Royals July 31st Minors Recap

Omaha used two 5-run innings to beat OKC, 12-5. OKC scored five runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Chris Dwyer recovered from the 3rd inning to pitch seven innings to pick up the win (five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out six).

Tony Abreu hit a grand slam in the Storm Chasers five-run 5th inning and Wil Myers hit a three-run homerun in their five-run 7th inning. Abreu and Myers (the Storm Chasers 3-4 hitters) went 5-for-9 with four runs scored and nine RBIs.

It was a cool 106 degrees at game time.

NW Arkansas ended July on a high note, with a 7-1 victory to open their three-game series in Tulsa. Sugar Ray Marimon improved to 2-3 in Double-A, with seven shutout innings. He allowed three hits and three walks.

The Naturals offense collected 14 hits, with every starter (but Carlo Testa) picking up a hit. Manny Pina hit a three-run homerun in the 5th inning (3-for-5).

Just like in OKC, it was a cool 108 degrees at game time.

NW Arkansas and Wilmington swapped relievers, as Sam Runion was promoted and Nick Rogers was sent back to Wilmington. At the time of Rogers’ promotion, I thought that Runion should have been the one receiving the promotion. If it had been a month earlier, I would have picked Rogers. Hopefully Rogers can get his command back (16 walks in 9.2 innings with the Naturals).

Wilmington started their road trip with a 2-0 loss in Winston-Salem. The Dash scored a single run in the first inning and never looked back. Andy Ferguson was the hard luck loser, as he allowed the two runs on six hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out eight.

Angel Franco returned from the DL to go 2-for-4 (the Blue Rocks only had four hits).

A six-run bottom of the 2nd inning did in Kane County, as they lost to Beloit, 9-4. The Cougars scored all their runs in the final two innings.

The Cougars collected 12 hits, but went just 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Kevin David raised his average to .200 as he went 2-for-4. Their 3-4 hitters, Jorge Bonifacio and Julio Aparicio, went 5-for-10.

The KC Royals top pick in this June’s draft, Kyle Zimmer, allowed six runs on six hits and three walks over just two innings in his second start in Low-A.

Bubba Watch: Bubba Starling went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Burlington’s 1-0 loss to Princeton.