Diamonds in the Rough 8.2

A winning day for the Royals affiliates with a HR Roll Call Tony Abreu (9) Kevin Kouzmanoff (1) Bubba Starling (6) Mark Threlkeld (5) Humberto Arteaga (1) 

(Photo Minda Haas)

Pine Tar Press Hitter of the Day Tony Abreu 2-4 HR, 3 RBI

(Photo Minda Haas)

Pine Tar Press Pitcher of the Day Ryan Verdugo 6 IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 6 K

Pine Tar Press Rookie League Player(s) of the Day Burlington Royals Lineup

see below

Omaha Storm Chasers 4 Reno Aces 2

Omaha’s infield threesome of Irving Falu, Johnny Giavotella and Tony Abreu lead the way to a Chasers win Thursday.  The top three members of the order accounted for all four Omaha runs and six of the nine team hits to pace the team.  It has been an especially strong week for Tony Abreu who drove in three with his 9th home run of the season in the 5th while extending his multi-hit game streak to six.  Starter Ryan Verdugo made those runs stand up with six innings of two run ball that included six strikeouts before turning things over to Francisley Bueno and Vin Mazzaro for the final 3 innings.  The Chasers new closer, Mazzaro has done well with the new role posting three saves in three opportunities.

W: Verdugo (8-3, 3.77) L: Martinez (10-8, 5.69)
S: Mazzaro (5)

NW Arkansas Naturals 6 Tulsa Drillers 3

Another solid start by Michael Mariot earned his fifth win of the season for the Naturals.  The right-hander hasn’t been missing many bats lately and didn’t miss many on this night but he was able to navigate around trouble with eight ground ball outs to get through seven innings with just two runs allowed.  He was rewarded by his offense with four runs in the third to take the lead and then pushing two more across in the 9th to get a little insurance.  All four runs in the third came on Kevin Kouzmanoff’s first home run and grand slam as a Natural while the two insurance runs in the 9th came on an error and a wild pitch.

W: Mariot (5-3, 3.21) L: Chacin (0-1, 9.00)
S: Dennick (4)

Winston-Salem Dash 6 Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

The Rocks had plenty of hit Thursday night but couldn’t get the key hits in dropping the second game of a three game series with Winston-Salem.  The Rocks used four singles to punch three runs across to build a 4-3 lead through the 3rd inning.  Those would be the last runs the Rocks would score despite 13 hits thanks to a 2 for 16 effort with runners in scoring position.  The lack of timely hitting would comeback to haunt the Rocks in the 8th  when reliever Chase Boruff would give up a pair of doubles that lead to a three run inning for the Dash.  The Rocks would get a runner on with a double by Orlando Calixte in the 9th but the team would get no more to drop the game and fall back into a 2nd place tie.

W: Marin (5-3, 1.78) L: Boruff (1-7, 6.22)

Kane County Cougars 7 Beloit Snappers 5

The Cougars put up a couple three run innings early and then hung on late to earn a win in the third game of their four gamer with Beloit.  The Cougars worked three single and a walk to plate 3 in the 2nd and then used a two run triple as part of a three run 4th to jump out 6-0.  Edwin Carl made an emergency start for Kyle Smith giving the Cougars 4 scoreless before turning things over to Rudy Brown who earned the win with two scoreless innings.  The lead stood at 7-1 for Michael Giovenco who made things interesting with a four run 9th but hung on to get the final three outs.

W: Brown (2-0, 2.13) L: Jones (2-4, 5.26)

Odgen Raptors 4 Idaho Falls Chukars 1

Chukars could only get one across Thursday evening which dropped starter Spencer Patton’s record to 0-6.  Three of the four runs allowed by Patton came in the first inning thanks to a couple throwing error by catcher Travis Lane and a pair of wild pitches by Patton.

W: Hermsen (1-4, 3.46) L: Patton (0-6, 7.61)
S: Jones (3)

Burlington Royals 15 Elizabethton Twins 5

An absolute run explosion by the Royals in their second game with the Rookie level Twins.  Uber prospect Bubba Starling got everything started in the 1st with his 6th home run of the season, a solo shot that gave them a 1-0 lead.  The one run would be the only thing they scored until the 4th when down 2-1 they broke loose scoring a pair in the 4th, five in the 5th, four more in the 7th, another pair in the 8th and an extra one in the 9th to cruise to a 15-5 win.  Every Royals hitter had at least 2 hits while Patrick Leonard, Mark Threlkeld and Adrian Morales each had four while Threlkeld joined Bubba and shortstop Humberto Arteaga as Burlington hitters to leave the yard.  Starter Daniel Hernandez was the beneficiary of the run support earning his 3rd win of the season.

W: Hernandez (3-0, 2.81) L: Boyd (2-5, 2.63)

AZL Rangers 2 AZL Royals 0

Starter Aroni Nina continues to improve his prospect status in Arizona striking out 11 in just 5.1 innings despite taking a loss.  That gives  the right-hander 43 strikeouts in 35 innings of Arizona ball.

W: Claudio (2-0, 2.33) L: Nina (3-2, 5.14)
S: Leclerc (1)