Jun 16, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Wade Davis (22) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

After the first inning of Sunday’s matinee, it felt like Wade Davis was going to have a rough day against his former team.

In his first game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Davis threw 35 pitches in the first inning, giving up two runs but stranding the bases loaded. Matt Joyce led off with a single, then moved to second after Ben Zobrist grounded out to Eric Hosmer. The ball bounced off his glove as he tried to come up too soon to try for a double play, but the Royals were fortunate that it went right to Davis who was headed to the base. He made the putout on the bag, but since they didn’t get the lead runner at least, Joyce scored on Luke Scott‘s double. Evan Longoria walked before James Loney lined out to Alex Gordon. The inning could have ended there if they’d turned the double play, but instead, it continued.

Desmond Jennings got a ball past Mike Moustakas and Scott scored, then Kelly Johnson walked to load the bases. Finally, Davis got Jose Molina on a fly out to right field to end the inning. He threw 17 extra pitches due to the missed double play opportunity (though, to be fair, you can’t assume a team will turn two – though it looked like they had a good chance if Hosmer had fielded the ball cleanly).

Davis settled in after, though, giving up only two hits the rest of the day. He finished his day by retiring the last nine batters he faced.

While he was holding Tampa in check, the Royals kept chipping in runs. They scored in the first after Eric Hosmer reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to second on a groundout, then went to third on a passed ball and Billy Butler followed with a base hit to bring him in. They got another run on a homer to left by Jeff Francoeur, who got just enough of the ball and cleared the top of the fence by about a foot.

Jun 16, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur (21) scores a run during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.The Kansas City Royals defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In the top of the sixth, they opened up with two outs, but Elliot Johnson continued his dominance over his old team with a double that just missed going over the fence. He’d already hit a three run homer off of them in the first game of the series and got seven hits over the whole series. After his double, the Rays intentionally walked Francoeur to get to Alcides Escobar, who shot a ball into left field. Luke Scott had to move to get to it and the throw was cut off as Johnson scored. Alex Gordon then lined a fastball into right field and Francoeur scored, avoiding a tag at the plate.

They added their fifth and final run after an Escobar double, a wild pitch and a high fly from Gordon. The insurance made the bottom of the ninth much more comfortable after Greg Holland came in and gave up a homer to Jose Lobaton and walked Matt Joyce a batter later. He got Ben Zobrist swinging to end the game though.

This was an encouraging series. The Royals head to Cleveland a game under .500, but after taking five of seven against the Tigers and Rays. Eric Hosmer is hitting the ball hard and even better, he’s mostly been hitting line drives instead of grounders. Billy Butler is starting to get back on track and he’s gotten two hits in three of his last four games. Escobar got a hit in each game of the series, including two doubles and a triple.

The Royals scored 25 runs in the four game series and, not surprisingly, won each game in which they scored more than three runs. They held Tampa to 11 runs. That’ll get you a lot of success.

The three homers added to an already league-leading total for dingers allowed by Guthrie and he didn’t strike anyone out either. To his credit, he didn’t walk anyone until the seventh inning, however he walked three but managed to sneak out without giving up more runs.   He was only charged with four earned runs after an error on a pickoff catch allowed Ben Zobrist to move to second then score after moving to third. Unfortunately, it came after a pickoff attempt that looked to be successful. After Zobrist advanced, Elliot Johnson fielded a ball near shallow right field and got a late throw to first, but it still looked to be an out. Instead, Luke Scott was ruled safe.

So the first inning could have gone better for all involved.

The Royals rebounded, scoring two in the top of the second after a bases loaded walk by Alex Gordon and a sacrifice fly from Eric Hosmer. Beyond that, though, the Royals rarely had scoring opportunities against starter Alex Cobb (more on him in a moment). They were shut down easily in the third and fourth innings and didn’t score until the eighth when Salvador Perez homered off former Royal Joel Peralta.

The game took on a subdued feeling, though, in the top of the fifth inning. Eric Hosmer led off the inning, worked a 2-1 count and then laced a line drive back up the middle. It hit Cobb in the side of the head and bounced back to catcher Jose Lobaton who threw to James Loney to get the out, but immediately after, they went to the mound and were met by training personnel. Cobb was down for a long time while all of the players were understandably shaken up.

Reports are now that Cobb suffered “just” mild concussion (though no, there are no insignificant concussions) and he’d never lost consciousness. That’s fortunate, since Marc Topkin reported that the ball was traveling 102.4 miles per hour off Hosmer’s bat. He was later visited by Chris Archer, Jeremy Hellickson, former Rays James Shields and Elliot Johnson and also Hosmer himself.

Back to the game – The Royals threatened in the ninth against Fernando Rodney, getting a two out single from Alex Gordon and a walk from Eric Hosmer to put the tying run on base for Perez. It wasn’t meant to be, however, as Perez grounded out on the first pitch on a chopper to short.

The loss puts the Royals at 32-34 with Wade Davis facing his former team on Sunday. The Royals get Roberto Hernandez.

May 13, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Billy Butler (16) slides beneath the tag of Los Angeles Angels catcher Chris Iannetta (17) to score in the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

There have been questions all year about the Royals offense. Where is Eric Hosmer‘s power? What does Mike Moustakas have to fix? And recently – surprisingly – what’s wrong with Billy Butler?

On Monday night, at least, the Butler question was answered. Apparently there’s nothing wrong with Butler.

Before Monday’s game, Ned Yost had told Bob Dutton that he had no worries about Butler, the most consistent bat in the Royals lineup over the past few years.

I come to the park each day expecting Billy to get four hits. He might do it tonight. – Ned Yost on Butler’s struggles

Well Yost was wrong. Butler had five hits (and five RBI) as the Royals pounded out 19 hits en route to an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The Royals scored in six different innings and six batters had more than one hit. The team had five doubles overall and 14 singles. More astonishing, they scored 11 runs without the benefit of a walk or a home run and struck out 13 times.

Early, Joe Blanton was using his changeup well to get strikeouts, but nothing else was working for him and he was just as hittable as he’s been all year. That allowed the Royals to get out ahead early and keep piling on. Moustakas and Chris Getz were the only starters to go hitless.

After a 1-6 stretch of games in which the Royals had scored just 23 runs the old anxiety that comes with being a Royals fan was rekindled. Thoughts of collapse were bouncing around the internet, so a big win like this one can hold off some of those fears. Still, it’d be nice to see the Royals have some more consistent home run power and some walks so that they wouldn’t have to bunch together multiple hits to score runs. The lineup put 33 balls in play. Of those, 19 fell for hits for a BABIP of .576. I don’t have to tell you that that isn’t sustainable.

Luis Mendoza threw six innings, shaking off some rough starts, and got six strikeouts with no walks in the process. Luke Hochevar worked the final three innings for his first career save and he looked great doing it for the most part.

A special treat for some tonight was the different tone presented by the Royals official Twitter account, as they handed the controls over to Danny Duffy.

By now, you know that Duffy is an enthusiastic guy, so while he’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, why not let him take the time to talk with fans?

Some highlights:

After a Billy Butler double in the first.

LETS RIDE. BILLY BUTLER. FASTEST MAN ALIVE. -@dannyduffy805

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2013

Duffy tweets to himself.

@royals whats up me?

— Danny Duffy (@DannyDuffy805) May 14, 2013

After a blast of a double by Salvador Perez, Duffy showed his appreciation.

Salvy! Get em NIÑO!! Love you man! Follow my man @salvadorperez15. -@dannyduffy805 #duffytakeover

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2013

And he had to show some more love for Billy Butler on his big night.

If Billy hits for the cycle i am going to church tonight. -@dannyduffy805 #duffytakeover

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2013

#BillyButlerForManOfTheYear2013 -@dannyduffy805 #duffytakeover

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 14, 2013

@billybutlerkc i love you.

— Danny Duffy (@DannyDuffy805) May 14, 2013

Don’t we all, Danny. Don’t we all.

The Naturals lost the first game, 8-1 after having a 1-0 lead heading into the 3rd inning. The Cardinals blew the game open in the bottom of the 6th inning against JC Sulbaran, who allowed three homeruns.

Roman Hernandez drove in the lone run with a two out double in the 2nd inning.

In the second game, the Naturals won 10-3, as they scored five runs in the first inning. The big blow was Matt Fields‘ two out, three-run homerun (his third of the season).

The Naturals collected ten hits, with Brett Eibner (2-for-4) and Yem Prades (3-for-4) having multi-hit games.

Sam Runion picked up the win, despite allowing two inherited runners to score in the 5th inning. Yordano Ventura got the start, but lasted just 4.1 innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out six. Andy Ferguson pitched a scoreless inning of relief and threw just nine pitches.

Wilmington blew a 4-2 lead, as host Salem walked off with a 5-4 win. Keury De La Cruz drove in the final two Red Sox runs with a one out double.

The Blue Rocks collected 14 hits, with all of them coming from the first five hitters. However, they went just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Lane Adams continues his hot hitting, as he went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and his eighth double of the season (it upped his average to .304). Jorge Bonifacio went 2-for-4 (with his seventh double of the season) to up his average to .329. Daniel Mateo went 3-for-5 and hit a solo homerun in the ninth.

Kyle Zimmer made the start and struck out 11, but lasted just 4.2 innings. He allowed one run on three hits and four walks. Daniel Hernandez made his debut for the Blue Rocks (I cannot find a move that was made to add him because their roster is now over the limit) and allowed a solo homerun in his two innings of work.

Wilmington and Salem finish their series on Thursday.

Lexington lost to Asheville, 6-3. The two teams complete their series on Thursday.

The Legends collected ten hits, with Terrence Gore, Michael Antonio, and Ethan Chapman each picking up two hits. Chapman stole two more bases to up his total to 12. Gore also stole his 12th base.

Miguel Almonte dropped to 0-3 on the season, as he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings.

In bad news, catcher Cameron Gallagher was hit by a pitch in the first inning and tried to stay in the game. He left in the second inning, which led to a crazy box score.

*Omaha had off and opens a four game homestand against Iowa on Thursday night.

Omaha collected 12 hits and every hitter except Xavier Nady had at least one. They were led by leadoff hitter David Lough, who went 4-for-5 with two runs scored. He fell a homerun short of the cycle. Brett Hayes hit two solo homeruns.

Ryan Verdugo picked up his first win of the season with seven scoreless innings. He allowed five hits while striking out three.

NW Arkansas was rained out in Springfield on Tuesday night. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 11:09am.

For the second straight night, Salem scored early and often against visiting Wilmington. On Tuesday night, they held on for the 8-1 win. All eight runs were scored over the first two innings.

However after Blue Rocks starter Aaron Brooks left the game (3.2IP, 8H, 8R, 2BB, 5K, 2HR), their bullpen kept the Red Sox off the scoreboard. It started with Antonio Cruz, who only allowed one hit and a walk over 3.1 scoreless innings. He lowered his ERA to 0.69. Malcom Culver finished off Salem with a hitless inning.

On offense in the loss, Lane Adams collected his seventh double of the season, one of his two hits. Daniel Mateo also picked up two hits.

Lexington lost to Asheville, 4-3. The Legends led 3-2 before giving up two runs in the bottom of the 7th inning. They had the tying run on second base with two outs in the 9th inning, but a ground out ended the game.

Scott Alexander took the loss in relief, as he allowed a two out, two-run triple in the seventh. It was the first earned runs he had allowed so far this season (over five games). That negated the solid start by Bryan Brickhouse, who allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out three.

On offense in the loss, Adalberto Mondesi and Bubba Starling each picked up two hits. The Legends 2-3 hitters drove in their three runs. Jin-Ho Shin also picked up two hits. Ethan Chapman, despite hitting just .246, stole his tenth base of the season.

Will Smith in Omaha. Photo by Minda Haas (mindahaas.net)

Five Storm Chasers collected multi-hit games. Brandon Wood hit his first homerun of the season, a three-run shot in the 6th inning. Their 3-5 hitters: Johnny Giavotella, Xavier Nady, and Anthony Seratelli went a combined 7-for-14 with with four runs scored and six RBIs. David Lough continued to stay hot by going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Will Smith returned from his one day stint with the big league KC Royals (he was the 26th man for yesterday’s doubleheader and did not pitch) to have a great start (Atahualpa Severino was put on the DL). He allowed one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out eight. The lone run came via a solo homerun by former Royals minor leaguer Jeff Bianchi. George Sherrill and Blaine Boyer each pitched a scoreless inning around Donnie Joseph‘s disastrous 8th inning (1IP, 3H, 2R, BB, 2K).

NW Arkansas blew a 4-0 lead and lost in Springfield, 9-6. The Naturals had tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the 7th inning on a Matt Fields two-run single (only to see the Cardinals come right back in the bottom of the inning).

It started out so well for Jason Adam, who did not allow a run over the first three innings. Then it all fell apart. He balked a runner into scoring position (which scored on a single) and then allowed a two-run homerun in the 4th inning. In the fifth, he left after allowing two more runs on two hits and a walk. Brooks Pounders entered in relief and allowed an inherited runner to score.

