Daily Clips

April 22, 2017

LOCALKarns gives up 4 homers in loss to RangersApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions and Chris Vannini/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225676044/rangers-joey-gallo-robinson-chirinos-hit-hrs/

Two batters foil Karns' outingApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225788280/royals-nathan-karns-ok-after-giving-up-4-hrs/

Bonifacio makes Major League debutApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225693564/royals-jorge-bonifacio-makes-majors-debut/

Prospects Bonifacio, Strahm get called to KCApril 22, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225621636/royals-call-up-jorge-bonifacio-matt-strahm/?topicId=27118382

Kennedy looks to crack win column in TexasApril 22, 2017 By Chris Vannini/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225676850/kennedy-looks-to-crack-win-column-in-texas/?topicId=26688836

Royals lose 6-2 to Rangers as offensive funk continuesApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146137044.html

Unless the Royals lineup starts hitting, new second baseman won’t fix thingsApril 22, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/judging-the-royals/article146157339.html

Seven things to know about new Royals outfielder Jorge BonifacioApril 22, 2017 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article146015869.html

These statistics show why Royals had little choice but to demote Paulo OrlandoApril 22, 2017 By Jesse Newell/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146071254.html

Royals outfielder Jorge Soler homers in his first rehab game for Class AAA OmahaApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146105534.html

Royals recall Matt Strahm, Jorge Bonifacio, and send Orlando, Mondesi to OmahaApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlbkansas-city-royals/article145943589.html

Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday nightApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146112724.html

Kauffman Stadium PA announcer Mike McCartney gives voice to Royals baseballApril 22, 2017 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146056394.html

MINORSSoler Powers Chasers to 3rd Straight Victory, 6-2Rehabbing outfielder provides big blow in Omaha's series-clinching winApril 22, 2017 Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/storm-chasers/news/soler-powers-chasers-to-3rd-straight-victory-6-2/c-225741108/t-196093384

Bonifacio & Strahm Recalled, Soler Begins Rehab

Pair of MLB Promotions & MLB Rehab Assignment among movesApril 22, 2017 Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/storm-chasers/news/bonifacio--strahm-recalled-soler-begins-rehab/c-225634818/t-196093384

The Naturals game against the Tulsa Drillers on April 21st has been postponedNorthwest Arkansas will face Tulsa as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22April 22, 2017 Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/naturals/news/the-naturals-game-against-the-tulsa-drillers-on-april-21-has-been-postponed/c-225657996/t-196093316

Blue Rocks Offense Stymied in LossRocks Held to One Run for Second Straight GameApril 22, 2017 By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rockshttps://www.milb.com/blue-rocks/news/blue-rocks-offense-stymied-in-loss/c-225742994/t-196097164

Fireflies blank Legends; Tebow 3-for-3April 22, 2017 Lexington Legendshttps://www.milb.com/legends/news/fireflies-blank-legends-tebow-3-for-3/c-225789840/t-196097274

MLB TRANSACTIONSApril 22, 2017 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

LOCALKarns gives up 4 homers in loss to RangersApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions and Chris Vannini/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225676044/rangers-joey-gallo-robinson-chirinos-hit-hrs/

A pair of Rangers hit a pair of home runs to back a strong outing from Cole Hamels in a 6-2 win over the Royals on Friday night.

Third baseman Joey Gallo and catcher Robinson Chirinos each blasted two home runs to lead the Rangers offense. Gallo and Chirinos combined for four of the Rangers' six hits.

The Rangers' six runs were more than the four they scored in their previous three games combined. Texas has won two straight after returning home from a 3-6 road trip. The bats grabbed the lead early, and Hamels shut down Kansas City, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings to earn his first win of the season. He struck out three and walked two, lowering his ERA to 2.77.

"Being able to get those first-pitch strikes, I know they're an aggressive team, and they've got a lot of power," Hamels said. "Being able to make sure I kept the momentum on my side, I wanted to get quick outs. We were able to get in a good rhythm. It's always good to see what Chirinos and Gallo did. Man, I wish I could hit balls like that. They definitely put on a show. That was fun."

Kansas City has scored only nine runs in the past six games, but the Royals won three of them thanks to outstanding starting pitching. They didn't get that Friday from Nathan Karns, who gave up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

"I didn't think he was extremely sharp -- he only gave up five hits, but unfortunately four of them were homers," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Homers did him in."

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDGallo gone-o: In the bottom of the second, Gallo hit the longest and hardest-hit home run in the Major Leagues this year, scoring two and giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead. The ball went 462 feet to right field and was 116.1 mph coming off the bat, according to Statcast™. Gallo now has the two hardest-hit home runs this season, the other at 115.6 mph, tied with Giancarlo Stanton.

"He's staying off chase pitches for the most part," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, "using the hands much better, staying on his legs and looking for pitches to drive." More >Hamels holds: Trailing 6-1, the Royals looked to rally with a leadoff walk from Lorenzo Cain in the sixth, but a popout from Eric Hosmer was followed by a 1-4-3 double play started by Hamels off a ball hit by Salvador Perez, quickly ending any threat."I thought we hit some balls good -- we couldn't find any holes, but I just think he pitched well," Yost said of Hamels.

