HR Roll Call – Ryan O’Hearn (22)

BP KC Hitter of the Day – Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, HR

BP KC Pitcher of the Day – Ofreidy Gomez: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K

Round Rock Express 2 Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Jason Vargas made his final Triple-A start of the season, and he made it count, striking out ten batters over 5.2 innings. He did allow a pair of runs, but with only five hits against him, Vargas definitely was impressive. After he left the game, three Chasers relievers combined to throw 3.1 hitless innings, which gave the mostly unimpressive Chasers offense a chance to make a comeback. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ramon Torres came to the plate with the bases loaded. After he made contact, the bases were no longer loaded, as he drove in three with a double.

Boxscore Link

Ramon Torres: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI
Jason Vargas: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
Orlando Calixte: 1-3, BB, R

Tulsa Drillers 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

Ryan O’Hearn crushed his 15th home run since joining the Naturals, and his 22nd of the season, but a rough outing from Ashton Goudeau dug too deep of a hole for the offense. He allowed four runs in four innings of work, though the lineup couldn’t do much either, going 0-4 with runners in scoring position, and collecting only five hits on the night. On the bright side, they only left six men on base. The Drillers scored three in the fourth, with a quartet of singles coming after Goudeau recorded the second out of the inning. That was more than enough of a cushion for Drillers starter Andrew Sopko.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez: 1-4, 2 K, SB
Ryan O’Hearn: 2-4, HR
Humberto Arteaga: 1-3, 2B

Burlington Royals 1 Danville Braves 2

The Royals spoiled an excellent start from right-hander Ofreidy Gomez, who went seven strong innings, scattering eight hits, allowing just two runs, while striking out ten batters. After plating one run in the third, they had three more men reach base the rest of the way, with Braves pitchers holding them to two hits on the night. Nicky Lopez was responsible for one of those hits, pushing his season line to .281/.395/.430.

Boxscore Link

Ofreidy Gomez: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Nicky Lopez: 1-3, RBI
Logan Gray: 1-3, 2B, R

HR Roll Call: D.J. Burt (3), Chris DeVito (2), Jecksson Flores (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day – Chris DeVito, 1-3, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day – Kris Medlen 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Omaha Storm Chasers 4, Nashville Sounds 2

Omaha’s offense smacked 13 hits, overcoming three errors by the defense, for a win in the Music City. Kris Medlen, making his first rehab start at Omaha, limited the Sounds to two hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings, while striking out five. He threw 69 pitches, 49 for strikes. The only run he allowed was unearned due to a throwing error by shortstop Ramon Torres. Meanwhile, Reymond Fuentes picked up three hits, while four different Storm Chasers had two hits. Irving Falu had the big hit, cracking a bases-loaded single in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. And a hat tip to Kevin McCarthy, who struck out the rehabbing Josh Reddick to end the game with the tying runs on base for his second save of the year.

Boxscore link

Reymond Fuentes: 3-5, R
Jorge Bonifacio: 2-5, 2 R, 2B
Irving Falu: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI

Tulsa Drillers 2, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 0

Despite outhitting Tulsa, the Naturals were shut out. Northwest Arkansas collected eight hits, but six were singles. Starter Ashton Goudeau allowed five hits and three walks in six innings of work while striking out just one batter. Tulsa pushed across single runs in the second and fourth innings, giving them just enough of a cushion. The Naturals went 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded in the fourth. They also lost a scoring chance when Terrance Gore grounded into a double play (pitcher to home to third) with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh.