Pounders then allowed three runs of his own in the bottom of the 7th inning on two doubles and a homerun and took the loss. Matt Ridings made his Double-A debut with a scoreless inning of relief (he took Nick Rogers‘ spot on the roster, who was “sent” to rookie ball).

On offense in the loss, four players picked up two hits. Orlando Calixte, Rey Navarro, and Manny Pina each collected doubles.

Jorge Bonifacio with Wilmington in their 2013 home opener (Jen Nevius).

Down 7-2 heading into the 5th inning, Wilmington came back to beat Salem, 10-7 in their first game in Virginia. It took 11 innings to complete.

The Blue Rocks tied the game in the top of the 9th inning on a Jack Lopez RBI single. In the eleventh, Lane Adams reached on a fielding error (which scored a run) and Jorge Bonifacio followed with a two-run triple (he went 4-for-6 with five RBIs and fell a homerun short of the cycle). Adams hit his first homerun of the season, which cut their deficit to 7-6 in the 7th inning (he also stole a base).

After a poor start by Sam Selman (2.1IP, 5H, 7R, 4BB, 3K), the Blue Rocks bullpen was stellar. It started with Kellen Moen, who pitched four shutout innings. He also picked two runners off first base. Cody Fassold followed with 2.2 hitless innings of relief before Andrew Triggs finished with two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.

Lexington had off on Monday and will begin a three-game series in Asheville on Tuesday.

That the Royals even got the lead took some doing – Jeremy Guthrie had a rough start, struggling with his command and giving four runs on eight hits and four walks in six innings. He benefited from some key defensive plays and a little luck to hold Boston to only four runs. He walked Jacoby Ellsbury to lead off the game, then threw a wild pitch to send him to second. Daniel Nava lined out to Eric Hosmer and Ellsbury had broken for third too soon and got doubled up.

Two innings later, Ellsbury doubled leading off the third and scored on a one-out Dustin Pedroia single. Pedroia then got thrown out trying to steal second by George Kottaras (in his first start of the year). That was key, as Mike Napoli (who had homered earlier off Guthrie) launched a shot to deep center that went off the wall. Pedroia would have scored easily. Instead, it was a two-out shot. Napoli was then thrown out in a rundown trying to advance after a hard grounder from Jarrod Saltalamacchia ricocheted off Eric Hosmer and landed in the glove of Elliot Johnson. Napoli was caught in the middle of third and home as Johnson threw to the plate and Napoli was tagged out in a 3-4-2-5-2-6 putout.

Guthrie settled down, though, and managed to get through six innings.

Meanwhile, the Royals were struggling against Allen Webster in his major league debut. Webster mixed his pitches well and demonstrated great stuff. Royals hitters were off balance for much of the night, but he had given up a double off the Green Monster to Alex Gordon on his first pitch, then saw him score when Pedro Ciriaco turned an infield single from Alcides Escobar into a throwing error as his throw went into the front row behind the Boston dugout.

Webster gave up two homers in the fifth when Kottaras put one over the right field wall and Alex Gordon put one over the Monster after a Johnson strikeout. That tied the score at 3-3. Boston regained the lead in the fifth after Daniel Nava walked and scored after Pedroia and Napoli singles.

It took a homer from Billy Butler in the eighth off Koji Uehara to tie the score. Butler got a high fastball over the plate to work with and deposited it deep in left-center over the Monster. Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth inning after, then got out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth to keep it tied. Ellsbury hit a one-out single, then stole second base. Ned Yost chose to intentionally walk Dustin Pedroia after a Nava strikeout put two outs on the board. The move worked, as Mike Napoli flew out to deep center. Yost was gambling on Napoli (career batting average of .259) making an out over Pedroia (.303 career average). A single would have scored Ellsbury, so it was an odd move (since Napoli had crushed everything all game) but strategically fine.

Andrew Miller opened the top of the tenth by striking out pinch-hitter Miguel Tejada, but gave up a single to Gordon, then walked Escobar. After Butler struck out, Hosmer went the other way and singled into shallow left on a grounder (which was stopped by a diving Ciriaco) to load the bases. Lorenzo Cain came up and laid off Miller’s offerings for a 3-0 count, then faked a bunt as Miller wound up on the fourth pitch. Miller wasn’t sharp anyway but the extra move may have threw him off even more and the ball went wide outside, sending Cain to first and Gordon home with the go ahead run.

Greg Holland came on for his second appearance of the day after closing out the afternoon game. Holland had thrown just 11 pitches in the first game so Yost didn’t hesitate to put him back in, though there would have been second guessing had Holland given up the lead after warming up, pitching, sitting for a few hours, warming up, then pitching again. (To be fair, there would have been second guessing had Yost went to Tim Collins and he’d have blown the game, as his closer wouldn’t have been in.) Holland made the whole idea moot, however, as he overwhelmed the three Red Sox he faced, striking out Saltalamacchia, Will Middlebrooks, and Mike Carp. After his struggles in the first week of the year, today was a very encouraging day. Holland threw 18 of 25 pitches for strikes and looked dominant in the process.

That gives the Royals a one game lead over the Minnesota Twins as Monday offers another Kansas City off day while they move on to an intriguing series in Detroit. There were concerns about how this road trip would turn out for the Royals and what it may say about the team. So far, they’re 3-2 on it after a split in a two-game series in Atlanta and a series win in Boston. One win in Detroit assures a .500 road trip, which is fine for the competition they’re facing. If they can sneak an extra win (or two) in there, that’s an encouraging trip.

David Lough (Photo: Minda Haas)

The offense also clicked, collecting 15 hits.

The top three in the Storm Chasers order (David Lough, Christian Colon, and Johnny Giavotella) went a combined 8-for-14 with two runs scored and five RBIs. Lough fell a triple short of the cycle. Brett Hayes picked up three hits and Chad Tracy went 2-for-3. Both hit doubles.

NW Arkansas lost their finale at home against Tulsa, 8-2. The Naturals then head out onto the road for eight days, beginning with Springfield.

It was a rough start for Noel Arguelles, as he left with the bases loaded and two outs in the 4th inning. His line looked like this: 3.2IP, 6H, 5R, 4BB, 3K. Santiago Garrido stranded all three runners and ended up allowing one run on one hit and one walk over 3.1 innings. He struck out four.

On offense, Orlando Calixte and Rey Navarro both collected two hits, as the team picked up eight.

Wilmington salvaged their series in Winston-Salem with a 5-3 victory in Sunday’s finale. The Blue Rocks now play four games in Salem.

After Angel Baez only recorded one out in the 3rd inning, the Blue Rocks bullpen stepped up huge. Spencer Patton allowed just one hit and a walk over 3.2 innings. He struck out four to earn the win. Robinson Yambati allowed one hit and two walks over three scoreless innings to earn his third save of the season. He also struck out four.

In Wilmington’s three run 3rd inning, they picked up four hits, including a two out, two-run double by Tim Ferguson. Justin Trapp went 2-for-5 with a homerun. The middle of their order: Jorge Bonifacio, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Lane Adams each collected two hits. Adams hit two doubles.

Lexington completed their four-game sweep over Greenville with a 6-3 win on Sunday. The Legends will enjoy an off day on Monday before traveling to Asheville for three games.

Down 3-0 after the top of the first inning, the Legends received great pitching and some timely hitting. They took the lead for good in the bottom of the 6th inning on a wild pitch.

On offense, Bubba Starling hit his second homerun of the season (he went 2-for-5). Adalberto Mondesi went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base and Terrence Gore went 3-for-4.

After Aroni Nina lasted just four innings (and allowed three unearned runs), the Legends bullpen completely shut down the Drive. Ali Williams earned the win after pitching three perfect innings. He struck out seven. Clayton Schulz earned his first save with two scoreless innings.

But Santana cruised after, throwing 32 pitches total in the third, fourth and fifth innings, then worked around a David Ortiz double to get through the sixth having thrown 96 pitches. He gave up two runs in the first inning after a series of singles, but held the Boston Red Sox scoreless after, leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen after seven solid innings.

The Royals gained the lead in the fourth when Billy Butler led off with a hard, loud single off the Green Monster. Eric Hosmer sent a soft liner to left for a hit and Lorenzo Cain doubled into the left field corner to bring Butler around. After strikeouts by Mike Moustakas and Jeff Francoeur, Salvador Perez singled to left to score two and give the Royals a 4-2 lead.

From there, it was up to the bullpen. Bruce Chen came in for the eighth and got Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out. Saturday’s hero, Daniel Nava, singled to left before Dustin Pedroia flew out to left-center. Chen got David Ortiz to a 1-2 count on two ugly swings, but he lined a shot up the middle through a shift. Aaron Crow relieved Chen and walked Mike Napoli on four pitches. After starting 2-0 on Jarod Saltalamacchia with the bases loaded, there wasn’t much room for error. Saltalamacchia chased the next pitch and sent a soft tapper back to Crow, who threw to first and retired the side.

Greg Holland came in to shut the door and he’s starting to shake off whatever issues he was having earlier this month. Holland started 2-0 on Will Middlebrooks, then powered three fastballs past him. He struck out Stephen Drew on three pitches, then got Johnny Gomes to fly out to Lorenzo Cain to end the game.

The Royals got a little of everything to win this game – some hits with runners on to get runs in, an Alcides Escobar homer, solid starting pitching, and some good defensive plays. Everyone reached base other than Chris Getz, but he contributed a nice diving stop in the first to retire Napoli. And all of the relievers could still be available in the second game tonight with an off day on Monday.

Brian Sanches got the start and left after three batters into the 4th inning. His final line looked like this: 3IP, 8H, 5R, 3BB, 2K. Atahualpa Severino allowed one of Sanches’ runs to score, but pitched two scoreless innings of relief. George Sherrill made his first appearance of the season and allowed two runs on one hit and a walk. One of those runs scored while lefty Francisley Bueno was on in relief (he allowed a grand slam in the 7th inning after an error). Everett Teaford did pitch a scoreless inning of relief.

The Storm Chasers collected eight hits, all singles. David Lough went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.

*Not sure how Sherrill was activated from the DL because no transaction is listed.

NW Arkansas had a 3-0 lead after the 3rd inning and held on for the 5-2 win over Tulsa.

The Naturals collected 12 hits, including six doubles. Every starter had at least one hit, except Matt Fields. Angel Franco and Rey Navarro each picked up two hits. Navarro drove in two runs. Roman Hernandez went 3-for-4 in the win.

Justin Marks made his first start of the season (he is rehabbing) and allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. Andy Ferguson followed with two scoreless innings of relief before Edwin Carl closed out the game with 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his third save.

Wilmington lost both games of their doubleheader in Winston-Salem. The Blue Rocks lost the first game, 4-2.

John Lamb took the loss in Game 1, as he lasted just four innings. He allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out two. The Dash scored two runs in the bottom of the 5th inning off lefty reliever Antonio Cruz, though none were earned.

Murray Watts went 2-for-3 with a triple, as the Blue Rocks only had six hits.

In Game 2, the Blue Rocks lost 5-0. They only picked up one hit. It came in the 4th inning when Jorge Bonifacio doubled with one out.

Kyle Smith took the loss, as he allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out seven. Andrew Triggs allowed three unearned runs in his one inning of work (just one hit allowed and two walks).

In the two games combined, the Blue Rocks committed three errors that cost them five runs.

Lexington won 1-0 over visiting Greenville, as the two teams combined for just seven hits. The lone run scored with two outs in the bottom of the third after back-to-back doubles from Ethan Chapman and Adalberto Mondesi.

The 5th inning was the only real chance the Drive had to score.

Daniel Stumpf picked up his second win of the season, as he allowed two hits and four walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out five and his ERA is still 0.00. He also picked off a base runner. Alec Mills earned his first save with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed one hit while striking out six.

Cameron Gallagher picked up one of the Legends’ four hits and threw out two runners trying to steal.

In Game One with the game tied at 2-2, Xavier Nady doubled with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning to score David Lough (who reached on an error). That made a winner of Omaha reliever Donnie Joseph, who pitched a perfect sixth. Blaine Boyer picked up his first save of the season by striking out two in the seventh.

Ryan Verdugo had a solid start for the Storm Chasers, as he allowed two runs on two hits over five innings. He struck out five. The two runs came on Nick Buss‘ two-run homer in the 5th inning.

Nate Adcock throwing a bullpen session in Baltimore (Jen Nevius)

In Game Two, Max Ramirez doubled in two runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 2-2. Brett Hayes drove in the go ahead run in the bottom of the 5th inning. In that inning, the Storm Chasers left the bases loaded.

Nate Adcock picked up his second win of the season. He allowed two runs (one earned, but he had the error) on four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four. Michael Mariot earned his third save of the season with a perfect seventh.

Five of the Omaha hits came via the 2-3 hitters in their order (Lough and Johnny Giavotella). They scored three runs.

The Storm Chasers are now off to Nashville for a four-game set.

With Yordano Ventura only lasting four innings, the NW Arkansas bullpen blew the lead and lost to visiting Tulsa, 5-4.