QUOTABLE"I've seen that thing before. In BP, a lot our lefties, we usually hit it over there. The lady working there is always dodging balls in BP. I've seen it." -- Gallo, on the popcorn stand he nearly hit with his 462-foot home run

UPON FURTHER REVIEWIn the seventh inning, the Royals challenged a tag play when Alcides Escobar made an over the shoulder catch and caught Carlos Gomez off first. Gomez was called safe. The play was overturned after a review.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDSThe Royals made only their second error of the season when Cheslor Cuthbert dropped a popup in left field in the seventh inning. No other MLB team has fewer than four errors this season. The Royals did make some flashy defensive plays, though, including shortstop Escobar's exceptionally long throw to first to get Jurickson Profar on a grounder in the eighth.

WHAT'S NEXTRoyals: Kansas City's Ian Kennedy is a hard-luck 0-2, but he has a 2.37 ERA and is coming off a gem in which he threw

eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 against the Angels when he takes the mound at 7:05 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Rangers: A.J. Griffin was set to take the mound for the Rangers, but he was scratched ahead of Friday's game because of inflammation in his left ankle due to gout, and Nick Martinez was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to take his place Saturday at 7:05 p.m. CT. Martinez hasn't pitched for the Rangers this season and is 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA in Round Rock.

Two batters foil Karns' outingApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225788280/royals-nathan-karns-ok-after-giving-up-4-hrs/

Given how stagnant their offense has been for most of 2017, it's not hard to imagine what sort of trouble the Royals would be in if their starting rotation hadn't been so spectacular at the same time. Friday's 6-2 loss against the Rangers didn't leave much to the imagination.

Once again, the Royals couldn't muster much run production; they're still last in the Majors with only 43 runs (2.7 per game). And unlike in recent games when the starting rotation saved the day, Nathan Karns had a subpar outing. He gave up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking three and allowing five hits -- with the bulk of the damage coming on two homers each by Joey Gallo and Robinson Chirinos.

"I felt like every hit I gave up was a homer, and pretty much almost was," Karns said. "I felt fine. Just two hitters in the lineup pretty much got me. That's the name of it today."Chirinos jumped on a first-pitch fastball with two outs in the second inning for the Rangers' first run off Karns. The Royals right-hander walked the next hitter, Jurickson Profar, and then threw a 3-0 fastball that Gallo clobbered 462 feet, the longest homer in the Major Leagues this season, to put the Rangers up 3-1.

Chirinos' second homer was a 3-2 changeup in the fourth, and Gallo lifted a first-pitch curveball high into the second deck in right-center field in the fifth. Later that inning, Mike Napoli had the only other hit off Karns, an RBI single that chased Karns with two outs.

"Two of the homers were first-pitch homers, nothing I can do about that," Karns said. "The other one was 3-0, I probably should have been more aware of [Gallo's] aggressiveness at that time, and then the other one was a full-count changeup low and in.

"Kudos for them for swinging the bat well right now, but I felt all right. I felt like my stuff played all right, it was just unfortunate those hits I gave up were home runs, and that ultimately was the winning factor for them."

Karns' abbreviated appearance was only the second time in 16 games this season that a Royals starter didn't make it out of the fifth inning.

Six runs are a tall order for any offense to overcome, but for the Royals right now it seemed insurmountable. The Royals have scored just nine runs in the past six games, and their team batting average stands at .210. In the first two games of the Rangers series, they had 10 total hits.

By sending Raul Mondesi and Paulo Orlando to Triple-A Omaha, the Royals made two impactful roster moves Friday

in hopes of kick-starting the offense. But newcomer Jorge Bonifacio, making his Major League debut, was 0-for-3, and the Royals' whole lineup was stymied by Rangers starter Cole Hamels, who allowed one earned run in eight innings for his first victory this season.

"I felt like we had some better at-bats -- we're facing an All-Star pitcher in Cole Hamels, who's extremely tough," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I thought our at-bats were much better tonight than they were last night."

Bonifacio makes Major League debutApril 22, 2017 By Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225693564/royals-jorge-bonifacio-makes-majors-debut/

Royals prospect Jorge Bonifacio made his Major League debut Friday in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers. He started in right field and batted eighth on the same day he was called up from Triple-A Omaha in an effort to boost Kansas City's lagging offense.

He got a quick test when Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez lined a shot to right field that Bonifacio caught for the first out of the game for the Royals. Bonifacio went 0-for-3 at the plate.

Bonifacio, 23, is rated as the club's No. 12 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, and has been in the organization since signing in 2009 as a non-drafted free agent. He hit .314 with two doubles, two triples, three homers and 12 RBIs in his 13 games with Omaha this season.

"The thing that he's doing well down there is he's not striking out a bunch -- he's putting the ball in play, which is a good thing," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He had a great spring [last year], a good year in Omaha, he had a great spring this year. He's ready for his opportunity. He's a good player, he's got power, he puts the ball in play, hits the ball to all fields, and he's a solid outfielder."

Bonifacio struck out 130 times in 495 at-bats for Omaha last season while hitting 19 homers and collecting 86 RBIs. This year, he has only struck out eight times in 51 at-bats.

