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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visions of Monday night danced in our heads.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brewer Hicklen, OF

2018: .320/.380/.525 in 137 PA, 151 wRC+, 8.0% BB, 35.0% K

A personal favorite coming into the 2018 season, Hicklen has shown himself to be virtually what I expected. A plus defender in the field with outstanding speed and present gap power, Hicklen lost some time to football in both high school and at college, and still has some untapped potential. He’s more than a slash-and-dash hitter, since he does have some raw power that he has yet to show in games on a regular basis, but that should come along as the season progresses. He’s a fast-twitch athlete with quick hands and a level swing geared toward line drives, at the moment, and should generate more loft as he learns to be more selective at the plate. His BABIP is impossibly high (.486), but is somewhat reflective of previous limited appearances in rookie-level ball. He will certainly need to start utilizing the whole field, if he’s going to reach his offensive potential; he’s gone to left field 61.8% of the time in 2018, perhaps swinging for the fences, but his bat is far more valuable if he learns to go with the pitch and spray the ball around.

Travis Jones, LF-3B

2018: .296/.384/.432 in 245 PA, 136 wRC+, 6.9% BB, 20.4% K

Looking like he could eventually be seen as a late-round steal, Travis Jones is cut from similar cloth as Hicklen: an athletic, solid all-round player, with some room for growth. At 6’4”, 210, Jones is very quick for his size, demonstrating both the range to play left field and the quick-twitch reactions to handle third base. Coming out of the 29^th round of the 2017 draft, Jones was seen as being a bit raw with an average tool set across the board. What helps him is his advanced base-running sense, and ability to make use of high-percentage steal opportunities. While most Royals-focused sites tend to talk a lot about Matias et al, Jones currently leads the team in hits (63), doubles (12), runs scored (40), walks (17), HBP (14!), and steals (also 14), while holding second place in RBI (31) and sixth in fewest strikeouts (50). Jones has a quick swing and typically a short swing path, especially on the back end, but can get a little long vs. advanced off-speed pitches (like a lot of Class-A batters). He is quick out of the box and isn’t afraid to take that extra base. He can certainly drive the ball deep into the gap, and I feel like he will demonstrate at least 12-15 HR pop this season, with the potential for average in-game home-run power as he advances. He’s a ground-ball hitter, at the moment (1.77 GB/FB ratio, 49.7 GB%), but with his size and bat speed he could become a legitimate power source if he can learn to put some loft on the ball.

Defensively, his better position at the moment is probably left field, though he has the versatility to handle all four corner positions. He is quick on his transfers and throws, enough to make what is considered average arm strength play up. In the outfield, he runs efficient routes and his straight-line speed appears to me to be slightly above advertised (also considered “average”). He is roughly age-appropriate for this league, though the Royals may push him if he continues to handle Class-A pitching as well as he has, so far.

Ricky Aracena, 2B-SS

2018: .243/.292/.350 in 119 PA, 82 wRC+, 5.9% BB, 14.3% K

Set aside the numbers, for a moment, and recall that when Aracena was signed in 2014 as an international free agent, his game and style of playing was compared favorably to Rafael Furcal. There’s good reason for this. Indeed, Aracena’s nickname is “Furcalito” (“little Furcal”), so it stands to reason that he would have some things in common with the former ML shortstop. Aracena has more than enough arm to play short, though he has spent much of the year at second with Jeison Guzman (we’ll get to him) and now Cristian Perez (ditto). He also covers plenty of ground and pairs that range with plus speed and quickness. Don’t let his size fool you into thinking that he can’t hit, either. He is stronger than his generously-listed 5’8”, 160-pound frame would suggest. Aracena has slowly been adding gap doubles power to his repertoire, and since he came into the season at age 20, he certainly has time to work on his offense.

