HR Roll Call: Paulo Orlando (11,12), Samir Duenez (10), Jecksson Flores (7), Alfredo Escalera 2 (4,5), Chase Vallot (14), Nick Pratto (14)

Sunday BPKC Hitter of the Day: Nick Pratto 2-4 R, 2-2b
Monday BPKC Hitter of the Day: Alfredo Escalera 2-4 2HR

Sunday BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Josh Dye 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 1-1 GO-FO 72p/50k
Monday BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Ofreidy Gomez 7 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K 2-8 GO-FO 77p/49k

76-60 2nd Half Champs
Sunday Greenville Drive 7 Lexington Legends 4
Monday Greenville Drive 6 Lexington Legends 4
Avg Brewer Hicklen .307
HR Seuly Matias 31
RBI MJ Melendez 73
Wins Garrett Davila 7
ERA (minimum 50 IP) Holden Capps 2.98
Saves Tad Ratliff 10

The Legends were outslugged over the weekend as they rested their prime pitchers in waiting for their first playoff appearance in 12 years. First baseman Nick Pratto kept his hot hitting going with two hits in each game with a home run on Monday and pair of doubles on Sunday.

Nick Pratto: 4-9 3R, 2-2b, HR, RBI
Cal Jones: 3-8 RBI, CS
Sebastian Rivero: 2-4 2 RBI

68-72 Overall 3rd place
Sunday Game 1 Potomac Nationals 1 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0
Sunday Game 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Potomac Nationals 2
Monday Potomac Nationals 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4
Average Travis Jones .298
HR Gabe Cancel, Kort Peterson 8
RBI Gabe Cancel 73
Wins Gerso Garabito 8
ERA Garabito 3.16
Saves Bryan Brickhouse 14

The Rocks finished off their season losing two of three games, the last one an extra-innings loss to the Nationals. All three starters allowed just one run in each game with Josh Dye earning his first High-A win following the Burlington season with a spot start. Reliever Tyler Zuber blew Monday’s game with three runs allowed in the tenth inning on three hits and a walk.

Josh Dye: 5 IP 3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 3-4 GO-FO 72p/50k
Andres Sotillet: 7 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 4 BB 7 K 6-3 GO-fO 109p/69k
Ofreidy Gomez: 7 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 5 K 2-8 GO-FO 77p/49k

70-70
Sunday NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Arkansas Travelers 3 F/10
Monday Arkansas Travelers 8 NW Arkansas Naturals 3
Avg Nicky Lopez .333
HR Alex Liddi 23
RBI Liddi 72
Wins Emilio Ogando 11
ERA Pedro Fernandez 2.81
Saves Jake Newberry 12

The Naturals split their weekend games to finish and even 70-70 for the season. Starter Scott Blewett gave NW Arkansas a quality start on Sunday before Ian Kennedy was roughed up on Monday. The Sunday game featured a Jecksson Flores game-tying home run in the ninth for the infielder who won the Texas League batting title.

Alfredo Escalera: 2-7 2HR, 2 RBI, K
Jecksson Flores: 1-6 HR
Samir Duenez: 2-3 HR

66-74
Sunday New Orleans Baby Cakes 6 Omaha Storm Chasers 4
Monday Omaha Storm Chasers 6 New Orleans Baby Cakes 5 F/10
Avg Humberto Arteaga .292
HR Frank Schwindel 24
RBI Schwindel 93
Wins Jon Dziedzic, Trevor Oaks 8
ERA Richard Lovelady 2.47
Saves Lovelady 9

The Chasers split their final weekend with an extra-inning win and a blown lead on Sunday. First baseman Frank Schwindel connected on five hits in the two games with a pair of doubles. Those doubles were his 37th and 38th of the season which broke Omaha’s franchise record for a season that had stood since 1983. Closer Richard Lovelady completed his ninth save of the season to finish with an ERA of 2.47 on the season.