Bonifacio is the younger brother of journeyman utility player Emilio Bonifacio, who plays for the Braves and has played with eight teams in 11 MLB seasons. Emilio, who turns 32 on Sunday, was the first call Jorge made when he got the news of coming to the Majors.

"I was waiting for this time a long time," Jorge said. "I called him last night, and he was, I think, more excited than me. He's older than me, and he knows how it feels … told me, it's the same baseball, just a different level. Play your game and do the best you can."

Prospects Bonifacio, Strahm get called to KCApril 22, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan and Dave Sessions/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225621636/royals-call-up-jorge-bonifacio-matt-strahm/?topicId=27118382

With a continually misfiring offense and a gassed bullpen after a 1-0, 13-inning loss to the Rangers on Thursday, the Royals called up outfielder Jorge Bonifacio on Friday and also recalled left-hander Matt Strahm, who is eligible to come back Friday after being demoted to Triple-A Omaha 10 days ago.

Outfielder Paulo Orlando and second baseman Raul Mondesi were optioned to Omaha in corresponding moves.

"Everybody's struggling right now with the exception of [Lorenzo] Cain," manager Ned Yost said. "We need to try to get some bats in there that are productive."

It is no secret the Royals are searching for offense, having scored nine runs in their past six games. Kansas City is last in the Major Leagues in scoring with 43 runs in 16 games. Bonifacio, 23, was hitting .314 with a .994 OPS at Triple-A Omaha. He has three home runs and 12 RBIs.

Orlando is hitting .149 with a .184 on-base percentage and .149 slugging percentage, and Mondesi is hitting .103/.167/.179. Both have played in 14 games. Mondesi was 0-for-4 Thursday, while Orlando was 0-for-5.

"[Mondesi] was starting to get overwhelmed a little bit, he was putting way too much pressure on himself and you could see it in his face a little bit," Yost said. "Trying to do too much, trying to get off to a great start, and it just kind of avalanched on him. If it's affecting your confidence and you start to get a little defeated, you start to lose confidence, it's time to cut the cord, go back and regain some of that confidence with some success."

As for Orlando, Yost said, "Right now he's just in a severe funk. Fifty percent of the swings and misses were at pitches that weren't in the strike zone. He's just not seeing the ball. If we were swinging the bats, if the middle of the order was being productive, we could work through Paulo here, but we can't."

In four outings for Omaha, Strahm has not given up a run in five innings while striking out seven and not walking a batter. He said he made an adjustment to his delivery that had contributed to his early wildness.

"I was getting my hand out earlier for some reason, I was tapping my glove an extra time when I was lifting my leg," Strahm said. "It was something I wanted to get fixed, and get fixed quick."

The Royals were carrying a seven-man bullpen, but there was a need for an additional arm after the marathon loss to the Rangers on Thursday night taxed the bullpen. Kansas City does not have another off-day until Thursday.

Calling up Bonifacio, the team's No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.com, and Strahm, the team's No. 1 prospect, required tough decisions with regard to the corresponding moves. The Royals had said repeatedly in the past week they are not concerned with Mondesi's offense as long as he continues to play exceptional defense.

• Right-hander Kyle Zimmer, the Royals' No. 9 prospect, left Thursday's game with Omaha after one inning because of what a club officials described as shoulder soreness. The club official indicated the move was precautionary and no further details were available. Zimmer had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer and was pain-free in Spring Training.

Zimmer's velocity was hitting 95-96 mph this season in two starts for Omaha.

• Kansas City also announced that outfielder Jorge Soler, who has been on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain since April 2, will begin a rehab assignment with Omaha on Friday night.

Kennedy looks to crack win column in TexasApril 22, 2017 By Chris Vannini/MLB.comhttp://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/225676850/kennedy-looks-to-crack-win-column-in-texas/?topicId=26688836

Despite a 2.37 ERA over three solid starts, Royals starter Ian Kennedy is 0-2 going into his fourth outing against the Rangers on Saturday. Kennedy got a no-decision in his last start, allowing two hits and two walks over eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts.

Asked what Kennedy is doing well right now, Royals manager Ned Yost responded, "Everything."

"He's throwing strikes, he's changing speeds, he's keeping the ball down -- everything that you would think makes you successful," Yost said. "He's pitched great."

Nick Martinez will pitch for the Rangers for the first time this season after the club placed planned starter A.J. Griffin on the disabled list Friday with left ankle inflammation caused by gout. Martinez was in the bullpen with Texas from April 12-14, but did not appear in a game. At Triple-A Round Rock, he went 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA in two starts this month.

Three things to know about this game

• Rangers reliever Keone Kela retired 12 out of the first 13 batters he faced after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, walking one and striking out five. He was sent to the Minors for disciplinary reasons just before the season began. He threw two scoreless innings in the Rangers' 1-0, 13-inning win over the Royals on Thursday.

• Although the Royals haven't had much offensive production this year, Lorenzo Cain has been a standout. He entered Friday's game seventh in the American League in batting (.340) and has reached base two or more times in 12 games this season.