One would like to see his line-drive percentage climb, considerably (18.3%), but I expect that to happen over the coming months. He can drive the ball to left or right, but has struggled vs. RHP in an admittedly-small sample size of AB (.209 in 78 PA, .333 vs LHP in 38 PA). While April was awful (.400 OPS in 36 PA), he managed a .765 OPS in May over 46 PA, and has thus far in June batted .367 with a .764 OPS in 34 PA.

Aracena has the speed to swipe 20-25 bags, easily, with more frequent appearances on base, and possibly more. As mentioned, like so many other players on this 2018 Legends team, he is young for the level (he turns 21 on October 2^nd), and has time to improve his offense.

At the risk of stating the obvious, simply making more frequent, hard contact will do wonders for him, as his speed and quickness (see a recurring theme, here?) make him a nuisance on the bases.

Marten Gasparini, OF

2018: .231/.272/.331 in 185 PA, 71 wRC+, 4.3% BB, 29.7% K

Gasparini has now spent 280 games in full-season Low-A ball, starting with 111 games in Lexington back in 2016. Of course, he played shortstop back then, and that experiment was a dismal failure (48 errors in 107 games, 31 of those fielding errors). Certainly not “the second coming of Derek Jeter”, as he was called after being signed in 2013.

However, since being moved to the outfield in 2017, Gasparini has taken to the switch very well. He has worked at improving his routes and consistently makes strong throws back to the infield, and has always covered more than enough ground to play either left or center. Splitting time between left and center in 2017, Gasparini is now almost exclusively a center-fielder, where he has made several highlight-reel plays in only 42 appearances at the position, thus far.

Gasparini has always had the tools defensively to be a regular, and the minor-league rolls are littered with players who failed at short, only to excel in the outfield. An above-average arm, coupled with plus defensive skill and speed (in the outfield, of course), make him a valuable prospect despite the poor offensive showing over the past 2+ seasons. He was always young for A-ball, coming to Lexington in 2016 at age 19 and having only turned 21 as of May 24^th of this year. He was also a very raw talent, growing up in Italy before being noticed by international scouts and moving to the Italian Baseball Academy at age 14 to begin working out in earnest. At the time, he was considered the finest European prospect since Max Kepler signed with the Twins in 2009.

Gasparini’s swing is still timing-based, but he is slowly beginning to show the ability to drive the ball, especially in a hitter’s count. Strangely enough, his splits at home vs. road are very far apart (.295 BA, .762 OPS in 24 home games; .141 BA, .398 OPS in 23 road games), and he continues to struggle vs. RHP (.204 BA vs. RHP in 123 PA, .259 BA vs LHP in 59 PA). The splits regarding hitting vs. lefties have always been higher for him, leading one to wonder how much better off he might be if he stuck to batting right-handed.

As mentioned earlier, Gasparini has easy-plus speed, and could be a 30+ steal guy if he could get on base with even average frequency. He is still very raw at the plate, especially when it comes to reading counts and pitch selection. At times, he looks overwhelmed and his swings will reflect that, but he’s starting to assert himself more often and drive the ball with confidence, an element that has been missing up to this point in his career.

I’ve been following Gasparini closely since he came to Lexington two years ago, and I still believe that he could put it all together. Defensively, he could progress to the higher rungs of the minor-league ladder, but his floor would be much lower without even modestly-improved offense. There’s enough potential remaining to make him a deep sleeper-type of prospect, but he’s likely going to be passed over by the likes of Michael Gigglioti and Vance Vizcaino, not to mention Travis Jones and Seuly Matias, so he’ll need to step up his game fairly soon.    

