Royals August 20th Minors Recap

Omaha lost in Tacoma, 6-4.

The Storm Chasers led 3-0 on two home runs in the fourth and fought back to take a 4-3 lead in the seventh. However, Clayton Mortensen ran into trouble after cruising into the fifth. He allowed a two-run home run in the fifth and left with the bases loaded and nobody out in the sixth. Scott Alexander entered and allowed one of those runs to score.

Alexander took the loss, as he allowed three runs of his own in the seventh. Sam Selman struck out the side in the eighth, though he allowed a hit and walked one.

On offense, the Storm Chasers collected ten hits. Whit Merrifield, Pedro Ciriaco, Carlos Peguero, and Paul Janish each had two hits in the loss.

NW Arkansas lost the pitcher’s duel to Springfield, 2-1. The loss pushed the Naturals into third place and 6.5 games back.

The Naturals scored their lone run in the bottom of the first on Orlando Calixte‘s two out, RBI single. They collected eight hits, three with two outs in that first inning. Angel Franco had two hits in the loss.

Andy Ferguson was the hard luck loser, as he allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk over eight innings. He struck out five. Mark Peterson threw just nine pitches in the ninth.

Wilmington won their second straight game in Myrtle Beach, this time by a 3-1 score. With the win, the Blue Rocks moved into sole possession of second place in the Carolina League’s Northern Division.

The Blue Rocks took their first lead in the top of the second when Frank Schwindel hit a solo home run, his first in High-A. The Blue Rocks took the lead in the fourth on Jared Schlehuber‘s RBI single (one of his three hits). Raul Mondesi added a solo shot in the fifth to give them some insurance. Schwindel and Zane Evans each had two hits in the win.

Glenn Sparkman improved to 8-2 on the season and lowered his Carolina League-best ERA to 1.38. He allowed a leadoff home run in the 2nd inning. Sparkman allowed just four hits and walked one over six innings while striking out four. Zeb Sneed worked two perfect innings of relief and Kyle Bartsch earned his fifth save (in his second straight appearance).

*In roster news, Tripp Davis was promoted to NW Arkansas. The Blue Rocks received outfielder Brett Eibner, as he had not played since June 24th for the Storm Chasers due to injury. Eibner started in right field for the Blue Rocks, led off, and went 0-for-2 before being replaced in the bottom of the sixth.

Lexington beat Delmarva, 14-6 to win the series. The Legends actually trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

It is August 20th and Luke Farrell finally won his second game of the season. He did allow four runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. Farrell struck out eight.

The Legends tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with four runs and scored in every inning from that point on. They collected 16 hits, as every hitter but Kenny Diekroeger had at least one hit. Dexter Kjerstad hit a three-run home run in the fourth and drove in five runs. Dominique Taylor and Mauricio Ramos each had three hits in the win. Ramos also hit a homer.