KC Royals - KIDS Edition

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Royals acquire Antonio Cruz LHP and Julio Rodriguez C from Tigers, but who are they?

According to my twitter friend Mark Anderson, who is the managing editor for TigsTown.com Cruz has average life on his fastball with a tendency to overthrow and see his pitches flatten out, has a nice 1-7 break on his curve. I know that Cruz is a smallish lefty that has room to grow into s skinny frame. He is a under 6’0 kid out of the Dominican that will not turn 20 until October. He was signed by the Tigers as a 16 year old and he has been used mostly as a RP. He has spent parts of the last 2 seasons in the Midwest League (Low A) with a record 0f 2-6 and a 3.11 e.r.a this season in 22 games with 10 starts and 75 innings. He has 58 k’s versus 28 walks. I expect him to be assigned to the Kane County club. I am told he has a legitimate shot at being a future LOOGY as he is very tough on left handers as he pitches with some deception.

Rodriguez is the type of catcher that organizations like to have….which is exactly why I wanted the Royals to draft UCLA SR C Stevie Rodriguez this year. (he went to Arizona in the draft) Julio is best described as a organizational guy that pitchers like throwing to. The Royals have had little success at the catching position with Wilmington this season and recently called up Travis Jones to the club. They have used Jose Bonilla but I think it is safe to say the Blue Rocks could use a catching upgrade. Rodriguez is a soon to be 22 year old catcher who is also from the Dominican that has hit .283 with a .325 obp this season in high A ball. In 946 career at bats he has just 5 HR. So, this is definitely a catch and throw kid that might make AAA.

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Chasers and Redbirds Rained Out SOS will pitch today.

Naturals hang on for win, sweep Travs

Dwyer surrendered two one-out singles with one out in the bottom of the same frame, but got Chris Giovinazzo to ground into a twin-killing to escape trouble. But in the sixth, the control issues that Dwyer had faced in previous starts seemed to return, and the first two batters reached via the walk and Luis Jimenez followed with a three-run homer to bring the Travelers within a run.

But Dwyer buckled down and finished the frame, getting a strikeout, flyout, and a groundout to finish his outing. He allowed five hits and the three runs, walked three and fanned five as he held on for the win.

Odorizzi on the hill tonight.

PELICANS RALLY PAST BLUE ROCKS

Myrtle Beach, SC - For just the second time all season the Wilmington Blue Rocks (46-49, 10-16) blew a four-run lead. For the second time, the fall-from-ahead setback came against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (55-41, 15-12). On Thursday night, the Fightin' Feathers played six unanswered runs to turn back the Blue Crew, 7-5.
Leading 5-1, Wilmington starter Noel Arguelles left in line for the win. The southpaw allowed just one run over five innings of work in bouncing back from his worst outing as a Blue Rock. He walked an uncharacteristically-high three, but whiffed four and allowed just three hits.

Then came the Blue Rocks' bullpen. The team's lone error on the night, a throwing miscue by John Whittleman, made for two unearned runs on Arguelles' successor Jon Keck in the sixth. The Pelicans used three hits, two on the infield, to help the run-scoring effort. Jose Bonilla's seventh passed ball of the season plated the first tally, while Santiago Chirino's well-placed single through the right-side hole knocked in the other.

Sample gets the call.

DÉJÀ VU: 'CAPS FALL IN EXTRAS AGAIN

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - For the second straight night, the West Michigan Whitecaps dropped an extra-inning heartbreaker to the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Ballpark. On the heels of a 7-6, 15-inning loss on Wednesday night, the 'Caps fell by the same score after 10 innings of play on Thursday.

West Michigan (13-13, 45-50) was done in by defense again, committing four errors after the sixth inning for the second night in a row. Kane County (16-10, 44-51) overcame deficits in both the eighth and ninth innings before pushing across the game-winning run in the top of the 10th.

Jason Adam is expected to start for the Cougars.

Mitchell Moved Up

Burlington, NC- It was announced today that pitcher Jason Mitchell has been promoted to Single-A Kane County. In six appearances, the Phoenix, AZ native has pitched 19 innings, while allowing nine earned runs on 21 hits, and striking out 17. It is the second call-up of the week for Burlington, who sent outfielder Javon Pickett to the Kane County Cougars on Sunday. Mitchell attended school at the University of Texas at Arlington and was taken in the 15th round of the 2010 draft.

Royals Come Up Short In Series Opener

Danville, VA- The Burlington Royals suffered their second straight loss, falling to the Danville Braves, 5-4, on Thursday night at Dan Daniel Memorial Park. Danville's win evens the season series at three games apiece. Starter Eric Cantrell takes the loss for Burlington, and is now 0-3, while Lucas La Point earned his first win, despite giving up all four runs.
Burlington got on the scoreboard in their first at bat on an RBI single by Jorge Bonifacio, who had four hits in the game. In the home-half of the first, doubles from Brandon Drury and Nick DeSantiago each brought in a run, and the Braves took a 2-1 lead entering the second inning.

In the third, after Jose Rodriguez walked, he stole second base with Lane Adams at the plate. Adams hit a ball to the wall in right field that scored in Rodriguez, but as Adams tried to stretch the play to third, he was thrown out. His RBI double tied the game at two.

Bonifacio led all batters, going 4-for-5, including his home run. Adams recorded three hits, scored a run, and knocked in one. Bringas and Justin Trapp each went 2-for-4

Murray starts tonight.

Chukars Roll Into Helena, Past Brewers 8-3

The Idaho Falls Chukars rolled into Helena Montana Thursday following an off day and a travel day, but instead of showing bus lag the Chukars came out of the box firing in a 8-3 win over the Helena Brewers at Kindrick Legion Field.


Idaho Falls scored three times in the first, once in the second and four more times in the third inning to post a 8-0 lead they would not relinquish.


The main reason the lead held up was Chukars starting pitcher Brennon Martin (2-2), who looked more like his early season self in going six innings and allowing just three runs, two earned, on five hits. The left-hander walked one and struck out six while earning the win.


At the dish, left fielder Chris Elder led the way going 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI while third baseman Mark Threlkeld also doubled and drove in a run while going 2-5.

Moen to start.

AZL lost 10-11. DSL won 18-4

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Five-Run Fifth Drives Chasers Past Express

OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Storm Chasers shook off an early 2-0 deficit, scoring 10 unanswered runs en route to a 10-4 victory over the Round Rock Express Friday night at Werner Park. Leftfielder David Lough went 3-for-5 with a homer, double, single, two runs scored and two RBI in the victory, which gave the Storm Chasers a three-game lead over Memphis in the American Conference Northern Division.
Round Rock jumped out to the lead in the early going off Jeff Suppan, scoring runs in the first and second innings against the veteran righthander. Suppan (9-5) managed to wiggle off the hook time and again, allowing just two runs on 12 hits, while walking three and hitting a batter. Round Rock would put 22 men on base in the game, but left 15 of them on and had two gunned down on outfield assists.