Jake Kalish 5 IP 8 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 5 K 3-4 GO-FO 85p/55k
Frank Schwindel 5-10 2R, 2-2b, 3 RBI
Nicky Lopez 1-9 2R, RBI, BB, SB

Idaho Falls Chukars 4 Ogden Raptors 2

The Chukars kept pace with first place Grand Junction with a slim win on Monday. Starter Kris Bubic worked five innings with seven strikeouts giving up just a second inning two-run home run as his only blemish. The Chukars quickly answered in their half of the second inning with a Hunter Strong RBI double and a Rubendy Jaquez run scoring single. Royals seventh-round pick Tyler Gray toss four scoreless innings in place of Bubic, working around three walks and earning the win with Offerman Collado’s two-run single in the sixth inning.

Rubendy Jaquez: 2-2 RBI, BB
Kris Bubic: 5 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 4 BB 7 K 3-1 GO-FO 90p/51k
Tyler Gray: 4 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 3 BB 3 K 6-3 GO-FO 72p/42k

Sunday Boxscores
Monday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Paulo Orlando 4-4 2R, 3-2b

BPKC Pitcher of the Day; Josh Staumont 4 Ip 1 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 3K 1-7 GO-FO 56p/38k

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Salem Red Sox 2 F/10

The Blue Rocks scored early and then got a break late to finish off a series win against Salem in the fourth game of their series. Hard-throwing Anthony Bender gave Wilmington his second longest outing of the year, tossing six innings while scattering six hits despite getting just one strikeout on the day. The offense had staked Bender to a 2-0 lead with an RBI single by Khalil Lee in the third and an RBI base hit by Nick Heath in the fourth. Unfortunately, Bender couldn’t keep that lead, letting in a run in fifth on an RBI triple by Chris Marrero and another run in the sixth with a two-out RBI single by Bobby Dalbec to tie it up 2-2. The game would stay static there until extra innings when Ofreidy Gomez was able to work around the free baserunner and the Rocks took advantage of a wayward bases-loaded pitch that caught the jersey of Chris DeVito before heading towards the backstop to easily score Khalil Lee for the walk-off win.

Khalil Lee: 2-5 R, RBI
Meibrys Viloria: 3-4 R, BB
Ofreidy Gomez: 4 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 4 BB 4 K 3-3 GO-FO 62p/34k

Omaha Storm Chasers 3 Round Rock Express 2

In a spot start, Josh Staumont gave Omaha four innings of one-run ball, allowing just a first inning solo home run as he stepped in for recently called up Scott Barlow. Trailing 1-0, the Chasers scored a run in the third following a Manny Olloque leadoff double after Billy Burns sacrificed him to third base and Frank Schwindel scored him on a groundout. An inning later it was a Paulo Orlando double that added a tally after he scored on Humberto Arteaga’s single. In the sixth, three consecutive Round Rock singles plated a run off lefty callup Jake Kalish but Omaha quickly countered with the same formula that they used in the fourth getting a run off an Orlando double and Arteaga single. From that point, Kalish would buzz through to the ninth where Kevin Lenik would take over with a quick 1-2-3 inning to earn the save.

Humberto Arteaga: 2-3 2 RBI
Frank Schwindel: 1-4 RBI
Manny Olloque: 1-3 R, 2b

Tuesday Probables
Omaha – Glenn Sparkman 5-2 2.96 ERA 1.06 WHIP
NW Arkansas – Emilio Ogando (lhp) 3-2 5.63 2.01 WHIP
Wilmington – Gerson Garabito 1-4 4.17 ERA 1.46 WHIP
Lexington – Carlos Hernandez 2-2 2.33 ERA 0.83 WHIP

Monday Boxscores

BPKC Hitter of the Weekend: Elier Hernandez 7-13 3R, 2-2b, 4 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Weekend: Ofreidy Gomez 6 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 9 K 5-3 GO-FO 85p/56k

Sunday Lexington Legends 9 West Virginia Power 4
Saturday West Virginia Power 4 Lexington Legends 2
Friday West Virginia Power 6 Lexington Legends 0

The Legends were far too concerned with the umpire’s strikezone on Friday night, regularly talking to him after they were caught looking in a fifteen strikeout evening. Starter Dan Tillo was hurt by well-placed groundballs, giving up five runs in four and two-thirds innings while walking four, the lefty will need to miss more bats to succeed at upper levels. Saturday’s game saw the Legends limited to just five hits in defeat. In Sunday’s series finale the Pirates Low-A affiliate fumbled away multiple opportunities to end the first inning helping Lexington score seven runs in the frame. Starter Nolan Watson was the recipient of the run output to improve his record to 2-1 with a quality start from the former 1st rounder. Top five prospects Seuly Matias (7) and MJ Melendez (3) hit back to back home runs in the fourth inning to put the game away.

