a slugfest as the first two pitchers on the mound for Idaho Falls gave up 12 runs (6 ER) over five innings. Those runs couldn’t be overcome by Idaho Falls despite seven hits by the top three hitters in the order.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-5, 2R, 2b, 2 RBI
Matt Morales 3-5, 3R

Pulaski Yankees 2, Burlington Royals 1

The Royals outhit their opponent but couldn’t get the timely hits in their loss to the Yankees. Starter Dan Tillo struck out five in five innings and gave up just two hits, but walks gave the pitcher a loss. The former Iowa Western starter walked a pair of hitters to start the second inning prior to a bunt single loading the bases with no outs. A pair of ground outs would score two runs to put Burlington behind and their 1 for 11 performance with runners in scoring put another L in the loss column.

Boxscore Link

Dan Tillo 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 62p/35k, 7-3 GO-FO
Seuly Matias 0-3, BB, 2K
Jeison Guzman 0-3, k
Sebastian Rivero 0-4, k

DSL Red Sox 1, DSL Royals 0

The Royals 17-year-old lefty Angel Zerpa continued his quality pitching on Wednesday, tossing six shutout innings. The pitcher the team paid $100k to last year earned eleven ground outs off the bats of Red Sox hitters while striking out three hitters and allowing just a pair of singles. The lefty retired the first eleven hitters he faced before giving up a groundball single in the fourth.

The Royals offense couldn’t get the big hit they needed, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position which gave them the loss when the Red Sox scored a run in the ninth on a two out triple.

Boxscore Link

Angel Zerpa 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 11-2 GO-FO
Rubendy Jacquez 2-3, BB

HR Roll Call: None

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Darrell Miller 5-6 2R, 2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jared Ruxer 6.2 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 7 K 4-7 GO-FO 101p/63k

AZL Royals 4 AZL White Sox 3 

The Arizona squad walked things off in the ninth after giving up the lead earlier in that inning. Starter Gerson Garabito, working his way back from the DL, gave up a first inning two run home run to major league rehabber Leury Garcia in the first inning. The Royals came back with three runs of their own with a sac fly in the fourth and a pair of doubles in the fifth leading to two runs.

That lead held up until the ninth when Garcia connected on a single to drive in the tying run. That Royals quickly rebounded in their half of the ninth getting a Tyler James triple and a Nick Pratto sacrifice fly to walk the game off.

Boxscore Link

Gerson Garabito 2 IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 1 K 4-0 GO-FO
Nick Pratto 0-2 RBI 2BB, K, SB (7)
MJ Melendez 0-3 RBI, BB, K, 1-1 CS/Att
Isaiah Henry 2-3 R, 2b, BB, CS (3), OF Assist

Burlington Royals 10 Johnson City Cardinals 6 F/10

The Royals took a 6-2 lead into the ninth, but two errors and three groundball singles off closer Tyler Zuber led to Johnson City tying the game. Fortunately for Burlington, Johnson City returned the favor by making an error that allowed the Royals to retake the lead and open the door to a four run inning. This time Zuber closed the door with that lead.

Boxscore Link

Tyler Zuber 2 IP 3 H 4 R 0 ER 1 BB 2 K 4-1 GO-FO 37p/27k
Sal Biasi 5 IP 2 H 2 R 1 ER 3 BB 5 K 1 HR 3-3 GO-FO 98p/60k
Michael Gigliotti 2-4 2R, RBI, BB, 2 SB (9) has a .474 OBP

Idaho Falls Chukars 15 Missoula Osprey 12 F/10

The Chukars tried to give away a huge lead but bounced back in extras to earn a series win in Missoula. Starter Janser Lara struggled with control, walking five in three and two-third innings while giving up three runs in that time. Despite those struggles, Idaho Falls had built a 12-5 lead after just five innings. The bullpen couldn’t hold that lead, giving up seven runs from the sixth through eighth innings to tie the game and eventually send it to extras.

