Royals May 13th Minors Recap

Omaha beat New Orleans, 5-0 to split the series. After a Wednesday day off, the Storm Chasers head out on the road for eight games beginning in Memphis.

Four Omaha pitchers combined on the three-hit shutout.

It started with Francisley Bueno, who continues his rehab assignment. He threw the first three innings, allowing just one hit. Bueno struck out five and induced four ground outs. Brett Tomko threw the next four innings, allowing one hit and two walks. Tomko struck out six. Buddy Baumann threw just eight pitches in his perfect inning before Spencer Patton finished out the game.

The Storm Chasers scored a run in the first on Brian Fletcher‘s two out RBI single (one of his two hits). That proved to be enough. They then scored in three straight innings, from the fifth through the seventh. Brett Eibner delivered a two out RBI triple in the fifth. Paulo Orlando doubled in one run in the sixth. In the 7th inning, Christian Colon and Jimmy Paredes drove in runs. Paredes had two hits and stole two bases.

*Pedro Ciriaco got the start at second base for Omaha before being pinch-hit for in the 5th inning. He had been called up to the big leagues to replace the injured Omar Infante.

**In non-baseball news, Matt Fields got married following the game at Werner Park.

NW Arkansas‘ four-game winning streak came to an end with a 4-3 loss in Arkansas. The Travelers scored all of their runs in the 5th inning, right after the Naturals had taken a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning on a Whit Merrifield solo home run.

It could have been a three-run homer for Merrifield, but in the fourth, Edinson Rincon was thrown out trying to steal home with Merrifield at the plate. It was a sneaky, designed play with Ethan Chapman (the runner on first base) taking off for second base. It failed. Merrifield had three of the Naturals 11 hits.

Naturals starter Tim Melville was cruising along until that fifth, when he walked two and allowed two doubles and a triple. Overall, he allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out ten. After Wilking Rodriguez threw a perfect sixth, Scott Alexander pitched the final two innings.

Mark Threlkeld, Rincon, and Juan Graterol (the 6-7-8 hitters) each had two hits. Rincon drove in two runs in the loss.

Blue Rocks starter Jonathan Dziedzic during an April 2014 start (jen Nevius).

Wilmington won their second straight game at home against Salem, this time by a 4-1 score. The Blue Rocks scored three runs in the 3rd inning.

That offensive outburst was more than enough for starter Jonathan Dziedzic, who carried a perfect game into the 5th inning. He allowed a two out single, but then picked the runner off to end the fifth. In the 6th inning, the Red Sox put together a two out rally, scoring one run. However, Dziedzic went back out for the seventh and struck out all three batters in his final inning of work.

Dziedzic became the first Blue Rock not named Christian Binford to complete seven innings this season (7IP, 4H, R, 0BB, 8K). Mark Peterson worked around two on in the ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season.

The Blue Rocks collected seven hits (all singles), worked four walks, and stole three bases, but went just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. In their three-run 3rd inning, the Blue Rocks scored on a fielding error, a wild pitch, and a two out RBI single by last night’s hero Jack Lopez.

Johermyn Chavez and Cam Gallagher each had two hits in the win.

Lexington won their series in Greensboro with a 4-3 win on Tuesday afternoon. The Legends now head to Asheville for three games, looking to add to their three-game winning streak.

The Legends scored four runs in the 3rd inning, right after the Grasshoppers scored two runs. Then they made it hold up.

All four runs came on one swing of the bat. Chad Johnson hit a one out grand slam in the third. It was his third home run of the season and one of his two hits. The bases were loaded via one hit and two walks.

Jake Junis earned his fourth win of the season, as he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six. Alex Black allowed a run over two innings before Kevin Perez worked out of trouble in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Grasshoppers loaded the bases with just one out, looking for the walk off victory. Instead, Perez got a strike out before a fly out to left field ended the game.