Abraham Toro homered twice with four RBI as Omaha piled up 15 hits in a 10-7 win at Salt Lake, where Gavin Cross was a single shy of the cycle. Columbia broke a tie with four runs in the sixth and beat Kannapolis 6-3 behind three hits apiece from Sean Gamble and Ivan Sosa. Quad Cities managed one run in a 5-1 loss at Beloit, and Northwest Arkansas was shut out 9-0 by Springfield.
Kansas City Royals Transactions
- Kansas City Royals activated RHP Nate Pearson.
- Kansas City Royals optioned RHP Eli Morgan to Omaha Storm Chasers.
Toro’s Two-Homer Night Carries Omaha To A 10-7 Win
The Omaha Storm Chasers collected 15 hits, homered five times, and held on for a 10-7 win over the Bees.
Toro did the heaviest lifting, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, four RBI, and two runs scored. His solo shot in the second inning opened the scoring, and his three-run blast in the third was the middle of a six-run rally that put Omaha ahead 8-1.
Cross finished a single shy of the cycle, homering, tripling, and doubling in a 3-for-5 night with three runs scored.
Matthew Lugo added two hits, including a solo homer in the sixth, and Peyton Wilson connected for his first home run of the season during the third-inning outburst.
Brandon Drury drove in two runs, the second on a ninth-inning single that pushed the lead back to three.
Starter Vince Velasquez never settled in. He lasted three innings and was charged with seven hits, six earned runs, and three walks while striking out three, allowing Salt Lake to climb within 8-6 by the fourth inning.
The bullpen took over from there. Ben Sears worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 6-1. Ryan Ramsey struck out four over 2 1/3 innings and surrendered only a Cade Marlowe home run in the eighth. Justin Topa walked two in the ninth but finished the game without allowing a hit, locking down his third save of the year.
The Storm Chasers left seven runners on base and went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Omaha improved to 47-52 with the win.
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Lugo, LF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| John Rave, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Drew Waters, CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Abraham Toro, 3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Gavin Cross, DH | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Drury, 1B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Peyton Wilson, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Elih Marrero, C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alejo Lopez, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vince Velasquez | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Ben Sears | 2 2/3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ryan Ramsey | 2 1/3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Justin Topa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Northwest Arkansas Held To Three Hits In A 9-0 Shutout Loss
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals never found any traction at the plate and were shut out 9-0 by the Springfield Cardinals.
Springfield needed two innings to warm up, then broke the game open with five runs in the third. Jesus Baez started it with a three-run homer, and Miguel Ugueto followed with a two-run double that scored Rainiel Rodriguez and Won-Bin Cho. Baez went on to add sacrifice flies in the fourth and sixth innings, driving in five runs on the night.
Drew Beam absorbed the damage. The right-hander went four innings and was tagged for eight hits, seven earned runs, and a home run while striking out one and issuing no walks, dropping him to 5-9. Beam kept the ball around the strike zone, but Springfield squared him up repeatedly, and the Cardinals finished with 13 hits. The Royals’ No. 13 prospect was helped by some stellar defense, especially by infielder Justin Johnson.
The bullpen steadied things. Chase Jessee gave Northwest Arkansas three innings of one-run, one-hit ball with four strikeouts, and Brandon Johnson worked the final two innings and allowed a run on four hits.
Northwest Arkansas managed just three hits. Carson Roccaforte doubled and walked to reach base twice, Luke Pelzer singled, and Omar Hernandez singled. The Naturals drew three walks, struck out 10 times, and stranded five runners. Sam Kulasingam and Spencer Nivens each worked a free pass without coming around to score, and the lineup never mounted a rally once it fell behind by five runs in the third inning.
Northwest Arkansas didn’t have a lot of scoring chances, going just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position. The Naturals fell to 40-52 with the loss.
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Roccaforte, CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Luke Pelzer, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sam Kulasingam, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Spencer Nivens, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Daniel Vazquez, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jorge Alfaro, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Omar Hernandez, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Johnson, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Stone Russell, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Beam | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chase Jessee | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Brandon Johnson | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Shields Strikes Out Five But Quad Cities Falls 5-1 At Beloit
The Quad Cities River Bandits never solved the Beloit pitching staff until the ninth inning and dropped a 5-1 decision to the Sky Carp.