Hot – Sebastian Rivero, primarily thought of as a defensive catcher Rivero has hit well in his introduction to Low-A ball with a .344 average over his last ten games prior to Sunday. In addition the average he has also flexed his muscle with a pair of home runs while also just missing one on Saturday, hitting one to the wall. The defense is already strong for the nineteen-year-old and should he prove he can hit then he’ll move up the Royals organization charts quite quickly.

Not – 2017 11th round selection Sal Biasi has given up runs in his last three appearances including home runs in his last two. The righty has missed bats with 13 strikeouts in 8.1 innings but seven walks to go with eight hits has yielded far too much damage in the early going.

Sunday Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Winston-Salem Dash 0
Saturday Wilmington Blue Rocks 3 Winston-Salem Dash 1
Friday Winston-Salem Dash 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks and Dash swapped pitching performances on Friday and Saturday with three pitchers limiting the Blue Rocks to just four hits on Friday before Jace Vines and company held the Dash to five on Saturday. It was a solid start for Vines, limiting the opponent to just a solo home run over five and two-thirds innings, his second solid outing in a row after a very rough start to his season. On Sunday the Rocks used a three-run blast from Brandon Downes and excellent pitching by Ofreidy Gomez to take the series win. The Dominican born Gomez struckout nine hitters in six innings as he was commanding his curveball and fastball, reaching as high as 95 mph according to the stadium gun. He often misses plenty of bats but with his erratic control, he often doesn’t see the results one would expect.

Hot – Emmanuel Rivera, the third baseman has a hit in 11 of 13 games going into Sunday which has raised his average to .280 from .182 following the April 13th game. The Royals #10 prospect in my preseason rankings has played excellent third base defense for the Rocks and is now showing the bat they expected as he takes advantage of the spacious confines of Wilmington’s stadium.

Not – Khalil Lee, after a fast start in his first 10 games of the season, the nineteen-year-old has slowed up hitting just .091 in his last ten games. Going into the season strikeouts were a concern for the outfielder but he’s dropped his k-rate (down 6%) some while upping his walk rate (20.7%). Turning more contact into production is the next step for Lee.

Sunday Tulsa Drillers 3 NW Arkansas Naturals 2
Saturday NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Tulsa Drillers 2
Friday Tulsa Drillers 2 NW Arkansas Naturals 1

The Naturals received quality pitching efforts on both Friday and Saturday against the Dodgers affiliate. Friday’s two-run start by Glenn Sparkman was wasted with the offense limited to just one run on three hits. Building innings for Sparkman and getting his legs underneath him should be a big priority as he hasn’t broken 100 innings since 2014. Saturday’s performance by Foster Griffin was one of his best with the lefty striking out nine hitters over seven innings while yielding just an unearned run. The Naturals backed Griffin with four runs off starter Dennis Santana including three runs scored on the evening by Elier Hernandez. On Sunday the Naturals plated a pair in the first on an Elier Hernandez single but could do no more, going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. A two-run double off of starter Zach Lovvorn gave Tulsa a 3-2 advantage in the fourth and would ultimately decide the game. The Royals prospect thought he had k’d hitter Will Smith a pitch earlier and was visibly upset.

Hot – Elier Hernandez, the 2011 signee has got the bat rolling over his past nine games going into Sunday, hitting .382 with six doubles in that time. Last season Hernandez appeared to have it going before a collision in the outfield wiped out his season. It’s easy to forget that he still hasn’t reached his 24th birthday and shouldn’t be given up on by Royals fans.

