Royals June 18th Minors Recap

It will be a quiet night among the Kansas City Royals full season minor league affiliates. There were two afternoon games, as Wilmington and Lexington will not open the second half until Thursday.

Omaha saw their seven game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday afternoon, as they lost 10-5 to visiting Albuquerque. The Isotopes broke the 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth with a five-run inning.

It was a rough 9th inning for Storm Chasers closer Spencer Patton, who took his first loss of the season. He allowed all five runs, three of which scored on home runs.

This was after rehabber Bruce Chen was solid over the first 5.1 innings. Chen left with a runner on base and he scored. Overall, he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out 11.

In the loss, Paulo Orlando became the first Pacific Coast League player to 90 hits (he went 2-for-5). Johnny Giavotella and Jimmy Paredes also had two hits in the loss. Danny Valencia went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in his second straight rehab game.

Royals minor league third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert on the backfields during 2014 spring training (Jen Nevius).

NW Arkansas improved to 2-0 to start the second half, as they beat Arkansas, 8-2. The Naturals continue their homestand with Tulsa in town for the next four days.

The Naturals scored in the bottom of the first and never looked back. They collected 14 hits, four players recorded multi-hit games. Jorge Bonifacio hit just his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to lead off the seventh. Angel Franco added a solo shot in the eighth, just his second of the season.

Most likely hearing the rumors, third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. He did commit his 19th error of the season.

Andy Ferguson earned his fifth win of the season with another solid start. He allowed two runs (one after he left) on eight hits and two walks over 7.2 innings. He struck out four. Malcom Culver entered in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and allowed one of the runs to score via a walk.

*As I am sure all of you have heard, third baseman Hunter Dozier was promoted to NWA. No word on the corresponding roster move, but the Naturals will have two prospect third baseman on their roster.

I forgot to mention this last night, but rookie level Idaho Falls saw their season begin last night as a doubleheader. Two Tommy John survivors started the two games for the Chukars: Bryan Brickhouse and Alec Mills. Brickhouse allowed one run on four hits (including a homer) over three innings. Meanwhile, Mills struck out two in a scoreless first.