Boxscore link

Frank Schwindel: 2-4
Cam Gallagher: 1-2, 2 BB
Corey Toups: 1-4, 2B

Winston-Salem Dash 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 1

Wilmington starter Matt Tenuta left the game in the second inning with a sore shoulder, and reliever Colin Rodgers allowed two inherited runners to score as Winston-Salem put up a four-spot in the frame to cruise to victory. Tenuta had allowed a walk and a single, but with two flyouts was almost out of trouble with only one run scoring. But he walked one more hitter before being removed in the middle of an at-bat. Rodgers finished that at-bat by walking the hitter and then gave up a bases-loaded double to give the Dash a 4-0 lead. On the bright side, that was the only hit Rodgers allowed in 5 1/3 innings of relief. The Blue Rocks could only manage six hits, with their lone run coming in the fourth as Brandon Downes walked and Elier Hernandez doubled. Raul Mondesi, in the first game of his rehab assignment following his 50-game suspension, went 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Boxscore link

Elier Hernandez: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB
Humberto Arteaga: 2-3, BB
Colin Rodgers: 5 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K

Hagerstown Suns 7, Lexington Legends 2

Another rough start for Nolan Watson, who allowed eight hits and four runs in just 3 2/3 innings. That put the Legends in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Watson fell to 2-7 with an 8.18 ERA for the season. Torey Deshazier allowed three more runs in 3 1/3 innings of relief pitching to put the game out of reach. Lexington could only muster six hits, although two of them were home runs. Unfortunately both were solo shots, one by D.J. Burt in the first inning and the other by Jecksson Flores in the third.

Boxscore link

Anderson Miller: 2-4, 2B
Roman Collins: 0-2, 2 BB
Gabe Cramer: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Grand Junction Rockies 4, Idaho Falls Chukars 2

The Chukars fell behind early and couldn’t come back from a 3-0 deficit. Starter Andres Machado worked four innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks, although he did pick up five strikeouts. Drew Milligan followed with 2 1/3 innings of relief, giving up a run on two hits and two walks while striking out four. The Chukars took advantage of a wild pitch and a passed ball to score two runs in the fourth. With two outs and one on, Nick Heath struck out but reached on a passed ball. Ryan Dale doubled to drive in two but Idaho Falls could not add any more runs.

Boxscore link

Yeison Melo: 3-4, 3B
David Edwards: 2-4, R
Ryan Dale: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI

Burlington Royals 5, Princeton Rays 0

Burlington picked up its first win of the young season with an easy 5-0 victory. Three Royals combined on the six-hit shutout, with Garrett Davila earning the win by holding Princeton to three hits in 5 2/3 innings. On offense, Burlington collected nine hits, including Chris DeVito’s second home run of the year. Every starter except Nicky Lopez had at least one hit, but Lopez drew two walks.

Boxscore link

Chris DeVito: 1-3, 2 R, HR, BB, 2 RBI
Tyler Straub: 2-3, R
Garrett Davila: 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K

DSL Royals 6, DSL Phillies 4

The Royals jumped out to a nice early lead, scoring four runs in the first three innings. After the Phillies closed the gap to 4-3, the Royals responded with two more runs in the sixth for an insurmountable lead. The Royals pounded out 10 hits, including two doubles and two triples and also stole three bases. The Royals improved to 11-6 on the season with the win.

Boxscore link

Janser Lara: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Esteury Ruiz: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B
Angel Medina: 2-5, R, RBI, 3B
Andres Martin: 2-4, 2 R, 2B
Juan Peguero: 2-4, R, RBI, 2B

HR Roll Call – Frank Schwindel (6)
BP Kansas City Hitter of the Day – Elier Hernandez: 3-4, 2B, R, 2 BB
BP Kansas City Pitcher of the Day – Jake Junis: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Omaha Storm Chasers 2 Tacoma Rainiers 3

The Chasers got out to an early 2-0 lead after two innings, but only had one more scoring opportunity when they loaded the bases with one out in the fourth. Whit Merrifield proceeded to ground into a double play, and only one man reached base in the last five innings. Jonathan Dziedzic took the loss, surrendering a run in the fourth after a double, wild pitch, and sac fly, then he gave up a double and a dinger in the seventh, knocking him out of the game. Brett Eibner continued his offensive resurgence, going 1-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored.