Manny Pina's RBI single and Lough's fifth home run of the season tied the game at two after three innings of play, and after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth the Chasers' bats would get to work. Omaha began the inning with five-straight hits, including a Lough RBI single and a Lorenzo Cain two-run triple. Lance Zawadzki also tripled in a run in the frame, in which the Chasers pushed out to a 7-2 lead.

Chasers Storm Back, Extinguish Express in 11

OMAHA, Neb. - Lorenzo Cain capped a three-hit game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning, leading the Storm Chasers over the Round Rock Express 6-5 in front of 7,055 fans Saturday night at Werner Park. It was the club's third walk-off victory of the season and their 55th overall win in 100 tries.
After a lead-off walk to Jarrod Dyson by losing pitcher Pedro Strop (4-4), Johnny Giavotella - who had squared around to bunt one pitch earlier - doubled to right-center to put the winning run just 90 feet away. David Lough was walked intentionally to load the bases, and Cain followed by ripping a 3-2 offering into left to plate Dyson for the game-winner.

Hurley Quiets Chasers, Leads Express to Victory

Omaha starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan matched Hurley's effectiveness in the early going, but surrendered two runs in the top of the sixth to erase a 1-0 Storm Chasers advantage. O'Sullivan (2-2) allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings, walking one batter and striking out five. He kept the ball in the strike zone, throwing 64 of his 88 pitches for strikes.

The Storm Chasers were first to get on the scoreboard, as Clint Robinson lined a double into the leftfield corner leading off the bottom of the fifth. Irving Falu moved Robinson to third on a grounder to the right side, and shortstop Lance Zawadzki followed with an RBI single to make it 1-0 Chasers. That lead would last less than one half-inning, with the Express tallying two runs in the sixth and later adding a run in the eighth to provide the final margin.

Robinson finished the game 2-for-4 to improve his average to .316, while Johnny Giavotella also went 2-for-4 and is now hitting a robust .342. The All-Star duo collected four of the Chasers' seven hits on the afternoon, including the team's only extra-base hits with a double apiece

Mazzaro is up next. Actually, I think they're playing right now.

Odorizzi enjoys best Double-A start

Jake Odorizzi received a swift second chance against the Springfield Cardinals on Friday. And he took full advantage.

The Royals prospect pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings before he was charged with two runs in the seventh as the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals beat the Cardinals, 11-6, for their sixth straight win.

The same Springfield lineup bullied Odorizzi for five runs over four innings on Sunday, largely because he issued a season-high four walks.

"Last time, I had trouble throwing strikes. Typically, that's not me," he said. "I knew what I was going to go up against [Friday]. I had a good game plan going in, and it worked."

That plan was simple. Seventy of the 101 pitches he threw were strikes.

Odorizzi (2-0) scattered seven hits, including Daryl Jones' leadoff double and James Rapoport's RBI single in the seventh, while walking one and fanning seven. Rapoport rolled over on a 3-2 changeup and the ball found a hole between first and second base on a hit that was indicative of the night.

"Just establishing the strike zone," Odorizzi said of his focus. "Hits got in, they dropped in for them."

The 21-year-old right-hander, MLB.com's No. 26 prospect, left with Rapoport at first. Reliever Peter Keating allowed a three-run blast to Matt Adams that got Springfield within 7-4.

Middle innings do in Naturals in loss

SPRINGDALE, AR - Facing an early deficit, the Naturals came back to take the lead but saw their bullpen falter in the middle frames during an eventual 8-5 loss to the Springfield Cardinals on Saturday night at Arvest Ballpark.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Northwest Arkansas (14-14, 49-46).

Working with short-handed pitching and reliever Edgar Garcia making a spot start, two defensive miscues led to two early unearned runs for Springfield (11-17, 43-55) that helped them take an early 1-0 lead in the first. But it ended up being the three-run fifth and two-run sixth that did in the Naturals.

Perez hits slam, Naturals in victory

SPRINGDALE, AR - Will Smith earned a win in his first start since Tuesday's combined no-hitter and Salvador Perez provided some necessary insurance with a seventh-inning grand slam as the Naturals beat the Springfield Cardinals 11-7 Sunday evening at Arvest Ballpark.
The Naturals (15-14, 50-46) got a solo homer from Christian Colon, his second in as many nights, to take a 1-0 lead in the first and poured it on with four in the second and mounted a 10-1 lead before Springfield (11-18, 43-56) made a hard charge late in the game.

In the second, Anthony Seratelli led off with the first of what would become four walks on the night. He moved to second on a one-out single from Rey Navarro. Paulo Orlando then worked a walk from Springfield starter Michael Blazek (9-4) to load the bases. Derrick Robinson plated Seratelli with a sacrifice fly, and Colon followed by singling to shallow center. Jose Garcia's throw to get Orlando at second went off the bag and Navarro came in to score. Jeff Bianchi then followed with a two-run single for the 5-0 Naturals' lead.

Jeffress starts.

FIVE-RUN LEAD EVAPORATES IN 11-10 SERIES-OPENING LOSS

Kinston, NC - While intense record-setting heat swarms the country, the two coldest offenses in the Carolina League heated up in kind at Grainger Stadium on Friday night. The Wilmington Blue Rocks (46-50, 10-17) and Kinston Indians (54-41, 16-10) entered the night bottom two in the loop in team batting average and runs scored. When the dust settled in their series opener, Kinston rallied from two deficits, one as large as five tallies, in an 11-10 win. Each squad collected 15 hits, including 10 total for extra bases.
Wilmington put its first six men on base, plating four of them in the first inning against Marty Popham. While action began in the bullpen, the man with Triple-A time settled and held the Rocks thereafter in the opening frame. After Kinston scratched out a run against Tyler Sample in the second, Ryan Stovall homered and Julio Rodriguez drove in his first RBI on his first base hit as a Blue Rock for a 6-1 lead.

Another Late Lead Lost, Team Has Dropped Eight Of Nine

Kinston, NC - For the third straight night, the Wilmington Blue Rocks (46-51, 10-18) fell from ahead. After tying a season-high mark by blowing a four-run lead on Thursday, the team let a five-run advantage slip through its fingers on Friday. Then came Saturday and one of the more unexpected comebacks of the year courtesy of the Kinston Indians (55-41, 17-10) in an 11-8 finish. The Blue Rocks have lost eight of nine and 18 of their last 26.
With the bases empty and two outs in the eighth inning, the host K-Tribe trailed 8-5. But the Southern Division's first-place squad found a way. Five straight two-out hits concluded with a game-tying squeeze bunt from Tyler Holt. Reliever Bryan Paukovits (1-2) then walked Casey Frawley to load the bases before Anthony Gallas' grounder went off the glove of Kurt Mertins for a two-run error and a 10-8 score. Jeremie Tice added a just-fair single down the right-field line to make it 11-8. Tice's greedy turn at first sacrificed what would have been a 12th tally, as Nick Van Stratten threw him out at second base before Gallas could cross.

