Royals Father’s Day Minors Recap

Omaha beat Fresno, 10-7 to increase their winning streak to six games. They also have a 1.5 game lead in the American Northern Division of the Pacific Coast League.

Credit to: Minda Haas

The Storm Chasers trailed 7-6 after four innings before putting up a three-spot in the top of the fifth. Christian Colon had the big hit, a two-run double.

The Storm Chasers collected 15 hits, but just three for extra bases (all doubles). Five players had multi-hit games, including Paulo Orlando, Brett Eibner, and Whit Merrifield with three hits each. Eibner also drove in two runs, along with Justin Maxwell, who also had two hits.

They also stole five bases.

Aaron Brooks earned his sixth win of the season, despite a rough start. He allowed seven runs (four earned) on seven hits over five innings. He allowed a two-run home run in the first. Brooks did strike out seven and did not walk a batter.

Casey Coleman allowed one hit over 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts, while Spencer Patton earned his 14th save of the season. He struck out three over the game’s final 1.1 innings.

NW Arkansas lost in ten innings to visiting Arkansas, 4-2. They still have just nine wins at home.

The Travelers came back after being down 2-0 through seven innings. They scored two runs in the top of the eighth on a two out, two-run triple. That took the game into extra innings, when the Travelers scored two. It all started with a leadoff walk by Angel Baez.

The loss negated the solid start by Tim Melville, who allowed four hits and walked three over 6.1 scoreless innings. He struck out six. Matt Murray entered in the seventh with two men on base and left them stranded. He left in the 8th inning with a runner on base, but Scott Alexander allowed that run to score, along with one of his own.

The Naturals collected just five hits, including a two out, two-run Juan Graterol double. Lane Adams stole his 23rd base of the season. Left fielder Ethan Chapman picked up his ninth outfield assist of the season when he threw a runner out at the plate.

Blue Rocks starter Glenn Sparkman against Carolina on May 21, 2014 (Jen Nevius).

Wilmington beat Carolina, 3-2 on Sunday afternoon to end the first half on a positive note, winning two in a row.

The Blue Rocks trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth and for the third straight game, came back against the Mudcats bullpen. The inning started with three straight singles to load the bases for Mark Donato, who entered on defense for Terrance Gore (not sure why). Donato drove in the first run with a single (one of his two hits) and Bubba Starling followed with a sac fly to tie the game. Hunter Dozier once again came through with an RBI double to give the Blue Rocks the lead.

They might not have had the lead if not for lefty Kyle Bartsch, who got the Blue Rocks out of a two out, bases loaded jam in the top of the eighth (in which the Mudcats had already scored a run). Bartsch got the first out in the ninth, but then allowed a single to chase him from the game. In came Carolina League All-Star closer Mark Peterson, who closed it out for his league-leading 13th save.

Glenn Sparkman was solid once again, though his scoreless streak as a starter came to an end in the 4th inning. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out three.

The Blue Rocks offense was once again held in check by a Mudcats starter, this time it was DJ Brown. Brown allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings. That hit was a two out single by Michael Antonio in the fifth.

The Blue Rocks will now host the California League/Carolina League All-Star Game on Tuesday night, along with Monday night’s Hitting Challenge and Home Run Derby. The team will start up the second half on Thursday in Myrtle Beach.

Lexington lost to Charleston, 10-3, ending the first half on a three-game losing streak. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when the Legends took a 1-0 lead on a wild pitch.

Crawford Simmons pitched the first five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and four walks. He struck out six. Then things went downhill.

Matt Alvarez allowed four runs in the seventh on a grand slam. In the 8th inning, Jose Miguel Rodriguez loaded the bases on two walks and a sac bunt that he committed an error on. He was pulled in favor of Tripp Davis, who allowed all three runs to score on two hits. Davis then allowed one more run in the eighth and two more runs in the ninth.

The Legends collected six hits by six different players, including three doubles.

Lexington will start up the second half on Thursday in Delmarva.