The Drillers hit three homeruns, with none bigger than Kiel Rolling’s two-run shot off Sam Runion in the top of the 8th inning that gave the Drillers the lead.

The Naturals only collected four hits, with Brett Eibner picking up two of them (raising his average to .216).

The Wilmington Blue Rocks were rained out in Winston-Salem and the two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday. John Lamb will start Game One  and Kyle Smith will get the ball in Game Two.

Lexington busted out for six runs in the bottom of the 4th inning en route to their 8-0 victory over visiting Greenville.

In that 4th inning, the Legends collected four doubles, stole three bases, and were helped out by a wild pitch and two errors. They only picked up eight total hits from seven players. Fred Ford went 2-for-3 with a double and two stolen bases. Adalberto Mondesi and Cameron Gallagher both delivered two-run doubles.

Colin Rodgers allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out six. Daniel Hernandez followed with two hitless innings of relief while striking out three.

NW Arkansas received a solid starting performance and held on for the 3-2 win over Tulsa in their series opener.

Sugar Ray Marimon

Sugar Ray Marimon allowed one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out three. The lone run came in the second inning on a solo homerun. The game stayed tied at 1-1 until the 6th inning when Angel Franco doubled in a run with two outs. Rey Navarro singled in the eventual winning run in the 7th inning (also with two outs).

Brett Eibner went 3-for-4 with his first homerun of the season. It came to lead off the bottom of the first. Manuel Pina collected two hits, including a double.

Winston-Salem scored four runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning and held on for the 4-0 win over visiting Wilmington. In the first game of the series, the Dash got to Kyle Zimmer for four hits, a walk, a sac fly, and three stolen bases in that inning.

The Blue Rocks best chance to score came in the top of the third, when they had runners at second and third base and one out. A strikeout and a ground out ended that threat. They only had a runner reach second base once after that (but with two outs).

The Blue Rocks collected just four hits, with two coming from Tim Ferguson.

Zimmer lost his first game in his shortest outing of the season. He allowed all four runs on five hits and one walk over just three innings. Malcom Culver followed with four 1-hit innings with four strikeouts. Kellen Moen had his second straight scoreless relief outing.

The Lexington offense busted out in their first game at home against Greenville with a 13-2 win. The Legends collected 15 hits, with six going for extra bases. They were also helped out by six Drive errors.

Down 2-0 after the top of the first inning, the Legends went to work in the 3rd inning when they scored three runs. They broke the game open for six runs in the very next inning.

The top two hitters for the Legends had a great night. Terrence Gore, who has moved into the leadoff spot, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. He also stole two bases. Adalberto Mondesi went 3-for-5 with two triples, a homerun, and four RBIs.

Yowill Espinal and Ethan Chapman each collected two hits in the win. Chapman also stole two bases.

Christian Binford was the beneficiary of the comeback, as he picked up his first win of the season. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out seven. Scott Alexander earned his first save of the season with 3.1 hitless innings.

NW Arkansas had Wednesday off and welcome Tulsa to town on Thursday night for a four-game series.

Wilmington finished their series with Carolina in the afternoon with a sweep. They won 6-2. The game was tied at 1-1 before the Blue Rocks scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to take control.

The Blue Rocks pounded out 11 hits, with backup catcher Kenny Swab going 3-for-4 and falling a homerun short of the cycle. Geulin Beltre and Tim Ferguson each collected two hits, with Ferguson driving in two runs.

Spencer Patton picked up the win in relief of Aaron Brooks (5IP, 3H, 1R, 2BB, 5K). Patton allowed one run on two hits and two walks over three innings. He struck out five.

The Blue Rocks are already en route to Winston-Salem, who they will be playing over the next four games before heading to Salem for four more.

Lexington was swept in Augusta. The Legends lost in 14 innings, 4-3. Both teams scored single runs in the 11th inning before Augusta used small ball for the walk off (a sac fly). In the top of the 14th, the Legends had the bases loaded with two outs, but Humberto Arteagea grounded out to end the inning.

The Legends received two five inning stints from their pitchers. The first came from starter Miguel Almonte, who pitched 5.1 innings. He allowed one run on seven hits and one walk. The second came from reliever Cory Hall, who allowed one run on two hits and two walks over five innings. That came after Clayton Schulz allowed just one base runner (via a walk) over 2.2 innings.

Bubba Starling went 2-for-6 with a double, but struck out four times. He was hardly the only one, as they struck out 18 times. Jin-Ho Shin went 3-for-5 with a walk and a run scored.

The Legends return home to play Greenville (again) for four games on Thursday night (the same as last weekend).

The late scoring for the Isotopes negated the solid start from Will Smith, who pitched six shutout innings. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out eight.

The Storm Chasers only collected four hits and scored their lone run on an error.

Despite a seven-run 2nd inning, NW Arkansas was pounded by Frisco in their finale, 14-7.

In the Naturals only scoring inning, Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homerun and Matt Fields hit a grand slam. But the Naturals pitching staff could not hold the lead.

Jason Adam had his third straight awful start, as he allowed nine runs on ten hits and two walks over 2.2 innings. He did strike out four, but his ERA ballooned to 17.72. Santiago Garrido followed and wasn’t too bad (2.1IP, 2H, R, 3BB, 3K), before Sam Runion was lit up for the first time this season for four runs on five hits over just one inning. The positive was Nick Rogers‘ two scoreless innings of relief.

The problem was, the Naturals only collected five hits (two by Merrifield). They are off on Wednesday and begin a homestand with Tulsa on Thursday.

Wilmington beat Carolina for the second straight night, this time by a 4-3 score.

The Blue Rocks took the lead for good in the bottom of the 6th inning after the Mudcats had just taken the lead in the top half. Daniel Mateo tripled in one run (he went 2-for-4) and was driven in by a ground out.

Lane Adams went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI and Jorge Bonifacio also collected two hits, including a double.

Unfortunately, it was another night that a Blue Rocks starter did not last more than four innings. This time it was Sam Selman, who allowed two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three. Cody Fassold, who has struggled so far this season, earned the win after allowing one run on four hits and one walk over three innings of relief. Robinson Yambati threw two scoreless innings to pick up his second save.

The Blue Rocks defense was once again shaky (another fielding error and a passed ball), but the outfielders did pick up three assists (two by Geulin Beltre).

Augusta led 2-1 after the 3rd inning and beat Lexington by that same score.

The Legends collected just three hits, all singles, and scored their lone run in the top of the 3rd inning on an Adalberto Mondesi sac fly.

The hard luck loser was Bryan Brickhouse, who allowed two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five. Alec Mills followed with two perfect innings of relief while striking out four.

Omaha won their series on Monday afternoon against Nashville, with a 3-2 win. The game was played in 36 degree weather and some snow (check out Twitter to see what some of the players were tweeting).

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning, veteran Xavier Nady led off with a solo homerun. That blast made a winner of Chris Dwyer, who allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out seven. Donnie Joseph escaped a runners at the corners and two out jam in the eighth and Michael Mariot picked up his second save of the season.

Johnny Giavotella hit his first homerun of the season, as he went 2-for-3, as did Brandon Wood (though he did not hit a homer). The Storm Chasers now welcome Albuquerque to Werner Park on Tuesday for a four-game series. It will be their second four-game series with the Isotopes this season.

With the game tied at 3-3 after five innings, NW Arkansas fell to host Frisco, 10-3. Frisco put up a six-spot in the bottom of the seventh.

Edwin Carl was on for his second inning of relief and allowed a one out RBI double, RBI single, and another double that brought on a coaching visit. That visit did not help, as he allowed a two-run homerun that completely blew the game open and chased Carl from the game. It didn’t get any easier for Jon Keck, who allowed an RBI single in the seventh and a leadoff homerun in the 8th inning.

That big inning negated the solid start from Noel Arguelles, who allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over 5.1 innings.

On offense for the Naturals, Brett Eibner went 3-for-4 with his first homerun of the season. Rey Navarro went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Lane Adams

Despite committing five errors, Wilmington beat visiting Carolina, 4-3. The Blue Rocks were down 3-1 before putting up a three-spot in the bottom of the 7th inning.

In that inning, Lane Adams had the big hit, a two-run double with two outs. Four of the Blue Rocks eight hits went for extra bases.

Angel Baez only lasted 4.1 innings, mainly because he issued four walks. He left with a man on base, which scored. Antonio Cruz picked up the win, despite allowing one of Baez’ runs and one of his own (2.2IP, H, R, 0ER, BB, 2K). Andrew Triggs picked up his first save of the season with two scoreless innings of relief.

Kyle Smith was named the Carolina League’s Pitcher of the Week after two starts.

Lexington lost to Augusta, 7-3, after allowing two 3-run innings.

Aroni Nina got the start and left in the 5th inning with the bases loaded, but leading 2-1. Ali Williams entered in relief and allowed a two-run single and then a double play ground out that scored a run. In the following inning, Williams allowed three straight doubles (which scored two runs) and then a bunt single. An errant pickoff throw by Williams scored the third 6th inning run.

The Legends collected just five hits, with two coming from Terrence Gore. He also scored a run (though he was picked off).

Mar 5, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Brett Hayes (left) is congratulated by third base coach Eddie Rodriguez (14) after hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the Oakland Athletics at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Catcher Brett Hayes had the BIG day. He went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and scored three runs. He fell a triple short of the cycle, but connected on two homeruns. His first homerun, a three-run shot, gave Omaha the lead in the third. Hayes drove in seven runs.

Xavier Nady and Brandon Wood each collected two hits, as Nady scored three runs. Willy Taveras only picked up one hit, but it was a big one: a bases clearing triple to blow the game open in the sixth.

Brian Sanches was the beneficiary of all the run support. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out four. Louis Coleman followed with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.

NW Arkansas allowed two 3-run innings early on en route to their 9-2 loss at Frisco.

JC Sulbaran was once again ripped, as he fell to 0-2. He allowed six runs on five hits and three walks over just three innings. The RoughRiders hit two 3-run homeruns against him. Andy Ferguson did not fare any better, as he allowed three runs on five hits over his three innings of work.

The Naturals offense collected nine hits from eight different players. Angel Franco once again went 2-for-4 and picked up his first triple of the season. For those wondering, Brett Eibner now has two hits in his last three games (2-for-14) and has not struck out over the last two games.

Wilmington‘s defense once again failed them, as they lost on Sunday to visiting Frederick, 6-3. They also lost the series, as they welcome Carolina into town on Monday for three games.

Kyle Smith was stellar in his second start of the season, but was lifted after four one-hit innings. He did walk three and strike out seven.

Then the wheels fell off for the Blue Rocks.

Reliever Malcom Culver took the mound in the 5th inning and walked or hit three of the first five batters he faced. With two outs, he induced a ground ball to second base that was booted by Justin Trapp. Two runs scored. An RBI single followed and the Blue Rocks trailed 3-1. In the very next inning after the Blue Rocks cut the deficit to 3-2, Lane Adams misplayed a ball in centerfield that cost them another run. Culver ended up allowing four runs (none earned) over three innings.

Walks came back to bite both teams, as four scored and two more led to runs scoring. Blue Rocks pitching walked seven and only struck out nine.

On offense in the loss, seldom-used Murray Watts went 2-for-3 and the big guy even stole a base. Trapp also picked up two hits.

Lexington ended up splitting their series with Greenville, after losing the first two games. They won 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. They will now head to Augusta for the second time already for a three-game set.

Daniel Stumpf was brilliant in picking up his first win of the season. He allowed just two hits and one walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out six. Daniel Hernandez followed with three scoreless innings and Cory Hall finished the Drive off in the ninth.

The Legends scored one run in the bottom of the fourth and put up a three-spot up in the 5th inning. In the fourth, Bubba Starling led off the inning with a double and scored on a wild pitch. In the 5th inning, the top three hitters in the order drove in the three runs: Adalberto Mondesi on a ground out, Humberto Arteaga on a two out single, and Starling on a single.

Starling and Michael Antonio went 2-for-4 with one double each. Antonio raised his average to .325, while Starling raised his to .139. He also did not strike out.

Everett Teaford got the spot start and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk over just 2.1 innings.

The Storm Chasers only collected six hits, with the top two in the order, David Lough and Christian Colon picking up two each. Colon hit a two-run homerun in the third.

NW Arkansas won the pitcher’s duel over Midland, 4-1. Yordano Ventura pitched five shutout innings to pick up his first win of the season. He allowed three hits and walked two while striking out seven.

Naturals reliever Brooks Pounders allowed Midland’s only run in the 6th inning, his first inning of work. He escaped jams over his next two innings.

In the Naturals three-run top of the sixth, Angel Franco had the big hit, a two-run single with one out. In the win, Franco went 2-for-5.

Wilmington lost their suspended game from Friday night, 6-4 to visiting Frederick. The Keys tacked on two more unearned runs in the top of the 9th inning, which were needed as the Blue Rocks scored one in the bottom of the inning that would have tied the game.

However, the Blue Rocks pounded the Keys in the second game, 13-1. They had a 7-0 lead after the second inning and put up a five-spot in the 6th inning.