Not – Alredo Escalera, the 2012 draftee may have maxed out his talent at Double-A. In his third season with the Naturals, Escalera has gotten off to a brutal start, hitting just .120 in his first 14 games with 23 strikeouts in 50 at-bats.

Sunday Colorado Springs 7 Omaha Storm Chasers 3
Saturday Colorado Springs Sky Sox 3 Omaha Storm Chasers 2
Friday Omaha Storm Chasers 6 Colorado Springs Sky Sox 5 F/10

The Chasers won in extra innings on Friday after reliever Brandon Maurer had given up the lead in his inning and two-thirds of work, allowing three runs in that time. Just four hits for Omaha on the night but they made every one of them count and pushed a pair of runs across in the extra inning before Jason Adam shut things down. Saturday the Chasers managed more hits but went just 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position to be limited to just two runs. Starter Jon Dziedzic gave up three runs in the second innings to take the loss, all three were unearned after a leadoff error but the lefty hurt his own cause with a wild pitch that plated one of the runs as well. Forced into a spot start Seth Manness got knocked around for four runs in four and two-thirds innings on eight hits before giving way to Wily Peralta who gave up three runs in just an inning and two-thirds. Reliever Josh Staumont gave up a hit which allowed an inherited run in but struckout five of the other six hitters he faced, giving him 22 K’s in 10.1 innings for the season.

Hot – Jason Adam, back with the Royals after injury-plagued seasons with the Twins and Padres the former ’10 draftee looks better than ever. Up to 98 mph by multiple reports, Adam is dominating hitters with 22 strikeouts in 15.1 innings against just 12 baserunners allowed in that time.

Not – Brandon Maurer, the move to Triple-A for the reliever was supposed to help him get things corrected but that hasn’t happened yet as he’s given up eight hits, six walks, and seven runs in just five and two-thirds innings for Omaha.

Sunday Boxscores
Saturday Boxscores
Friday Boxscores

HR Roll Call: Roman Collins (8), Travis Maezes (6), Robby Rinn (6), Cristian Perez (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Samir Duenez 2-3 2b, 2 RBI, BB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Josh Staumont 7 Ip 0 H 0 R 0 ER 5 BB 8 K HBP 100p/54k 6-5 GO-FO

NW Arkansas Naturals 5 Springfield Cardinals 1

Despite a tough season, starter Josh Staumont had things working pretty well on Wednesday. The hard throwing pitcher struggled with his control, as usual, hitting the zone with just 54 of 100 pitches and walking five hitters and hitting another, but still working through seven innings. Despite those base runners, Staumont didn’t allow a hit on the night while giving up just a first inning run after a leadoff walk, a hit batsman and a sac fly. In addition to no-hitting Springfield, he struck out eight hitters, his highest total since a May 18th start with the Chasers.

The Naturals offense backed up Staumont with five runs getting a pair of RBI hits from Samir Duenez in the process.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 2-3 2b, 2 RBI, BB
Donnie Dewees 1-5 R
Anderson Miller 1-4 R
Josh Staumont 7 Ip 0 H 0 R 0 ER 5 BB 8 K HBP 100p/54k 6-5 GO-FO

Frederick Keys 5 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

A pair of Rocks two run home runs put them in a good spot, but starter Jace Vines couldn’t make them stand up with reliever Franco Terrero.

Up 4-3 after five innings Vines gave up a double and a single to start the sixth. Manager Jamie Quirk turned to Terrero but the reliever couldn’t get out of the jam, allowing a double and a single that brought in both base runners to put Wilmington behind 5-4. After giving up the lead, the Rocks went hitless to drop the game.

Boxscore Link

Brandon Downes 1-3 BB
Chris DeVito 0-3 BB
Jace Vines 5 IP 9 H 5 R 5 ER 2 BB 2 K 7-4 GO-FO 78p/50k

Lexington Legends 2 Rome Braves 1

The Legends matched Rome’s quality pitching with a solid outing by starter Ofreidy Gomez. The Dominican right-hander allowed just four hits in his six and two-third innings, hammering the zone with 58 strikes on 88 pitches. Tossing up five scoreless innings to start his outing to match Rome starter Tucker Davidson the Royals 22-year old pitcher gave up just one run.