In extra innings, the Chukars got their offense back rolling with three runs on hits by Travis Jones, Freddy Fermin, and Cristhian Vasquez. Reliever Josh Mitchell closed it out to earn the win, tossing two and one-third scoreless innings in the game.

Boxscore Link

Josh Mitchell 2.1 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 2-1 GO-FO 37p/24k
Janser Lara 3.2 IP 3 H 3 R 3 ER 5 BB 4 K 3-2 GO-FO 83p/45k
Travis Jones 1-5 R, 2b, 3 RBI

Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Salem Red Sox 2 

The Rocks finished off the Red Sox on Wednesday to earn a four game sweep of the High-A club. A Nick Heath double followed later by a Travis Maezes sac fly gave Wilmington a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After a Red Sox run in the second, the Rocks took control of the game with a three run inning. Again it was Heath scoring, this time on a Roman Collins double before the Rocks would score runs on a Jonathan McCray sac fly and bases loaded walk to Jecksson Flores.

Those runs would serve to be plenty for Jared Ruxer and staff as the right spun six and two-thirds scoreless before the pen gave a couple up in the ninth following a pair of insurance runs by the offense. The Blue Rocks currently stand two games behind Salem for second place.

Boxscore Link

Nick Heath 3-5 2R, 2b, SB (14)
Chase Vallot 1-1 R, 2b
Chris DeVito 1-4 R, BB

Arkansas Travelers 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 4

Starter Corey Ray’s struggles continued and the Naturals lack of power continued to haunt them in a loss to Arkansas. In three innings of work, Ray gave up six runs (5ER) including a three run home run in the third. While the NW Arkansas lineup could must just one extra base hit among their ten. A three run eighth inning provide most of the offense in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Yunior Marte 4 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 2 BB 2 K 4-2 GO-FO 56p/34k
Nicky Lopez 2-4 R, 2b
Donnie Dewees 2-5 R
Anderson Miller 1-3 BB

Albuquerque Isotopes 13 Omaha Storm Chasers 1

A rough one for the Chasers on Wednesday night in Albuquerque. Starter Eric Skoglund and reliever Pedro Fernandez were each tagged for six runs, Fernandez’s damage came in just one inning of work during a lopsided game. The one bright spot for the Chasers was that Frank Schwindel stayed hot, going 3 for 4 with a double and the only RBI in the game for Omaha.

Boxscore Link

Frank Schwindel 3-4 2b, RBI
Eric Skoglund 5 IP 8 H 6 R 5 ER 5 BB 1 K 4-6 GO-FP 92p/54k
Ryan O’Hearn 1-3 BB

HR Roll Call: Frank Schwindel (17), Chase Vallot (12), Logan Gray (3), Cal Jones (2)

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Kalish 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 80p/50k, 7-1 GO-FO

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Oliver Nunez 3-3, R, 2b, SB (11)

Omaha Storm Chasers 5, Albuquerque Isotopes 1

The Chasers hottest bat kept rolling and the squad got another good appearance by Onelki Garcia. Designated hitter/first baseman Frank Schwindel hit his eighth home run in his 10 last games played, hitting a solo home run in the fourth and driving another in the seventh with a single. Additional runs were scored in the fourth and seventh innings and Garcia combined with three additional pitchers to limit Aburquerque to just a first inning run.

Boxscore Link

Cheslor Cuthbert 0-2, BB
Ryan O’Hearn 0-1
Kyle Zimmer 0.2, IP 1 H – He left the game with undisclosed injury.
Eric Stout 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R

Arkansas Travelers 5, NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals couldn’t get a run across after being limited to seven singles. Starter Jake Kalish kept them tied over five innings, but reliever Zach Lovvorn gave up a run in his inning of work and four unearned runs came across on Jake Newberry to put the game out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 0-4
Samir Duenez 0-4
Donnie Dewees 1-1
Anderson Miller 0-4

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Salem Red Sox 1 – F/10

The Rocks walked off to end the suspended game in the tenth inning when Chase Vallot smashed his 12th home run of the season.

