Royals Minor League Report (6/21): Toro Cycles, Naturals Fall Late, and Columbia Comeback Falls Short

[Kevin O'Brien]

 

Abraham Toro hit for the cycle and drove in six runs as Omaha outslugged St. Paul 15-12 in 11 innings, with Brandon Drury and Josh Rojas adding key extra-base hits. Hunter Patteson worked six strong innings, and Frank Mozzicato struck out one and allowed no runs in relief for Northwest Arkansas, but the Naturals dropped a 5-4 decision. Michael Lombardi fanned seven over 4 2/3 innings, and Josh Hammond homered for Columbia, which came up a run short.

Quad Cities' finale against Wisconsin was postponed due to rain. It will be made up in a doubleheader at a later date. 

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Toro Completes The Cycle In Wild Omaha Slugfest

Toro turned in a monster game, hitting for the cycle, driving in six runs, and helping the Omaha Storm Chasers outlast the St. Paul Saints 15-12 in 11 innings.

 

 

 

Toro went 5-for-6 with a double, a triple, and a home run, while Drury added four hits, a homer, and three RBIs, and Matthew Lugo collected four hits, including a home run.

 

 

The game swung wildly in the fourth inning, when St. Paul plated nine runs to erase an early Omaha lead and surge ahead. The Storm Chasers chipped away, with Lugo and Toro both homering in the fifth to cut the deficit to 10-8. Omaha tied the game in the eighth and pushed to extra innings. In the 11th, starting with the zombie runner at second, Drury singled home a run, and Rojas doubled in two more to break the game open for a 15-12 final.

 

 

 

The pitching was rough on both sides, with St. Paul having to pitch shortstop Tanner Schobel in the 11th inning.

 

Andrew Pérez opened with two innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out four. Aaron Sanchez struggled badly, surrendering seven runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. Eric Cerantola closed it out with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts.

Omaha left 10 runners on base and went 10-for-23 with runners in scoring position. The Storm Chasers are now 33-41 this season. 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Josh Rojas	6	0	1	2	1	3
Matthew Lugo	7	2	4	1	0	2
Brett Squires	5	2	2	0	1	1
Abraham Toro	6	3	5	6	0	0
Peyton Wilson	6	1	3	1	0	0
Luca Tresh	6	0	1	0	0	2
Drew Waters	5	1	1	1	1	1
Brandon Drury	6	3	4	3	0	0
Elih Marrero	6	3	3	1	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Andrew Pérez	2	2	1	1	0	4	1
Aaron Sanchez	1 2/3	7	7	7	0	0	2
Ethan Bosacker	2 1/3	3	2	2	2	2	1
Luke Jackson	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Dan Altavilla	1	1	1	1	0	0	1
Mason Black	1	1	0	0	0	1	0
Eli Morgan	1	1	1	0	2	3	0
Eric Cerantola	1	0	0	0	0	2	0

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Naturals Bullpen Falters In Ninth As Tulsa Rallies

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals carried a one-run lead into the ninth inning but could not hold on, falling 5-4 to the Tulsa Drillers.

Jack Pineda paced the offense with three hits and three RBIs, while Spencer Nivens added two hits, a walk, and an RBI. Connor Scott also chipped in two hits, including a double.

 

 

Northwest Arkansas built its lead methodically, even though they could not hold it at the end.

The Naturals scored once in the first inning when Pineda singled home a run, added two more in the fifth on another Pineda single that brought in Scott, and pushed across a fourth run in the seventh when Nivens singled home Carson Roccaforte for a 4-2 advantage. That cushion vanished in the ninth, when Tulsa plated three runs to take the lead and the win.

 

 

Patteson turned in a solid outing, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts over six innings. Mozzicato followed with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out one. Augusto Mendieta took the loss, giving up three runs on five hits in the ninth.

The Naturals left 11 runners on base and went 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position. The loss dropped Northwest Arkansas's record to 29-38.  

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Carson Roccaforte	4	1	1	0	1	1
Rudy Martin Jr.	5	1	2	0	0	1
Jack Pineda	5	0	3	3	0	1
Spencer Nivens	3	0	2	1	2	0
Daniel Vazquez	5	0	0	0	0	1
Alberto Rodriguez	5	0	0	0	0	2
Canyon Brown	4	0	2	0	0	1
Connor Scott	4	1	2	0	0	1
Justin Johnson	3	1	0	0	1	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Hunter Patteson	6	2	2	2	3	3	2
Frank Mozzicato	2	1	0	0	2	1	0
Augusto Mendieta	1	5	3	3	0	1	0

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Fireflies Comeback Bid Falls One Run Short In Hickory

The Columbia Fireflies mounted a late rally but came up short, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Hickory Crawdads.

JC Vanek led the way with three hits, a double, a home run, and an RBI, while Hammond reached base three times with two hits, a home run, a walk, and an RBI from the leadoff spot. Jhosmmel Zue added two hits and an RBI.

 

 

The game remained quiet for most of the afternoon in the series finale on Sunday.

Columbia scratched out a run in the fourth inning when Zue grounded out to bring home Vanek for a 1-0 lead. Hickory answered in the seventh, plating four runs to seize control. The Fireflies fought back, getting a solo home run from Vanek in the eighth and another from Hammond in the ninth, but stranded the tying run and fell by a single run.

 

 

Lombardi was excellent, striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings while allowing four hits and a walk, with none of his three runs earned.

 

 

Jose Gutierrez opened with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Andy Basora surrendered a run in two-thirds of an inning.

Columbia left nine runners on base and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The loss dropped the Fireflies' record to 34-35. 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Josh Hammond	4	1	2	1	1	1
Stone Russell	5	0	1	0	0	1
Hyungchan Um	5	0	0	0	0	1
JC Vanek	4	2	3	1	0	0
Roni Cabrera	4	0	1	0	0	2
Jhosmmel Zue	4	0	2	1	0	1
Angel Ramirez	3	0	0	0	1	0
Ivan Sosa	4	0	1	0	0	3
Josi Novas	4	0	1	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jose Gutierrez	2	0	0	0	0	3	0
Michael Lombardi	4 2/3	4	3	0	1	7	0
Andy Basora	2/3	1	1	1	0	1	1
Jhon Reyes	2/3	0	0	0	1	2	0

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Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Kendry Chourio: DNP
2. David Shields: DNP
3. Sean Gamble: DNP
4. Blake Mitchell: DNP
5. Josh Hammond: 2-for-4, HR, BB, K
6. Ramon Ramirez: DNP
7. Drew Beam: DNP
8. Asbel Gonzalez: DNP
9. Ben Kudrna: DNP
10. Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-4, BB, K, SB
11. Yandel Ricardo: DNP
12. Felix Arronde: DNP
13. Blake Wolters: DNP
14. Michael Lombardi: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
15. Luinder Avila: DNP
16. Steven Zobac: DNP
17. Frank Mozzicato: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
18. Daniel Vazquez: 0-for-5, K
19. Warren Colcano: DNP
20. Shane Panzini: DNP

 

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