It was a good night all-around to be a member of the KC Royals organization. The Royals beat the Cardinals 5-4 and the minor league affiliates went 4-1.

The Omaha Storm Chasers received eight scoreless innings from starter Luis Mendoza and a perfect 9th inning from Jesse Chavez to close out the 4-0 win over the Round Rock Express. Mendoza allowed just three hits. Lorenzo Cain hit a two-run homerun in the 6th to give Omaha the 4-0 lead. Johnny Giavotella collected three hits, while David Lough went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the win. Omaha also stole four more bases.

Down 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 4th, the NW Arkansas Naturals offense woke up in a BIG way. They scored seven runs on five hits and two walks. The big hit came off the bat of Christian Colon, a grand slam. He more than made up for his error, plus he had three hits. From then on, the Naturals kept tacking on runs as they won 15-6 over the visiting Springfield Cardinals. Will Smith got the start for the Naturals (he earned the win) and allowed five runs (two earned) on eight hits over 5.2 innings. Every starter except Anthony Seratelli (who was named a starter at second base for the Texas League All-Star game) collected at least one hit. Newly named TL All-Star Jeff Bianchi went 3-for-5 as did fellow TL All-Star Salvador Perez.

Nick Francis

The Wilmington Blue Rocks and Winston-Salem Dash began with their suspended game from Thursday night. When the game picked up, the Blue Rocks were up 9-0. They held on to win 10-5. Tyler Sample struggled in relief of Noel Arguelles (4IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K). Sample allowed all of the Dash’s five runs on six hits over four innings. Ian Gac of the Dash hit his Carolina League-leading 17th homerun of the season. Nick Francis of the Blue Rocks went 4-for-4 with a homerun (the Blue Rocks hit four homers). Joey Lewis and Alex McClure both collected three hits in the victory.

Then the offense for the Blue Rocks went to sleep in the second game. They collected six hits and scored just one run in their 3-1 loss to the Dash. Jake Odorizzi of the Blue Rocks left in the top of the 6th inning leading 1-0, but left with the bases loaded. Reliever Ryan Dennick allowed two of the runs to score on Jose Martinez’ two-run single (Martinez is an All-Star). So Odorizzi’s line looked like this: 5.1IP, 4H, 2R (0ER), 2BB, 11K. Yem Prades collected two hits in the loss while Gerard Hall made his Blue Rocks debut going 1-for-3.

The Kane County Cougars scored a run in the bottom of the 2nd and made that single run hold up as they defeated the visiting Clinton LumberKings 1-0. Leonel Santiago pitched six innings and allowed five hits while striking out six. Chas Byrne pitched three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Clinton starter Taijuan Walker was the hard luck loser as he allowed the lone run on just two hits while striking out 11. Orlando Calixte provided the RBI single in the 2nd inning (one of his two hits).

The Omaha Storm Chasers were the only Royals affiliate to win on Friday night, as they beat the New Orleans Zephyrs 6-4. With the game tied at 4-4, the Storm Chasers scored two runs on a Lorenzo Cain two-run homerun in the bottom of the 8th to win. Mike Montgomery was solid in the start for Omaha, as he allowed four runs on three hits (though he walked four) over 6.1 innings.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about the NW Arkansas Naturals game. They got thrashed by the visiting Frisco RoughRiders 18-5. Frisco collected 17 hits and five walks. Anthony Seratelli hit a three-run homerun in the 8th inning for the Naturals.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks held an early 1-0 lead, but the visiting Potomac Nationals scored five unanswered to win 5-1. Noel Arguelles allowed just one run on six hits over five innings. However the Blue Rocks bullpen allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over the final four innings. Nationals starter Cameron Selik pitched a complete game seven-hitter in earning his first Carolina League win. Carlo Testa and Jose Bonilla collected two hits each for the Blue Rocks.

Infielder Gerard Hall and right-handed pitchers Greg Billo, Sugar Ray Marimon and Leonel Santiago, will represent the Kane County Cougars in the Midwest League All-Star game on June 21 in Davenport, Iowa.

In the game, the Cougars collected just one hit, a double by Ryan Stovall in the 4th inning. They lost to the Fort Wayne TinCaps 5-0. Two of the five runs scored by the TinCaps were unearned (the Cougars made two errors).

Pitcher Heath Rollins was promoted to Triple-A Omaha (from NW Arkansas) while Manauris Baez was promoted to take his place in Double-A NW Arkansas (from Wilmington). No roster move yet for Wilmington as they were on the road on their off day headed to Myrtle Beach.

The Omaha Storm Chasers and Tuscon Padres played a doubleheader. The Padres took Game 1, 3-1. Tuscon scored all three of their runs in the top of the 2nd inning. The inning was capped by a Andy Parrino two-run double. Omaha collected just two hits and Jarrod Dyson drove in the only run on a double in the 3rd inning. Dyson collected both Storm Chaser hits. Jeremy Jeffress started for Omaha and lasted just 2.2 innings. Luis Mendoza pitched 4.1 shutout innings for Omaha.

In Game 2, veteran Jeff Suppan of the Storm Chasers pitched a complete game, despite allowing three runs on six hits (all of Tuscon’s scoring came in the second and third innings). Omaha scored three runs each in the first and second innings, capitalizing on seven walks. David Lough of the Storm Chasers went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the 8-3 win.