BPKC Hitter of the Day: MJ Melendez 3-4 2R, HR, 1-2 CS-Att

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Janser Lara 4 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 7 K 1-1 GO-FO 64p/40k

Lexington Legends 4 Greenville Drive 3

The Legends homered their way to a series win over the Red Sox Low-A squad on Tuesday. Starter Andres Sotillet generated groundballs getting nine in five innings but also gave up a single tally in the first three innings after allowing seven hits including a solo home run in the third. Piggyback partner Janser Lara entered in the sixth and kept Greenville’s offense static the rest of the way while the Lexington offense powered their way back even. In the seventh Ricky Aracena unloaded on a home run to trim the deficit to one run, it was just Aracena’s fourth career home run but a no-doubt shot that landed some 377 feet away and cleared the left field bleachers. An inning later a double by Dennicher Carrasco allowed MJ Melendez to score from first base to tie the game up. In the ninth Lara worked around a pair of hits and a walk with the help of a Melendez caught stealing, sending the game to the home half where he as awarded with a win thanks to the bat of Cal Jones. The Alabama outfielder hitting just .162 tagged a ball to left into the left-field stands to walk the game off for Lexington.

Cal Jones 1-4 HR
Ricky Aracena 1-4 HR
Seuly Matias 0-4 K

NW Arkansas Naturals 4 Arkansas Travelers 2 F/10

NW Arkansas couldn’t continue their team run of 10 hit games going but they did receive some excellent pitching which allowed the offense time to do enough in extras to win the game. Starter Foster Griffin led the way on this night, working around eight hits and a walk while giving up two runs over seven innings. Four of the hits allowed by Griffin came in the seventh when Arkansas got a pair of infield hits in front of a line drive to left to even the game but  Anderson Miller’s assist at the plate on the trail runner kept the game even. The Naturals bullpen of Jake Newberry and Luis Vazquez kept the Trevelers off the board from the eighth on, getting six strikeouts over that time. Despite a free runner in the tenth, the Naturals had two runners tossed out trying to advance to third base. With two outs and a runner on second for the third time in the inning catcher, Nick Dini took the game in his own hands walking it off with his first Double-A home run of the season.

Nick Dini 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
Nicky Lopez 2-3 3b
Jake Newberry 2 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K 1-1 GO-FO

New Orleans Baby Cakes 16 Omaha Storm Chasers 0

A position player pitched in this one, enough said.

Frank Schwindel 1-3 BB
Ryan O’Hearn 1-4
Josh Staumont 1 IP 2 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 2 K 1-0 GO-FO 25p/15

Tuesday Boxscores

Wednesday Probables
NW Arkansas – Zach Lovvorn 1-2 4.85 ERA 1.85 WHIP
Wilmington Gm1 – Jace Vines 1-5 7.08 ERA 1.81 WHIP
Wilmington Gm2 – Anthony Bender 1-1 4.81 ERA 1.85 WHIP

HR Roll Call: Amalani Fukofuka (3), Ricky Aracena (1), Darrell Miller (1)

BPKC Hitter of the Day: Ricky Aracena 3-4, 4R, 3b, HR, RBI, BB, SB 

BPKC Pitcher of the Day: Wilmer Jimenez 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0-2 GO-FO

Draft Update – Coach Rima of Kirkwood Community College updated the profile on Royals 19th round draft pick Korry Howell. He stated that Howell is extremely athletic with tremendous range and a knack for running the bases. They personally have timed him at 4.2 seconds to first from the right side with his 6.4 speed in the 60 yard dash.

That speed isn’t the only tool Howell brings to the table, with an arm that he’s measured at 88-90 mph across the diamond from shortstop and tremendous range one would expect out of a player with that speed. On top of the speed, Howell features bat speed that Rima believes will carry well as he fills out and adds more strength later.

Should Howell determine to pass on the Royals, the shortstop has several upper level Division I offers waiting for him at the end of next season.

Iowa Cubs 6, Omaha Storm Chasers 4

The Chasers pitching struggles continued Tuesday afternoon in Des Moines.

Starting pitcher Jon Dziedzic gave up three longballs which accounted for four Iowa runs in his five innings. The lefty gave up five hits, with the three with the home runs coming in the second and third frames. Reliever Seth Manness gave up a couple more runs in his inning of work while allowing four hits before the rest of the pen quieted things down.

The six runs were too much for an offense that went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. The four runs on the board for Omaha came via a pair of outs and a couple of errant pitches.