Boxscore Link

Chase Vallot 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2BB
Brandon Downes 1-4, R, 2b, 2 K
Chris DeVito 0-5, 3K
Scott Blewett 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 5-4 GO-FO, 78p/51k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 6, Salem Red Sox 4

The Rocks new addition, Jace Vines, struggled in his first inning of his first Carolina League start, giving up four runs in the first before settling down. The righty settled down retiring 11 of 12 that he faced from the first through fourth before getting into a jam in the fifth and getting bailed out by Walker Sheller.

Luckily for Vines, the Rocks offense scored three in the first inning on hits by Wander Franco, Brandon Downes, and Colton Frabasilio to pull within one before taking the lead in the sixth. In that sixth inning, wayward throws by Salem helped give the Rocks the lead. To start the inning, two hit-by-pitches put runners on before a throwing error gave Wilmington the lead after D.J. Burt had tied the game with a RBI single.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Chase Vallot 0-2, R, BB, HBP, K
Jace Vines 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 8/2 GO-FO, 96p/50k

West Virginia Power 7, Lexington Legends 3

The Legends mid-July swoon continued with the sweep at the hands of the Power on Tuesday. The loss for Lexington was their eighth in nine games as lefty Andre Davis got tagged for six runs in five innings. The offense went 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and leadoff hitter Khalil Lee’s rough July continued with an 0 for 5 night with a pair of strikeouts. The Royals top 5 prospect has seen his average plummet with a .174 average in the month.

This type of rough month is typical for a player in his first year of full-season ball and should not be paid major weight. Rather, look for any adjustments Lee might make the rest of the season and into next year to see how he can mentally handle the failure.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 0-5, SB (18), 2K
Marten Gasparini 1-4, R, SB (15)
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4, RBI

Missoula Osprey 8, Idaho Falls Chukars 6

Lefthanded starter Holden Capps took his first loss in the Pioneer League, giving up six runs on six hits and three walks over just 3.1 innings. The Chukars couldn’t overcome the eight runs by Missoula despite 13 hits and five walks by Idaho Falls, falling a couple runs short.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-4, 2R, 2b, RBI, BB
Logan Gray 1-5, HR

Johnson City Cardinals 5, Burlington Royals 2

The Royals went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and reliever Joey Markus’s struggles continued in Burlington’s loss to Johnson City.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 0-3, BB
Seuly Matias 0-4, 3K
Jeison Guzman 1-3
Cal Jones 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2K

Wednesday Probables:
Omaha – Eric Skoglund
NW Arkansas – Corey Ray
Wilmington – Jared Ruxer
Lexington – Off
Idaho Falls – Janser Lara
Burlington – Sal Biasi
AZL Royals – TBD

The news on Ashe Russell stepping away from the game came out via the KC Star on Friday from Rustin Dodd. On Saturday Russell’s agent made a brief statement via Ken Rosenthal to reiterate that it wasn’t a retirement and just a stepping away to clear his head. In my opinion, if Ashe believes this is the best move for him then it probably is as he’s not going to get back to the prospect that made him a first-round prospect without full commitment.

HR Roll Call Ryan O’Hearn (14), Raul Mondesi (11), Alfredo Escalera (4), Reed Rohlman (1), Nick Hutchins (1), Nick Pratto (1), Randor Vargas (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Michael Gigliotti 3-5 2R, 2b, BB, 3 SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Pedro Fernandez 4 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 49p/35k

Omaha Storm Chasers 5 Iowa Cubs 1

The Royals shortstop prospect Raul Mondesi had played 135 games between Triple-A and the bigs, hitting 12 home runs in that time but all 12 had come with no one on. Those days are behind him apparently as Mondesi hit a grand slam for the second night in a row, this one off former Royals prospect Aaron Brooks. First base prospect Ryan O’Hearn hit his 14th home run of the year to tack on an insurance run in the ninth.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-4 HR, 4 RBI
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4 HR, 2K
Eric Skoglund 4.2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 5 BB 5 K 6-2 GO-FO 98p/52k
Brian Flynn 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K 2-2 GO-FO 41p/28k