• The Rangers don't have a single .300 hitter with at least 25 at-bats this season. Five of their nine regulars were below .200 through the first 17 games of the season.

Royals lose 6-2 to Rangers as offensive funk continuesApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146137044.html

The number, in so many ways, was unsustainable. The Royals were due for some regression at some point. Their pitching staff could not keep the ball in the ballpark at this pace, not all season.

In 15 games, the Royals’ pitching staff had allowed just eight home runs. The rotation entered Friday night having not

allowed a ball to fly over the fence in 56 2/3 innings. The pendulum swung hard the other way in a 6-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Globe Life Park.

Nathan Karns was rocked for four homers in 4 2/3 innings, ending a streak of seven straight quality starts from the starting rotation. Pitching just 12 miles or so from Arlington’s James W. Martin High School, his alma mater, Karns served up two blasts apiece to Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos and third baseman Joey Gallo. The onslaught was fatal for a team that cannot find a way to produce runs.

“It was just two hitters in the lineup pretty much got me,” Karns said. “That’s the name of it today.”

For one night, a batch of homers decided the outcome. At the macro level, the problems run deeper. A toothless offense ran into a four-time All-Star in Cole Hamels for the Rangers. The results were predictable, underscoring the missed opportunity on Thursday, when Royals starter Danny Duffy tossed up 7 1/3 scoreless and the Royals lost anyway.

The offense generated just one run against Hamels in eight innings. The Royals have scored just 43 runs in 16 games, their per-game average sliding to 2.69 runs per game. The Royals, 7-9, have produced just six runs in their last 51 innings across five games.

“We’ve just been in a slump as a team,” said center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who collected one of six hits for the Royals on the night. “Things are just not going well right now. We’ve got to keep battling. Keep fighting.”

The offensive funk has acted like a restrictor plate on a rotation that had kept stringing along dominating outings … well, until Friday. Before Karns surrendered six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, the starting unit had allowed just three earned runs in 49 innings across its previous seven starts. The Royals were just 5-2 during the stretch.

Karns finished with six strikeouts while throwing 100 pitches on Friday. He was not quite efficient, yet his performance came down to four pitches. Chirinos jumped a first-pitch fastball with two outs in the bottom of the second. After issuing a walk to Jurickson Profar, Karns started 3-0 against Gallo. The next pitch was supposed to be down and away, Karns said. He left it toward the middle of the plate. Gallo hammered a two-run shot onto a concourse in right field.

“I need to throw a strike,” Karns said. “I’m trying to work down and away to Gallo. It just kind of missed and got more of the plate than I wanted. And he’s aggressive on 3-0. Kudos to him.”

Chirinos would club a change-up out to center field in the fourth. Gallo punished a breaking ball that stayed up in the fifth.

“He only gave up five hits,” Yost said of Karns. “But unfortunately four of them were homers.”

One night after a 1-0 loss in 13 innings, the offensive lull for the Royals sparked frustration inside the clubhouse and urgency in the front office. On Friday morning, the Royals sought to provide a few volts of energy by sending two struggling players, Raul Mondesi and Paulo Orlando, to Class AAA Omaha. So out went two players struggling mightily at the plate, and in came outfield prospect Jorge Bonifacio and reliever Matt Strahm.

In his major-league debut, Bonifacio started in right field and finished 0 for 3. The heart of the struggles resides a few spots higher in the batting order. First baseman Eric Hosmer, the Royals’ cleanup hitter, finished 1 for 4, his only hit coming on a dribbler past the pitcher in the ninth, his batting average settling at .197. Beset by a career-high ground-ball rate, pressing to make something happen, Hosmer entered Friday with just two extra-base hits in 63 plate appearances. His slugging percentage (.263) was 163 points below his career average.

Sitting inside his office after the loss, Yost said Hosmer has pressed “at times” this season. But his at-bats were better on Friday, he said.

“I thought he looked more relaxed, had a better approach,” Yost said. “I thought he looked better.”

Hosmer is not the only guilty party, of course. Alex Gordon went hitless again on Friday. Cheslor Cuthbert, making a spot start at third, has failed to settle in. As a group, the Royals have struggled mightily with runners in scoring position, hitting just .147 (16 for 109). With runners in scoring position and two outs, they are even worse, collecting 4 hits in 47 opportunities (.085).

“I felt like we had some better at-bats,” Yost said. “We’re facing an All-Star pitcher in Cole Hamels who is extremely tough.”

For now, the Royals are waiting for the fever to break. Since returning from the minors on Tuesday, Whit Merrifield has offered a lift. He finished with two more hits on Friday and scored Hosmer with an RBI single in the ninth.

Before that, the only run on Friday came when Gordon was hit by a pitch in the top of the first and Cain roped a double into the right-center gap. For Gordon, it was his 78th career hit-by-pitch, which tied former Royals catcher Mike Macfarlane for the franchise record. For Cain, it was another hit during a blazing start. In 16 games, he is batting .339 and has drawn 13 walks. All season, he has scored just five runs.

After a second loss in two nights, it’s clear that Cain needs some help.

“We all know we can play a lot better than what we’ve shown as of late,” Cain said. “But once everybody get going, get rolling, swinging the bats like we know how, it’ll be just fine. I think it’s just a matter of time.”

