Royals May 31st Minors Recap

The month of May has ended and it did not end well for all of the Kansas City Royals minor league affiliates. Three of the four full season teams lost.

Omaha was the lone affiliate that was victorious on Saturday, as they beat host Round Rock, 5-2. The Storm Chasers were down 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh.

In that 7th inning, Carlos Peguero delivered an RBI single with two outs before Brian Bocock hit a two-run home run to give them the lead. It was Bocock’s first homer of the season.

That made a winner of Sugar Ray Marimon, who allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out six. Donnie Joseph earned his first save of the season with three scoreless innings of relief.

Peguero added a solo home run in the ninth. Justin Maxwell went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Matt Fields went 2-for-4 with a double.

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After leading 1-0 after the top of the first,

NW Arkansas

lost to host Corpus Christi,

. It was the Naturals fifth loss in a row.

Whit Merrifield did not skip a beat after being activated from the DL today. He led off the game with a single and came around to score the game’s first run.

The Naturals had seven hits, but hit into two double plays and struck out eight times. Mark Threlkeld and Micah Gibbs had two hits each in the loss.

Sam Selman took the loss, as he lasted just 3.2 innings. He only allowed two runs, but gave up four hits, walked four, and struck out seven. That accounted for the high pitch count (97 pitches). Cody Fassold entered with two men on base and left them stranded, though he allowed a two-run home run in the sixth (his third inning of work).

Ali Williams allowed two solo homers in the 7th inning, before Matt Murray was lit up for five runs (four earned) on four hits and two walks in the eighth (he threw 40 pitches).

*Still no word on the roster moves with the Naturals, as their active roster stands at 27 players.

Wilmington lost to Frederick, 5-4. It was their third loss in a row, dropping them into third place in the Carolina League.

Luis Santos made his High-A debut and was mowing down the Keys until the sixth. That was the inning he allowed his first hit, a double with one out. He actually had a perfect game before walking a batter in the fifth with one out. A ground out scored the Keys first run, while a passed ball scored the second run.

That was all for Santos, as Kyle Bartsch began the 7th inning. He allowed a solo homer with one out that gave the Keys the lead. In the 8th inning, he allowed another solo homer, along with a two out RBI single.

The Blue Rocks came back with two runs in the top of the ninth to cut the deficit to one run, but Raul Mondesi lined out to end the game.

Hunter Dozier continued his hot hitting with a double and two RBIs. He is hitting a respectable .272, which is tops on the team (the next highest is Mondesi’s .239). Terrance Gore stole his 16th base of the season, as he went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. He also threw out a runner to end the 8th inning from left field.

*Over 9,500 fans were in attendance at Harry Grove Stadium. That will probably move the Keys into first place in terms of average league attendance.

Lexington lost to Augusta, 7-4. The GreenJackets scored seven runs in the 6th inning. The Legends actually led 3-0 after two innings.

Cody Reed, who has struggled all season long, actually pitched well until the sixth. He was pulled with two men on base in the 6th inning (a hit batter and a walk to start the inning) in favor of Matt Alvarez. Alvarez immediately allowed an RBI single, walked the next hitter to load the bases, and threw a wild pitch to allow another run to score. After another walk to load the bases, Alvarez allowed another RBI single before recording the inning’s first out (a strikeout).

However, Alvarez walked in a run and an error allowed another. After walking in another run, Alvarez was finally pulled in favor of Andrew Edwards, who allowed a sac fly before another fly out FINALLY ended the 6th inning. Edwards would allow one hit, a walk, and a hit batter over 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.

On offense in the loss, Dominique Taylor had two hits. Frank Schwindel hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot in the 8th inning. However, he grounded into a game ending double play with runners on the corners.