Special Note: Royals Corner readers can now track all of the Kansas City organization’s minor league transactions on our Transaction Log, which will be updated throughout the season.
Triple-A: Omaha 10, Oklahoma City 2
W: Danny Duffy (3-0, 2.25)
HR: None
Summary: Omaha on Sunday jumped on Oklahoma City early and rode a 13-hit outburst to a 10-2 blowout win over the visiting RedHawks. The Storm Chasers plated five runs in the game’s opening frame, taking a commanding lead while starter Danny Duffy turned in another gem.
The 22-year-old southpaw improved his record to 3-0 with six stellar innings, allowing just two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning eight. His only blemish on the day was a two-run homer he surrendered in the second inning, a no-doubter off the bat of Oklahoma City’s Brian Dopirak. The rehabbing Robinson Tejeda entered in the seventh and tossed two shutout innings while reportedly running his fastball into the low- to mid-90s.
On offense, every Storm Chaser recorded at least one hit. The red-hot Lorenzo Cain finished 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter David Lough scored three runs in a 3-for-5 effort. Mike Moustakas drove in a pair of runs while finishing 2-for-4 and raising his batting average to .250.
Other Notes: The Kansas City Royals on Sunday traded outfielder Gregor Blanco to the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later. Read our report on the transaction here…Don’t look now, but Moustakas is heating up. After a miserable April, the 22-year-old third baseman is hitting .293/.396/.537 with three home runs and 11 RBIs over his last 10 games…With eight more strikeouts on Sunday, Duffy has now fanned 25 batters over his last 18.0 innings while issuing just three walks…Cain now owns a seven-game hitting streak. He has hit .462 (12-for-26) over that stretch while scoring eight runs.
Next Game: The first place Storm Chasers (18-12) look to win their four-game set with the RedHawks (13-17) in Monday afternoon’s finale. Mike Montgomery (2-1, 2.45) will start for Omaha.
| Player |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
AVG |
Notes |
| Lough, LF |
5 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
.317 |
K |
| Giavotella, 2B |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.274 |
K |
| Moustakas, 3B |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
.250 |
BB, SB (1) |
| Robinson, DH |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
.321 |
BB |
| Ka'aihue, 1B |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.333 |
2 BB, K |
| Cain, CF |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
.313 |
2B (8) |
| Zawadzki, SS |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.223 |
2B (7), CS (1) |
| May, C |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.151 |
2 BB |
| Orlando, RF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.176 |
|
| Pitcher |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
| Duffy (W, 3-0) |
6.0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
2.25 |
| Tejeda |
2.0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0.00 |
| Holland |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2.57 |
Double-A: NW Arkansas 9, Tulsa 8
W: Patrick Keating (1-1, 4.85)
HR: Mario Lisson (7)
Summary: Jamie Romak delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking an 8-8 tie and sending the Naturals to a 9-8 victory after a seesaw battle on Sunday.
The Drillers drew first blood with a run in the top of the opening frame against NW Arkansas starter Chris Dwyer. The Naturals took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, only to see that two-run lead turn into a three-run deficit the next inning after Tulsa plated five against Dwyer in the fifth. Mario Santiago entered in relief and restored some order to the game, and the Naturals reclaimed the lead with a five-spot of their own in the bottom of the sixth. The Drillers then tied the game with two runs off Santiago in the seventh, setting up Romak’s heroics.
On the day, the NW Arkansas offense produced 14 hits, with every Naturals player collecting at least one. Five players – Anthony Seratelli, Romak, Jeff Bianchi, Salvador Perez, and Nick Van Stratten – turned in multi-hit efforts, while Christian Colon extended his hitting streak to seven games. In the fourth inning, Mario Lisson clubbed his team-best seventh home run of the season.
Other Notes: Sunday’s outing was the second straight poor start for Dwyer, who saw his ERA rise to 6.35 after allowing six earned runs. He fought his command all game, walking four while plunking two and uncorking four wild pitches. Over his last 9.0 innings pitched, he’s walked nine batters…Despite a recent slump, third baseman Mario Lisson has very quietly been one of the organization’s best hitters through the first month of the season. The 26-year-old has a .406 on-base percentage, and his .702 slugging percentage is tops in the Texas League.