Unless the Royals lineup starts hitting, new second baseman won’t fix thingsApril 22, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/judging-the-royals/article146157339.html

The problem was and is the rest of the lineup.

In basketball one guy can make a difference; put LeBron James on just about any NBA team and that team will probably be competitive. You can keep the ball in LeBron’s hands as much as possible and when he isn’t scoring he can serve as a distraction while his teammates do.

Doesn’t work that way in baseball; one guy does not make or break a team.

A great starting pitcher only gets to throw once every five days, a great reliever only makes a difference if his teammates hand him a lead, a great hitter only gets four, maybe five trips to the plate and a great defender doesn’t matter unless a ball is hit in his direction.

So if Mondesi wasn’t the problem, why send him to Omaha?

If the original game plan was to let Mondesi fly under the radar and get comfortable while his teammates took the heat off him, the original game plan didn’t work. His teammates have not performed up to expectations, so Mondesi’s offense became an issue.

And you can only let a young player take so much of a beating before his confidence is shot.

So Mondesi is in Omaha and for a while some combination of Merrifield, Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert will play second base. None of them have Mondesi’s range or arm so they’ll need to hit to make up the difference.

But unless the rest of the lineup starts hitting, a different second baseman won’t fix things.

Cheslor Cuthbert’s missed pop up

I can’t remember what season it was, but one night Alex Gordon missed a low line drive hit in his direction. The next day I found outfield coach Rusty Kuntz and asked if Gordon had been blinded by the lights (which, by the way, sounds like a pretty good title for a pop song).

Rusty said maybe I ought to assume that when a big league ballplayer whiffs on a catchable ball there’s a reason.

I’m not in Texas so I can’t ask why, but Friday night Cheslor Cuthbert whiffed on a high pop up in the seventh inning.

So I’m following Rusty’s advice and guessing the wind was blowing pretty good about then – a storm came in before the game was over – and that had something to do with Cuthbert’s missing the ball.

Generally speaking, big league ballplayers do not completely miss catchable pop flies.

Why Rusty Kuntz almost got drilled by a foul ball

Let’s say you’re a first base coach and a hitter sends a screaming line drive your way. If the screaming line drive is just to your right, your instinct will be to move to your left.

But line drives tend to hook and that move to your left will put you right in the ball’s path; it feels like a guided missile that has your name on it.

So on Friday night when a foul line drive was hit in Rusty Kuntz’ direction he almost moved into it and at the last split-second dropped to the ground to avoid getting nailed.

Rusty loves to talk baseball and I’ve learned a lot from him. So if he gets whacked in the coconut, I’m the one who will get dumber.

Rusty, next time go right.

Seven things to know about new Royals outfielder Jorge BonifacioApril 22, 2017 By Pete Grathoff/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article146015869.html

anager Ned Yost didn’t know it at the time, but he sort of predicted that outfielder Jorge Bonifacio would be recalled by the Royals.

Talking with media members at spring training in Surprise, Ariz., Yost raved about Bonifacio’s play.

“He’s a kid that has progressed well,” Yost said. “Is he a guy who could play in the big leagues right now? Absolutely. He just needs opportunity. It’s nice to have guys like that that we feel if something happened, we’re well-covered.”

Well, something has happened. The Royals’ offense is in a funk and needs a kick-start. On Friday, the Royals recalled Bonifacio from Class AAA Omaha (along with left-hander Matt Strahm). Bonifacio is a 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic who is 6 foot 1 and 220 pounds.

Here are seven things to know about Bonifacio, who could make his major-league debut as early as Friday night.

▪ Brian Poldberg, Bonifacio’s manager at Class AAA Omaha, told the Omaha World-Herald last year that Bonifacio could be in a category with Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Paulo Orlando when it comes to defensive ability. And he can play anywhere in the outfield, depending on the need.

“He’s going to open a door for himself with how he plays,” Poldberg told the World-Herald. “He’s a big kid and moves well. He’s everywhere out there.”

Bonifacio had 17 outfield assists while playing for Omaha last season.

▪ Bonifacio was named the Storm Chasers Player of the Year by Omaha media members last year after leading the team in total bases (228), walks (51), home runs (19), RBIs (86), runs (82) and hits (137).

▪ At last year’s Futures Game, Bonifacio walked twice in his two plate appearances.

▪ Bonifacio is the younger brother of Emilio Bonifacio, who played for the Royals in 2013. Emilio is in his 11th big-league season and is playing for the Atlanta Braves. “I want to be better than my brother,” Jorge Bonifacio told the Daily Herald in 2012.

▪ In spring training this year, Bonifacio hit .417 (12 for 29) with three home runs and seven RBIs. He had a 1.261 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

▪ In 2011, when he was 17, Bonifacio was picked by Baseball America as one of the top 20 prospects in the Latin American Summer Leagues after batting .335 with a .429 on-base percentage and 28 RBIs in 48 games. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009.

▪ Bonifacio suffered a broken hamate bone in 2013, which limited him to 87 games. In the final five weeks of that season, Bonifacio batted .301 with a .371 on-base percentage.