ROCKS SWEPT IN FINAL SERIES AT GRAINGER STADIUM

Kinston, NC - Make it four days in a row the Wilmington Blue Rocks (46-52, 10-19) have blown a lead late. Sunday's finale at Grainger Stadium saw the Blue Crew allow two runs on three straight two-out hits in the seventh inning en route to the squad's first deficit of the day and ultimately a 7-5 defeat. The Kinston Indians (56-41, 18-10) won their fourth in a row to sweep the three-game set, Wilmington's final regular-season series at Grainger Stadium. The Kinston franchise will move to Zebulon, NC in 2012. The Blue Rocks have lost nine of 10 and 19 of their last 27 games.
With two outs and the bases empty in the seventh, Ryan Dennick (1-4) allowed an infield hit to shortstop off the bat of Abner Abreu. Chase Burnette followed with an RBI double to right, scoring Abreu from first to tie the game. Tyler Cannon then doubled just inside the third-base bag for Kinston's first lead of the day, 6-5.

Mariot gets the call.

KC won 7-5 Sunday and lead the division at 17-12

Pitching Leads the Way in Victory at Danville

Danville, VA- The Burlington Royals used three pitchers to hold the Danville Braves to two runs and four hits, in a one-run win over the Braves, emerging the victor on Friday night, 3-2. Matt Murray earned his first win of the year in what is statistically his best start of the 2011 campaign. Greg Ross is dealt the loss, dropping the Maryland native to 3-1.

The Royals had a chance in the top of the first inning, with runners on first and second, with two outs, but could not continue the inning. In the bottom of the second, Danville struck. William Beckwith led off with a walk, followed by a single by Nick DeSantiago. The next batter, Sam Munson, doubled to right, scoring Beckwith. Murray would buckle down and retire the next three batters to strand runners on second and third. The Braves would leave just three men on base over nine innings.

Seventh Inning Costs Royals in Series Finale

Danville, VA- The Burlington Royals surrendered a five-run seventh inning on the way to their 20th loss of the season. The Braves bested the Royals, 8-5, to win the series and climb back to .500. Tyler Graham is dealt his first loss of the year, while John Cornely earned his first win.

Danville took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Elmer Reyes reached on an error from Adrian Bringas, who had a rough night all around. Two batters later, with one out, Kyle Kubitza would double to left field, scoring Reyes. The next batter, Brandon Drury, would single to center, bringing in Kubitza from second, give the Braves a 2-0 lead. In their next at bat, left fielder Chase Larson crushed a ball over the right field fence for his second home run of the year, to make it a three run difference.

Trapp's Walk Off Hit Leads Royals Over Twins

Burlington, NC- The Burlington Royals edged the Elizabethton Twins on Sunday night, 4-3, on a walk off single by Justin Trapp. Weather delayed the game for 47 minutes before Matt Ridings threw the first pitch of the night. Steven Evans is tagged with the loss, while Alex Rivers received his first win. The Royals improved their record to 13-20, while the Twins fall to 19-14.

Burlington opened the scoring in their first at-bat as Lane Adams would lead off with a triple. With Michael Antonio at the plate, Elizabethton pitcher Matt Bashore threw a wild pitch, allowing Adams to come in from third. Ridings faced the minimum number of batters through three innings, but in the fourth, the Twins were threatening, with runners on first and second with one out. A strikeout and a ground out ended the threat, with the Royals still up 1-0.

Baez tonight.

Chukars have two home runs called back; Brian Buchanan ejectedSounds like three bad calls went agaist IDF and cost them a chance. Chukars Survive 9th Inning, Win 6-5

What looked like an easy win for the Idaho Falls Chukars turned into anything but Saturday night, as the Helena Brewers scored four ninth inning runs only to have Chukars right fielder Chris Elder snag the would-be tying hit and preserve his team's 6-5 win.


The Chukars entered the ninth frame with a 6-1 lead and sent the previously un-scored upon reliever Cody Fassold to the mound to finish out the win. The Brewers came out swinging however, knocking around five hits and plating four runs. The big blast in the inning came from Helena left fielder Ken Allison who hit a three run home run to left field, his first homer of the year, to draw the Brewers to within a run.

Peacock starts today.

AZL sits at 10-17. DSL is 29-17

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The Starting 9

Week of June July 17 thru July 23

Our weekly look at the top performers in the Royals Minor league system.

Not often that Johnny Giavotella’s 15 hit week would be put into the 2 spot on our list but Will Smith’s no hitter over-shadowed the efforts of Gio this week. Gio wasn’t the only Chaser on our list as usual with his teammate Lorenzo Cain, David Lough and Luis Mendoza and his almost no hitter all made Top 9. Will was joined by three of his teammates including Salvador Perez and Kelvin Herrera who helped him towards his no hitter.

[wufan]

Giavotella's really coming on strong! In 100 games at 2b he's batting .343 with 9 HR and 30 2B. Hopefully he'll be in KC on opeing day next year.

Cain and Lough also look solid, though perhaps very much like Dyson and Meyer. Eibner is now playing in Kane County and hitting a ton of dingers but batting under .200. Several other infielders continue to have promise.

[RoyalShock]

The Giovatella situation is a head-scratcher. My only guess is that they've run out of room for vowels on the 25-man roster.

You trade Getz for Giovatella, you take a hit when you've got Franceour and Moustakas using up 15% of allowed vowels.

This is the real reason they re-signed Chen and sent O'Sullivan to Omaha. I hope they do something soon or we may never see Odirizzi or Arguellas in KC for anything but a futures game.

[SubGod22]

The Giovatella situation is a head-scratcher. My only guess is that they've run out of room for vowels on the 25-man roster.

You trade Getz for Giovatella, you take a hit when you've got Franceour and Moustakas using up 15% of allowed vowels.

This is the real reason they re-signed Chen and sent O'Sullivan to Omaha. I hope they do something soon or we may never see Odirizzi or Arguellas in KC for anything but a futures game.

Johnny and Cain should be playing in KC right now. Hopefully one of Frenchy/Cabrera gets traded soon and Getz goes away too. Getz is what he is and he hasn't been brutal, but Johnny has earned his shot and is the future.

