Royals June 17th Minors Recap

Omaha has now won seven in a row, as they beat visiting Albuquerque, 13-6. The Storm Chasers hit six home runs.

Royals catcher Jesus Flores during BP at 2014 spring training (Jen Nevius).

Jesus Flores hit his first home run of the game, a two-run shot in the 2nd inning. His second homer came to leadoff the sixth. In the fourth, Paulo Orlando hit a two out, two-run shot. Brett Eibner added his own two out, two-run shot in the fifth. Rehabbing Danny Valencia got in the act when he lead off the eighth. Also in the 8th inning (two batters later), Jimmy Paredes hit a two-run homer.

So that’s ten runs off the long ball.

Every Storm Chaser had at least one hit, except Matt Fields. Six hitters had multi-hit games. Orlando went a perfect 4-for-4 and Flores also had four hits. Paredes had two hits and four RBIs. Justin Maxwell went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

All of that offense made a winner of John Lamb, who allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out four.

Former Royal Clint Robinson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts for the Isotopes.

NW Arkansas won their first game of the second half with a 3-2 comeback victory over Arkansas.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, the Naturals came back with two runs. Max Ramirez led off the inning with a single (one of his two hits) and pinch-runner Angel Franco moved to second base on a sac bunt. Franco came around to score on Micah Gibbs‘ RBI single. With two outs, Gibbs was moved up two bases on wild pitches, before Ethan Chapman delivered the game winning RBI single.

On offense, the Naturals collected nine hits, including Lane Adams‘ solo home run (his fifth of the season) in the 3rd inning.

After Sam Selman allowed two runs on just three hits and a walk over 5.1 innings, the Naturals bullpen was stellar. Cody Fassold entered with two men on base and left them stranded (1.2 innings). Ali Williams earned the win, though he escaped a two on jam in the eighth. Andrew Triggs earned his eighth save of the season with an eight pitch ninth.

The California League won the Cal League/Carolina League All-Star Game in Wilmington by a 3-2 score. With two on and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, San Jose’s Steven Okert entered and got a strikeout, an infield pop up, and another strikeout to end the game.

Wilmington’s Christian Binford was the first Blue Rock to enter the game and that came in the fourth. The first batter reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout. After another strikeout and a ground out, it looked like Binford was going to escape. Instead, MVP Kyle Waldrop of Bakersfield deposited Binford’s pitch over the centerfield wall to put the Cal League up 3-0. He had two hits, including an RBI single in the second.

Jonathan Dziedzic pitched the  fifth and he threw just eight pitches (line out, fly out, and a ground out).

Catcher Cameron Gallagher entered on defense in the sixth and grounded out in his first at-bat. He singled to center with one on and no outs in the ninth. Blue Rocks closer Mark Peterson pitched the ninth for the Carolina League and struck out two of the three batters he faced (11 pitches).

The South Atlantic League All-Star Game played to a 4-4 tie in ten innings. Both divisions scored two runs in the tenth.

The South Division took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning on Dominique Taylor‘s two out, two-run single. One of those runners who scored was his Lexington teammate Frank Schwindel (who reached on a force out). Taylor entered on defense in the fifth in centerfield and went 2-for-3 with a double. Schwindel also entered in the fifth as the catcher and went 0-for-2 with a stolen base.