These statistics show why Royals had little choice but to demote Paulo OrlandoApril 22, 2017 By Jesse Newell/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146071254.html

Paulo Orlando was sent to Class AAA Omaha on Friday, a move that appears necessary given recent troubling changes to the outfielder’s hitting profile.

You’ll hear a lot of talk this time of year about small sample size, and for good reason. We’re only about 10 percent into the season, meaning many stats still need more time to be considered reliable.

Having said that, one of the quickest stats to stabilize for hitters is contact rate, as each plate appearance can provide multiple data points on whether a player is swinging and missing or not.

For Orlando, these numbers have cratered so far in 2017.

Paulo Orlando contact ratesIn-zone contact% Out of zone contact %2016 87.0 62.12017 82.4 37.2

The most stark change has been Orlando’s inability to hit (or even foul off) pitches outside the strike zone. It’s led to an unmanageable offensive profile.

Swinging strike rate measures swings and misses per pitch seen. Since 2002 (when the data started being measured), here are the worst swinging strike rates among 2,449 qualified players.

The sample is tiny in 2017, so it makes sense that a lot of this year’s players on the list. Still, Orlando ranking second is obviously not a good sign, especially considering his overall offensive profile.

Some other guys above have made a swing-and-miss style work for them. The best example is 2012 Josh Hamilton, who hit 41 percent better than league average according to weighted runs created plus (a stat where 100 is average) because of his immense power.

Orlando, obviously, is not this type of player. He’s the only person on this list (besides Byron Buxton, who also is having stories written about whether he will be demoted) with a slugging percentage below .300, perhaps illustrating that low contact and low power players don’t often stick in the majors for long.

It’s not too late for Orlando. There’s still time to improve these numbers in Omaha and get back to the type of production he had last year.

We shouldn’t be surprised, though, that he was sent down Friday. MLB players with low contact rates can survive if

they have power, while high contact guys can do OK without pop.

Succeeding without both, however, has proven to be a rare formula for success.

Royals outfielder Jorge Soler homers in his first rehab game for Class AAA OmahaApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146105534.html

Royals outfielder Jorge Soler progressed one step closer to making his 2017 debut on Friday, clubbing a three-run homer in his first night on a rehab assignment for Class AAA Omaha.

Soler, who is recovering from a strained oblique muscle, drove from Arlington to Round Rock, Texas, on Friday morning, meeting up with the Storm Chasers before a night game at Class AAA Round Rock, a Rangers affiliate.

The homer came in the top of the fourth. Soler flied out in his first at-bat.

Soler sustained a Grade 1 oblique strain in a minor-league game on March 26, in the last week of spring training before the regular season.

Acquired at the Winter Meetings in a trade that sent Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs, Soler was expected to begin the season as the Royals’ starting right fielder. The club has exercised caution during a steady rehab.

Soler, 25, is under club control for the next four seasons. A former top prospect, he batted .258 with a .328 on-base percentage and 27 homers in 765 plate appearances for the Cubs from 2014 to 2016. He helped the Cubs win a World Series last fall, picking up his ring earlier this week. But his tenure in Chicago was marked by injury issues.

The Royals will exercise more caution as Soler begins his rehab stint. Yet the club could use more production in right field. The team optioned slumping outfielder Paulo Orlando to Omaha on Friday, replacing him with 23-year-old prospect Jorge Bonifacio.

Royals recall Matt Strahm, Jorge Bonifacio, and send Orlando, Mondesi to OmahaApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlbkansas-city-royals/article145943589.html

For days, the Royals stressed patience with second baseball Raul Mondesi. He was not the root problem for a struggling offense, Ned Yost said. He was here to play defense and develop at the major-league level.

The argument was convincing, yet it crumbled as Mondesi continued to flail away at the plate. By early Friday morning, the Royals could afford to practice patience no longer.

The club optioned Mondesi to Class AAA Omaha as part of a series of roster moves. They also sent scuffling outfielder Paulo Orlando to Omaha, while recalling outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and reliever Matt Strahm.

“He was starting to get overwhelmed a little bit,” Yost said. “He was putting way too much pressure on himself. You could see it in his face a little bit.”

Mondesi had gone 0 for 15 in his last five games. His batting average had sank to .103. Along with Orlando, he ranked in the bottom seven in the American League in Weighted Runs Created Plus, an advanced metric that measures total offense, according to FanGraphs.com.

The decision came just days after Yost playfully scoffed at those concerned about Mondesi’s offensive production.

“For us to sit here and overanalyze Mondesi, his batting average,” Yost said, “it’s ridiculous.”

But the organizational view began to shift as the Royals’ offense continued its anemic start and Mondesi began to beat himself up mentally.

“We go with guys until they start to get overwhelmed,” Yost said. “And then it’s time to let them go back and hit reset. He was getting overwhelmed.”

The moves come after a 7-8 start defined by elite starting pitching and quiet offense. They also illustrate a sense of urgency at the major-league level. The Royals sought to develop Mondesi, a 21-year-old second baseman, in the big leagues after he won a starting job in spring training. But after a 1-0 loss to the Rangers on Thursday, he was batting .103 and had struck out 16 times in 39 at-bats.