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Monday and Tuesday results

Round Rock Continues Hit Parade in Win

Round Rock out-hit Omaha 57-41 over the four games, matching a season-high for hits allowed by Storm Chasers pitching in a series. The Express also held the Omaha offense in check for the second-straight day, stranding 13 baserunners and holding the Chasers to 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Lorenzo Cain's RBI single in the fifth and Irving Falu's bases-loaded walk in the seventh accounted for the entirety of the Storm Chasers' scoring output.

Righthander Vin Mazzaro got the start for Omaha, working the first five innings and getting tagged for five runs - three earned - on 11 hits. He struck out three and intentionally walked one batter. Mazzaro (5-1) was handed his Triple-A defeat as a starting pitcher since May 6, 2009, when he was a member of the Sacramento River Cats, snapping a 22-start non-losing streak.

Offensively, the Chasers got multi-hit games from Cain, Kila Ka'aihue and Johnny Giavotella in the losing effort. Giavotella went 2-for-4 with a walk, increasing his batting average to .343 on the season while extending his hitting streak to 13 games. Ka'aihue's hits were both doubles, his first two-double game of the season and his second game with multiple extra-base hits this year.

Mitchell's Blast Sinks Chasers

Montgomery, making his 20th start of the season, allowed four runs on seven hits over four innings pitched, walking four and striking out three. He needed 93 pitches to get his first 10 outs, with the final two coming on a hard smash with the bases loaded that the Omaha defense turned into a 5-4-3, inning-ending double play with the Chasers trailing 4-1

Soup starts

Salvador Perez continues his hot hitting in win

SPRINGDALE, AR - Reigning Texas League Player of the Week Salvador Perez drove in two runs and was 4-for-4 as the Naturals beat the Springfield Cardinals 5-4 Monday night to take three games of the four game series at Arvest Ballpark.

Dwyer, Naturals manhandle Drillers

SPRINGDALE, AR - Chris Dwyer dominated over eight strong innings to win his second consecutive start and Salvador Perez hit a grand slam during a seven-run third as the Naturals pounded the Tulsa Drillers 10-1 Tuesday night at Arvest Ballpark in the opener of a three-game series.
The onslaught began with a three-run first inning run against Drillers' starter Christian Friedrich (6-7). All three runs scored with two outs. With one out, Jeff Bianchi singled and Wil Myers walked. After Jamie Romak flied out, Nick Francis plated both runners with a double to the wall in left field. A run-scoring single from Anthony Seratelli made it 3-0.

Northwest Arkansas (17-14, 52-46) resumed the onslaught in the third. A base hit by Jeff Bianchi and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out. Seratelli brought home the first run with an infield hit that was deflected by Friedrich. Salvador Perez then cleared the bases with a grand slam home run, his ninth homer on the season, which gave the Naturals an eight-run cushion. Perez now has tallied 15 RBI's in his past four games played.

Ray Navarro made it consecutive homers and ended Friedrich's night. Sean Jarrett relieved for Tulsa (15-16, 48-53) and surrendered an unearned run on a sacrifice fly by Derrick Robinson that brought the Naturals' lead to 10-0.

But the story of the night was Dwyer (4-9), who set down the first nine in a row before surrendering the only run he'd allow in the game along with two of the three hits in the fourth inning. Tim Wheeler led off with a base hit and moved to third on a double from Tommy Field. Wheeler scored when shortstop Jeff Bianchi mishandled a grounder off the bat of Ben Paulsen.

Other than that, Dwyer was dominating in what easily was his best Double-A start. He went eight strong innings, allowing three runs and just one walk. He also fanned nine Tulsa batters and threw 61 strikes among his 96 pitches. Kelvin Herrera finished with a scoreless inning, working around one hit

Odorizzi starts today.

ROCKS AND P-NATS SUSPENDED IN FIFTH

Yem Prades opened the bottom of the first with a triple off the base of the wall in left-center. He came home one batter later when Nick Van Stratten lofted a sacrifice fly to center.

Meanwhile, Michael Mariot appeared poised to make short work of the P-Nats. The right-hander escaped a first and third, one-out jam in the first, which started a string of nine consecutive batters retired. That stretch came to a close in the fourth when Steven Souza put together the game's best at-bat. Souza worked an eight-pitch one-out walk ,which setup Sandy Leon's game-tying RBI double.

ARGUELLES JUST MISSES NO-NO AS ROCKS SPLIT PAIR

Wilmington, DE - Despite dropping the opener of an impromptu doubleheader, 4-3, and then seeing starting pitcher Noel Arguelles lose a no-hitter with one out in the final inning, the Wilmington Blue Rocks found the intestinal fortitude to erase a pair of one-run deficits and earn a 4-3 walk-off, extra-innings win over the Potomac Nationals in the nightcap on Tuesday at Frawley Stadium.
The only runner Arguelles had allowed entering the last frame of the scheduled seven-inning finale came courtesy of a Gerard Hall error in the third. That string came to a close however, when he issued a leadoff free pass to Francisco Soriano. After the Potomac shortstop was sacrificed into scoring position, Arguelles appeared poised to move one out from the third no-hitter in franchise history. He got Destin Hood to launch a routine fly ball to right, but Yem Prades lost the ball in the dusk-grey sky. When Hood's batted ball landed behind the right fielder, the no-hitter was gone, as it resulted in an RBI triple and a 1-1 tie.

The Rocks were then forced to bring the infield in and a visibly frustrated Arguelles allowed Justin Bloxom to follow with a run-scoring single up the middle that gave Potomac its first lead of the game.

Sample takes the hill today.

KC was off on Tuesday. They won 4-2 on Monday to keep a one game lead.

Dyer Plays Hero For Royals' Second Straight Walk-Off Win

Burlington, NC- The Burlington Royals defeated the Elizabethton Twins in walk-off fashion for the second straight night on Monday. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Jared Dyer singled to center to defeat the Twins, 6-5. Corey Hall earned the win for Burlington, and is now 2-0, while dropping his ERA by almost two. Matt Summers, who hadn't allowed a run in nine appearances this season, takes the loss after surrendering the game-winning single. The two teams will square off in the series finale on Tuesday night at 7:00.
The Twins opened the scoring in their first at bat, where, with two outs, Eddie Rosario homered to right-center for his 10th long ball of the year, and a 1-0 lead for the visiting team. In the home half of the inning, the Royals would get back-to-back singles from Justin Trapp and Michael Antonio, who while on first and second, both went on a double steal and made it safely. Murray Watts would make it three straight singles as he drove a ball up the middle to score Trapp, while moving Antonio to third. After Jorge Bonifacio struck out for the second out, Kenny Swab doubled to the gap in right center to clear the bases. The next batter, Dyer, singled to score Swab from second, and give Burlington a 4-1 lead after the first inning.