Every Blue Rocks hitter collected at least one hit and Daniel Mateo was the only one to not score a run (he went 1-for-4 with three RBIs). Jack Lopez, Jorge Bonifacfio, and Lane Adams collected two hits. Cheslor Cuthbert went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored.

John Lamb was the beneficiary of all the run support, as he picked up his first win of the season. He and the bullpen also dominated. Lamb allowed the lone run on just two hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out three. Spencer Patton followed with three scoreless innings. He struck out six. Andrew Triggs pitched a perfect ninth.

After Greenville scored three runs in the top of the third, Lexington came back with four runs in their half of the inning en route to the 6-3 win. In that inning, Fred Ford hit a two out, three-run homerun to give the Legends the lead (he went 2-for-3).

Scott Alexander picked up the win in relief of Legends starter Colin Rodgers (3.2IP, 6H, 3R, BB, 5K). Alexander allowed just one hit and one walk over 4.1 scoreless innings. He struck out five. Mark Peterson earned his second save of the season with a perfect 9th inning.

In that bottom of the first, the Storm Chasers sent nine men to the plate and collected just two hits, but walked three times. There was also a wild pitch, a passed ball, an error, and a stolen base.

Nate Adcock was the beneficiary of the early runs and he ended up allowing two runs on three hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven. The bullpen duo of Francisley Bueno and Donnie Joseph allowed the final three runs over the game’s final four innings.

Omaha only picked up six hits, as Christian Colon, Johnny Giavotella, and Irving Falu each picked up two hits.

NW Arkansas fought back to tie the game at 5-5 with three runs in the top of the 7th inning, but ended up losing to Midland, 6-5 in 12 innings.

Manny Pina came up with the big hit, a two-run single to tie the game with one out. They could have scored more with runners at the corners, but could not come up with another clutch hit.

To extra innings the game went.

But before I get there, let’s talk about the Naturals relief pitching following starter Sugar Ray Marimon (4.2IP, 10H, 5R, 4ER, BB, 4K). Santiago Garrido allowed one hit and two walks over 2.1 innings. Sam Runion followed with two scoreless innings and Jon Keck threw two hitless innings.

Then Cole White entered in relief. After a single and a strikeout in the bottom of the 12th inning, a stolen base and two walks put the winning run on third base. Darwin Perez sent the home fans happy on a sac fly.

In his first game of the season (just off the DL as Brian Fletcher went on), outfielder Roman Hernandez went 2-for-5 in the loss. Angel Franco went 3-for-5 with two doubles. Neither player scored a run. Orlando Calixte also picked up two hits. Brett Eibner returned to the lineup and went 1-for-5 with two runs scored. He did strike out twice late in the game,

Wilmington‘s home opener was full of twists and turns and will have to be completed on Saturday. It started under blustery conditions and ended with a downpour that forced a suspension of the game in the bottom of the 8th inning, with Frederick leading 4-3. However, the Blue Rocks have two men on base with two outs.

It was a quick first half of the game, as both starters, Tim Berry of Frederick and Kyle Zimmer of Wilmington, were fast workers. Zimmer was hurt by some defensive miscues in the first, but left with the lead after six innings (6IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 8K). Zimmer did not allow his first hit until Nick Delmonico doubled in the fourth (that was the game’s first hit). Berry did not allow a base runner until he walked Lane Adams with one out in the fifth. Justin Trapp picked up the Blue Rocks first hit with one out in the sixth. It was an infield hit that resulted in a run to tie the game at 1-1.

The Blue Rocks would take the lead after Jack Lopez followed with a single and an error in the outfield plated the run.

It was not meant to be for Zimmer to pick up his first win as a Blue Rock, as Cody Fassold entered in relief and allowed a run in the seventh (after a four-pitch walk) and two more in the eighth.

I was in attendance and I can attest how awful the weather was (and that was before it started pouring). I had the chance to talk to manager Vance Wilson after the game

and starter Kyle Zimmer (because who knows how long he will last in Wilmington).

Lexington lost both games of their doubleheader on Friday night. In the first game, they lost to Greenville, 6-4. The Drive scored all six runs in the third inning.

Miguel Almonte allowed all six runs, though only two were earned. Five runs scored in the third before Almonte recorded an out. To his credit, the Legends committed two errors behind him on back-to-back plays with two men on base (a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt and a dropped fly ball on a sac fly in left field).

The Legends picked up seven hits, from seven separate hitters. Bubba Starling hit a solo homerun in the 4th inning.

Lexington lost the second game, 5-2. They led 2-1 before allowing four runs over the final two innings.

Christian Binford started and allowed just one run on four hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out six. Alec Mills took the loss, as he allowed four runs on five hits and two walks over the final three innings.

Terrance Gore collected two of the Legends’ five hits in the loss. They struck out a combined 11 times.

Omaha took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning via three walks, a wild pitch, and two singles. Their outs came via three strikeouts.

Ryan Verdugo got the start and allowed two unearned runs on four hits and three walks over just four innings. He struck out six. Dan Wheeler took the loss, as he allowed one run on two hits over 1.1 innings. Lefty Everett Teaford entered with the go ahead run on base and allowed it to score.

The Storm Chasers head home for their home opener on Friday night.

NW Arkansas came back to beat Midland in their first road game of the season, 7-5.

In the top of the 8th inning, the Naturals retook the lead. With runners on second and third base and one out, Rey Navarro doubled in two. After a pitching change, Mitch Canham hit a two-run homerun to give the Naturals the 6-5 lead.

Midland scored five runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to chase Naturals starter Jason Adam from the game. In that inning, Adam allowed two singles, an RBI double, a wild pitch, and an RBI fielder’s choice. Nick Rogers entered and allowed two more runs to score. Overall, Adam allowed five runs on six hits and two walks over just 3.1 innings. He struck out three, but threw 74 pitches. His ERA ballooned to 13.50.

Andy Ferguson threw two hitless innings, before Edwin Carl threw the final two innings with four strikeouts.

On offense for the Naturals, Orlando Calixte went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Canham went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

Wilmington enjoyed an off day and will play their home opener on Friday night against Frederick. Kyle Zimmer is expected to get the start, though rain is in the forecast for the entire day.

Lexington and Greenville were postponed due to rain (which is wreaking havoc across the country). The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday.

With the game tied at 3-3, Omaha scored three runs in the top of the 5th inning and held on for the win. Christian Colon and Max Ramirez each drove in one run in that inning with a single and Irving Falu walked with the bases loaded to drive in the sixth run.

Four Storm Chasers collected all nine of their hits, as all four had multi-hit games (David Lough, Colon, Ramirez, and Anthony Seratelli).

Will Smith in Omaha. Photo by Minda Haas (mindahaas.net)

Will Smith picked up the win, as he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four. Louis Coleman picked up his first save with two scoreless innings of relief.

Omaha also won the second game by the same 6-3 score.

Chris Dwyer out-pitched Ted Lilly (who was on a rehab assignment). Dwyer allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over six innings. The two runs came on solo homeruns hit by Scott Van Slyke.

The Storm Chasers jumped on Lilly right away, with two runs in the very first inning. They were aided by three Isotopes errors. Max Ramirez added a solo homerun in the 5th inning. Lough and Willy Taveras collected two hits.

The Storm Chasers finish their series in Albuquerque on Thursday.

Wilmington was pounded this afternoon in their finale in Carolina, 12-1. The Mudcats didn’t bust out until the bottom of the 5th inning when they put up a six-spot.

The Blue Rocks collected eight hits, with leadoff hitter Justin Trapp going 3-for-5. Murray Watts picked up his first two hits of the season. Aaron Brooks made his first start of the season and took the loss. He allowed five runs on ten hits and two walks over 4.1 innings (he left with the bases loaded and all three scored).

The Blue Rocks will have off on Thursday before their home opener against Frederick on Friday. Weather does not look good for that game in Delaware.

Lexington lost to Asheville this afternoon, 6-1. The Tourists scored runs across five innings.

Bryan Brickhouse lost his second start by allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk over five innings.

Three of the Legends seven hits were doubles. Cameron Gallagher went 2-for-4 with a double in the loss. For those of you wondering about Bubba Starling, he committed his second error of the season and struck out two more times (he has struck out 11 times in 26 at-bats). He also picked up just his second hit of the season.

The Legends continue at home on Thursday against Greenville.

The Naturals won their first game of the season with a 3-2 victory at home over Frisco.

Noel Arguelles via Jen Nevius

Noel Arguelles made his second start of the season and did not allow a hit through 4.1 innings. He finished after allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings. He struck out two and threw 50 of his 69 pitches for strikes. Brooks Pounders allowed one hit over the final two innings to pick up his first save.

Matt Fields hit his first homerun of the season in the 4th inning, which ended up being the game winner. Angel Franco batted leadoff and went 3-for-4 in the win.

The Naturals will enjoy Wednesday off as they head out on the road for a six-game road trip that begins in Midland on Thursday (who they were swept by last week).

Wilmington won their third game in a row, with a 5-1 victory in Carolina.

Sam Selman started for the Blue Rocks and did not allow a hit over the first four innings.  He only allowed one hit over five innings while striking out four. Lefty Antonio Cruz did not allow a hit over 2.1 innings. He struck out three.

Tim Ferguson hit a homerun in the 2nd inning and went 2-for-3 (it was the first time a pitcher had gotten him out). The Blue Rocks 3-4 hitters, Jorge Bonifacio and Cheslor Cuthbert, went a combined 4-for-9 with four RBIs.

Lexington lost their marathon game, 4-3 to Asheville in 13 innings.

Asheville scored two runs in the top of the 6th inning on two solo homeruns to take a 3-0 lead, while the Legends scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. The game stayed tied until the top of the 13th inning when Jason Stolz reached on a fielding error, scoring the go ahead run.

The Legends had a chance to win it in the 12th inning, but Jin-Ho Shin struck out with the winning run on second base. They had the tying run on second base in the 13th inning, but Adalberto Mondesi struck out to end the game.

In their three-run eighth, the Legends collected five hits and a walk. Cameron Gallagher, Fred Ford, and Yowill Espinal each picked up two hits. Michael Antonio went 3-for-6.

Scott Alexander threw four no-hit innings of relief for Lexington in getting the game into extra innings.

*Omaha was postponed in Albuquerque and the two teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday.

Anthony Seratelli had a great game both at the plate and in right field. He went 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple, an RBI, and a stolen base. He also saved the game in the bottom of the 8th inning when he threw out the go ahead run at the plate to end the inning and keep the score tied at 4-4.

David Lough and Max Ramirez also collected two hits each, with Ramirez adding much-needed insurance runs in the 10th inning with a three-run homerun.

Brian Sanches gutted out the start, as he allowed two runs on four hits over five innings. He threw 47 of his 67 pitches for strikes. Dan Wheeler earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief.

NW Arkansas lost again to Frisco, this time by a 4-3 score. They actually came back to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the third, but only saw Frisco retake the lead in the top of the 5th inning on a Jared Hoying two out RBI triple to chase Naturals starter JC Sulbaran from the game.

After Sulbaran exited, the Naturals received 4.1 scoreless innings of relief from Cole White (two perfect innings with three strikeouts), Jon Keck, and Sam Runion.

Brian Fletcher‘s second homerun of the season, a two-run shot, tied the game in the 3rd inning. He only has three hits so far this season. Rey Navarro went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the loss. Brett Eibner still has not collected a hit, as he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.

Wilmington won their second game in a row, with a 7-6 win in Carolina. It was the Mudcats first loss of the season, despite scoring three runs in the 9th inning. They left the tying run stranded at second base.

The Blue Rocks 6-7 hitters, Daniel Mateo and Kenny Diekroeger, hit back-to-back homeruns in the top of the 6th inning. They also went a combined 5-for-8 with four runs scored and five RBIs.

Angel Baez started, but only lasted four innings because he walked four (4IP, 2H, R, 4BB, 3K). Cody Fassold pitched well in his second relief outing (3IP, 2H, R, 2BB, 3K) before Malcom Culver allowed the Mudcats final four runs.

Lexington came back to beat Asheville, 4-3 after being down 3-0 after the top of the third. Jin-Ho Shin hit a two-run homerun in the 4th inning that tied the game and Fred Ford hit a solo shot to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Alec Mills picked up the win in relief of Daniel Stumpf (5IP, 4H, 3R, 0ER, BB, 3K). Mills allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings while striking out four. Mark Peterson picked up his first save with two scoreless innings of relief.

Despite only collecting six hits, the Omaha Storm Chasers scored two runs each over the first two innings to defeat Round Rock, 5-2. It was their first win of the 2013 season.

Omaha picked up two homeruns in those first two innings, a two-run shot from Xavier Nady in the first and a two-run shot by Adam Moore in the second. Anthony Seratelli led off the 9th inning with a solo homerun to account for all of their runs.

Nate Adcock got the start and allowed two runs (one earned, though the error was his) on four hits and four walks over four innings. Everett Teaford followed with two scoreless innings (2H, BB, K) and Louis Coleman threw 1.2 scoreless innings (2H, BB, 3K). Donnie Joseph entered in the 8th inning and loaded the bases before rearing back and getting a strikeout. Michael Mariot picked up his first save by striking out two of the four batters he faced.

