Royals August 6th Minors Recap

Despite the off day, there were some roster moves made for Omaha. They added both reliever Blake Wood and infielder Cheslor Cuthbert. It will be interesting to see if Cuthbert moves back to third base. Catcher Juan Graterol was sent to NW Arkansas, where he was in the lineup tonight for the Naturals as the DH (2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored, and two RBIs).

NW Arkansas came back and held on for the 9-8 victory over Corpus Christi.

Ethan Chapman back in 2013 (Jen Nevius)

The Hooks had the tying run on third base with two outs, but the base runner tried to score on a ball in the dirt and was thrown out to end the game. That gave Mark Peterson his first save in Double-A, as he worked around a one out triple.

Former Royals pitcher Kyle Smith took the loss in relief (he walked three in the sixth). The Naturals scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to retake the lead. Justin Trapp was hit by a pitch to tie the game with two outs (he was taken out on defense). Ethan Chapman followed with a bases clearing double.

JC Sulbaran had command issues, throwing 86 pitches in just four innings (three walks and three hits). Noel Arguelles was lit up for four runs on five hits and a walk over 1.1 innings. Ali Williams was credited with the win, though he did allow one inherited runner to score (1.2 hitless innigs of relief).

Sam Selman was scored upon for the first time since his move to the bullpen. He allowed three runs in the top of the eighth on two hits, two walks, and a wild pitch.

On offense, the Naturals collected 11 hits with every player having at least one (except the Trapp/Angel Franco combo). Mitch Maier hit a solo home run in the seventh, which proved to be the game winner (2-for-4 with two runs scored). Chapman and Graterol also had two hits in the win.

*2014 top pick Brandon Finnegan was officially added to the roster. He is expected to throw in 1-2 inning appearances.

Wilmington lost their second straight game to Myrtle Beach, this time by a 5-0 score. The Blue Rocks are now five games back of first place and two games back of second place Lynchburg.

The Blue Rocks collected just three hits (all singles) and none after the 3rd inning. After that last single, the Blue Rock struck out nine times in their final 24 at-bats.

” We have got to dig deep and find something down in, deep in the heart, to finish out this year good.” Blue Rocks manager Darryl Kennedy

They had the bases loaded with two outs in the fifth and had a runner thrown out at the plate in the second. If

had slid, he probably would have been safe. It was a great throw from left field though.

Luis Santos is back in the rotation and he gave the Blue Rocks five innings. He battled his command tonight and gave up a long two out, three-run home run to Nick Williams in the fifth.

Once again, the Blue Rocks bullpen was solid. It started with Yender Caramo, who pitched two perfect innings. Johnny Walter allowed a single, but only threw eight pitches in his one inning of work. Zeb Sneed worked a scoreless ninth.

“They [Myrtle Beach] know how to pitch us,” Blue Rocks manager Darryl Kennedy said after the game. “They’ve seen us a ton of times. Not only during the season, but in spring training. They see us in instructional league. They’ve seen us the last three years in each league. They know us…They have a very good pitching staff.”

“As far as August,” DK continued, “This is the time of year where everybody’s tired and you’ve got to dig deep and we really need to dig deep. We have got to dig deep and find something down in, deep in the heart, to finish out this year good.”

*In roster news, reliever Tripp Davis and outfielder Fred Ford were added to the roster. Fellow outfielder Terrance Gore was taken off the roster. No official word yet of where he is headed.

Lexington was swept by Rome, losing 4-2 in the finale.

The Braves scored four runs in the first on three hits, two walks, a wild pitch, and a stolen base.

Pedro Fernandez allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out one and threw two wild pitches. Matt Tenuta was great in relief, as he allowed four hits and a walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out five and induced seven ground outs.

The Legends collected six hits, two by Chad Johnson.

*Sugar Ray Marimon made his second rehab appearance with Idaho Falls and he took the loss in the first game of their doubleheader. He allowed a solo home run to lead off the game. Over four innings, Marimon allowed three hits, one walk, and hit one batter, while striking out two.