After Angel Baez struck out the side in the top of the second, the Royals added a run in the second. Lane Adams tripled, and scored on a single from Trapp to make it a four run gap. The Twins would begin to chip away at the lead their next time at the plate

Determined Twins Battle Past Royals

In the fourth inning, Murray Watts tied the game with one swing, sending his 11th home run over the fence in right-center field. Elizabethton would break the tie in the top of the seventh, scoring on a wild pitch and a sac fly. The Royals tallied a run of their own in the home half of the inning, when with the bases loaded and one out, Jose Rodriguez grounded out to third, scoring Anthony Howard.

Murray gets the call.

Osprey Beat Chukars 4-3 in Walk-off

The Osprey comeback once again spoiled a great start from the Chukars pitching staff. This time it was Brennon Martin who came away empty handed, despite shutting out Missoula over seven innings on just six hits and four strikeouts.

The loss also ruined the heroics of Chukars center fielder Runey Davis, who supplied the only offense for Idaho Falls on the night with his one-out, 3-run home run to dead center field in the fifth inning.

Apparently this was the Tuesday game and IDF lost Monday 1-4. No story to link for that one. Moen expected to start today.

AZL and DSL both lost yesterday.

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Prospect Perez promoted to Triple-A Omaha

BOSTON -- Catcher Salvador Perez's rapid rise in the Royals' organization continued on Wednesday when he was promoted to Triple-A Omaha. He's expected to get a shot at the Major League roster in Spring Training 2012.

Perez, 21, is acknowledged as an excellent defensive catcher and his hitting has improved with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In 79 games, his average was .283, with nine homers and 43 RBIs. He was on fire in his last four games, going 10-for-16 with two grand slams and 15 RBIs.

Pitcher Kelvin Herrera also was promoted to Omaha after a 4-0 record, seven saves and a 1.75 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 36 innings and 23 games for Northwest Arkansas. Earlier this summer, he was 2-1 with a save and a 0.61 ERA in eight games for Class A Wilmington.

They're definitely setting Perez up to be in KC next year. He'll get his shot anyway. Any chance the Royals are actually considering trading Soria? Maybe not now, but in the off season? He's one piece they may get a little something in return and Herrera and Chapman both look like potential closers. It'll be interesting to see if they keep him or not.

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Wilmington adds former OF turned P Caldwell

As a P he has had some success and was 4-0 with a 2.39 e.r.a for Kane county this season in 12 relief apps

Wilmington makes another roster move

Yordano Ventura back to Kane County

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Storm Chasers' Late Rally Tops 'Topes

Johnny Giavotella sliced into the Isotopes' 4-1 lead with an RBI triple in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring Jarrod Dyson from first. It was Giavotella's 51st extra-base hit of the season. Giavotella would come in to score on a wild pitch by Albuquerque starter John Ely, trimming the lead to 4-3 and leading to the game's thrilling conclusion.

Prior to the game, the Kansas City Royals announced a pair of roster moves that have infused the Storm Chasers with more young talent. Salvador Perez, a standout catcher, and Kelvin Herrera, a hard-throwing righthander, were in uniform Wednesday night and could play vital roles down the stretch for the first-place Storm Chasers. Replacing them at Double-A Northwest Arkansas are Manny Pina and Mario Santiago. Perez doubled in four trips to the plate and picked off a runner at first in his Triple-A debut.

Mendoza starts today. Perez had a nice debut.

Big second propels Naturals to win

Northwest Arkansas (18-14, 53-46) got five runs in the second inning which began with Jamie Romak reaching on a grounder that was fielded by Tulsa shortstop Hector Gomez who delivered a wild throw to first, allowing Romak to reach safely. With one out, Nick Francis walked and Paulo Orlando followed with an RBI single to score the first run of the game. Orlando took second on the throw and Mario Lisson followed with a two-run single to score Francis and Orlando for a 3-0 lead. Derrick Robinson and Christian Colon had back-to-back two-out RBI singles to make it 5-0.

Tulsa (14-16, 48-54) would answer back with a pair in the fourth and one in the fifth off of Naturals' starter Jake Odorizzi (3-0) to close the gap. Ben Paulsen led off with a home run and later in the frame, Tommy Field scorched a solo shot that drilled the side of the building in the bullpen café. In the fifth, Hector Gomez had a two-out single and scored on a double by Paulsen as the Drillers cut the Naturals' lead to 5-3.

Odorizzi went six frames, allowing seven hits, three runs, and fanned six without issuing a walk as he earned his third Texas League win.

Jake continues to pitch well. Garcia starts today.

ROCKS' STRUGGLES WITH POTOMAC CONTINUE

Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks' recent funk continued on Wednesday. Tyler Sample allowed a pair of first-frame runs and the Blue Crew could not recover as the Potomac Nationals scored a wire-to-wire, 5-1 win at Frawley Stadium. The setback was Wilmington's 11th in its last 13 games and dropped the Rocks eight games behind Potomac in the race for a postseason berth.
Potomac made Sample (6-8) pay for issuing an inning-opening walk to Francisco Soriano in the top of the first. The shortstop advanced into scoring position when Sample's pickoff attempt was mishandled at first by Ryan Stovall and he scored one out later on Destin Hood's RBI single. Hood also came home when Justin Bloxom followed with a fly ball that appeared to hit beyond the fence in left field and then caromed back into the field of play. Instead the laser was ruled off the top of the wall and Bloxom had to settle for a run-scoring double that gave Potomac a 2-0 advantage.

Marks get the call tonight.

Kernels score four in 7th inning and never trail in 6-3 win over Kane County

Both teams scored single runs in the 1st inning. Rolando Gomez tripled and scored on a RBI groundout by Jeremy Cruz to give the Kernels a 1-0 lead. Three straight singles for the Cougars, including a RBI single by Cheslor Cuthbert, tied the game 1-1.


The game remained tied 1-1 until the 7th inning. After a single by Marcus Nidiffer, Jarrod Parks and Jean Almanzar drew walks. With the bases loaded, Travis Witherspoon walked to score Nidiffer and give the Kernels a 2-1 lead. Gomez brought home Parks with a RBI groundout to make the score 3-1. Cruz then drove home Almanzar and Witherspoon on an infield RBI single, extending the Kernels lead to 5-1.


Kane County plated two unearned runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, cutting the Kernels lead to 5-3. Kernels third baseman Jarrod Parks committed a fielding error on a ball hit by Geulin Beltre, allowing Jovan Pickett to score. Then, Beltre scored on a RBI triple by Brian Fletcher to cut the Kernels lead to two.