Next Game: John Lamb (0-2, 3.22) heads to the mound for NW Arkansas on Monday evening as the Naturals (13-13) play the third game of their four-game set with the first place Drillers (17-11).
| Player |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
AVG |
Notes |
| Seratelli, LF |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
.274 |
K, 2 SB (2) |
| Colon, SS |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.260 |
BB, SB (7); 7-gm hitting streak |
| Myers, RF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.277 |
BB, K |
| Romak, 1B |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
.275 |
K |
| Bianchi, 2B |
5 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
.255 |
2B (8), E (2) |
| Perez, C |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
.257 |
2B (5), BB |
| Mertins, DH |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
.254 |
K |
| Lisson, 3B |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
.281 |
HR (7), BB |
| Van Stratten, CF |
4 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
.224 |
SB (3) |
| Pitcher |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
| Dwyer |
4.1 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
6.35 |
| Santiago |
3.1 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1.46 |
| Keating (W, 1-1) |
1.1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4.85 |
High-A: Frederick 3, Wilmington 2 (13 innings)
L: Tyler Sample (1-3, 2.81)
HR: John Whittleman (6)
Summary: With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning on Sunday, Wilmington reliever Manauris Baez walked home the winning run as the Frederick Keys completed their four-game sweep of the Blue Rocks. The loss – Wilmington’s fourth straight – bumped them down into a first-place tie with the Keys in the Carolina League’s Northern Division.
The Blue Rocks received excellent pitching for most of the day. Starter Justin Marks tossed seven strong innings, holding the Keys to two runs before giving way to piggyback partner Tyler Sample in the eighth. As the game stretched to extra innings, Sample delivered five shutout frames before surrendering a leadoff double in the bottom of the 13th. Unfortunately for him, that was the run that scored on Baez’s bases-loaded walk, so Sample got tagged with the loss.
The Wilmington offense managed 11 hits, with every starter except Tim Ferguson and Alex McClure recording at least one. Jose Bonilla finished 3-for-5, while Carlo Testa ripped a pair of doubles in a 2-for-6 effort.
Other Notes: After completing a three-game sweep of Winston-Salem on May 1, the Blue Rocks have now lost six of their last seven games and have seen their five-game lead in their division vanish…Top Blue Rocks reliever Kelvin Herrera has been promoted to NW Arkansas. Read our report on the transaction here…Right fielder Nick Francis recorded his 10th outfield assist of the season.
Next Game: The Blue Rocks (16-13) now get a much-needed day off. They’ll get back at it on Tuesday as they open a three-game series at home against the Salem Red Sox (20-8) in a match-up of first place teams. Jake Odorizzi (2-0, 2.42) is scheduled to start the opener.
| Player |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
AVG |
Notes |
| Merrifield, LF |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.311 |
2 K, PO |
| Testa, DH |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
.265 |
2 2B (5), 2 K |
| Navarro, 2B |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.355 |
2B (8), SAC, 2 K |
| Francis, RF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.252 |
2 BB, SB (6), K, OF Assist |
| Whittleman, 3B |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
.223 |
HR (6), 2 BB, K |
| Ferguson, CF |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.165 |
|
| McClure, SS |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.140 |
K |
| Bonilla, C |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
.222 |
2 K |
| Lewis, 1B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.236 |
SAC, BB |
| Pitcher |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
| Marks |
7.0 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
6.53 |
| Sample (L, 1-3) |
5.0 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2.81 |
| Baez |
0.2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1.88 |
Low-A: Peoria 4, Kane County 1
L: Greg Billo (0-1, 2.05)
HR: None
Summary: The Cougars on Sunday once again received a quality pitching performance from their starter, but once again their offense failed to mount an attack as Kane County fell to Peoria, 4-1. The Cougars have now lost 13 of their last 15 games and have fallen into the basement of the Midwest League standings.
Greg Billo was the hard-luck loser after holding the Chiefs to two runs on four hits over six innings. The 20-year-old right-hander fanned a season-high eight batters while issuing just a single walk. Peoria added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Dusty Odenbach, who tossed the final two frames for Kane County.
On offense, the Cougars managed eight hits but just a single run, which came courtesy of an RBI groundout by catcher Ryan Jenkins in the top of the sixth. Gerard Hall continued swinging a hot bat atop the Kane County lineup, finishing the game 2-for-4 with his second triple of the year.
Other Notes: With a first-inning double, Jenkins extended his hitting streak to nine games…Billo has been excellent all season. The young right-hander boasts a 2.05 ERA with 29 strikeouts and just eight walks in 26.1 innings pitched this season…Hall has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, batting .371 (13-for-35) over that stretch.
Next Game: The Cougars (9-22) look to avoid a three-game sweep on Monday afternoon against Peoria (16-14). Leonel Santiago (2-3, 3.63) is scheduled to start for Kane County.
| Player |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
AVG |
Notes |
| Hall, SS |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
.330 |
3B (2), K |
| Stovall, 3B |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.325 |
E (7) |
| Jenkins, C |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
.279 |
2B (6); 9-gm hitting streak |
| Fletcher, LF |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.312 |
|
| Aparicio, RF |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.118 |
K; 1-for-27 slump |
| Adams, CF |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.172 |
K, CS (1), PO |
| Watts, 1B |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.195 |
K |
| Beltre, DH |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.204 |
K |
| Espinal, 2B |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.174 |
|
| Pitcher |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
HR |
ERA |
| Billo (L, 0-1) |
6.0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
2.05 |
| Odenbach |
2.0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3.18 |
|