Diamonds in the Rough 7.16

Royals minor league teams put up 3-5 record with the top three levels going winless Monday night.  HR Roll Call Brian Fletcher (3,4) Manny Pina (3) Tim Ferguson (3) Patrick Leonard (8) Fred Ford (6,7) Mark Donato (1) Ismael Batista (1)

Pine Tar Press Hitter of the Day Brian Fletcher 3-4 2 HR, 4 RBI

Pine Tar Press Pitcher of the Day None

Pine Tar Press Rookie League Player of the Day Fred Ford 2-4 2 HR, BB, 5 RBI

Oklahoma City RedHawks 16 Omaha Storm Chasers 6

UGLY describes Chris Dwyer’s first AAA start Monday as the lefty gave up four runs through 5 innings and another three more in the 6th as part of a ten run Redhawks inning.  The defense committed two errors in the inning but that wasn’t the biggest problem with the Redhawks putting together nine hits off the combo of Dwyer and Roman Colon.

W: Keuchel (6-4, 4.03) L: Dwyer (0-1, 12.60)

Arkansas Travelers 11 NW Arkansas Naturals 6

Things aren’t progressing for left-hander Noel Arguelles who gave up seven hits, seven runs while walking six to drop his tenth game at AA this season.  The Naturals connected on three long balls including a pair from Brian Fletcher but it wasn’t enough as Arguelles and the pen had dug too large of a hole to come back from.

W: Arenas (3-7, 5.78) L: Arguelles (2-10, 7.60)

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 2 Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

The Rocks offense has been surging since the start of the 2nd half of the season but they couldn’t muster much on Monday night.  Pelicans starter Randol Rojas worked around four Rocks singles thanks to six K’s in six innings earning his 8th win in nine decisions while lowering his ERA to a paltry 2.15 ERA on the season.  The Rocks starter Matt Ridings gave his team a quality start with six innings of 2 run ball on his own but it wouldn’t me enough as the former Hilltopper dropped his first decision as a member of the Blue Rocks.

W: Rojas (8-1, 2.15) L: Ridings (2-1, 2.75)
S: Rowen (8)

Kane County Cougars 9 West Michigan Whitecaps 5

By the time the fourth inning ended in the rubber game of their series with West Michigan the Cougars had crossed the plate nine times and every hitter in the lineup had one hit in the game.  The majority of that damage came in the 3rd inning when Kane County sent eleven guys to the plate while scoring six times on seven hits, a walk and a sac fly including two run double by Michael Antonio.  The Cougars would cross the plate three more times in the 4th with five singles including one that drove in two runs off the bat of Daniel Mateo.  Starter Aaron Brooks was the benefactor of the run support earning his third winning decision in a row while allowing three runs in six innings of work.

W: Brooks (7-9, 5.18) L: Carreno (4-7, 3.87)

Burlington Royals 10 Princeton Rays 3

The Burlington Royals offense continued playing big man baseball cracking three home runs Monday night.  Outfielder Fred Ford continued his home run binge knocking two out of the park to increase his total on the season to seven giving him four long balls in the last three games.  He was not alone though as third baseman Patrick Leonard hit his eighth of the year to keep ahold of the league lead.  The Royals currently have the leagues 1-2-3 ranked home run hitters with Leonard, Ford and Diekroeger.  The home runs and nine hits total accounted for ten Royals runs which would be plenty for Patrick Conroy and three other bullpen members to earn the win.

AZL Royals 2 AZL Rangers 1

Kyle Zimmer’s second professional start went very well with the 4th overall pick going 3 innings while allowing just a single while striking out 5.  Zimmer was followed up capably by Aroni Nina who struck out nine over 4 innings to earn his second win, Nina has reportedly been throwing in the mid 90s while touching 98.  The Royals squad had eight hits including three more by 10th round pick Alexis Rivera who moved his average up to .447.

W: Nina (2-1, 5.01) L: Mendez (0-1, 3.00)
S: Durden (2)

W: Cleto (4-1, 1.75) L: Pena (1-3, 6.43)
S: Pedie (7)