That one run came in the sixth on a two out double allowing Gomez’s only walk on the night to come around to score. That run tied the game, but that didn’t last long as Emmanuel Rivera came home on a Manny Olloque single just one inning later. After Gomez retired two in the seventh and gave up a single reliever Matt Wynne came in and worked two and one-third innings scoreless to earn the save for Lexington.

Boxscore Link

Ofreidy Gomez 6.2 IP 4 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 6 K 12-2 GO-FO 88p/58k
Emmanuel Rivera 1-4 R
Gabe Cancel 0-4
Khalil Lee 0-4 2k

Ogden Raptors 13 Idaho Falls Chukars 8

The Chukars first two pitchers on the night struggled to limit Ogden’s offense on this night, giving up 15 hits and 13 runs. Starter Dillon Drabble gave up 10 hits in five and two-third innings while allowing 10 runs (7 ER) in that time.

The Chukars offense had twelve hits and six walks of their own but left 10 runners on base in falling short with eight runs of their own.

Boxscore Link

Travis Jones 2-4 2R
Matt Morales 3-5 R, 3b, RBI
Brewer Hicklen 1-4 R, BB

Princeton Rays 12 Burlington Royals 1

The Royals starter and first reliever on the mound got significantly roughed up by the Rays on this night, allowing 17 hits and 12 runs in six innings. The Royals gave up nine extra base hits among the 20 hits allowed on the night including seven doubles, going 8 for 21 with runners in scoring position.

While the Rays were rocking Royals pitching the home squad was connecting on just one extra base hit while scoring just one run on the night.

Boxscore Link

Seuly Matias 2-4
Sebastian Rivera 2-4 R
Jeison Guzman 2-4 2K

AZL Royals 5 AZL Brewers 3

The Royals gave up a couple runs early but came on strong late to earn a win. Trailing 2-0 into the fifth, shortstop Cristian Perez connected on his first home run of the season to tie it up. The Royals scored again in the sixth with a leadoff double Jose Caraballo and coming in on a double play to take the lead. Runs in the seventh and the eighth innings pushed the lead up to 5-2 all while Randy Acevedo was spinning the final six innings with just one run allowed on the night to earn the win.

Boxscore Link

Randy Acevedo 6 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 2 K
Evan Steele 1.1 IP 2 H 2 R 1 ER 1 Bb 2 K 3-0 GO-FO
Isaiah Henry 3-4 2R, SB
Cristian Perez 1-4 HR, 2 RBI

Game 1 DSL Dodgers1 7 DSL Royals 4
Game 2 DSL Royals 3 DSL Dodgers1 2

The Royals split a doubleheader with the Dodgers, getting quality relief work over the final three innings by Wilmer Jimenez. The Royals used those three innings to tie the game, getting a triple by Rubendy Jaquez to leadoff the sixth and scoring on a sac fly before walking off the game in the seventh on a sac fly by Kember Nacero.

In the first game, the Royals lost a two run lead after three innings when the Dodgers plated four runs with the help of three walks and a hit batter prior to a pair of doubles. The Royals kept answering with single run innings while the Dodgers plated another three runs.

Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

Wilmer Jimenez 3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 6 K 3-0 GO-FO
Kember Nacero 0-2 RBI
Rubendy Jacquez 4-7 R, 3b, RBI

HR Roll Call: Jorge Soler (6), Donnie Dewees (4), Chase Vallot (6), Travis Maezes (3), Cody Jones (3)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Jorge Soler 2-3, HR, 2b, 3 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Ofreidy Gomez 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 9-6 GO-FO, 97p/65k

Nashville Sounds 7, Omaha Storm Chasers 3

Starter Josh Staumont got touched up by the A’s Triple-A squad Tuesday afternoon and took the loss in game two of the series.

The Nashville bats connected on four home runs off the hard throwing right-handed pitcher, getting a pair from Jaff Decker who came into the game with zero on the year. The home runs helped account for seven runs in five innings off Staumont, whose record dropped to 3-5 on the year.