Boxscore Link

Bubba Starling 2-5, 2b
Frank Schwindel 4-4, R, 2-2b
Eric Stout 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 13p/11k

NW Arkansas Naturals 3, Arkansas Travelers 1

The Royals 2014 1st round pick Foster Griffin kept the train that is his stellar ’17 season moving on Tuesday night.

The lefty improved his overall record to 8-3 while pushing his Double-A mark to 4-1 with another quality outing. In this one, Griffin spread out seven hits, all singles, and a walk over 6.2 innings but limited the Angels Double-A squad to just one run. The six strikeouts that Griffin spun helped him around those baserunners along with three additional runners thanks to errors the defense committed behind him.

The offense banged out 10 hits of their own, getting single runs in first on a single by Humberto Arteaga and another in the second on a Jack Lopez single. Second baseman Corey Toups brought home Lopez in the fifth on his second hit of the night to increase the Naturals lead to 3-0.

The bullpen of Pedro Fernandez and Andrew Edwards put away four hitters with strikeouts over the final 2.1 innings to finish off the win.

Boxscore Link

Foster Griffin 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 7-7 GO-FO, 97p/67k
Corey Toups 2-4, R, RBI
Pedro Fernandez 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 20p/14k

Grand Junction Rockies 17, Idaho Falls Chukars 11

The Chukars lost a good ol’ fashioned Pioneer League slugfest in their second game in Grand Junction.

The Rockies outpaced them 23 hits to 15 with seven extra base hits and 11 total hits with runners in scoring position. Starter Julio Pinto gave up nine hits and nine runs (6 ER) in just three innings before Randy Acevedo slowed things down with just a run allowed over four frames.

That outing got Idaho Falls back in the game as the offense was allowed to pull within a run at 9-8. Seven runs off reliever Garrettson Harris in the eighth ended any chances at a comeback.

Boxscore Link

Amalani Fukofuka 2-5, 2R, HR, 3 RBI
Darrell Miller 3-4, HR, 3 RBI
Jon McCray 3-3, 2R, RBI, CS

DSL Royals 6, DSL Red Sox 2

Another well pitched affair by the DSL Royals in a win over the Red Sox.

Starter Wilmer Jimenez worked five shutout innings allowing just three hits, while the left-handed pitcher put away seven via the strikeout. Four additional pitchers finished the game.

The offense had staked the club to a 3-0 lead with a three-run second that featured a pair of doubles by Felix Familia and Rafael Romero. Two more scored in the sixth, one via a Familia single, before a bases-loaded walk in the eighth brought home the final run.

Boxscore Link

Felix Familia 2-3, R, 2b, RBI
Hector Pineda 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
Wilmer Jimenez 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0-2 GO-FO

BP KC Player of the Day – Ricky Aracena 3-3 R, 2b, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB (17), CS (8)

Playoffs
Johnson City up 1-0 in the Best of 3 series

Johnson City Cardinals 6 Burlington Royals 2

After a pair of first inning doubles helped stake the Royals to a first inning lead things turned in the Cardinals favor to take a game one win. The offense went cold, six hitters would reach from the second through ninth innings with no more than one in any inning to get shutout the rest of the way while the Cards were assisted by the Royals defense and the starter towards the win. A one out fielding error by Chris DeVito opened the scoring for Johnson City in the second inning, when that error lead to a single that scored the first run of the game for the Cardinals. A wild pitch in the 3rd pushed a runner into scoring position and another well timed single scored the run when it may not have had the wild pitch never had occurred, tying the game 2-2. The fourth inning was the back breaker for Burlington as the usually reliable Royals defense crumbled all around starter Garrett Davila. It started with another DeVito error that lead to the leadoff hitter reaching, one hitter later the Cards had pushed the lead run to third on a missed catch error by second baseman Gabriel Cancel on a force attempt. A single and a third error, this one by Emmanuel Rivera pushed three runs across before a double capped the scoring in the inning and the game, putting Johnson City up 6-2. It was four unearned runs on paper, but it could’ve easily been five as the Royals seemingly gave away the game and a 1-0 series lead.