The search for more offense also served as the catalyst for Orlando’s return trip to Omaha. Orlando batted .302 with a .329 on-base percentage in 128 games last season. But he opened the 2017 season with just seven hits in his first 47 at-bats. The Royals also cited declining contact rates for the demotion, especially at pitches outside the strike zone.

“He was just struggling,” Yost said. “He’s a big part of our offense. He hit .300 for us. But right now, he’s just in a severe funk.

“Fifty percent of his swings and misses weren’t even at pitches that were in the strike zone. He’s not seeing the ball.”

Searching for production in right field, the Royals tapped Bonifacio, a right-handed hitter who started in right and made his major-league debut on Friday night.

Bonifacio, 23, was batting .314 with a .608 slugging percentage in 13 games at Omaha. He hit three homers while recording two triples and two doubles. He has also limited his strikeouts, Yost said.

Bonifacio positioned himself as a possible next man up after a strong spring training, backing up a solid offensive season at Omaha in 2016.

“If we were swinging the bats, if the middle of the order was being productive, we could work through Paulo here,” Yost said. “But we can’t.”

The Royals originally signed Bonifacio, a native of the Domincan Republic, as an international free agent on Dec. 9,

2009. His older brother Emilio played 42 games for Kansas City in 2013. The Bonifacios become the third set of brothers to play for the franchise, joining George and Ken Brett and Tony Pena Jr. and Francisco Pena.

“I called him last night,” Bonifacio said of his brother. “He was, I think, more excited than me. Because he’s knows how that feels. He’s excited that I’m here. I get into the big leagues; I got a call up.”

Bonifacio will likely slot into regular playing time in right field, while Whit Merrifield could see additional time at second. Merrifield could also log starts in the outfield, Yost said, while Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert handle second base. For now, Merrifield or Alex Gordon will project as the club’s backup center fielder behind Lorenzo Cain.

The other roster addition was Strahm, who was eligible to return after an early-season demotion April 11. He threw five scoreless innings in four appearances for Omaha. He offered a taxed bullpen an eighth arm.

Strahm said he worked on a mechanical adjustment after pitching coach Dave Eiland detected a “glove tap” during his delivery that was causing his arm to be late. Strahm issued zero walks during his stint at Omaha.

“It was something I wanted to get fixed and get fixed quick,” Strahm said. “Dave helped me right before I went down.”

Alex Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday nightApril 22, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146112724.html

Alex Gordon is one errant pitch away from being able to take claim as the toughest player in Royals history.

Well, sort of.

Gordon was hit by a pitch for the 78th time in his career on Friday night, tying catcher Mike Macfarlane for the franchise record. The record-tying pitch came from the left arm of Rangers starter Cole Hamels. Gordon later scored on a double from Lorenzo Cain as the Royals took a 1-0 lead.

Macfarlane, a catcher, played 980 career games for the Royals across 11 seasons. He was also hit 19 times as a member of the Boston Red Sox and Oakland A’s.

Gordons’ 78th hit by pitch came in his 1,280th career game for the Royals.

Kauffman Stadium PA announcer Mike McCartney gives voice to Royals baseballApril 22, 2017 By Maria Torres/KC Starhttp://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article146056394.html

Most Royals fans would not be able to pick Mike McCartney out of a lineup.

He does not act in TV commercials. He does not get air time on Crown Vision during ballgames.

But if they were to hear his voice, that would be another matter. Kauffman Stadium visitors, used to relishing the baritone introducing “Yourrrrr Kansas City Royals,” would identify McCartney in no time at all.

McCartney is the Royals’ public-address announcer, the man in charge of calling players to the plate and reading tributes like the one the Royals did at their home opener on April 10 for pitcher Yordano Ventura, who died in a January car crash.

McCartney’s voice has rung throughout the corridors of the Royals’ ballpark going on 14 straight years now. He hasn’t missed a single home game in that span, not even after he spent the 2012 offseason being treated for prostate cancer. That’s 1,076 games since the 2004 season, for those counting at home (his streak is actually longer, but more on that later).

For now — and forever, if he’s honest — McCartney is OK knowing he’s a relative nobody outside the Truman Sports Complex. Sometimes he’ll be asked at the grocery store if he has heard that he sounds like the Royals’ announcer, but that’s about as close as he gets to being recognized in public.

McCartney wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This is what’s going on here,” he said on a Sunday in mid-April, gesturing at the Royals on the field from his fourth-floor, walk-in-closet-sized booth above the stadium’s 200 level. “Everyone’s back is turned to me. … You don’t want them thinking anything. You don’t want them thinking about you.”

The Royals are playing their 45th season at Kauffman Stadium. McCartney, on the brink of 57, has been around the booth here nearly 20 years.

It might take a while longer for his name to became as synonymous with the stadium as Jack Layton’s did when he was the Royals’ announcer from 1969 until he died after the 1985 World Series. Layton worked for the old Kansas City Athletics, too, so it’s hard to replace him in Royals folklore.

That’s not what McCartney set out to do when he took the job anyway.