Recently demoted outfielder Jorge Soler hit his second home run in as many days in the loss for Omaha.

Boxscore Link

Raul Mondesi 1-4, R, 2b, SB
Hunter Dozier 1-4, R, 2b
Ramon Torres 2-4

Springfield Cardinals 4, NW Arkansas Naturals 2

Naturals starter Zach Lovvorn danced around baserunners most of the night, allowing 10 hits and a pair of walks, but a couple runs in the second put him and his team behind early.

The offense could never dig out of the hole, getting a run in the second before scoring in the seventh after another Cardinals run, this one off reliever Jake Newberry.

The Cardinals tacked on another insurance run in the ninth which proved to be plenty as the Naturals lineup went silent in their half of the frame. The loss put NW Arkansas two games back of Springfield in the division.

Boxscore Link

Samir Duenez 1-4
Donnie Dewees 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Humberto Arteaga 2-4, CS

Wilmington Blue Rocks 3, Down East Wood Ducks 2

The Rocks were held scoreless for eight innings, but erupted in the ninth for a comeback win over Down East to finish off the three-game sweep of the Rangers affiliate.

A run in the first on a sac fly off starter Jared Ruxer and another in the seventh with a run-scoring double via reliever Matt Tenuta put Wilmington down 2-0 heading into the ninth.

Facing reliever Tyler Ferguson in just his second High-A appearance of the year, the Wilmington bats came alive. First, it was pinch hitter Cody Jones with a leadoff homer in the ninth, lining a ball out to right-center to trim the lead in half. Just two hitters later,Chase Vallot knocked one out to left-center to tie the game up before Travis Maezes homered on a ball to center with two outs to give Wilmington the lead.

Reliever Yunior Marte came in and worked a scoreless ninth to finish off the three-game sweep for Wilmington, their second of the year.

Boxscore Link

D.J. Burt 2-3, BB, SB
Cody Jones 1-1, HR
Chase Vallot 1-4 HR

Columbia Fireflies 5 Lexington Legends 3

The usually reliable Grant Gavin struggled in relief to drop the Legends back to .500 in Columbia in game one of Lexington’s series.

Lexington built a 3-0 lead with an RBI single from Kort Peterson in the fourth inning and a two-run double from Meibrys Viloria in the seventh.

Things looked good heading into the eighth with Grant Gavin and his minuscule 0.34 ERA taking the hill, but the righty’s control wavered, walking three in the inning and giving up a two-out single that tied the game. Manager Scott Thorman turned to Matt Wynne but he was unable to escape further damage, giving up two more singles that brought home two more runs to put Lexington behind 5-3. The bullpen blow-up ruined a scoreless seven inning start from Ofreidy Gomez.

The Legends threatened in the ninth, putting the tying run on with no out, but failed to advance them home with a pair of strikeouts and a Manny Olloque flyout to end the game.

Boxscore Link

Kort Peterson 2-4, 2b, RBI
Emmanuel Rivera 2-3, R, BB
Meibrys Viloria 1-4, 2b, 2 RBI

DSL Royals 4 DSL Marlins 1

The DSL Royals pitched another quality game against the Marlins squad, improving to 3-0.

Three pitchers combined to limit the Marlins to one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts on the day. Designated hitter Felix Familia connected on a pair of hits whiles scoring one run and knocking in another.

Boxscore Link

Felix Familia 2-3, R, RBI, BB
Hector Pineda 2-4, R, 2b, RBI
Rovaldis Cabrera 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 8-1 GO-FO

HR Roll Call: Elier Hernandez (5), Rudy Martin (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Rudy Martin 3-4, HR, SB

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Ofreidy Gomez 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 8-4 GO-FO, 88p/64k

Round Rock Express 2, Omaha Storm Chasers 0

Round Rock limited the hot Omaha bats to just four hits splitting the final game of the two team’s series.