David Shields, the Royals’ No. 2 prospect at Royals Keep, took the loss despite a serviceable outing. The left-hander pitched six innings, struck out five, and walked just one, but he was charged with seven hits and five earned runs, including a home run. Beloit jumped on him immediately, as Cody Schrier laced a two-run double in the first inning to make it 2-0. A groundout in the third, an Esmil Valencia solo homer in the fourth, and a second Schrier RBI double in the sixth accounted for the rest of the scoring against him.
Shields fell to 8-5 on the season, but the back of the bullpen was sharp behind him. Nick Conte tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and L.P. Langevin worked a scoreless frame of his own despite issuing two walks.
Quad Cities put together seven hits and three walks, yet the offense could not string anything together.
Chris Brito led the way with two hits and finally broke up the shutout in the ninth inning, singling home Derlin Figueroa. Tyriq Kemp and Angel Acosta each added two hits, and Jose Cerice reached twice with a single and a walk.
Nolan Sailors went 0-for-3, and Asbel Gonzalez went 0-for-4 at the No. 1 and 2 spots in the order, which stunted their lineup overall and resulted in the River Bandits leaving five runners on base. Quad Cities didn’t have many opportunities to generate runs, going 1-for-2 with runners in scoring position. The loss dropped the River Bandits back to .500 at 45-45.
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Sailors, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Asbel Gonzalez, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Derlin Figueroa, 3B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Brito, DH | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jose Cerice, 1B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Erick Torres, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tyriq Kemp, SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ricson Gonzalez, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Angel Acosta, 2B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Shields | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Nick Conte | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| L.P. Langevin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Four-Run Sixth Sends Columbia Past Kannapolis 6-3
The Columbia Fireflies broke a sixth-inning tie with four runs and never looked back in a 6-3 win over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
Ivan Sosa and Sean Gamble each collected three hits and two RBI to lead an 11-hit attack. Sosa put Columbia on the board in the second inning with a run-scoring single, then added another RBI single in the seventh. Gamble delivered the biggest swing of the night, a two-run double in the sixth that stretched the lead to 5-1.
That sixth inning began with a wild pitch that plated two runs while Josh Hammond struck out swinging, an odd sequence that flipped the game after Kannapolis had tied it 1-1 in the fifth.
Starter Darwin Rodriguez set the tone. He worked five innings, allowed one run on seven hits, walked nobody, and struck out five, keeping Columbia in a game that was still tight when he departed. Andy Basora followed with two innings and picked up the win to move to 4-3, and Henson Leal finished with two innings of one-run ball.
Connor Rasmussen reached base three times on walks and scored twice, and Roni Cabrera added two hits and a walk out of the seven hole. Columbia stranded 12 runners, a total that could have made the finish uncomfortable, but Kannapolis managed only single runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings despite piling up 12 hits of its own.
The Fireflies went 5-for-19 with runners in scoring position. They are now 49-45 this season and are the only Royals affiliate with a record over .500.
| Player | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Ramos, DH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Josh Hammond, SS | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sean Gamble, CF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| JC Vanek, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jhosmmel Zue, 1B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Connor Rasmussen, 2B | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Roni Cabrera, RF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ivan Sosa, 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Silva, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin Rodriguez | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Andy Basora | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Henson Leal | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Top-20 Prospect Performance
- Kendry Chourio: DNP
- David Shields: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (L, 8-5)
- Josh Hammond: 0-for-5, R, 2 K
- Blake Mitchell: DNP
- Sean Gamble: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
- Ramon Ramirez: DNP
- Zion Rose: DNP
- Asbel Gonzalez: 0-for-4, K
- Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, K
- Taylor Rabe: DNP
- Yandel Ricardo: DNP
- Justin Lamkin: DNP
- Drew Beam: 4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR (L, 5-9)
- Michael Lombardi: DNP
- Jack Slightom: DNP
- Felix Arronde: DNP
- Angeibel Gomez: DNP
- Ben Kudrna: DNP
- Steven Zobac: DNP
- Blake Wolters: DNP
Interested in learning more about the Kansas City Royals’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalskeep.com ’