The Storm Chasers now head to Albuquerque for four games beginning on Monday.

NW Arkansas was not so lucky, as they lost their first game to Frisco, 3-2. With the game tied at 2-2 in the top of the 6th inning and reliever Santiago Garrido just entering the game, Odubel Herrera tripled to lead off the inning. Hanser Alberto delivered a sac fly and the Frisco bullpen made the run stand.

Yordano Ventura got the start and allowed two runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. Garrido took the loss, as he allowed that one run on two hits over three innings. He struck out two.

On the offensive side, the Naturals picked up eight hits, three for extra bases. Yem Prades and Angel Franco picked up two hits. In a positive note, Brett Eibner did not strike out, but he is still looking for his first hit.

Wilmington also picked up their first win on Sunday, a 7-2 victory on the road in Myrtle Beach. They scored all seven runs over the first two innings.

In the first with two outs, Jorge Bonifacio got the rally started with a double. Cheslor Cuthbert singled him in and scored on Lane Adams‘ triple. Adams scored on a wild pitch. In the second, two straight singles and a sac bunt started the inning. Jack Lopez followed with an RBI single, before Bonifacio tripled in two runs. He would score on Cuthbert’s sac fly.

The Pelicans pitched staff then retired ten in a row before a walk (which was erased on a double play). Adams singled in the 8th inning for their only other hit after the first two innings. He fell a homer short of the cycle.

Kyle Smith started, but did not pick up the win. He allowed four hits and three walks over 4.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven. Lefty Antonio Cruz picked up the win, as he pitched 2.2 perfect innings of relief. Andrew Triggs allowed both runs in the ninth on a homerun.

The Blue Rocks continue on the road in Carolina beginning on Monday.

Lexington won their first game of the season in their finale in Augusta, 5-2.

The Legends got on the board in the top of the first inning on Michael Antonio‘s two out RBI single. After Augusta took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, the Legends came right back to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth on a sac fly (after a Terrence Gore one out triple). They took the lead for good in the 8th inning on Antonio’s two out, two-run double.

Colin Rogers allowed two unearned runs in the 4th inning (Adalberto Mondesi committed his third error of the season). He only allowed three hits and two walks over five innings. Clayton Schulz (who picked up the win) and Daniel Hernandez pitched two scoreless innings each.

The Legends head home for their home opener on Monday night.

Omaha lost 9-3, as they gave up three runs in each of the first two innings to Round Rock.

Michael Mariot during 2013 spring training (Jen Nevius).

Ryan Verdugo started and was rocked for seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks over just three innings. From then, Omaha received solid relief outings from Blaine Boyer, Everett Teaford, and Michael Mariot (four innings with eight strikeouts). Then Atahualpa Severino loaded the bases with two outs in the 8th inning and allowed a run before Francisley Bueno walked in a run.

The Storm Chasers shook up their lineup, but to no avail. Irving Falu led off and went 2-for-4, but did not score a run. He did however drive in a run. Xavier Nady went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the loss.

NW Arkansas lost 5-1 to Midland, as their defense and offense failed them.

The Naturals committed three errors which cost them three runs. Sugar Ray Marimon took the loss, as he allowed all five runs (two earned) over 5.2 innings. He allowed six hits and one walk while striking out five. Sam Runion followed with 1.1 perfect innings of relief before Andy Ferguson pitched the final two innings.

Brian Fletcher picked up his second hit of the season, a solo homerun in the fourth. Rey Navarro went 2-for-3 with a double in the loss. Brett Eibner and Matt Fields have yet to collect a hit and both struck out twice tonight. Eibner has six strikeouts in 12 at-bats, while Fields has four in ten at-bats.

Wilmington was shut out by Myrtle Beach, 5-0.

John Lamb made his first start of the season and allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over just four innings. He struck out three. Both of those runs came in his final inning (on two hits, a walk, a stolen base, and a ground out).

Tim Ferguson went 2-for-2 with a walk in the loss. The Blue Rocks only collected four total hits.

Lexington lost both games of their doubleheader to Augusta by identical 4-1 scores.

In the first game, the Legends led 1-0 before Augusta dropped a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the third. Miguel Almonte allowed those three runs to score, though none were earned, on five hits over 4.2 innings.

In the loss, Cameron Gallagher went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored and Fred Ford also went 2-for-3 with a double, but drove in the lone run.

In the second game, Christian Binford allowed all four runs in the bottom of the second. In that inning, Augusta collected four hits and a walk. Binford only allowed those four hits over five innings.

The Legends only collected three hits, with two coming from Humberto Arteaga. He also scored the lone run.

Omaha lost another low scoring game, 3-1 at Round Rock. That was after the Storm Chasers held an early 1-0 lead, though that run scored on a double play ground out. Omaha had the same lineup as last night.

Chris Dwyer was the hard luck loser, as he allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out three. Veteran reliever Dan Wheeler allowed a run over 1.2 innings without giving up a hit, while Donnie Joseph walked three and struck out three over the final 1.1 innings (he allowed Wheeler’s run).

In the loss, Max Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a double and scored the lone run.

NW Arkansas was once again blown out, this time by a 10-2 score at home against Midland. It was Jason Adam‘s turn to be lit up in the start. It didn’t help that the offense did not pick up a hit until the 4th inning.

Midland took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, as Adam threw 33 pitches and allowed a two out, three-run homerun. He allowed three more runs in the 4th inning before allowing a solo homerun in the fifth. All in all, Adam allowed seven runs on eight hits and two walks over just 4.2 innings.

Brooks Pounders followed and looked good until the 8th inning, when he allowed three runs on two hits, a walk, a hit batter, and an error.

On offense for the Naturals, Mitch Canham made his first start for the Naturals at first base and went 3-for-4. Second baseman Alex McClure went 2-for-4. Both had an RBI.

In a second try at Opening Day for Wilmington, they lost in extra innings in Myrtle Beach, 7-6. The Pelicans scored runs over the game’s final four innings.

After Myrtle Beach scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to tie the game at 4-4, the Blue Rocks came right back with a run in the top of the 9th inning on a passed ball. The Pelicans came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning on a Kevin Torres RBI single. Geulin Beltre gave the Blue Rocks a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th inning only to see the Pelicans tie it back up. Myrtle Beach then won the game in the bottom of the 11th inning on a bases loaded RBI single off Cody Fassold (who did not record an out).

That negated the solid start from Kyle Zimmer, who allowed two runs on two hits over five innings while striking out eight. The negative was that he allowed two solo homeruns. Malcom Culver was solid over two scoreless innings (H, 2BB, 4K) before the wheels fell off for Robinson Yambati (1IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, K).

On offense, Jack Lopez hit his first homerun of the season in the 1st inning (he went 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored). Daniel Mateo went 3-for-6.

Lexington also got a second chance at Opening Night, but they lost at Augusta, 4-0. Only one of the runs was earned.

Bryan Brickhouse was the hard luck loser, as he allowed two unearned runs in the first inning on three hits that occurred after he recorded two outs and Adalberto Mondesi committed an error. Overall, he allowed those two runs on five hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out seven.

On offense, the Legends collected just four hits, one being a double by Terrance Gore. They also struck out 15 times.

*I was wrong about the doubleheader tonight for Lexington. Opening Night’s game will be made up on Saturday as part of a DH.

It was not a great start to the minor league season for the four KC Royals full season minor league affiliates. High-A Wilmington and Low-A Lexington were rained out. The Blue Rocks will make up the game as part of a May 25th doubleheader and will officially open tomorrow in Myrtle Beach with Kyle Zimmer on the mound. The Legends will play a doubleheader tomorrow night in Augusta.

Triple-A Omaha lost on the road to Round Rock, 3-1. Lefty Will Smith was the hard luck loser, as he allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out 11.

Xavier Nady started at first base (where he committed two errors) and went 3-for-4 with two doubles. It was a rough night for the top of the order (David Lough, Christian Colon, and Johnny Giavotella) who went a combined 0-for-12 with four strikeouts.

NW Arkansas was pounded at home by Midland, 11-0. Midland had two big innings, where they scored four runs in the third and five more in the seventh.

Noel Arguelles seemed to be cruising in his start before the third. With two outs and nobody on base, D’Arby Myers hit a ground ball to third base. Matt Fields dropped the throw from Rey Navarro and the the flood gates opened. Two straight walks and two straight doubles allowed the four runs to score. That was Arguelles’ last inning (3IP, 2H, 4R, 0ER, 4BB, 5K).

Santiago Garrido followed and allowed one run on three hits over two innings. Then it got ugly and close to 5,000 fans went home unhappy.

Nick Rogers walked two in 1.1 innings (though he struck out three) and left with two men on base. Jon Keck entered and did not record an out (one hit and two walks). He allowed both of Rogers’ runs to score, along with two of his own. Cole White entered and allowed a hit to force in another run. Edwin Carl pitched the final 1.1 innings (3H, 1R, 0BB, 2K).

The Naturals tried to change things up and have Brett Eibner bat leadoff and it paid off in his first at-bat when he walked. He then struck out in his final three at-bats. Brian Fletcher and Fields both struck out twice (they batted 3-4).

The Naturals will need a strong outing from Jason Adam tomorrow after using five relievers in their opener.

Apr 4, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (11) pitches against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Guthrie cruised through six innings against the Chicago White Sox, racking up nine strikeouts against just five hits and one walk surrendered in the 3-1 win.  Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo found him particularly tough, as Dunn struck out twice against him and Viciedo struck out three times against Guthrie. Both added one more strikeout before their day was done.

After Guthrie retired the first seven batters, offensive monster Tyler Flowers walked and Gordon Beckham singled, but Guthrie was able to induce a double play to get out of the inning. His only other problem inning came in the fifth when he got two quick outs, then hit Flowers with a pitch and Beckham again singled (both players would reach base everytime they went up to bat today). Alejandro de Aza singled to right to get Flowers home, but Guthrie struck out Jeff Keppinger to end the inning and strand two runners.

The Royals did their damage in the fifth as well. Eric Hosmer worked a seven pitch, one out walk and moved to third on a hit and run single by Jeff Francoeur. Jarrod Dyson hit a chopper to first for an out but it allowed Hosmer to score and Francoeur to reach second base. Chris Getz singled to center and went to second on an error by de Aza (which also allowed Francoeur to score). Alex Gordon doubled to right and brought Getz in and the three runs were all the Royals would need.

Guthrie exited after six innings, but the bullpen held the lead, as Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland worked an inning each to keep the White Sox off the board. Holland had to work himself out of a two out, two on jam but finished the job.

The Royals offense is still a little slow to get in gear after three games, mustering only five hits against Gavin Floyd and Hector Santiago.  In the series, they scored a total of five runs, and two of those went unearned due to errors. The White Sox outfield committed three errors in the series to help the Royals out.

After two early losses, there was a lot of frustration among many Royals fans. The offense left runners on in the first two games, and with a couple of breaks, could have won all three games. Say Billy Butler gets a hit in the third inning on Monday, maybe two runs score and the Royals get the win. Maybe Alex Gordon is one foot more to his left while scaling the left field wall to try for what would become a Viciedo homer and it’s an out instead – that makes it a 3-2 game and now it’s not as comfortable for Chicago.

But the Royals didn’t get those breaks and two early losses (even against Cy Young caliber pitchers) caused much teeth-gnashing. Ideally, a win calms the masses down a bit from a collective panic. The Royals won’t win every game. There are plenty who don’t think they’ll win half of their games. There are holes on this team, but not as many as in the past. If the team’s still dropping two out of three every series into May, then doom and gloom is warranted. Not now.

We’ll see if the win inspires the Royals to National League success, as they head to Philadelphia for a three game series. Wade Davis makes his Royals debut against Kyle Kendrick of the Phillies in the first game.

Apr 3, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) climbs the wall to try and catch a ball hit for a home run by Chicago White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo (not pictured) in the fourth inning at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-2. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Ervin Santana brought two concerns with him to Kansas City. First, would he stay healthy? Second, would he again approach 40 home runs allowed? On Wednesday, he didn’t do much to allay the fears presented by the second question. Santana surrendered first-pitch leadoff homers to Adam Dunn in the second inning and later to game one hero Tyler Flowers in the third inning. In the fourth, Dayan Viciedo went deep with Dunn on base after Santana’s only walk (though Alex Gordon tried his best to keep it in the yard).

After another leadoff solo homer off Luke Hochevar, the White Sox had put up five runs, enough to carry the 5-2 victory.

Despite the homers (if you’re one to look for the bright side), Santana struck out eight batters and only walked one. He was working with a 90-91 mph fastball, but, though both leadoff homers were on 89 mph fastballs. Otherwise he gave up only two other base hits. That’s probably no consolation to Santana and the Royals, though.

Chris Getz scored the first run of the Royals season in the top of the third by reaching on an error by Alexei Ramirez, then scored after Viciedo bobbled a ball in left field following an Alcides Escobar single. They scored again after an Alex Gordon ground rule double and ground outs from Escobar and Billy Butler than got him home.