NW Arkansas Naturals 5 San Antonio Missions 3

Naturals reliever Pedro Fernandez was outstanding in this one when forced to relieve Goudeau early. Working four perfect innings with five strikeouts while blistering the zone with 35 strikes on 49 pitches Fernandez lowered his ERA to 2.70 on the season. The righty came into today with a career-high 53% groundball rate on top of his 23% K-rate and should be considered a possibility for a role in the Royals bullpen within a year or so. Outfielder Alfredo Escalera’s three-run home run off former Royals pitching prospect Aroni Nina was the key hit in this one.

Boxscore Link

Alfredo Escalera 1-3 HR, 3 RBI, BB
Anderson Miller 2-4 R
Samir Duenez 0-5
Andrew Edwards 3 IP 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 43/25k 6-0 GO-FO

Potomac Nationals 4 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The two sluggers at Wilmington do things in a much different way which makes their path an interesting one to compare going forward. The Royals minor league leader in home runs, Chris DeVito came into the High-A game with a sub 7% walk rate and sub 19% K-rate with around a 20% line drive rate with Wilmington. This is a different approach to what Chase Vallot employs, the catching prospect at High-A has hit at just 15.9% linedrive rate with a 59.1% flyball rate. That extreme flyball rate leads the Carolina league and has led to 11 home runs when mixed with his 14% HR/FB record. Unfortunately, Vallot’s extreme 36% K-rate has led to his overall numbers suffering so far this season but at two years DeVito’s junior one can still continue to dream on Vallot.

That age combined with the premium defensive position makes Vallot a higher profile prospect obviously but his inability to make contact at a decent rate shakes things up.

Boxscore Link

Vallot 0-3 2K
DeVito 0-3
D.J. Burt 1-4 2b, RBI

Greenville Drive 6 Lexington Legends 0

Just turned 19-year-old Khalil Lee entered the night in a tie for 3rd in home runs in the South Atlantic League while also tied for first in walks accumulated. The major focus of his game in the second half should be working on contact (32% K-rate) and becoming a better baserunner. The Legends started the day in 1st or 2nd in most offensive categories in the league but the Drive held them to just three hits.

Boxscore Link

Khalil Lee 0-1 K, HBP, 2BB, CS (15)
Emmanuel Rivera 0-4
Gabe Cancel 0-4 E (13)
Meibrys Viloria 2-3 1-3 CS/Attempts

Orem Owlz 12 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

The Angels rookie squad has beaten Idaho Falls by four or more runs in four of their five games this season after this lopsided affair.

Boxscore Link

Burlington Royals 7 Danville Braves 3

Reliever Tyler Zuber is getting plenty of strikeouts (40%) but needs to attack the bottom of the zone better than he did on Saturday. Still, you want domination out of a reliever and he’s showing he can get over on younger hitters.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 3-5 2R, 2b, 3 SB
Tyler Zuber 2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 4 K 47p/29k 2-0 GO-FO
Cal Jones 2-6 2R, 2b, RBI, 2K
Jeison Guzman 1-6 3K

AZL Padres 6 AZL Royals 3

Royals 1st round pick Nick Pratto hit his first professional home run to tie the game in the eighth after connecting on a sacrifice fly earlier in the game. Stud 18-year-old Dominican prospect Esteury Ruiz walked, stole a pair of bases and scored in the first inning.

Boxscore Link

Nick Pratto
Esteury Ruiz 0-2 R, BB, 2 SB (4)
Nolan Watson 3 IP 1 H 0 R 1 K

DSL Marlins 8 DSL Royals 7

A pair of 17-year-olds worked in this one with lefty Braulio Nunez making his third DSL appearance, working two scoreless innings. Another 17 years old, Victor Medina gave up three runs (1 ER) to start this one. The Marlins walked the game off with a one-out walk followed by a pair of singles off Royals reliever Kelvin De Los Santos.