Having scored 43 runs in their previous five games, Omaha was held scoreless by three Round Rock pitchers while limiting the Chasers to hits by just two players in their lineup. Second baseman Dean Anna and catcher Parker Morin accounted for the four hits, all singles, while the Chasers went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Starter Christian Binford was victim to the lack of the offense, taking the loss despite giving up just two runs in 7.2 innings of work. It was a nice bounce-back start for Binford after getting roughed up in his last start.

Boxscore Link

Christian Binford 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 7-4 GO-FO, 103p/68k
Hunter Dozier 0-2, BB
Eric Stout 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K,  0-1 GO-FO, 22p/14k

NW Arkansas Naturals 5, Frisco RoughRiders 1

The first Double-A start for Foster Griffin was solid as the former first-round pick earned his first win at the level.

The lefty worked six innings while navigating five hits and a walk, despite just three strikeouts and three groundouts. It appeared as if Griffin had given up a game tying two-run home run in the fourth to Peter O’Brien but after the slugger had rounded the bases manager Vance Wilson requested a conference with the umpires and got the call overturned. The lefty took advantage, allowing just a run in the fifth over his final two innings.

The Naturals scored a pair in the second inning on a Luis Villegas single. A solo home run by Elier Hernandez provided a run in the fifth and Jack Lopez’s double plated two more in the ninth to give NW Arkansas all the offense they would need.

Boxscore Link

Elier Herandez 1-5, HR
Foster Griffin 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3-8 GO-FO, 86p/55k
Alfredo Escalera 3-4, R

Lexington Legends 5, Asheville Tourists 2

The Legends had a well balanced effort in Asheville for a second night in a row to pull their record to .500 on the year.

Starter pitcher Ofreidy Gomez went seven innings to match his career high, allowing just one run in that time. The Dominican born pitcher pounded the zone with 64 strikes among his 88 pitches while not walking a hitter on the night, earning eight groundouts and striking out six hitters.

The bottom third of the order drove in four of the Legends five runs, with new addition Rudy Martin hitting his first home run of the year. Reliever Anthony Bender worked around a pair of baserunners to close out his third save of the season.

Boxscore Link

Anthony Bender 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO, 23p/13k
Khalil Lee 3-4, 2b, RBI, CS (7)
Manny Olloque 1-2, R, 2b, 2 RBI, 2 BB

HR Roll Call: Ryan O’Hearn (3), Corey Toups (1), Dean Anna (1), Parker Morin (1), Roman Collins (2), Chase Vallot (1) 

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Roman Collins 2-4, HR, 2R, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Junis 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2-6 GO-FO, 79p/55k

Omaha Storm Chasers 5 Round Rock Express 4

The Chasers left the park with four home runs to welcome back Jake Junis to the team during Wednesday’s afternoon game. Infielders Corey Toups and Dean Anna got the party started in the third with a pair of solo home runs. After Junis worked five innings, allowing two runs in that time, he was given the lead in the sixth inning on Ryan O’Hearn’s third home run of the year. Catcher Parker Morin would connect on the fourth homer of the day in the eighth, providing enough insurance to claim the win.

Boxscore Link

Ryan O’Hearn 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Corey Toups 1-3, HR
Malcom Culver 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-3 GO-FO, 32p/18k

Salem Red Sox 7 Wilmington Blue Rocks 6

The Rocks, for the second straight nigh,t took a lead to the bottom of the ninth only to watch the Red Sox walk-off on them. On this night it was former 1st round pick, Michael Chavis, that did them in, connecting on three home runs. Starter Emilio Ogando navigated most of the lineup, working around six hits other hits, but he couldn’t solve Chavis who hit two bombs off him in his five innings. Despite that, the Rocks had connected on a pair of their own home runs to take a 6-4 lead to the ninth after Roman Collins’ second home run of the season. Unfortunately, Andres Machado stumbled in the ninth, giving up a solo home run to Deiner Lopez to leadoff the inning prior to giving up Chavis’ third blast of the night with a runner on for the Salem win.

