Royals July 10th Minors Recap

Omaha beat Iowa, 7-1. The Storm Chasers won three of the four games and now head to Colorado Springs before heading into the All-Star break.

Francisco Pena gave the fans a preview of what to expect in Monday night’s Triple-A HR Derby. He hit two of them, a two-run home run in the sixth and another with two outs in the seventh.

Johnny Giavotella and Jimmy Paredes each had two hits in the win.

Buddy Baumann got the start and allowed three hits over four scoreless innings. He struck out five. Michael Mariot allowed a LONG homer to Kris Bryant in the seventh.

Tim Collins earned the win, despite allowing two hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. Spencer Patton pitched a perfect ninth.

*In roster news, Ramon Troncoso was released. Louis Coleman was promoted to the big leagues to take the place of the injured Jason Vargas. Justin Maxwell accepted his assignment to Omaha (1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored).

NW Arkansas came back to beat Springfield, 5-4. The Naturals scored four runs in the top of the ninth.

Blue Rocks third baseman Hunter Dozier at the plate on April 13, 2014 (Jen Nevius).

With one out in the ninth, Hunter Dozier hit a three-run home run to give the Naturals the lead. It was the Naturals second homer of the game, as Parker Morin hit his first of the season in the third (which tied the game at 1-1 for a short time).

Malcom Culver earned the save after an interesting bottom of the ninth. First, Morin dropped a foul pop up, but Culver fought back to get a fly out. He then allowed a single (that deflected off him), but Morin threw the runner out trying to steal second base. Culver then struck out the final batter of the game.

With the Futures Game on Sunday, Christian Binford pitched just two innings. It was very un-Binford like, as he walked one and allowed a solo homer. JC Sulbaran followed with six innings. He did allow three runs, two of which came on a homer.

Nori Aoki played the entire game and went 1-for-3 with a run scored. He was also hit by a pitch.

Wilmington and Potomac tried to play two on Thursday, but got just one game in. The P-Nats walked off in Game 1, 4-3.

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Blue Rocks starter Sean Manaea retired the final 11 batters he faced, but struggled through the first two innings. He allowed two runs in the first, but escaped with a bases loaded strike out to end the inning (eight batters). Manaea allowed another run in the 2nd inning.

A second passed ball by Zane Evans in the bottom of the 7th inning once again proved costly (he had one in the second that led to a run). With a runner on third base, reliever Zeb Sneed issued an intentional walk before Tony Renda delivered the walk off single (one of his three RBIs).

The second game was suspended in the bottom of the sixth, with the score tied at 1-1. The P-Nats have two on and two outs. It will be made up on July 16th when the Blue Rocks return to Potomac. They will also play another doubleheader in that three day series.

Brandon Finnegan made his professional debut, throwing the first two innings and retiring all six batters he faced. Former big leaguer Blake Wood retired the next six hitters before Johnny Walter allowed a run in the fifth.

The Blue Rocks tied the game in the top of the sixth on Raul Mondesi’s sac fly (courtesy of Terrance Gore’s 27th stolen base).

Lexington lost to Hagerstown, 6-4. The Legends held a 3-2 lead after the first inning, but it was short-lived.

The Legends scored three runs in the first, two scored on Humberto Arteaga’s two out double. They only collected seven hits, three by Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado. Four of those hits came in the first inning.

Tripp Davis made his first start of the season and allowed five runs on nine hits and three walks over five innings. He picked a runner off first base. Kevin Perez was great in relief, allowing just two hits over three scoreless innings.

*In roster news, Crawford Simmons was placed on the DL and Timothy Hill was added from Idaho Falls.

Alec Mills earned his first win of the season (at Idaho Falls), as he allowed just one run on two hits over five innings (his longest outing of the season). 2014 draft pick Ryan O’Hearn hit his fifth home run of the season (2-for-3 ) and raised his average to .431.