Boxscore Link

Reynin Reynoso 2-5 R, RBI
Braulio Nunez 2 IP 3 H 0 R 0 BB 0 K
Rafael Romero 1-3 R, BB

HR Roll Call Ryan O’Hearn (11), Amalani Fukofuka (5), Tyler Straub (2), Brewer Hicklen (1), Esteury Ruiz (1), Ismaldo Rodriguez (4)

BPKC Hitter of the Day Esteury Ruiz 4-5 3R, 2-2b, HR, 7 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Tad Ratliff 2 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 6 K 25p/19k

Lexington Legends 17 Greenville Drive 7

Fireworks Friday around most minor league parks occurred on the field in Greenville by the Lexington bats during the game.

The club knocked out 20 hits and 17 runs in a rout that included 12 runs between the third and fourth innings. The Legends popped six hits, had a hit by a pitch and a walk in the third inning with four of those hits going for extra bases to put eight runs on the board.

The team kept pushing runs across in the next three innings with eight more runs as they continued to pressure the Greenville pitching to build a huge 17-5 lead on the way to an easy win.

Boxscore Link

Yeison Melo 4-6 2R, 2b, 2 RBI
Khalil Lee 3-6 2R, 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Angelo Castellano 4-5 3R, 2b, RBI

AZL Royals 20 AZL Padres 5

The AZL squad took care of business with 17 hits and 20 runs in a whitewash of the D-Backs squad.

The 4 through 6 hitters in the lineup did the majority of the damage, connecting on eight hits with Esteury Ruiz and Brewer Hicklen each hitting a home run while combining to drive in 11 of the team’s 20 runs.

The Royals 2016 draftee Malcolm Van Buren pitched a perfect first inning in his return from Tommy John to combine with five of the other six pitchers to toss scoreless innings in the win.

Boxscore Link

Brewer Hicklen 2-5 2R, HR, 4 RBI
Nick Pratto 1-5 R, 2b, 3 RBI, BB
MJ  Melendez 2-4 3R, RBI, BB, 1-2 Caught stealing

DSL Royals 2 DSL A’s 1 F/10

The two teams were held scoreless in extra innings on Friday.

The A’s score in the tenth with a run after pushing their extra inning runner across. The Royals would answer back getting a wild pitch to push their runner to third and tying the game on a ground out.

With the game tied at 1-1 and two outs, the Royals slugger Ismaldo Rodriguez unloaded on his fourth home run of the season to walk it off for the DSL Royals.

Boxscore Link

Ismaldo Rodriguez 1-5 HR
Warling Vicente 1-4 R, 2b, BB
Angel Zerpa 5 IP 1 H 0 R 1 BB 3 K 8-1 GO-FO

Orem Owlz 17 Idaho Falls Chukars 5

Julio Pinto’s struggles continued with 11 runs allowed (8 ER) in just two innings for the right-handed pitcher. Those runs put the squad in a huge hole that they were unable to dig out of.

The Chukars hit a pair of home runs but went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position to drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 1-5 HR
Darrell Miller 2-4 R, 2-2b, RBI
Tyler Straub 1-4 HR, 2 RBI

Danville Braves 5 Burlington Royals 3

The Royals got beat by the Braves again despite their leadoff man doing everything he could.

The Braves got after Ismael Maldonado for five runs (4 ER) in just four and one-third innings, giving up five hits and three walks against just one K. Those five runs put the Royals behind 5-0.

Despite Michael Gigliotti reaching base all four times, he came up the rest of the lineup wasn’t doing much heavy lifting with just four hits. The centerfielder did double in a pair of runs in the seventh and scored on a sac fly by Jeison Guzman but the Royals couldn’t get anything else in the loss.

Boxscore Link

Michael Gigliotti 3-3 R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB, SB (2)
Seuly Matias 1-4 2K
Jeison Guzman 0-2 RBI

Salem Red Sox 3 Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

The Rocks starter got off to a slow start in a low scoring loss.