Yordano Ventura started for Kane County, going 3.1 innings and allowing one run on three hits

TBD

Rivers Moved to Wilmington

Rivers is 1-1 with a 1.02 ERA, second lowest on the team. In nine games, he's pitched 17 and two third innings, while allowing just two runs, seven overall, on 14 hits. A native of Lodi, California, he had been a very reliable arm and used in the late innings by manager Nelson Liriano.

Royals Handed First Shutout

Burlington, NC- The Burlington Royals were shutout for the first time this season, falling to the Bluefield Blue Jays, 3-0, at Burlington Athletic Stadium on Wednesday night. Matt Murray takes the loss for the Royals despite pitching five innings, and allowing just two hits, and an unearned run, with six strikeouts. Ajay Mayer records his second win, improving to 2-2, after a six inning performance that saw him scatter four hits, and not allow a run.

Yambati expected to start today.

No article for IDF. They lost 4-5 to Missoula again. They're off today and Dooley will start tomorrow.

AZL had the day off. DSL won 5-2

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Perez Promoted to AAA, Next Stop Kansas City?

Who is the best catcher in Royals history? That’s a question that won’t start too many brawls in a bar over someone’s opinion, but there are multiple good answers. Some might say Darrell Porter who played just four seasons with the Royals but was fantastic. He hit .271/.375/.435 which was good for an OPS+ in that time of 120. He was an All-Star in three of those seasons and garnered down ballot MVP votes in two of them. In one of those seasons, he led the American League in walks. He caught 145 games in 1979. The man was fantastic. That’s a good answer. The other answer that I really like is Mike MacFarlane. Bring his name up to just about anybody in Kansas City and their response is typically about the same. “Oh yeah, I really liked him. He owns that hitting place now, right?” Mac played most of his career for the Royals and wasn’t quite as good as Porter offensively, but his longevity with the team gains him points. He hit .256/.327/.439 and played pretty solid defense.

The point of this exercise is that the Royals have never been what you would call rich in catching history. That’s pretty standard among most teams. Catching is hard to come by. Nobody wants to do it because it’s hard, but it’s a quick way to the big leagues. Look at a guy like Paul Bako. The guy has been a black hole offensively his whole career. His OPS+ for his career is 62. He’s 38% worse than the average offensive performer throughout his career. But you know what? He collected a big league paycheck in parts of 12 seasons. Never once was he above average offensively throughout his career, but he called a pretty decent game and maybe more importantly was willing to get behind the dish with the tools of ignorance.

The reason I bring this up is because the Royals promoted Salvador Perez to AAA. If you listen to what the Royals have to say about this kid, you’d think that he was a combination of Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra and Ivan Rodriguez. He’s not, or at least I doubt he will be, but I do think he has a chance to make the catcher conversation a little more interesting in a few years. A lot of hyperbole was thrown around regarding Perez during Spring Training this year when he looked absolutely amazing both at the plate and behind it during practice and games. Ned Yost commented that he had never seen anybody better at the catch and throw aspect. Kevin Seitzer talked about the mature approach that Perez had at the plate and that he has an opportunity to be a very special hitter. The part that Seitzer left off was the line that John Wathan despises and that is “for a catcher.”

I'd love to see Perez get a September call up. Get him a little taste and experience before 2012. Hell, you could have made a case for him on the roster this year coming out of ST except that he wasn't on the 40 man and they signed Treanor. I really like Pena, and he's easy to root for, but Perez is the man behind the plate next year if the process is to continue. Perez/Pena as the duo maybe? That'd probably be fairly acceptable for a few years. It'll be curious to see if Cam signs and if he'll stick behind the plate or not. Or how he progresses over the next few years.

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Eveland Shuts Out Storm Chasers

The 27-year-old lefthander needed 115 pitches to record 27 outs, walking one, allowing the three singles and hitting two batters. Jarrod Dyson was the only Storm Chasers hitter to reach base more than once, reaching on a bunt single in the fifth and getting hit by a pitch in the eighth. Eveland (11-5) lowered his ERA to 3.26 on the season and extended his league-lead in wins by one. He picked up the shutout in his 167th-career professional start, which includes 54 starts in the majors for Brewers, Diamondbacks, Athletics, Blue Jays and Pirates.

Luis Mendoza took the tough-luck loss for the Chasers, allowing two unearned runs in 6.1 innings. He allowed four hits, walked four and struck out six on the night. His record fell to 7-4 on the season, though he lowered his ERA to a league-best 2.37 during the course of the evening. Kevin Pucetas struck out four in 2.2 innings of hitless relief to keep the Storm Chasers close, but Eveland was able to shut down the Omaha bats the rest of the way.

SOS takes the hill.

Drillers manage to avoid sweep

Northwest Arkansas (18-15, 53-47) made Tulsa sweat things out in the ninth. Derrick Robinson opened the ninth with leadoff single off Stephen Dodson and then stole second base before Colon fouled out. After Wil Myers brought Robinson home with a base hit, Dodson walked the next two hitters to bring the potential tying run to the plate.

Smith gets the call.

ROCKS DROP THREE OF FOUR FROM P-NATS

Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the losing cause. The centerfielder went 1-for-4 and is hitting .310 (13-for-42) during the streak.

Carlo Testa continued to impress offensively at Frawley Stadium. The right fielder tripled and scored in the opening frame. Testa moved his average to .317 on the year at home, 97 points higher than his contact clip on the road. He also has hits in 12 of his last 13 games, hitting .327 (18-for-55) over that stretch.

Despite entering the game in a 5-for-35 funk at the plate, John Whittleman found a way to reach twice on Thursday. The third baseman had an RBI single in the first and added a walk that sparked a three-run rally in the ninth.

Melville will start tonight.

Kane County edges Kernels 6-5

Kane County's Cheslor Cuthbert gave the Cougars a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning with a 3-run home run to left field off of Kernels starter P.J. Jang.


The Kernels tied the game 3-3 in the 2nd inning. Justin Bass singled to begin the inning and came home on a RBI groundout by Francis Larson.

The Cougars scored three more in the bottom of the 2nd inning, taking a 6-3 lead. Julio Aparicio singled to begin the inning. Jang issued three consecutive walks to plate Aparicio, giving Kane County a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, two runs scored when Brian Fletcher reached on a throwing by Kernels shortstop Rolando Gomez to make the score 6-3.

Poor Start Dooms Royals

Burlington, NC- The Princeton Blue Jays jumped over Burlington's first two pitchers, and were able to hang on for the 12-2 victory, taking the first two games of the series. Robinson Yambati is hit with his fifth loss of the season, after going just two thirds of an inning and surrendering six runs. Noah Syndergaard earns the win.

Ridings is scheduled to start today.

Chukars had an off day and still nothing from yesterdays game.

