Royals May 30th Minors Recap

The big league KC Royals made hitting coaching changes on Thursday. They struggled hitting with men on base and being a singles hitting team. Well, it is an organization-wide problem and I’ll let you know what the numbers are from tonight’s game.

Despite bad weather that continues to rock Oklahoma City, they played tonight and Omaha lost, 8-1.

Omaha starter Ryan Verdugo was hurt by his defense (five runs, two earned) over six innings. He also struggled with his command (four walks and just 55 strikes of his 105 pitches).

The Storm Chasers keep shuffling players around the field, none more than Johnny Giavotella. He started in left field and went 2-for-4. Problem is, he committed yet another error (his tenth of the season). Xavier Nady started at third base and hit a homerun to drive in their only run.

They only collected five hits, two for extra bases. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and walked twice.

NW Arkansas has lost five in a row and were swept by visiting Corpus Christi. They lost on Thursday by a 5-0 final.

Naturals starter Jason Adam tied a franchise record with 11 strikeouts, but allowed two homeruns (four total runs) in the loss.

The Naturals collected just three hits, two from Orlando Calixte. They struck out eight times, compared to just one walk (which was worked by Calixte).

Blue Rocks starter Kyle Smith during his May 1, 2013 start.

Wilmington held on for the 4-3 win in their finale in Carolina. They split the series and return home for seven games, starting with divisional rival Frederick on Friday night.

The Blue Rocks got on the board in the very first inning when Justin Trapp singled and Daniel Mateo homered for the 2-0 lead. They tacked on two more in the 3rd inning on Lane Adams‘ double. All three of them (the top three in the order) had two hits each.

Kyle Smith started and his lone blemish was a solo homerun in the 4th inning (6IP, 6H, R, BB, 7K). Robinson Yambati threw two perfect innings of relief and struck out four before Antonio Cruz struggled in the ninth.

The Blue Rocks collected seven hits and walked five times. They went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times.

*In case you missed it, the Blue Rocks added Tyler Sample from extended spring training. It is his third season in Wilmington. He started on Wednesday night and replaced reliever Spencer Patton on the roster. Patton was “sent” to rookie ball, despite being one of the Carolina League’s best relievers.

Lexington ended their four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over visiting Hagerstown. After the Suns scored two runs in the top of the eighth, the Legends scored three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Alec Mills, who had been pitching out of the bullpen (six saves) started for the Legends and threw six shutout innings. He allowed just three hits while striking out five.

Mark Donato hit his first homerun of the season in the seventh (he had two hits) and Bubba Starling hit a two-run shot in the 8th inning that gave them the lead (his second homerun in his last two games started). He did however strike out three times.

The Legends went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They collected eight hits (four for extra bases) and three walks. They also struck out nine times.