Royals Minor League Report (5/15): Royals Affiliates Drop All Four On Tough Friday Night

All four Kansas City Royals affiliates fell on Friday night despite individual standouts across the system. Mitch Spence turned in a Quality Start for the Omaha Storm Chasers in a 3-2 loss, and Kendry Chourio fired 4 1/3 strong innings for the Columbia Fireflies. Jack Pineda went 4-for-4 with a triple for Northwest Arkansas, Derlin Figueroa went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run for Quad Cities, and Josh Hammond homered for Columbia.

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Storm Chasers Edged 3-2 Despite Spence's Quality Start

The Omaha Storm Chasers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Toledo Mud Hens at home, falling just short despite a Quality Start from Mitch Spence.

Omaha opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when John Rave doubled to left field with one out. Kameron Misner followed with a sharp groundout to second base, allowing Rave to score and giving the Storm Chasers an early 1-0 lead. Toledo answered in the top of the second with an RBI single to tie the game at one, and the Mud Hens took the lead for good in the fifth on a two-run home run that made it 3-1.

The Storm Chasers had one final rally in the bottom of the seventh. Misner singled, Drew Waters drew a walk, and a flyout to right field by Brett Squires moved Misner to third. Dustin Dickerson then flied into a sacrifice double play, scoring Misner from third to pull Omaha within 3-2. The Storm Chasers could not push another runner across in the final two frames.

Spence (1-3) took the loss, working six innings and allowing three runs on five hits with two walks, four strikeouts, and one home run allowed across 85 pitches. Jose Cuas, Helcris Olivárez, and Eli Morgan combined to throw three scoreless innings of relief.

Rave paced the offense with a 2-for-4 night that included a double and a stolen base. Misner scored a run and drove in another, going 1-for-4. Kevin Newman and Josh Rojas added singles, and the Storm Chasers stranded just two runners on base.

Naturals Comeback Falls Short In 11-8 Loss To Travelers

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals dropped an 11-8 decision to the Arkansas Travelers at home, falling after surrendering the lead in the late innings.

The Naturals broke through with a five-run bottom of the fourth. Colton Becker doubled to right, Spencer Nivens followed with a single to put runners at second and third, and Jorge Alfaro singled to drive in the first run. Daniel Vazquez grounded into a force out that plated Nivens, and Omar Hernandez capped the rally with a three-run home run to center field for a 5-1 lead.

Arkansas answered with a seven-run top of the fifth that included a three-run home run, sending the Travelers ahead 8-5. The Naturals rallied back in the seventh, when Carson Roccaforte ripped a two-run double to score Canyon Brown and Justin Johnson, and another run scored on the at-bat that followed to even the game at 8. Arkansas plated three more in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Drew Beam took the start and worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Tommy Molsky followed with 1 1/3 innings. Zachary Cawyer fired two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts. Brandon Johnson (0-1) took the loss after surrendering three runs in the ninth.

Jack Pineda led the way with a 4-for-4 night that included a triple. Hernandez drove in three on the home run, Roccaforte plated two with his double, and Becker added two hits with a double and a run scored.

Figueroa's Four-Hit Night Wasted As River Bandits Fall In Slugfest

The Quad Cities River Bandits dropped a 12-9 slugfest in Lansing despite a four-hit, four-RBI night from Derlin Figueroa.

Quad Cities grabbed an early lead in the top of the second when Figueroa singled home Austin Charles, and Charles delivered an RBI double in the fourth to score Luke Pelzer for a 2-1 advantage. Lansing answered with a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.

Blake Mitchell pulled the River Bandits within one in the fifth with a two-RBI double that scored Tyriq Kemp and Asbel Gonzalez, but Lansing tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth to stretch the lead to 10-4.

Quad Cities mounted a five-run rally in the top of the seventh. Kemp tripled and scored on an Asbel Gonzalez groundout, Charles delivered an RBI single to bring Mitchell home, and Figueroa launched a three-run home run to right field to pull the River Bandits within 10-9. Lansing pushed across one in the seventh and one in the eighth to seal the result.

Josh Hansell (0-4) took the loss as the starter, working four innings and giving up seven runs on four hits with seven walks and four strikeouts. Nick Conte, Ryan Ure, and L.P. Langevin combined for four innings of relief.

Figueroa finished 4-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and a run scored. Charles added three hits, two runs scored, two RBI, a double, and a walk. Mitchell drove in two with a double and reached base four times. Kemp added two hits, including a triple, with two runs scored.

Hammond Homer Not Enough As Fireflies Drop Opener To Hickory

The Columbia Fireflies fell 8-4 to the Hickory Crawdads at home despite a solid start from Kendry Chourio.

The game stayed tight for the first five innings. Hickory took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI double, and Columbia answered in the bottom of the fifth when JC Vanek singled home Stone Russell to even the score at one.

Hickory regained the lead at the top of the sixth on a run-scoring double play, then broke the game open in the seventh with a three-run home run to right field for a 5-1 advantage. Josh Hammond responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 5-2.

Hickory tacked on two more in the top of the eighth on an RBI single and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Columbia rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but Hickory closed it out with another solo home run in the ninth.

Chourio worked 4 1/3 innings for the Fireflies, surrendering one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts on 67 pitches. Max Martin (2-1) took the loss after working 1 2/3 innings. Brandon Herbold yielded five runs (four earned) in 1 2/3 innings, and Randy Ramnarace finished with 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Hammond led the way at the plate, going 1-for-4 with the home run, a run scored, and an RBI. Vanek went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Stone Russell added a hit and a double, while Henry Ramos contributed a single, a walk, and a stolen base. Columbia stranded just two runners on base.

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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