Boxscore Link

Garrett Davila 3.1 IP 6 H 6 R 2 ER 2 BB 1 K
Vance Vizcaino 2-3
Kort Peterson 1-3 R, 2b, RBI, BB

Idaho Falls Chukars 6 Orem Owlz 5

The Chukars built a lead that the bullpen hung onto during their final road game of the season. It’s been a difficult season for Ricky Aracena, struggling defensively and at the plate, but on this night he lead the way to a Idaho Falls win. With three hits, three driven in and a run scored Aracena accounted for four of the six Chukars runs on the evening. Reliever Christian Flecha gave up three runs in the eighth, but got the final out in the inning before pitching a perfect ninth to finish off the win.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 1-4 RBI
Joe Dudek 1-3 R, RBI, 2 BB
Luke Willis 2-4 R, RBI, 2 SB (14)

HR Roll Call: Tony Cruz (4), Ryan O’Hearn (13), Alex Gordon, Jose Caraballo (2)

BP KC Hitter of the Day Ryan O’Hearn 3-3, 2R, 2b, HR, BB

BP KC Pitcher of the Day Eric Stout 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Single-A Lexington Legends and High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks won’t play games due to their All Star breaks until Thursday.

Colorado Sky Sox 4 Omaha Storm Chasers 2 F/5

The Chasers fell victim to some early runs – and weather – to drop the rain-shortened series finale. Starter Christian Binford was dinged for a pair of two-run home runs in his four innings to drop to 1-5 since joining the Triple-A rotation. The Chasers had their own two-run home run via Tony Cruz, but could muster just two additional singles during their five frames of the shortened game.

Boxscore Link

Tony Cruz 1-2, HR, 2 RBI
Hunter Dozier 0-0, R, 2 BB
Jorge Bonifacio 0-1, BB

Arkansas Travelers 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 3

The Naturals received a good night from one Royals player on a rehab assignment and a not-so-good of an effort from another. Outfielder Alex Gordon went 2 for 3 with a home run and a walk, completing the full game in the outfield, while pitcher Kris Medlen struggled. Medlen, on an abbreviated pitch count, struggled with the strikezone, tossing 35 strikes in 56 pitches. He surrendered four runs on six hits in just three innings. In addition to Gordon’s nice day at the plate, Royals prospect Ryan O’Hearn connected on his 13th home run of the season and his 21st double while completing a perfect 3 for 3 night at the dish. NW Arkansas was able to connect on just one other hit besides what O’Hearn and Gordon provided in dropping their fifth consecutive game.

Boxscore Link

Alex Gordon 2-3, HR, BB
Mauricio Ramos 1-4, 2b, RBI
Bubba Starling 0-4, 2K – consecutive sub. 200 BA months

Orem Owlz 8 Idaho Falls Chukars 5

Chukars starting pitching got knocked around early and a comeback effort fell short Monday night. Starter Andres Machado gave up four first inning runs and then single runs in each of the next three innings to help put Idaho Falls in a 8-2 hole. The Chukars got an RBI triple from Ricky Aracena to plate speedster Nick Heath in the seventh. An inning later, Meibrys Viloria doubled in a run and scored to trim the deficit to three, but the Chukars were unable to continue the rally to drop their first game of the season.

Boxscore Link

Meibrys Viloria 3-4, R, 2-2b, RBI
Ricky Aracena 3-5, R, 3b, RBI
Yeison Melo 1-5

DSL Royals 8 DSL Red Sox1 6 

A four run eighth, combined with two runs in extra innings, gave the DSL Royals a come from behind win.

Boxscore Link

Raymond Lopez 2-4, 2R, 3b, 3RBI, 2BB
Angel Medina 1-4, 2b, RBI
Cristian Perez 2-4, 2R, RBI, BB