Righty A.J. Puckett gave up 10 hits in six innings, allowing three runs with single tallies in each of the first three innings. The Pepperdine product struck out six hitters while allowing just one walk and hitting the zone with 70 pitches out of 99 thrown.

Those three runs were plenty with Wilmington going scoreless til the ninth when Wander Franco scored after a one-out double.

Boxscore Link

Wander Franco 3-4 R, 2b
A.J. Puckett 6 IP 10 H 3 R 3 ER 1 BB 6 K 7-2 GO-FO 99p/70k
Walker Sheller 3 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 0 K 3-4 GO-FO 42p/29k

NW Arkansas Naturals 8 Corpus Christi Hooks 7

The Naturals connected on 15 hits and walked the game off with another win over the Astros Double=A squad.

After a pair of runs given up in the first inning, NW Arkansas connected on six singles around a walk to plate four runs and grab the lead back. The Astros would look to put the stranglehold on the game, scoring five runs to take a 7-4 lead into the sixth frame.

Those runs wouldn’t be enough with NW Arkansas scoring three in the sixth with a rbi double by Samir Duenez and a two-run double by Donnie Dewees. The Naturals would threaten in the eighth but come up short before Dewees would triple in the ninth and score on Nick Dini’s sac fly to walk off.

The win went to Richard Lovelady after tossing two innings in his Double-A debut while hitting 100 mph on the stadium radar gun.

Boxscore Link

Nicky Lopez 4-5 2-2b
Donnie Dewees 4-5 R, 2b, 3b, 3 RBI
Samir Duenez 2-4 2R, 2b, 2 RBI, BB

Colorado Sky Sox 5 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

The rain delayed the Chasers game for a couple hours but couldn’t delay another loss to Colorado Springs for Omaha.

The Sky Sox score five runs in the first three innings to put Omaha down early. From there the bullpen settled things down with Brian Flynn and Kyle Zimmer tossing four scoreless innings.

The Chasers offense would score a pair of runs but come up short with just five hits on the night.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 1-2 HR, 2BB
Frank Schwindel 2-4
Kyle Zimmer 1 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 2 K

HR Roll Call None

BPKC Hitter of the Day Cody Jones 4-4 R, 2-2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day Eric Stout 3.2 Ip 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 3 K 58p/38k 3-4 GO-FO

Memphis Redbirds 8 Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The struggles for Josh Staumont continued with the Royals prospect able to record just four outs in his latest start on Friday versus Memphis.

With a pair of hits allowed and six walks, the righty allowed four runs (3 ER) before leaving while tossing just 25 strikes among his 61 pitches thrown. While Staumont wavered reliever Eric Stout continued his stellar run of late, toss three and two-third innings scoreless, lowering his ERA to 2.35 while striking out three on the night.

The offense trimmed the deficit to two runs but former Cardinal prospect Seth Maness gave up three runs to his former Triple-A squad to put the game out of reach for Omaha.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 2-5 R, 2b, 3b, RBI
Jorge Soler 1-3 2R, 2BB
Bubba Starling 0-5

Tulsa Drillers 8 NW Arkansas Naturals 2

The defense behind lefty Emilio Ogando was sub par which amplified his own mistakes in the NW Arkansas loss.

Up 1-0 at the time a two-out error by first baseman Zach Walters on what would’ve been the third out allowed a run in and extended the inning. The Drillers quickly took advantage with a double to plate the runner that reached on the error, taking a 2-1 lead. After the Naturals plated a run with a sac fly in the fourth to tie the game back up Ogando allowed a solo home run to fall behind once again.

The Drillers would pile three singles together in the fifth off Ogando for a run before getting an error and a two run home run in the sixth to push their advantage to 6-2. The Naturals offense went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position to fail to keep up and Andrew Edwards struggles after his DL stint continued with a pair of runs allowed while he was on the hill.