Boxscore Link

Jose Martinez: 2-4, 6 hits in his last 4 games
Brett Eibner: 1-3, R, BB, SB
Travis Snider: 1-4, 2B, R

  Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7 Springfield Cardinals 2

Frank Schwindel’s second inning grand slam was more than enough offense in support of yet another solid start from Jake Junis. Following tonight’s 6.2 shutout innings, Junis has allowed just one run in his last 19.2 innings. The 23-year old righty also struck out six without walking a batter, and induced seven groundouts. On offense, the Naturals didn’t get much going for several innings after Schwindel’s blast, but Mauricio Ramos drove in a pair in the eighth with his third hit of the night, and Bubba Starling added an RBI double in the ninth – his league-leading 12th of the season. Benino Pruneda struck out four in 2.1 innings of relief work.

Boxscore Link

Jake Junis: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Frank Schwindel: 1-4, GS, 4 RBI
Mauricio Ramos: 3-4, R, 2 RBI,

  Wilmington Blue Rocks 7 Salem Red Sox 8 (10)

Despite a 15-hit explosion from the offense, the Rocks dropped another game, this one thanks to a walkoff single from Red Sox prospect Andrew Benintendi in the first extra frame. Every hitter reached base at least once, and six Rocks collected multiple hits on the evening. The Sox jumped all over Matt Tenuta, scoring two in the first, three in the third, and one more in the fourth inning. While the bullpen handed out eight (!) free passes over the following five innings, they only allowed two runs, which gave Wilmington their chance to come back in the ninth inning. Down two runs, and down to their final out, Austin Bailey and Alfredo Escalera hit back-to-back singles, before being driven in on a triple from Humberto Arteaga. They couldn’t capitalize on a two on, one out situation in the tenth, and Benintendi’s single sent everyone home.

Boxscore Link

Wander Franco: 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Corey Toups: 2-4, R, 2 BB, SB (6)
Elier Hernandez: 3-4, 2B, R, 2 BB

   Charleston RiverDogs 5 Lexington Legends 1

Nolan Watson struck out a career-high six batters in his four innings of work, but he also gave up two home runs in the first inning, and the Legends were unable to produce any kind of offense to pick up the former first-rounder. Watson’s ERA now stands at 10.52. An ERA starting with a one is good, but not if it’s followed by three more numbers. He did only issue one walk, and 41 of his 69 pitches went for strikes, so perhaps this can get him going. Offensively, the Legends collected just six hits, three of which left the bat of Amalani Fukofuka. The RiverDogs scored two more runs against Niklas Stephenson in the eighth, putting the game out of reach.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka: 3-4, RBI
Nolan Watson: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Chase Vallot: 1-3, 2B, throwing error (6), 2 SB allowed

HR Roll Call — Jorge Bonifacio (4), Hunter Dozier (5), Samir Duenez 2 (3), Brett Eibner (1), Chase Vallot (5)

BP Kansas City Hitter of the Day — Samir Duenez: 4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI

BP Kansas City Pitcher of the Day — Eric Skoglund: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Omaha Storm Chasers 10, Oklahoma City Dodgers 2

This was supposed to be a delicious pitching matchup between Miguel Almonte and one of the Dodgers’ top prospects, Julio Urias. Instead, OKC decided to start Zach Lee and use Urias in a piggyback role. The fans’ loss was the Storm Chasers’ gain, as Omaha battered Lee for 10 runs in the first four innings. Bonifacio got the scoring started with a two-run homer in the first. He would add an RBI single in Omaha’s five-run fourth inning. Brett Eibner hit a two-run homer of his own, and Travis Snider drove in three runs. Meanwhile, Almonte was limited only by pitch count, as he left after 100 pitches and 5 2/3 innings. He lowered his ERA to 3.45 and racked up eight strikeouts while allowing five hits and three walks.

