Diamonds in the Rough 8.1

Rough day for Royals affiliates just coming out with 2 wins.  HR Roll Call Yem Prades (8) Geulin Beltre (4) Dean Espy (3) Diego Goris (4) Rainier Bello (4) Kenny Diekroeger (8) 

Pine Tar Press Hitter of the Day Geulin Beltre 2-4 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

Pine Tar Press Pitcher of the Day Matt Ridings 6.1 IP 5 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 4 K

Pine Tar Press Rookie League Player of the Day Yender Caramo 7 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 6 K

Omaha Storm Chasers 6 Reno Aces 3

Starter Doug Davis gave the Chasers a quality start in their return to Omaha which helped them earn a win.  Shortstop Tony Abreu kept up his hot hitting going 2 for 4 with a double and 2 driven in to team with his middle infield partner Johnny Giavotella to drive in five Chaser runs.  Reno jumped on Davis in the third getting a walk, three singles and a double to plate three runs to take a 3-0 lead.  The Chasers would jump right back in the bottom half of the inning plating four with a bases loaded single by Gio that scored one and a double by Abreu that pushed two across.  A Wil Myers ground out as part of his 0 for 4 day scored Gio to push the lead to 4-2.  Omaha’s lefty righted the ship tossing a scoreless 4th but the Reno starter and former local Omaha product Zach Kroenke could not do the same giving up two more on a Giavotella single to help Omaha build a 6-3 lead.  Relievers Roman Colon and Vin Mazzaro would take over for Davis in the 7th finishing off the final 3 innings scoreless with just three hits allowed.

W: Davis (6-2, 3.60) L: Kroenke (5-3, 5.57)
S: Mazzaro (4)

Tulsa Drillers 6 NW Arkansas Naturals 4

Noel Arguelles had another tough start going 4 innings while allowing seven hits, five walks and six runs (5 ER) creating too big of a deficit to overcome.  Cuban Yem Prades hit his 8th home run of the season while Brian Fletcher went 2 for 5 with a run scored.

W: Gardner (5-7, 4.69) L: Arguelles (2-12, 7.74)
S: Sullivan (13)

Wilmington Blue Rocks 9 Winston-Salem Dash 4

Winston-Salem has one of the few friendly hitting environments in the Carolina League and the Rocks took advantage Wednesday night.  Designated hitter Murray Watts and left fielder Geulin Beltre took the most advantage each collecting a pair of hits while driving in three each.  Watts got the scoring started for the Rocks punching in a pair with his fourth double since joining the Wilmington squad later scoring on a Beltre single.  The Rocks would hold that 4-0 lead until the 7th when their offense would one alive again with a run scoring single from Watts and a two run home run by Beltre to stretch the lead to 7-0.  Starter Matt Ridings would run into problems in the 7th after shutting out the Dash up until that point but would earn the win thanks to the big lead and the bullpen finishing off the job.  Trouble aside Riding 6.1 innings, 5 hit, 3 run effort is pretty solid in that park.

W: Ridings (3-1, 3.30) L: Johnson (1-2, 2.95)

Beloit Snappers 8 Kane County Cougars 6

After Wednesday night Bryan Brickhouse may have learned he doesn’t want to challenge Twins prospect Miguel Sano.  The large and powerful third base prospect connected on a three run home run in the first inning to push Beloit up early and backed it up again in the 2nd with a two run double.  Those five runs put the Brickhouse and his teammates behind the eight ball which lead to back to back losses despite a five run 5th that pulled them within a run.  The Cougars tied the game in the 7th with a Daniel Mateo RBI single but couldn’t hang onto the positives as the bullpen gave up runs in the bottom half of the 7th and another in the 8th to hand Kane back to back losses.

W: Melotakis (2-1, 1.13) L: Fassold (1-3, 4.09)
S: Jones (2)

Ogden Raptors 5 Idaho Falls Chukars 4

Starter Sam Selman had his most difficult start since turning pro struggling with his control in his four innings. The left-hander put away seven via strikeout but also handed out five free passes in only four innings of his no decision start.  The Chukars took a 3-1 lead to the 5th inning following a two run home run by Rainier Bello but converted reliever Fernando Cruz struggled mightily giving up four hits, two walks and four runs in the 5th to put Idaho Falls behind.  A solo home run by Diego Goris in the 9th cut the lead to one but they could get no closer dropping the first game of the second half for Idaho Falls.

W: Frias (5-3, 4.31) L: Cruz (1-2, 6.75)
S: Downing (2)

Ogden Raptors
Player	Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
Delvis Morales	2B	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.211
Eric Smith	C	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	.354
Jeremy Rathjen	RF	3	1	2	1	0	0	2	1	0	.371
Pat Stover	LF	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.339
Tae-Hyeok Nam	1B	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	.255
Corey Seager	SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.247
JJ Ethel	DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	.216
Bladimir Franco	3B	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	.154
Malcolm Holland	CF	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	.242

BATTING
2B: Smith, E (10, Selman, S), Rathjen (8, Cruz, F), Holland (5, Middendorf).
TB: Morales, D; Stover; Smith, E 2; Rathjen 3; Nam 2; Holland 2.
RBI: Rathjen 2 (31), Nam (12), Seager (8).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Seager 2; Morales, D 2; Nam; Holland; Smith, E.
Team RISP: 4-for-18.
Team LOB: 8.BASERUNNING
SB: Seager (4, 2nd base off Selman, S/Lane), Morales, D (2, 2nd base off Cruz, F/Lane).
CS: Rathjen (6, 2nd base by Selman, S/Lane).

FIELDING
E: Franco (3, fielding).
DP: (Frias-Seager-Nam).

Idaho Falls Chukars
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Sam Selman	4.0	2	1	0	5	7	0	1.49
Fernando Cruz (L, 1-2)	2.0	4	4	4	2	0	0	6.75
David Middendorf	2.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	3.51

Ogden Raptors
Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Carlos Frias (W, 5-3)	6.0	7	3	2	0	3	1	4.31
Gregg Downing (S, 2)	3.0	2	1	1	0	2	1	4.13

WP: Selman, S, Frias.

Elizabethton Twins 3 Burlington Royals 2 F/11

The Royals dropped their third game in a row despite a very nice 7 inning 3 hit start from starting pitcher Yender Caramo.  Second baseman Kenny Diekroeger hit his 8th home run since joining the Burlington squad and outfielder Terrance Gore stole his 19th base of the season.  16th round selection Austin Fairchild continued his struggles walking 2 and allowing a run while not recording an out.

W: Duffey (1-0, 3.38) L: Martinez (1-2, 2.41)

BASERUNNING
SB: Gore (19, 2nd base off Arevalo/Quesada).
CS: Threlkeld (2, 2nd base by Arevalo/Quesada), Leonard (2, 2nd base by Arevalo/Quesada).