Boxscore Link

Emilio Ogando 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 9-2 GO-FO, 87p/54k
Elier Hernandez 3-5, R
Wander Franco 2-5, R

Greenville Drive 4 Lexington Legends 2

The Legends continued their pattern this season of winning the first game of their series, only to drop the rest of the games in the series. This loss occurred with three errors on defense, four stolen bases allowed in five chances, and five hits and three runs off starter Ofreidy Gomez. All while the offense connected on just one extra base hit and went one for five with runners in scoring position to finish off another series loss.

Boxscore Link

Gabe Cancel 2-4
Meibrys Viloria 1-4, R, 2b, 1-5 SB-SBA
Ofreidy Gomez 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2-3 GO-FO, 81p/55k

HR Roll Call – Elier Hernandez (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Whit Merrifield 3-4 2b, 2 RBI

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Miguel Almonte 4 IP 1 H 0 R 1 BB 4 K 4-2 GO-FO 66p/40k

Round Rock Express 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2

Royals prospect Kyle Zimmer made his first Triple-A appearance since late in the 2014 season on Friday, tossing four and two-third innings in a no-decision. The 2012 1st round pick surrendered four hits, a walk and a pair of runs while striking out four over 76 pitches before running up against a pitch limit, leaving in a 2-2 game. That score would hold firm until the eighth when Round Rock would tag reliever Kevin McCarthy for four hits and two runs to take the lead and the eventual win.

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Bubba Starling 2-4
Kyle Zimmer 4.2 IP 4 H 2 ER 1 BB 4 K 6-1 GO-FO 76p/46k
Whit Merrifield 3-4 2b, 2 RBI

San Antonio Missions 2 NW Arkansas Naturals 0

The Naturals came within two outs of being no-hit in the second game of their series in San Antonio. It could have been a hangover from Thursday’s 14-inning game or just excellent pitching, but whatever the reason, the Naturals didn’t get a hit until Ruben Sosa’s infield single with one out in the ninth. Starter Miguel Almonte kept pace for three perfect innings before giving up a pair of baserunners in a scoreless fourth inning as he made his first Double-A start since June of last season. The righty would exit after four due to pitch count, leaving Ashton Goudeau to take his place. The tall lanky righthander couldn’t match the other pitchers in the game, giving up a run in the sixth via a solo home run and another run in the eighth.

The tying runs would get on base in the ninth via Sosa’s single and an error on a Donnie Dewees ball, but Alfredo Escalera would get caught looking to end the game.

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Ashton Goudeau 4 IP 4 H 2 ER 3 BB 4 K 1-2 GO-FO 65p/35k
Samir Duenez 0-3
Donnie Dewees 0-4 1K

Wilmington Blue Rocks 4 Potomac Nationals 3

The Rocks got a quality start and just enough offense to take home a win Friday night. Lefty Emilio Ogando bounced back from a rough first start, giving the Rocks six innings of four-hit and two-walk ball with just two runs allowed while striking out six in that time. The Rocks had claimed a 3-0 lead with a sac fly by Chase Vallot in the first innings and a two-run home run by Elier Hernandez in the third inning. Back-to-back doubles by Vallot and Roman Collins in the sixth inning pushed the lead to 4-0 before Ogando gave up a two-run homer in the bottom half of the sixth. The Rocks bullpen would hang on to win despite a run given up in the eighth inning to move to 3-5 on the season.

Boxscore Link

Elier Hernandez 2-4 HR, 2 RBI
Chase Vallot 1-2 R, 2b, RBI, BB
Emilio Ogando 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 2 Bb 6 K 5-4 GO-FO

West Virginia Power 5 Lexington Legends 1

The Legends offense couldn’t get much going as Pirates prospect Luis Escobar K’d 11 hitters over six innings with just a first-inning run allowed. The two teams exchanged first-inning runs, keeping the game tied until the fifth inning when Legends reliever Ofreidy Gomez got tagged for a two-out double from Ty Moore that broke the tie. The Power scored another run in the seventh before Moore tagged Gomez for a solo home run to push the lead to 4-1. The Legends on their end didn’t mount much of a threat in the later innings to fall to 3-6.

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Khalil Lee 2-4 R, 2b
Emmanuel Rivera 2-4 RBI
Meibrys Viloria 2-4

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.

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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