The Royals worked White Sox starter Jake Peavy, driving up his pitch count early, but he struck out six and walked nobody, so he wasn’t taxed with many baserunners and had a fairly comfortable day. The White Sox bullpen held the Royals in check but not before escaping a jam.

Leading off the seventh, Eric Hosmer reached on an error in left field and moved to third on a Lorenzo Cain single. After a Jeff Francoeur strike out, the White Sox brought in left-handed Donnie Veal to face Getz and Gordon, only to see Miguel Tejada instead, pinch-hitting for Getz. Tejada walked in his first Royals plate appearance, but flyouts from Gordon and Escobar squandered the bases loaded situation.

The Royals never threatened again, going down in order in the top of the eighth and ninth.

A few things I take away from the game: Eric Hosmer saw 23 pitches in four plate appearances to lead the team, including a nine pitch at bat in the second inning against Peavy. Through two games (small sample size alert), he’s at least fouling off pitches and keeping at bats alive and he’s staying patient. Ideally, that signifies that he feels comfortable, but we’ll have to keep an eye on his progress.

Jeff Francoeur saw 11 pitches, grounding out on one pitch in the third inning, then on two pitches in the ninth to end the game. In the seventh inning, he saw three pitches, but the snarky response is to note that it was only because he struck out swinging at all three.

Hochevar’s inning included the following outcomes, in order: home run, single, walk, sacrifice bunt, runner out at home after wild pitch and line out. He could have had better bullpen debuts.

Tomorrow, the Royals try to avoid a sweep, sending Jeremy Guthrie against Gavin Floyd.

Apr 1, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields (33) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

A 2-2 changeup to catcher Tyler Flowers stayed up in the zone and he drilled it to left field for a homer and the game’s only run in the fifth inning. Other than the mistake, Shields was as advertised, scattering eight hits over six innings and striking out six. The White Sox only had a few hard hit balls – the Flowers homer, of course, and an Alex Rios single later in the inning – getting a few bloops to fall in after fighting off inside pitches.

He mixed his pitches well and had good movement on his two seam fastball all day. Shields could have been more efficienct, but gave the Royals what they were looking for from the leader of their pitching staff. He threw 102 pitches with 66 going for strikes.

His counterpart, Chris Sale, was excellent and kept the Royals from making solid contact most of the day while striking out seven and walking just one. The hardest hit ball came off the bat of Salvador Perez in the second inning on a first pitch fastball, driving it to the wall for a long single. Sale used his changeup and breaking pitches to dominate the Royals and in key moments.

The Royals had the bases loaded in the third inning after Jeff Francoeur singled, Alex Gordon walked and Alcides Escobar reached on an infield single. Sale started Butler off with a slider for a swing and miss, got a changeup over for a called strike, then after a slider missed, went with another and got the swinging strike out. Mike Moustakas popped out to the second baseman in shallow right field to end the threat.

Apr 1, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at US Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Another blown opportunity came in the seventh when Eric Hosmer led off with a single off Sale and Lorenzo Cain shot a line drive up the middle. Gordon Beckham made a great diving play on the ball, though, and what should have been a single was an out. Francoeur grounded into a double play three pitches later. In the following inning, Escobar got a hit into shallow left center with two outs and chased Sale out of the game. Nate Jones came in and gave up a walk to Butler, allowing Escobar to steal second and go to third on a wild pitch in the process. With Moustakas up, the White Sox went with lefty Matt Thornton and he overwhelmed Moose on three strikes, getting him swinging on a high fastball to end the inning.

The last chance Kansas City had came against Addison Reed. Hosmer walked after Perez grounded out leading off, then stole a base as Cain struck out, but was left standing on second as Francoeur offered at the first pitch slider from Reed and grounded out to shortstop.

Reed threw 15 pitches, six of which were sliders. Perez grounded out chasing one that was going to be low, Hosmer and Cain took two each as balls and the final slider was looking like a borderline strike. He probably could have waited on a better pitch since Reed had yet to locate a slider in the zone.

Aaron Crow and Kelvin Herrera both threw a scoreless inning each. Crow was erratic, but kept his pitches in control enough to retire all three batters. Herrera walked Rios on four pitches, but sandwiched a Paul Konerko flyout between Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo strikeouts to get through the inning.

Escobar and Francoeur had two hits each. Butler and Hosmer both had a single and a walk. The Royals stranded seven baserunners. they ran into a very good pitcher and the conditions were as different from the Cactus League as you could find, with a gametime temperature of 44 degrees with wind. Add in some shadows (though Sale would have been good, shadows or not) and it was a low-scoring environment.

After the annoying day off after opening day, the Royals will send Ervin Santana to the mound on Wednesday against Jake Peavy at 1:10 p.m. CST.

Perez got the day off due to sore hands from foul balls behind the plate so Brayan Pena filled in, got two hits and drove in two runs including an eighth inning double down the line that scored Jeff Francoeur from first to give the Royals a nice cushion. Gordon hurt his hand diving into home in last night’s game and Ned Yost said there was some swelling, so David Lough got the start in left field with Jarrod Dyson leading off and playing center field. He still came in late when Dyson left the game. He’d been fighting with lat soreness and hadn’t been in the field or at the plate and Gordon provided a better arm in the outfield late.

Luis Mendoza. Photo Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Luis Mendoza threw six good innings after nine days off due to strep throat. He gave up eight hits but was able to work out of jams in the first and third innings. Eight of his outs came on the ground. His ERA falls to 4.44 after the win.

The Indians made it interesting though. In the seventh they scored twice to pull it to within one after Carlos Santana singled up the middle, but a strikeout and line out later and the rally was over. Francisely Bueno gave up a single but otherwise had a clean eighth inning and Greg Holland dispatched the Indians late with three easy outs to close it out.

Nobody really stood out tonight – the only extra base hit was Pena’s double, but everyone did something. Mike Moustakas drove in two on outs, first with a sacrifice fly in the third, then with a ground out in the fifth. Eric Hosmer added a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Francoeur’s hustle helped that play come about. With runners on first and second after Moustakas and Billy Butler singles, Francoeur hit a sharp grounder to third. Butler was out at second but Francoeur hustled down the line and was safe. Instead of two outs and a runner on third (and let’s say Hosmer flies out, ending the inning), the Royals were able to score with a runner on third and less than two outs. Then, because the inning was alive, Francoeur added another run on the double.

The plan seems to be to let Perez get the weekend off to rest. The Royals have Pena, Manny Pina and Adam Moore up now and Yost has said that Moore will probably catch Jake Odorizzi‘s major league debut on Sunday due to their familiarity with each other after their time in Omaha since July. Since Gordon played the last two innings tonight, he should be fine for tomorrow’s game.

Speaking of which, Will Smith throws tomorrow. Cleveland will send out Ubaldo Jimenez. The Royals are now 8-5 against the Indians on the season and are 12 games under .500. They’re firmly in third place with seven games on the Twins. They’re technically not eliminated from playoff contention. They would have to win every single game the rest of the season and get Chicago to lose every game as well and Detroit can’t win more than two games against the Twins. I don’t even want to know the odds of that happening but I’d imagine it’s awfully slim.

“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”

In the Game 4 loss, just like all the other losses in the series, the Storm Chasers didn’t get enough pitching and definitely not enough offense. They collected seven hits on Saturday night, but could only muster two runs. They didn’t score until the 7th inning and were down 5-0. Both runs scored on Adam Moore‘s two-run single. They could have scored more, as they had the bases loaded in that inning, but Anthony Seratelli grounded into an inning ending double play.

Player of the Year Wil Myers hit just .229 in the playoffs and his season culminated with an 0-for-4 showing (he struck out three times).

Storm Chasers starter Doug Davis needed 94 pitches to get through 4.1 innings. He left with the bases loaded in the fifth and Michael Mariot allowed one of those runs to score. Then it was just 3-0.

*Reno now moves on to face Pawtucket, who won the International League title, on Tuesday night for the Triple-A Championship.

#CountryBreakfast. Photo Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

His next pitch ended up landing behind the batter’s eye in center field, courtesy of Billy Butler. Butler’s 27th homer of the year tied it up. Earlier in the night, Butler had hit a ball to the wall in dead center but Kauffman Stadium contained it.

Three pitches later, Salvador Perez took a 1-1 fastball deep to left. The ball hit the foul pole for a homer as the Royals took the walkoff win.

The heroics prevented Jeremy Guthrie‘s day from being in vain. Guthrie was just as impressive as Greinke, working eight innings and giving up just two runs while walking just one and giving up five hits. The Angels two runs came off of a Kendrys Morales homer in the fifth and a Torii Hunter single (that Jeff Francoeur lost in the lights) in the eighth. If the official scorer happens to turn the play into an error (it still went off his glove), only the homer would be an earned run.

Guthrie threw 107 pitches with 71 going for strikes. He only struck out two in the fast-paced game, but got eighteen (18!) outs on the ground. Only one out came in the air.

After the game, Ned Yost pointed to Gordon’s hit as being key in the comeback, since it chased Greinke from the game. That allowed Butler to face Frieri a day after he’d thrown 30 pitches in relief.

The Royals end up playing spoiler a lot this time of year, and this game was a crushing loss for the Angels. Their fans are not pleased with the decision to pull Greinke and I can sympathize. Strong starts followed by blown leads is something he probably got used to after his years in Kansas City. Butler put a charge into a ball earlier, so who knows, maybe the results would have been similar or the same. The “What if?” question has to be in LA fans’ minds. The Angels are five games behind Oakland for second in the AL West and are slipping out of wild card contention too.

The Royals 2-5 hitters were 6 for 24, which is about as good as you can do against Greinke. The only other hitter with a base hit was Francoeur. Eric Hosmer walked twice and stole a base.

Johnny Giavotella‘s throwing error in the top of the ninth was seconds away from history. Many have been tracking baseball’s march towards 500,000 errors, and Carlos Lee and Jose Reyes both committed errors in the top of the seventh for Miami moments before Giavotella’s errant throw. Even in mistakes, the Royals can’t win…

Tomorrow, the Royals send Will Smith to face his original organization. The Angels counter with Dan Haren. The Royals evens the series at 4-4 with the deciding game coming Sunday.

Nate Adcock pitched well, as he lasted eight innings. He allowed all three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out eight. Unfortunately he gave up two homeruns with one out in the top of the 3rd inning. AJ Pollock hit a two-run homerun and Tyler Kuhn followed with a solo homerun on the very next pitch. Three of the four hits Adcock allowed came in that 3rd inning.

The Storm Chasers offense let Adcock down. They only picked up five hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Anthony Seratelli picked up two of those hits.

The two teams meet again on Saturday night for Game 4 in which the Storm Chasers try to even the series and send it to a decisive Game 5. Veteran Doug Davis will get the start for Omaha.

The winner of the PCL Championship will face Pawtucket on September 18th in the Triple-A Championship. The Red Sox, the wild card in the International League, swept Charlotte 3-0.

It started as a nice friendly game. The Royals scored twice in the first inning and added a run in the fifth and it was enough. They got to the eighth inning with a 3-1 lead. Instead the Royals lost 4-3 in ten innings.

Kelvin Herrera came in and got a quick out. Then he hit Drew Butera. Then Chris Parmelee singled. Denard Span grounded into a potential double play, but Eric Hosmer had to jump for the ball at first and Span was ruled safe (though Hosmer may have had a toe on the bag on his way down from the catch).

With that opening, the Twins drew a walk to load the bases, then Josh Willingham walked to bring in a run. Greg Holland came in and struck out Justin Morneau to end the rally. Holland stayed in to try for a four out save but Trevor Plouffe homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth and tied it up. Holland got the next three outs but the save had been blown.

In the top of the tenth, Billy Butler was up with Alex Gordon on second after a one-out double when he took a pitch he thought was high. He asked umpire Mike Estabrook about it and it progressed from there. Estabrook stepped into the batter’s box, took off his mask and went face to face with Butler. During the discussion, Butler must have said the magic word and was ejected with a 2-2 count. Tony Abreu came up to finish the at bat and struck out.

Estabrook, you may remember, was the same umpire who took offense to comments by Jason Kendall in 2010 and stood in front of the catcher as if lecturing him. Ned Yost was ejected. Kendall called it unprofessional. It smacked of unnecessary by Estabrook in both instances.

But it’s not his fault the Royals gave up a run in each of the eighth, ninth and tenth innings. Prior to Gordon’s tenth inning double, the Twins had retired 12 in a row. The bats that were so potent the last two nights weren’t as active tonight.

To add injury to insult, Alex Gordon took a bump in foul territory going for a ball, colliding with the left field wall and getting a shoulder to the face (inadvertently) from a fan. He stayed in the game, though.

Lorenzo Cain wasn’t as lucky. Alexi Casilla led off the bottom of the tenth with a sinking liner to right-center. Cain dove for it and came down wrong and the ball went for a double. He was in pain on the ground with what turns out to be a hamstring strain and will be reevaluated tomorrow. After the injury, Jeff Francoeur moved to center (after replacing David Lough as a pinch hitter earlier), Hosmer moved to right field and Brayan Pena took over at first.

