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.
Royals Transactions
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.
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 | 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 |
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 | 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 |
Top-20 Prospect Performance
- Kendry Chourio: DNP
- David Shields: DNP
- Sean Gamble: DNP
- Blake Mitchell: DNP
- Josh Hammond: 2-for-4, HR, BB, K
- Ramon Ramirez: DNP
- Drew Beam: DNP
- Asbel Gonzalez: DNP
- Ben Kudrna: DNP
- Carson Roccaforte: 1-for-4, BB, K, SB
- Yandel Ricardo: DNP
- Felix Arronde: DNP
- Blake Wolters: DNP
- Michael Lombardi: 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- Luinder Avila: DNP
- Steven Zobac: DNP
- Frank Mozzicato: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- Daniel Vazquez: 0-for-5, K
- Warren Colcano: DNP
- Shane Panzini: 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 ’