Texas Rangers prospect Martin Perez scattered five hits over seven shutout innings as the Frisco Rough Riders defeated the NW Arkansas Naturals 3-0. Naturals starter Will Smith allowed a single run in the first inning and another single run in the 4th on a Robinson Diaz homerun. Nick Francis of the Naturals collected two hits while Salvador Perez’ nine-game hitting streak came to an end.

Busch Stadium via Cougar's player Brian Fletcher on Twitter

The Kane County Cougars and Quad Cities River Bandits played their series finale at Busch Stadium, home to the MLB St. Louis Cardinals (the River Bandits affiliate). Leonel Santiago was impressive for the Cougars, as he allowed just three hits over six shutout innings. The Cougars pounded out 11 hits, but scored just three runs.

It got interesting in the 9th as Cougars reliever Chase Boruff made an error that scored a run to cut the Cougars lead to 3-2 and kept the bases loaded. However Boruff got a ground out to end the game, as he earned his first save. The Cougars made three errors in the game (both River Bandits runs were unearned).

The Omaha Storm Chasers won the slugfest in Colorado Springs 16-11. Omaha scored in every inning but the 5th and 9th while collecting 21 hits. Storm Chasers starter Mike Montgomery struggled through 4.1 innings (and 101 pitches). He allowed 11 runs (eight earned) on nine hits and four walks. The Omaha bullpen pitched 4.2 shutout innings while allowing just three hits. Offensively for Omaha, they had five doubles, three triples, and three homers, including Lorenzo Cain’s grand slam. Cain also hit for the cycle (a first inning homer, a third inning double, a fourth inning single, and a sixth inning triple).

John Lamb put together a very good starting performance for the NW Arkansas Naturals as he allowed just one run on five hits over six innings. His offense collected 14 hits and scored two runs each in the 2nd and 4th innings to give him a nice cushion. Jeff Bianchi collected three hits while Anthony Seratelli, Kurt Mertins, and Nick Van Stratten each had two hits in the 5-1 victory.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks held a comfortable lead of 4-2 heading into the 8th inning. Then the rains came. The intense rain didn’t bother the Potomac Nationals as they scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning off Blue Rocks reliever Justin Marks. When the inning was complete, the umps signaled for the tarp, but the Nationals grounds crew couldn’t get the tarp to cover first base. After a 36 minute delay, the game was called because well, the first base line was flooded. It was a tough loss for the Blue Rocks as starter Tyler Sample allowed just one earned run over 6.2 innings.

The Kane County Cougars had a little over 9,000 fans in attendance to watch the hometown team defeat the Peoria Chiefs 7-3. The Cougars had just five hits but worked 10 walks. The Cougars also stole five bases. Leonel Santiago earned the victory as he allowed just one earned run on four hits over seven innings.

A day after opening Werner Park with a win, the Omaha Storm Chasers split a double-header on Sunday. In their win, Mike Montgomery allowed just two hits and an unearned run in his six innings of work. The Storm Chasers scored two runs in the 4th and two more runs in the 6th inning, as Johnny Giavotella continued his hot-hitting by collecting two hits and two RBIs. Greg Holland pitched a scoreless 7th for the save.

In their loss, starter Vin Mazzaro again struggled with his command (just 55 of his 93 pitches were strikes), though he left the game after five innings with the game tied at 3-3. Nashville scored single runs in the top of the 6th and 7th innings to win 5-3. Eric Hosmer went 3-for-3 in the game, while Clint Robinson and Gregor Blanco each collected two hits a piece for Omaha.

The NW Arkansas Naturals ended their three-game losing streak with a 12-9 victory at Corpus Christi. With the game tied at 4-4, the Naturals posted a six spot in the 7th inning. The Hooks came back to score three runs in the 8th inning off Brandon Sisk and Patrick Keating, but the Naturals scored two more runs in the 9th inning on a Ben Theriot double. Keating worked around a walk in the bottom of the 9th to record his first save of the season.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks swept the double-header against the visiting Potomac Nationals. In the first game, the Blue Rocks won 6-0 behind the great pitching of the piggy-back combination of Noel Arguelles and Michael Mariot. The two combined for 10 strikeouts and just one walk and three hits. Offensively the Blue Rocks got a solo homerun from newcomer Ryan Eigisti in the 3rd inning (which was enough for their great starters).

In Game 2, the Blue Rocks were down quickly, as starter Jake Odorizzi allowed two unearned runs in the first inning. In the second, he allowed two more runs. However the Blue Rocks struck back with a Nick Francis solo homerun in the bottom of the 2nd and a Rey Navarro RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd. In the 4th, the Blue Rocks chased Nationals starter Alex Caldera (a former Blue Rocks). John Whittleman hit a solo homerun and Jose Bonilla walked (Caldera’s day was over). In came the bullpen, who coughed up the lead as the Blue Rocks scored four runs in the inning to lead 6-5. Potomac would score a single run in the 5th to claw to within 6-5, but the Blue Rocks bullpen shut down the Nationals in the final two innings.

Kane County busted out the offense on Sunday to a tune of six runs on 15 hits. Every starter except Yowill Espinal had at least one hit, with Brian Fletcher and Murray Watts collecting three hits a piece. Cougars starter Leonel Santiago allowed just one run (a solo homerun) on three hits while striking out five over six innings. The Cougars defeated the Clinton LumberKings 6-1.