Royals affiliates combined to go 2-2 on Wednesday. A handful of pitching prospects were met with mixed results on the day.
Omaha Storm Chasers
Final: Omaha 4, Indianapolis 7
The Storm Chasers played a day game on Wednesday, facing 2023 first-overall pick, Paul Skenes. Omaha got the first earned run across against Skenes this season but otherwise struggled to get the offense going. Behind Zach Davies — making his first start for Omaha since signing with the Royals earlier this month — they got behind early as well. Indy scored one in the first on a sacrifice fly from Malcolm Nuñez. They scored four more runs against Davies in the second on a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly.
The Omaha offense got on the board thanks to a Nate Eaton RBI single in the bottom of the second. Cam Devanney brought in another run on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fourth, making the score 6-2 when Skenes exited the game. Omaha clawed back in the home half of the eight, scoring two runs on another Nate Eaton single and an RBI single from Brian O’Keefe. Unfortunately, the comeback would fall well short in this one.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Final: Northwest Arkansas 3, Tulsa 6
The Naturals sent RHP Mason Barnett to the mound Wednesday in what was unfortunately his worst start of the season to date. Barnett allowed three runs on five hits through 3.1 IP. He struck out four but walked three and didn’t have his sharpest command on the day. Dillan Shrum got the Naturals ahead early with his fifth home run of the season in the top of the second inning. Shrum is now hitting .333 with a fantastic 1.219 OPS on the season thus far.
Tulsa tied the game on an RBI double by Yeiner Fernandez in the second, then widened their lead with a two-run single from Jose Ramos in the third. Shrum homered again in the bottom of the fifth to bring the game to a tie but the Naturals couldn’t hold the Drillers offense back. Austin Gauthier and Jose Ramos both homered in the bottom of the fifth to widen the lead back to two runs. The loss fell to Jacob Wallace who allowed the two fifth-inning home runs.
Quad Cities River Bandits
Final: Quad Cities 4, South Bend 2
The River Bandits have continued their hot stretch to start the season. They’re now 13-4 following Wednesday’s win behind starter Ben Kudrna. Kudrna got behind early, allowing a run to score in the home first on an RBI groundout by Yohendrick Pinango. Quad Cities brought it back on a Dustin Dickerson RBI single in the second and the score would remain tied at one until the fifth inning. South Bend broke through again against Kudrna in the bottom of the fifth, scoring the second of two runs charged to Kudrna on the day.
Kudrna finished his day allowing just one earned run (and one unearned) over five full innings. He walked two but struck out six. The Quad Cities bullpen was lights out to clinch the win. Cooper McKeehan, Natanael Garabitos, and Ben Sears combined to pitch four scoreless innings. The trio walked one and struck out two. The deciding factor in this one was a massive three-run home run by Omar Hernandez in the top of the sixth inning. That widened the River Bandits’ lead to 4-2, where it would remain for the rest of the game.
Columbia Fireflies
Final: Columbia 6, Augusta 5
The Fireflies narrowly extended their winning streak to five games behind a strong outing from reliever Chase Isbell. The Auburn product pitched two perfect innings in relief of starter Emmanuel Reyes. He was followed by a perfect inning from Jacob Widener who struck out the side in the eighth. The Columbia offense got started early with an RBI double from Daniel Vazquez in the home half of the first inning. Derlin Figueroa brought Vazquez home with a sacrifice fly to widen the lead to two.
Starter Emmanuel Reyes was fantastic through the first three innings, notching four strikeouts and zero walks. His command faltered with fatigue in the fourth and he allowed two Augusta runs to score. Reyes returned for the fifth but allowed a three-run home run to Drew Compton, ending his day with five runs allowed. The Columbia offense scorched back, however. In the bottom of the sixth, outfielder Erick Peña doubled home a run and Dionmy Salon brought him home on a sacrifice fly to right field. The very next inning, Daniel Vazquez and Austin Charles combined for two RBI singles to give Columbia a narrow 6-5 lead. Widener locked the Green Jackets down in the eighth and Doug Kirkland earned his first save of the season to clinch the victory.
Top Performers:
- 3B CJ Alexander: 3/4, 2B, 3B
- OF Nate Eaton: 2/4, 2 RBI
- Evan Sisk: 1.0IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 3 SO
- C Omar Hernandez: 2/4, HR, 3 RBI
- Ben Sears: 2.0IP, 1H, 0ER, 0BB, 2 SO
- 1B Dillan Shrum: 2/2, 2 HR, 3 RBI
- SS Daniel Vazquez: 3/4, 2B, 2 RBI
- 3B Austin Charles: 3/4, RBI, SB
- Chase Isbell: 2.0IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 4 SO
- Jacob Widener: 1.0IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 3 SO
Farm to Fountains Top Prospects today:
- OF Carson Roccaforte (2): 0/5, 2K
- C Blake Mitchell (5): 1/5, 2B, 3K
- RHP Ben Kudrna (6): 5.0IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 4 SO
- 2B Javier Vaz (7): 0/4, K