AZL and DSL both won yesterday. 9-4 and 5-3

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Perez Slams Storm Chasers Past Isotopes

OMAHA, Neb. - Salvador Perez punctuated his final four games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas by hitting grand slams on July 24 and 26 and winning the Texas League Player of the Week award. Three games into his Triple-A career, he hasn't missed a beat. Perez hit yet another grand slam, his first home run with Omaha, and later added an RBI single in the Storm Chasers' 10-1 victory over Albuquerque in front of 8,791 fans Friday night at Werner Park.
The 21-year-old backstop, noted more for his defense than for his bat, went after the second pitch from reliever Ramon Troncoso in the bottom of the sixth inning, depositing it just over the wall in deep left-center some 385 feet from home plate. His grand slam gave him a remarkable 20 runs batted in over his last seven games, smashing the season total of 14 he had through the end of June. His 34 RBI during the month of July is three more than any other player in all of professional baseball.

Perez' heroics were plenty enough for Omaha starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan (3-2), who allowed one run on three hits over six innings of work. He walked two and struck out five on the night. Kelvin Herrera, who came up with Perez from Double-A Wednesday, threw a scoreless seventh before Everett Teaford and Robinson Tejeda finished off the Isotopes with one scoreless inning apiece.

Bullpen Helps Chasers Beat OKC

Oklahoma City, OK - Zach Miner, Kelvin Herrera and Jesse Chavez combined to throw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief as Omaha outlasted Oklahoma City, 5-4, Saturday night in the opener of a four-game set at Bricktown Ballpark. The Storm Chasers improved to 58-49 and maintained their five-game lead over Memphis in the American Conference North Division.

The Storm Chasers jumped on OKC starter Sergio Perez for a pair of runs in the first inning runs on an errant throw on a David Lough stolen base that allowed Jarrod Dyson to score from third base and a ground out by Clint Robinson that brought Lough home.

Robinson and Kila Ka'aihue provided back-to-back run-scoring hits with two outs in the third to lengthen the visitors lead to 4-0. However, Brian Bogusevic's three-run double in the home fourth capped a four-run rally that tied the game. That turned out to be the last hit for the hosts, who totaled only three in the game.

Giavotella Leads Chasers Rout of RedHawks

Oklahoma City, OK - Johnny Giavotella collected five hits and drove in four runs to back a solid outing from Mike Montgomery as Omaha raced out to a huge early lead en route to a 12-3 decision over Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon in the second of a four-game set at Bricktown Ballpark. The Storm Chasers won their third straight game to improve to 59-49 and temporarily increase their lead over Memphis in the American Conference North Division to 5 1/2 games.

Lorenzo Cain's two-run home run, his career-high 13th, staked the Storm Chasers to a 2-0 lead in the first inning that held up after Montgomery stranded runners at second and third with one out in the bottom half of the frame.

Omaha then took control with four runs in the second courtesy of a two-run single by Giavotella and David Lough's two-run triple. The visitors added three more in the third, highlighted by Giavotella's two-run double, his third hit in as many innings, to increase the margin to 9-0.

Lance Zawadzki and Cody Clark hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to make it 11-2, the first time the Chasers had hit consecutive long balls since Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas did it against Iowa on April 28. Kila Ka'aihue blasted a solo shot in the eighth to move past Calvin Pickering and Chris Hatcher into sixth place on Omaha's all-time list with 59 round trippers.

Montgomery yielded three runs on eight hits over seven frames to grab his second win of the month and improve his record to 4-6. The left-hander struck out five, walked only one and was followed to the hill by Brandon Sisk, who tossed two hitless, scoreless innings.

Perez hits third grand slam of week

· Gameday box score
· Perez's player page
· See a game in Omaha
· Royals affiliates coverage
"I'm 100 percent happy," said Perez, who matched a career high with five RBIs. "I'm really happy now."

The 21-year-old catching prospect has been on fire at the plate, going 13-for-28 over his last seven games. He has smacked four homers and driven in 20 runs during that stretch.

"This is the first time [I've had a streak like this]," Perez said. "Somebody told me I had 20 RBIs in the last week. I feel good, I feel happy. Unbelievable."

After striking out and grounding out in his first two at-bats, Perez stepped to the plate in the sixth with the bases loaded and nobody out. He jumped on a 1-0 pitch from reliever Ramon Troncoso, sending it over the wall in left-center field.

"I waited for a good pitch," Perez said. "I wanted to get some runs for my team. I was seeing a lot of sliders and breaking balls. I waited for a good pitch and hit the ball hard.

Soup starts.

Naturals drop third straight as Cards roll

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Christian Colon had three hits and Jamie Romak had a pair of homers, but the Naturals' pitching didn't hold up its end in an 11-5 loss at Springfield on Saturday night at Hammons Field.
Springfield (16-19, 48-57) got four RBI's each from Matt Adams and Eric Duncan and while once again, the Naturals put up good swings on Springfield phenom Shelby Miller, knocking him out of the game early, they were unable to stop the bleeding.

Dwyer, Romak help Naturals roll Sunday

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Chris Dwyer allowed just one run for a second consecutive start and Jamie Romak blasted his third home run in two days as the Naturals snapped a three-game losing streak by topping the Springfield Cardinals, 9-1, at Hammons Field on Sunday night.
Fresh off his best start of the year - a eight-inning, nine-strikeout performance against Tulsa on Tuesday - Dwyer (5-9) retired the first Springfield (16-20, 48-58) batters he faced before Chris Swauger singled with two out in the third. Dwyer then worked around a leadoff double in the fourth to keep the Cardinals.

Firing blanks until Jose Garcia led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, Dwyer again displayed impressive control, walking just one batter for a second straight outing. The southpaw also fanned five hitters on Sunday, and has combined to strike out 14 against just a pair of walks over his last two starts.

Odorizzi pitches tonight.

MELVILLE MASTERFUL AS ROCKS BLANK K-TRIBE

Wilmington, DE - Tim Melville and John Whittleman combined on Friday night to snap the Wilmington Blue Rocks out of their recent funk. Melville fanned five and walked only one as he tossed seven scoreless frames, while Whittleman reached base three times, drove in three runs and authored a bomb of a homer. The result was a 4-0 Wilmington win over the Kinston Indians at Frawley Stadium, only the Rocks' third victory in their last 15 games.
Whittleman was the offensive catalyst, and helped his hurler by providing an early cushion. The third baseman watched Whit Merrifield and Kurt Mertins open the game with a pair of singles. He then came to the plate one out later and sent a Mike Rayl pitch soaring deep into the Wilmington night. Whittleman's bomb cleared both fences in right field and put the Rocks on top, 3-0.