Boxscore Link

Emilio Ogando 6 IP 8 H 6 R 2 ER 0 BB 5 K 8-4 GO-FO 91p/67k
Donnie Dewees 3-4 R, 3b
Nick Dini 1-2 R, RBI, BB

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Salem Red Sox 3 

The Rock mounted a late rally to take down the 1st half champs in Salem.

Trailing 3-0 after three innings the Rocks bullpen settled things down, tossing six straight zeros to give the offense some time to get back in the game.

A run in the sixth on four singles got things started with Roman Collins rbi single to drive in Chris DeVito accounted for the run in that inning. The next inning featured a pair of rbi hits as DeVito once again was in the middle of things, singling to drive in Wander Franco before Nathan Esposito’s two-bagger plated Chase Vallot. In the eighth inning, Cody Jones connected on his fourth hit of the night to start off the inning, doubling and then advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jecksson Flores. The Red Sox would walk All-Star Nicky Lopez before striking out D.J. Burt to get within an out of escaping the jam but Wander Franco would line a single to left to plate the lead run for Wilmington.

Wilmington’s Yunior Marte would retire two in the eighth after getting his club out of a seventh-inning jam before turning the ball over to Richard Lovelady. The hard-throwing southpaw would spin his way through four outs to record the save while earning his seventh save of the season.

Boxscore Link

Chase Vallot 2-4 R, 2b, BB
Chris DeVito 2-5 R, 2b, RBI
Richard Lovelady 1.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 BB 1 K 1-2 GO-FO 10p/8k

Orem Owlz 10 Idaho Falls Chukars 6 

The Chukars starter put them behind the eight ball which lead to a home opening loss to the Angels rookie squad.

Starting pitcher Christopher Marte got tuned up for 10 hits and seven runs in just four innings while recording just one strikeout on the day.

Trailing 8-0 the Chukars would plate six runs to get back in the game but failed to get any closer, dropping their home opener in the process.

Outfielder Cristhian Vasquez had a good day at the plate going two for four with a pair of runs scored and two driven in.

Boxscore Link

Robby Rinn 2-4 RBI, BB
Tyler Straub 3-3 R, 3b, BB
Cristhian Vasquez 2-4 2R, 3b, 2 RBI

Kingsport Mets 16 Burlington Royals 1 

An ugly second game for the Burlington Royals against the Mets.

The pitching staff gave up 22 hits and 16 runs with five runs coming off starter Michael Messier with just one out recorded before Yerelmy Garcia gave up another five in two and two-third innings.

While the pitching staff was getting knocked around the Royals offense was getting little done on their own, collecting just four hits and one run in the blowout loss. Position player Ryan Dale finished off the night on the mound by tossing the final two innings while allowing five runs in the process.

Boxscore Link

Jeison Guzman 1-4 3b
Michael Gigliotti 1-3 R, BB, SB
J.C. Cloney 2 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 0 BB 3 K 2-1 GO-FO 20p/16k

DSL Royals 11 DSL Marlins 10

A wild one in the normally pitcher friendly Dominican League on Friday.

The Royals scored eight runs in the first five innings before being forced into making a comeback late. A pair of Royals pitchers worked five innings while limiting the Marlins to two runs with that five run lead. Catcher Felix Familia helped the Royals to an 8-2 lead through that time, doubling in a run in the first and scoring before scoring again in the fifth after reaching on a hit by pitch.

A pair of relievers couldn’t hang onto that lead, allowing eight runs in the seventh frame to put the Royals behind 10-8. Fortunately, the offense wasn’t done plugging the scoreboard for three runs with a Nicholas Febres rbi double before crossing the plate two more times on Marlins wild pitches to take the lead and the eventual win.

Boxscore Link

Maikel Garcia 3-3 R, 3b, 3 RBI, BB
Reynin Reynoso 2-3 2R, BB, 2 SB(3)
Nicolas Febres 2-4 2R, 2-2b, 2 RBI