It didn’t make much difference, though, as Denard Span hit a drive to right that went over Hosmer’s head and drove in the winning run. Luis Mendoza was in line for the win after six strong innings where he struck out six, walked two, gave up two hits and had eight ground ball outs versus one fly ball out.

The loss prevented a Royals sweep of the Twins, though they did have a successful road trip after winning four out of six games. They’ll return home tomorrow to face the Angels.

The Storm Chasers only led 2-1 heading into the top of the 5th inning, but scored five runs. In that inning, they hit three homeruns. With one out, Anthony Seratelli hit a two-run homerun. Three batters later, Max Ramirez hit a two-run homerun (he went 2-for-5). Five pitches later, Mitch Maier hit a solo shot. Maier also threw a runner out at the plate in the 3rd inning.

That inning was HUGE, as Storm Chasers starter Ryan Verdugo allowed four runs in the bottom of the inning. Three of those runs scored on Mike Jacobs‘ three-run homer (his second homerun of the finals).

Omaha added some insurance with two runs in the top of the 7th inning on Adam Moore‘s two-run single with two outs.

And even though the Royals are hosting Singles Night at Kauffman Stadium on September 20, they ended up previewing it tonight in Minnesota as 13 of their 14 hits were mere singles. But singles add up and the Twins outfielder Ryan Doumit helped with three errors in the fourth inning as well.

Luke Hochevar barely finished five innings to get the win. After the Royals put up five runs after a walk and six straight singles (followed by two pop outs and another single), Hochevar got two quick outs, then walked Justin Morneau and Doumit doubled to left through a shift and a Jamey Carroll single scored both runners. Hochevar got a visit from Dave Eiland and induced a ground out from Alexi Casilla to get out of it. The bullpen held the Twins scoreless from there.

Butler and Perez lead the Royals Twins-bashing. Photo Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Last night, every batter in the lineup but one got a hit. Tonight, they all did. Billy Butler had three singles, including a deep drive that hit three quarters up the left field wall with the bases loaded (he admired his shot and only made it to first) and drove in three on the night. Salvador Perez had the lone extra base hit, a homer that extended his hitting streak to 16 games, a team high and tied for the league high for catchers.

Perhaps the most impressive at bat, though, belonged to Alcides Escobar, who got down 0-2 in the eighth inning against Casey Fien, then worked it to 2-2. From there, he fouled off another five pitches while working the count full. On the 12th pitch of the at bat, he looped a soft line drive into left field. Eric Hosmer stopped at third but Doumit fumbled the ball, then threw wildly to home and let Johnny Giavotella and Escobar advance in the process while Hosmer scored the first run of the inning.

Then the Royals scored Giavotella on a grounder to Casilla that he didn’t field cleanly, then Butler and Perez singled to add two more runs and extend the lead.

For the night, the Royals hit 8-16 with runners in scoring position. That’s usually going to lead to good things.

The win gives the Royals a 28-27 record against the AL Central this year, which only makes the awful July and April’s 12 game losing streak all the more painful.

Tomorrow night, Luis Mendoza takes on Liam Hendriks. Mendoza gave up two runs on seven hits in his last start against the Twins on September 2. The last time the Royals saw Hendriks, they chased him after 3.2 innings and scored three runs off of him on ten hits – unfortunately, Hochevar had started that night and gave up eight runs in 1.2 innings and the Royals lost anyway.

There isn’t a whole lot to write about the game. The Aces came out swinging and Omaha collected just three hits. They couldn’t capitalize on Reno starter Trevor Bauer‘s wildness (five walks). The Storm Chasers actually scored first, on an RBI ground out in the 2nd inning.

It all went downhill from there.

To say it was a bad night for Jake Odorizzi would be an understatement. He was thrashed for nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits over just 3.2 innings. He allowed four homeruns.

Only reliever Blaine Hardy was unscored upon, as he pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. He walked just one while striking out four.

The Storm Chasers will look to rebound Wednesday night, as they play Game 2 of the PCL Finals in Reno. Ryan Verdugo will get the start for Omaha against Daniel Cabrera, who used to pitch in the big leagues (and was once considered a key piece in Baltimore).

Every Omaha starter had at least one hit. Four of them collected multi-hit games. I was saying all along that for Omaha to have a chance in the Pacific Coast League playoffs, outfielder Wil Myers would have to step up (he had been ice cold). Myers broke out in Game 5, as he went 3-for-5 with a 2nd inning two out, two-run homerun. Mitch Maier hit the Storm Chasers other homerun, a two out, two-run shot in the fourth. He also went 5-for-5. Irving Falu only went 1-for-2 in the leadoff spot, but walked four times and scored three runs.

Omaha starter Justin Marks wasn’t great, but he gave them enough and it was much better than his first Triple-A start against the Isotopes. He allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out four.

The Storm Chasers advanced to the PCL Finals and continue to look for back-to-back titles. The best-of-five series will begin on Tuesday, September 11th in Reno. The Aces shocked Sacramento (who had the PCL’s best record) in five games. Jake Odorizzi will face Reno’s Trevor Bauer.

The Storm Chasers offense was clicking early and often, as they led 8-2 after the third inning. In the second, they scored four runs on four hits and an error. In the third, they scored three runs on an Adam Moore three-run homerun. He homered again in the 5th inning.

After Jason Bourgeois homered to lead off the top of the 7th inning to increase the Storm Chasers lead to 10-3, it looked as though they would be celebrating a return trip to the PCL finals. The Isotopes had other things in mind.

They scored NINE runs in the bottom of the 7th inning. They collected eight hits (five for extra bases). Tony Gwynn‘s three-run homerun with one out gave the Isotopes the lead.

Sunday afternoon’s win or go home Game 5 will be held in Albuquerque. Justin Marks will get the start for Omaha in just his second Triple-A game. His first start came at Albuquerque in the final series of the season and he didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning (1.2IP, 7H, 9R, 3BB, 0K). Hopefully Sunday will be different.

Anthony Seratelli (2-for-4) led off the 3rd inning with a solo homerun. Later in the inning, Max Ramirez (2-for-4) drove in two runs with a single. A two-run homerun by Mitch Maier gave the Storm Chasers some insurance in the top of the 7th inning.

The Isotopes made it interesting late, as they sent eight men to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning and scored three runs to cut the deficit to two runs. Seratelli got one of those runs back in the top of the 9th inning with a two out RBI single.

Nate Adcock picked up the win, as he skated into and out of trouble all night. He was helped out by three double plays and two caught stealings. The Isotopes caught up to him in the 7th inning and he exited after allowing back-to-back doubles that put them on the scoreboard.

The two teams continue their divisional series on Saturday in Albuquerque. Omaha looks to take the series and head to their second straight Pacific Coast League championship.

The Blue Rocks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning on Geulin Beltre‘s solo homerun. That was the only run they would score. The Hillcats tied the game up in the bottom of the 4th inning on Andrelton Simmons‘ solo homerun (he went 1-for-4 while playing shortstop in his second game of rehabbing with the Hillcats).

The game would stay tied until the bottom of the 8th inning when Hillcats catcher Braeden Schlehuber took reliever Robinson Yambati‘s 3-2 pitch with one out over the wall in left field to give the Hillcats a 2-1 lead. Hillcats closer Juan Jamie took care of business in the top of the 9th inning with two strikeouts.

The Blue Rocks lost how they lost many games all season long: with great pitching and very little offense. Starter Leondy Perez allowed just the one run on four hits and a walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out four. The offense collected just five hits, while striking out nine times and hitting into two double plays.

The Storm Chasers led 3-0 early, capped by a Max Ramirez two-run homerun in the 2nd inning. In the 6th inning, the Isotopes got two of those runs back against Omaha starter Ryan Verdugo. Trent Oeltjen delivered a two out, two-run triple. After issuing a one out walk with a man on base, Verdugo was lifted for Juan Gutierrez. He immediately gave up back-to-back singles to score two runs and give the Isotopes the lead.

It was a rough game for Omaha second baseman Rey Navarro. Two throwing errors late in the game cost them a run and made things interesting.

Game 3 will move the series to Albuquerque on Friday night. Nate Adcock will get the start for the Storm Chasers.

One night after collecting just three hits, Wilmington‘s offense busted out in a big way (hopefully they have some runs left in them for tomorrow night). The Blue Rocks pounded Lynchburg, 12-3 to force a decisive Game 3 on Friday night for the Northern Division title in the Carolina League (and a spot in the championship). The Blue Rocks collected 18 hits.

All of that offense made a winner of Jason Adam, who allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks over seven-plus innings. He gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning (it was his errant pickoff throw). Big league rehabber Andrelton Simmons singled to lead off, went to second base on the error, moved to third base on a sac bunt, and scored on a ground out.

The Blue Rocks came back with a four-spot in the top of the 3rd inning, capped by a three-run homerun from Matt Fields. They never looked back. Six of the starters had multi-hit games, with Lane Adams, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Geulin Beltre having three-hit games.

Game 3 will be in Lynchburg on Friday night with Leondy Perez on the mound for Wilmington against the Hillcats’ Aaron Northcraft. The winner heads to either Winston-Salem or Myrtle Beach (The Dash also forced a Game 3) to begin the Carolina League championship on Saturday. The loser begins their offseason.

What last year's championship rings looked like.

Jake Odorizzi picked up the win, as he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out seven. The three runs allowed came via the long ball.

Despite the outburst of runs for the Storm Chasers, they went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They scored in just three innings. Anthony Seratelli and Rey Navarro each collected two hits in the win.

Game 2 will be played on Thursday night in Omaha before the two teams take the best-of-five series to Albuquerque.

Wilmington lost Game 1 of their Carolina League divisional series to Lynchburg, 8-0. The game didn’t get out of hand until the final two innings when the Hillcats scored six runs off the Blue Rocks bullpen.

Brooks Pounders took the loss, despite pitching fairly well. He allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He wasn’t helped out by his offense, which collected just three hits off Hillcats starter Gus Schlosser. Schlosser was dominant over an aggressive Blue Rocks lineup. He walked just one while striking out six over eight scoreless innings.

The Hillcats were also an aggressive team, but they made the most of their aggressiveness by hitting the ball on the ground. Twelve times the Hillcats saw just one pitch in an at-bat. They had quite a few bloop singles and infield hits.

Both teams were heading out to Lynchburg following the game for Game 2 Thursday night. Jason Adam will get the start for the Blue Rocks against Dimasther Delgado.

Check out Blue Rocks manager Vance Wilson talking after the game:

August was the Blue Rocks only winning month of the season, which propelled them into first place in the second half. The Blue Rocks had 66 victories on the season and 33 of them were come from behind wins.

The Blue Rocks play host for the first game before heading to Lynchburg for the final two. At Frawley Stadium, the Blue Rocks are 38-32 and have won 11 of their last 14 home games. They won the season series over the Hillcats (11-9) and were 6-4 at home.

Despite the fact that the Hillcats have an All-Star shortstop in Nick Ahmed, he will have to settle for being the third baseman. Starting in Game 2 at short will be Andrelton Simmons, who will be rehabbing from Atlanta. Simmons was last year’s CL batting champ and was an MLB Rookie of the Year candidate this season before a broken hand shut him down.

The Hillcats will be throwing the Carolina League Pitcher of the year, Gus Schlosser, in Game 1. Matching up against him will be Brooks Pounders. All three of the Hillcats starters are ranked in the top ten in the CL in ERA (all are under four).

Schlosser was 13-7 with a 3.38 ERA during the regular season. The 13 wins was first in the league and his ERA was ranked third. He was second to teammate (and Game 3 starter) Aaron Northcraft in strikeouts with 139. He also led the league in innings pitched (165.1). Schlosser made two of his last three starts on the regular season against Wilmington (home and away). He lasted just five innings in both. In Wilmington, he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out seven.

Pounders last faced the Hillcats back on August 18^th at Frawley and pitched seven shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was the first time I had seen him pitch and I came away impressed.

Blue Rocks manager Vance Wilson talked following his team’s regular season finale about the use of his bullpen (which has been great). When asked who he would go to, he said “[Robinson] Yambati and [Edwin] Carl. Carl’s been outstanding as has Yambati. So with that, that leaves us some flexibility to use [Nick] Rogers a little earlier in tight situations. I do anticipate tight games against Lynchburg because we’ve played them all year with their pitching staff.”

How good has Edwin Carl been? He has had five straight scoreless appearances, totaling 11 innings. In those outings, he did not allow a hit, walked two, and struck out 12. Carl has also impressed Wilson the most during this 2012 season. “Because he started down in Kane County and did a nice job. My biggest thing is he came here and scuffled a bit and again we challenged him to do some things and he’s done them. And he’s hot.”

Strikeouts could reign supreme in this series. Not only does Blue Rocks centerfielder Brett Eibner lead the world in strikeouts (165), but the entire team leads the league. The Hillcats have two players in the top five in strikeouts: outfielder Adam Milligan (134) and third baseman/DH Edward Salcedo (130).