Melville (8-6) made the lead stick with his sharpest stuff of the season. The right-hander pitched around a first-inning walk, but proceeded to retire the next 10 batters he faced. He took a no-hitter into the fifth and sat down the side in order five different times.

MARIOT MAGNIFICENT AS ROCKS RALLY PAST K-TRIBE

Mariot was nearly flawless. After allowing the unearned score in the first, he surrendered just four more hits the rest of the way. The right-hander whiffed six and walked only one as he made it through 7.2 frames.

Elisaul Pimentel entered after Mariot yielded a two-out single in the eighth. The ranked prospect did not allow a single base runner as he earned his first career save.

ROCKS SWEEP AWAY K-TRIBE

In his first appearance since coming two outs shy of a seven-inning no-hitter earlier in the week, Arguelles let a 1-0 lead slip away in the second inning. His throwing-error on Justin Toole's bunt-single allowed the first run to score. Jordan Casas scored the other with a single that went off of a sliding Gerard Hall at shortstop. Hall did not lose his concentration however, and avoided further damage by quickly retrieving the ball and gunning down Toole at the plate on the same play.

That would be the last threat of the day against Arguelles (4-4) and the last hit for Kinston until the ninth inning. The Cuban defector retired the final 12 batters he faced, giving his offense an opportunity to retake the lead.

Sample get the next start on Tuesday.

KC is in a tie for first (21-14).

Blue Jays Explode in Extra Innings to Sweep Royals

Matt Ridings went six innings for the Royals, scattering five hits, and five strikeouts, while giving up a run. Andrea Pizziconi allowed two hits in his four innings of work, while fanning five Blue Jays. Ferguson surrendered six runs, three earned, on five hits, while going two thirds of an inning. Abel Gonzales recorded the last out of the 11th for Burlington

Pulaski Takes Series Opener

Pulaski, VA- The Pulaski Mariners defeated the Burlington Royals in the first game of the series, which was completed Sunday night, after being suspended on Saturday. David Colvin earned his first win for the Mariners, while Rudy Brown is tagged with his first loss.
When the game restarted on Sunday night, Nick Graffeo, the scheduled starter for the Sunday contest took the hill for Burlington. Brett Shankin replaced Kyle Hunter in the second inning.

Burlington scored first in the top of the third. After Jose Rodriguez walked, and stole second, Cam Connor doubled to score Rodriguez and make it 1-0 Royals. In the home half of the inning, Pulaski responded with a tally of their own. With the bases loaded and one out, Jean Acevedo flied out to center, but it was deep enough to score Dillon Hazlett from third base.

Long Ball Helps Royals Snap Skid

Burlington started off strong, as Lane Adams would double to lead off the game. He would be stranded on third, but it was sign of more to come for the Royals' center fielder. To open the third, Adams homered to left field, for his second of the year, and a 1-0 lead for the B-Royals. Pulaski would quickly respond, as in their next at bat. A single from Guillermo Pimentel would score Jamal Austin to tie the game at one.

In the fifth inning, Adams singled to start the frame, then advances to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch, before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Michael Antonio. Adams' run gave the lead back to the road team, with a 2-1 score. In the bottom of the sixth, a single off the glove of Antonio at short stop would go into left field, bringing home Daniel Paolini to tie the game.

The Royals would finish strong in their last at bat. After Jose Rodriguez singled, Michael Antonio hit his fourth home run of the season, over the left field fence, to put Burlington up by two. The long ball for the New York native is his first since July 7th against Princeton. Eric Cantrell got the nod to make the start in game two. The Virginia native scattered five hits over four and one third innings, and allowed an unearned run. Tyler Graham went the final two and two thirds, allowing two hits on two runs, and striking out five

Murray starts today.

Chukars Rally Past Raptors in 8-4 Win

The Chukars offense meanwhile responded to their early 3-1, second inning deficit with their most hits in the last 10 days. The Idaho Falls bats drove in three runs in the third to take a 4-3 lead, with first baseman Dean Espy and third baseman Mark Threlkeld knocking in runs with a pair of singles while right fielder Runey Davis plated one with an RBI sacrifice fly to right.

After the Raptors tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the top of the seventh, the Chukars responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs of their own to retake the lead at 7-4. The big blast came from left fielder Chris Elder who stroked his first career home run to right, a two run shot, while Espy tripled and eventually scored on a balk

Chukars Finish 1st Half with 7-2 Victory

In a nice example of how the Chukars have improved since the start of the season, both the pitching and hitting were in fine form at the season's midway point. Chukars starting pitcher Aaron Brooks (3-1) earned the win by holding the potent Ogden offense to just two runs on eight hits over his six innings pitched, while David Middendorf and Edwin Carl combined for three shutout innings as well.

At the dish the Chukars offense got to a highly touted Raptors pitcher for the second straight night. Idaho Falls knocked around Brandon Martinez (5-3) to the tune of five runs on seven hits in just four innings pitched. The Chukars would also get reliever Yimi Garcia for two runs, as the club scored six of their seven runs with two outs.

Nine Run 5th Propels Chukars to 13-6 Win

The Sunday afternoon contest actually started off as a pitcher's duel, with Chukars hurler Brian Peacock and Raptors pitcher Jose Dominguez each holding the opposition to just one run through 4 ½ innings. In the bottom of the fifth however, the Chukars erupted for nine runs on five hits to blow open the game and take a 10-1 lead.


The nine run outburst saw 15 Chukars batters come to the plate to face three different Ogden pitchers. All nine Idaho Falls hitters reached base at least once in the frame and five different men drove in a run. The big blast of the inning came from the bases loaded, 3-RBI triple from designated Henry Moreno. Moreno would finish the night 4-5 with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored.

Peacock (2-3) would earn the win for Idaho Falls after holding the potent Ogden offense to just an unearned run over five innings pitched. The southpaw gave up just two hits and a walk while striking out six. Dominguez (0-2) would take the loss for Ogden after allowing six runs on seven hits in just 4.2 innings.

TBD

AZL is currently ten games out of first at 13-20.
DSL is currently in a tie for first at 33-19

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Royals trade Aviles to the Red Sox for Yamaico Navarro and Kendal Volz. There's some decent info on the aquired players.

The Starting 9

Week of July 24 thru July 30

Our weekly look at the top performers in the Royals Minor league system.

Two struggling prospects in Chris Dwyer and Brett Eibner find their names towards the top of the list this week that for the first time this year doesn’t feature Johnny Giavotella or Lorenzo Cain from Omaha. Newly promoted Storm Chaser Salvado Perez did make the list however thanks to a week that included three grand slams. Solid weeks from Christian Colon, Cheslor Cuthbert and Angel Franco inked their names on the list while Greg Billo continued his solid performance to make the list again this week.

And Perez isn't number 1...