Boxscore link

Jorge Bonifacio: 3-5, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
Cheslor Cuthbert: 2-4, 2 R, 1 RBI
Whit Merrifield: 1-4, BB, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI

Northwest Arkansas Naturals 4, Springfield Cardinals 1

The Naturals scored three runs in the top of the 10th for a 4-1 win. Northwest Arkansas began the 10th with singles from Mauricio Ramos and Frank Schwindel. But they were still at first and second with two outs when Ramon Torres drew a walk. Orlando Calixte singled. A Springfield error on the play allowed all three runners to score. Yender Caramo worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the inning for his first save. The game started as a pitchers’ duel between the Naturals’ Eric Skoglund and Springfield’s Corey Baker. The Cardinals scored their only run in the second. The Naturals didn’t get on the board until Hunter Dozier led off the seventh with his fifth home run of the year.

Boxscore link

Kevin McCarthy: W (1-0), 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Mauricio Ramos: 3-4
Ramon Torres: 1-3, BB, 1 R

Lexington Legends 6, Carolina Fireflies 5

The Legends scored three runs in the eighth for a 6-5 win at Carolina. Lexington entered the inning facing a 5-3 deficit, but Duenez belted his second home run of the night to cut the deficit to one. Chase Vallot followed with a walk, and a Carolina error put runners at first and third. Ben Johnson singled to score Vallot and tie the score. Although Xavier Fernandez tried a bunt that turned into a double play, Cody Jones doubled to score Johnson with the go-ahead run. Lexington overcame a poor start by Scott Blewett, who allowed four runs in five innings. Kyle Kubat picked up the win in relief, pitching four innings and allowing one run. Vallot added a home run, his fifth of the year.

Boxscore link

Scott Blewett: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Ben Johnson: 2-4, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI
Chase Vallot: 1-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

HR Roll Call – Frank Schwindel (3)

BP Kansas City Hitter of the Day – Frank Schwindel: 2-4, 2B, HR

BP Kansas City Pitcher of the Day – Josh Staumont: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K

  Northwest Arkansas Naturals 1 Springfield Cardinals 8

The Naturals collected eight hits on the evening, but they weren’t able to score a run until Schwindel’s home run in the ninth inning. On the pitching side, Jake Junis gave up five runs in less than four innings. He did strike out eight, which was nice. The Cardinals tacked on another three runs in the seventh off Sam Selman, whose ERA currently sits at 15.19. Hunter Dozier hit his seventh double on the season, bringing his OPS to a robust 1.017. He’s certainly making his case for a mid-season promotion.

Boxscore Link

Hunter Dozier: 2-4, 2B
Frank Schwindel: 2-4, 2B, HR
Jake Junis: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

  Wilmington Blue Rocks 1 Carolina Mudcats 3

Despite five innings of one-run ball from Josh Staumont, the Blue Rocks offense was unable to scratch across anything resembling run support. A pair of runs off Ashton Goudeau in the seventh inning put the Mudcats on top for good. Staumont continued his impressive strikeout display, whiffing nine batters on the evening. His control did disappear at times, however, as he issued four free passes. The Royals’ 21st-rounder from last year’s draft, Austin Bailey, had a nice night, collecting three hits, but the Rocks went 1-7 with runners in scoring position.

Boxscore Link

Austin Bailey: 3-4
Alfredo Escalera: 0-4, 2 K
Josh Staumont: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K

   Lexington Legends 2 Columbia Fireflies 7

Much like the Blue Rocks, the Legends had ample opportunities to do damage offensively, but went 1-8 with men in scoring position. Starter Emilio Ogando had a solid first five innings, but allowed a couple of runs in the sixth, and the Fireflies put the game out of reach in the eighth, scoring four runs on six hits against Julio Pinto. And that was in just two innings. Chase Vallot had a pair of singles, but also committed a throwing error, allowed two stolen bases, and allowed his sixth passed ball of the young season.

Boxscore Link

Cody Jones: 2-4, 3B
Amalani Fukofuka: 2-4
Emilio Ogando: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K