Who’s HOT: Second baseman Tommy La Stella (LYN) 16-for-27 (.593) with five RBIs in his last eight games. Ahmed (LYN) 13-for-33 (.394) in his last nine games. Outfielder Nick Van Stratten (WIL) 16-for-40 (.400) in his last ten games. Outfielder Geulin Beltre (WIL) 11-for-35 (.314) in his last ten games.

Who’s NOT: First baseman Chris Garcia (LYN) 4-for-33 (.121) in his last ten games. Catcher Braeden Schlehuber (LYN) 5-for-32 (.156) in his last ten games. Eibner (WIL) 6-for-36 (.167) with 14 Ks in his last ten games. First baseman Matt Fields (WIL) just one homerun in his last ten games with 15 Ks.

(more…)

On Monday, the Rangers hit five homers to put up eight runs. In the first inning on Tuesday, Elvis Andrus led off with a homer to keep the power surge going and the Rangers added a run in the second on a double by Mitch Moreland to go up 2-0.

The Royals got on the board in the bottom of the second when Alcides Escobar snapped an 0-21 skid with a double down the line to score Lorenzo Cain. He moved to third on an Alex Gordon ground out and scored on a close play at the plate after a Billy Butler fly ball to center.

In the fifth, Lorenzo Cain singled and scored on Gordon’s homer to center, a no doubt shot. Butler followed with a single and scored from first on a double to the gap by Salvador Perez. The Royals added one more on Giavotella’s bomb.

While Guthrie had a good stretch of starts, his short stint in Boston caused some worry that the clock had struck midnight, but he followed it up with another seven inning game, then started rough tonight. Ned Yost credited a pickoff by Perez of Ian Kinsler at third as a turning point. Kinsler had led off the third inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Then Perez gunned him out with Josh Hamilton up. His third pickoff of the year (after missing half the season) now leads the majors. Guthrie struck out Hamilton to end the inning and finish off the threat. He cruised from there.

The only other hint of trouble came after back to back singles by Hamilton and Beltre off Kelvin Herrera as he started the ninth inning, his second of the night. Greg Holland came in and got a strikeout out of Nelson Cruz on a filthy slider, got a second out from Michael Young on a sacrifice fly that scored Hamilton. Daniel Murphy grounded out to Giavotella to on a force to second to end the game.

That’s a solid win. The top five batters scored and drove in five of the six runs, with Giavotella’s homer from the ninth spot being the outlier. Every batter that came to the plate got a base hit. Mike Moustakas doubled off of starter Matt Harrison and Gordon’s homer was off of him as well. Harrison entered the game allowing only a .492 OPS against left-handed batters this season.

Tomorrow, the Royals will send Everett Teaford to the mound with Vin Mazzaro set to pitch as well. Will Smith‘s turn was coming up, but he pitched the first game in Saturday’s double header rather than the Friday he’d been scheduled. Hochevar was an option on short rest after 1.2 innings in game two on Saturday, but Ned Yost wanted to give him his full four days rest.

Handing off a 6-1 lead to your closer in the bottom of the 9th inning should send your team to a victory, right? Not tonight for Burlington. John Walter entered the game with a five-run lead, but couldn’t close out Elizabethton. He walked the first two batters he faced, but then recorded the next two outs without allowing a run to score.

Then the wheels fell off.

Walter walked the next hitter and hit the next to drive in a run. A wild pitch made the score 6-3 with Adam Walker at the plate. Walker was tied for the Appy League lead in homeruns with 14. He fittingly belted a three-run homerun to tie the game at 6-6.

That sent the game to extra innings.

Both teams had runners on base but could not capitalize. Until the bottom of the 12th inning.

Julio Morales entered in relief in the bottom of the 12th inning for the Royals and recorded the first out. However he walked the next batter before striking out the next. Then he walked another and a wild pitch left first base open. So Morales walked the next hitter to load the bases with two outs. DJ Hicks made sure that the game would go no further, as he hit a full count, two outs grand slam to set off the victory celebration in front of the hometown fans.

Burlington scored their six runs across two innings. In the 4th inning, they scored four runs and only recorded one hit. Three walks, a single, two passed balls, two errors, and a wild pitch helped the Royals score. In the 8th inning, Bubba Starling (3-for-6) led off with a solo homerun. Two batters later, Mark Threlkeld (2-for-5) hit a solo homerun.

It was a rough night all around for the Royals, even though they were in the game until the very end. They collected ten hits, but went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They struck out 17 times. The Royals pitchers walked 12 batters (compared to 18 strikeouts). They also gave up two BIG homeruns accounting for seven of the Twins ten runs. The defense committed three errors.

July 8, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA batter Wil Myers drives in a run with a fielder

Omaha ended the regular season by losing two in a row to Albuquerque, with a 4-3 loss on Monday. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday in the playoffs.

Nate Adcock started, but for the second straight game, the Omaha starter was on a short pitch count. He threw 40 pitches over two innings (two runs on four hits).

The Storm Chasers collected ten hits (just two for extra bases) but went just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Wil Myers went 2-for-4, but fell one homerun shy of the minor league lead.

NW Arkansas was swept in their final home series of the season, as they lost to Tulsa, 7-4. The Drillers scored five runs in the 4th inning.

Sugar Ray Marimon was chased from the game after four innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits (two homeruns) and two walks. He struck out six.

Wilmington finished off the regular season by losing two in a row, with a 3-0 loss to Potomac. Kevin Keyes hit a two-run homerun in the 4th inning that was the difference in the game.

The game started in a rain delay and ended when the skies opened up in the bottom of the 6th inning.

Juan Graterol went 1-for-1 to raise his average to .301.

Matt Ridings finished his season with a solid start, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk. He struck out a career-high nine. Ridings attributed all the strikeouts to the P-Nats aggressiveness in the game. Many were swinging at the first pitch or chasing fastballs out of the zone (the P-Nats were still in street clothes when the game was supposed to start, hoping for a rainout).

Following the game (and the half hour delay before it was called), Ridings talked about his performance not only today, but on the season. He also looked to the postseason, which begins on Wednesday for the Blue Rocks at home against Lynchburg (weather permitting).

Kane County had the chance to sneak in as a Midwest League wild card. Burlington was playing a doubleheader (and lost the first game), but the Cougars lost their game to Peoria, 6-2.

In the Chiefs’ four-run 5th inning, Cougars starter Michael Giovenco was tossed after hitting a batter following a three-run homerun. The Cougars bullpen followed with 4.2 solid innings (one run on four hits).

On offense, Daniel Mateo and Julio Aparicio collected two hits in the loss.

With the playoffs just three days away, Storm Chasers starter Ryan Verdugo reached his pitch limit after just 2.2 innings (46 pitches). He allowed three runs on five hits and a walk.

Wil Myers (2-for-5) stepped to the plate in the 9th inning with the tying run on third base, but flied out to end the game. Rey Navarro and Adam Moore both collected two hits and Moore hit a two-run homerun.

NW Arkansas lost to Tulsa, 3-1 despite out-hitting the Drillers 10-9. JC Sulbaran finally pitched well for the Naturals since coming over from Cincinnati in the Jonathan Broxton deal. He allowed one run on six hits over seven innings. He walked four and struck out four.

The Naturals scored a run in the 9th inning and had the tying run on base, but could not score. Yem Prades went 2-for-5 and drove in the only run. Brian Fletcher and Kevin Kouzmanoff each collected two hits in the loss.

Blue Rocks starter Andy Ferguson

With just two regular season games left before beginning a playoff series at home, Wilmington fittingly played an extra inning affair on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Rocks lost to visiting Potomac, 4-0 in 11 innings. The P-Nats won in Wilmington for the first time in 2012 (they were 0-8). It was a scoreless affair until that fateful 11th inning when Steven Souza hit a no-doubt grand slam out to left field off losing pitcher Nick Graffeo (who struck out the side in his first inning of work). It came with two outs.

It was a great pitcher’s duel between Blue Rocks starter Andy Ferguson and P-Nats starter Matt Grace. Ferguson allowed seven hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out six, as he put himself into the running for a rotation spot for the postseason. Grace, who has struggled all season, allowed six hits and a walk over eight scoreless innings.

The Blue Rocks only had multiple base runners in an inning three times, the final time being the bottom of the 11th inning. They loaded the bases with one out, but couldn’t come up with the clutch hit. Nick Van Stratten and Lane Adams both collected two hits in the loss with Van Stratten extending his hitting streak to nine games.

Ferguson threw 95 pitches, 65 for strikes (by my count). He had three innings where he threw less than ten pitches. Ferguson talked following the game about his outing, the defense being excellent behind him, the potential of him starting in the postseason, and his adjustments to the Carolina League:

With Burlington losing earlier on Sunday, Kane County had a chance to stave off elimination once again. And they did, with a 5-4 win over Peoria in ten innings. Their playoff season will come down to the final game of the regular season. A Cougars win and a Bees loss will send the Cougars to the Midwest League playoffs.

Down 3-0, the Cougars scored three runs in the bottom of the 5th inning with two triples, a double, an RBI ground out, and three wild pitches. Down 4-3 in the 8th inning after a Jorge Soler homerun, Dean Espy drove in the tying run with a single (he went 2-for-4). With two outs and the winning run on second base, Alex Llanos drove in the winning run with a single to set off the celebration (Llanos went 2-for-5).

Bubba Watch: Burlington was one win away from the Appalachian League title, but a long rain delay in Elizabethton delayed the start. They scored three runs early on two homeruns, one by Bubba Starling (a two-run shot that gave the Royals the lead). However in the bottom of the 11th inning, Elizabethton won the game on a wild pitch to force a deciding Game 3. Starling went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

July 8, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA batter Wil Myers drives in a run with a fielder

Seven Storm Chasers had multi-hit games. Wil Myers (4-for-6) hit his 37th overall homerun and drove in four runs. Jason Bourgeois came off the bench to go 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Clint Robinson and Irving Falu each collected three hits in the win.

Pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth was promoted from Double-A to Omaha to help out in the postseason.

Four homeruns did in Mike Montgomery, as NW Arkansas lost to Tulsa, 6-2. He allowed all six runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings.

Brian Fletcher hit a two out, two-run homerun in the 8th inning that accounted for all of the Naturals’ runs. Mario Lisson and Carlo Testa both went 2-for-4 in the loss.

Wilmington kept up their winning ways, with a 5-1 victory over Potomac. They scored four runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Brett Eibner led off the inning with a solo homerun and two batters later, Matt Fields hit a two-run shot.

That made a winner of Jason Adam, who allowed one run on two hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

Kane County beat Peoria, 6-5 with a three-run bottom of the 6th inning. With the win, the Cougars staved off elimination. They are two games back of the wild card with two games to go (Burlington was postponed).

The Cougars bullpen duo of Rudy Brown and Cody Fassold allowed just two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings of relief.

Justin Trapp led off the bottom of the first inning with a homerun (he went 2-for-5). Tim Ferguson also picked up two hits in the win.

Bubba Watch: Burlington walked off against Elizabethton in the first game of the Appalachian League championship. The Royals won 3-2 in 12 innings on Bubba Starling‘s sac fly. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. The Royals pitched 5.1 scoreless innings of relief.

The month didn’t end so well for Omaha. They lost to Albuquerque (who is fighting for a playoff spot and may face Omaha in the first round), 11-3. The Storm Chasers were down 9-0 after the second inning. Justin Marks made his Triple-A debut and it was a rough one. He allowed nine runs (seven earned) on seven hits and three walks over just 1.2 innings.

It was so bad that infielder Kurt Mertins had to pitch an inning of relief.

Wil Myers was the only Storm Chaser with two hits (he went 2-for-4 with a triple). He was also named Omaha’s Player of the Year.

Yordano Ventura

NW Arkansas took Game 1 of their doubleheader in Arkansas, 5-1. Yordano Ventura was solid, as he allowed one run on four hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out three. Ventura was named High-A Wilmington’s Pitcher of the Year earlier in the day. For more on ALL of the Royals Minor League Players and Pitchers of the Year, click HERE.

The Naturals pounded out 13 hits, with four players picking up multi-hit games. Kevin Kouzmanoff (who was just activated from the DL) and Mario Lisson drove in four of the runs.

The Naturals also took Game 2, by a score of 9-2. They pounded out 14 hits, with five players collecting multi-hit games.

Noel Arguelles picked up the win, as he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk over six innings (a complete game as it was completed early). He struck out five.

A day after clinching a playoff spot, Wilmington enjoyed Friday off before beginning a three-game series against Potomac.

Kane County‘s playoff hopes are quickly dwindling, as they lost again to Quad Cities, 8-2 (they were swept). The Cougars are still three games back (Burlington lost again), but there are just three games to go.

In the loss, Justin Trapp and Chris Elder each collected two hits (combining for three doubles) and scored the Cougars’ lone runs.

Bubba Watch: Bubba Starling went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but Burlington received a two-run homerun from Mark Threlkeld to beat Johnson City, 3-2 to take their first playoff series (Johnson City was the reigning Appalachian League champs). Starling was named Burlington’s Player of the Year. Next up for the Royals is Elizabethton for the Appy League title. The quest for the title begins on Saturday in Burlington.