“I can still remember hearing his voice as a kid,” McCartney said of Layton. “He was there every game. It’s just one of those sounds that sticks in your head, and you don’t ever forget it. … My only throwback to Layton is in the group-welcome script: ‘It’s grrrrreat to have you with us.’ ”

McCartney backed up former PA announcer Dan Hurst for three years, then took over the gig in 2000 when Hurst got into hot water for refusing to Americanize Latin names like Carlos Febles and Carlos Beltran.

“It was very clear he had the talent to be really good,” said Hurst, who is bilingual and grew up in Honduras. “He was good at it from the beginning. He’s made a name for himself as one of the better stadium announcers in the nation.”

Hurst and his Latin flair returned briefly to the Royals’ PA booth for the 2003 season. McCartney had been fired in 2002, just two years after landing the starting gig, when then-Royals vice president of marketing Charlie Seraphin brought

Chuck Morgan with him from the Texas Rangers. Morgan left after a year.

If a door had existed in the PA booth in the early 2000s — there isn’t one now, either, which is a running joke between the PA crew (a director and DJ Bobby Keys and the scoreboard operators in the split-level space beside the booth) — it would’ve been a revolving one.

But since McCartney retook the reins in 2004, the person behind the announcer’s switch has been a permanent fixture at The K.

He announced all 162 home games from 2000 to 2001. So McCartney’s personal streak of games worked actually stands at 1,238 straight.

By the end of this season, that number should be around 1,311.

“I have a backup,” McCartney said. “He doesn’t work much.”

You could say McCartney was bred for this job.

He grew up in Overland Park, graduating from Shawnee Mission South in 1978 before spending some time at Johnson County Community College. He has been a KC baseball fan as long as he can remember, back when the A’s played at old Municipal Stadium through 1967 and then when Kansas City was granted the Royals as an expansion team four years before Kauffman Stadium — then called Royals Stadium — opened for the 1973 season.

Back then, he thought he wanted to be a play-by-play announcer, like the guys he listened to every night in his bedroom via signals from stations as far away as Detroit and Texas. His voice had always been deep, even when he was a kid, and he’d spent plenty of time playing ball with neighbors and calling their games.

But after high school, he ended up taking odd jobs selling industrial parts or delivering water bottles off a beverage truck. Radio wasn’t on the table.

In fact, McCartney was unemployed when he stumbled into the industry one night at a tavern in Pittsburg, Kan. As they listed to music being played by a local radio station, a friend goaded the jobless McCartney into asking the station’s program director for an interview.

“That’s when the radio bug bit me,” he said.

McCartney went on to work for KKOW-AM and stations in Topeka and Fayetteville, Ark., before returning to Kansas City, where he got his start at KCMO doing the midday show in 1990. He stayed there almost 12 years, then worked a short stint at WHB from 2003 to 2005.

Somewhere along the way, McCartney realized he could sell his voice beyond radio. He announced greyhound races at The Woodlands racetrack in Kansas City, Kan., through most of the ’90s — you’ll hear him calling the hot dog races at Kauffman now, asking for “final wagers, please” — and did voiceover work all over the city.

These days, McCartney also works UMKC basketball games, the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament and some NAIA tournaments.

Unlike the Royals, McCartney doesn’t have an offseason.

“It didn’t even cross my mind that radio was an opportunity,” he said. “I thought I’d find some sales job, settle in and live happily ever after. The radio was a complete 180 that changed everything.”

McCartney’s philosophy on announcing is simple:

“(Royals broadcaster) Rex Hudler is a personality. I don’t want to be that, but I don’t want to be a dud, either. You still have to have your own voice without being an out-front personality.”

On July 30, 2014, The Star published this letter to the editor headlined “The Royals voice”:

In the letters section, there are a few frequent absolutes. One includes viewpoints on Kansas City Royals commentator Rex Hudler.

Permit me to turn the tables in order to comment on someone I think most people will agree is outstanding — Kauffman Stadium’s public address announcer, Mike McCartney. He has been the sterling voice of the “K” for 15 years, and you also hear him on countless commercials in the area.

He really is a great announcer. So instead of grumbling about Rex at home, why not actually go to the stadium and listen to Mike instead?

—Ken Corum, Kansas City

Kansas City baseball fans can probably agree on one thing: Mike McCartney is not a dud.

MINORSSoler Powers Chasers to 3rd Straight Victory, 6-2Rehabbing outfielder provides big blow in Omaha's series-clinching winApril 22, 2017 Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/storm-chasers/news/soler-powers-chasers-to-3rd-straight-victory-6-2/c-225741108/t-196093384

Jorge Soler made his Omaha debut a memorable one. The Royals outfielder returned from injury with a 3-run blast, leading the Storm Chasers to a 6-2 triumph on Friday night at Dell Diamond.

Round Rock scored first for the 3rd consecutive game, as Drew Robinson scored, and Cesar Puello grounded out to bring him home.

Jon Dziedzic flirted with danger in each of the first 3 innings, stranding runners in scoring position in the 2nd and 3rd, and keeping Omaha within a run.

Soler turned it around in the top of the 4th. In his first rehab game with the Storm Chasers, Soler followed singles by Billy Burns and Ramon Torres with a long, loud 3-run homer to left field, giving the Chasers a 3-1 lead.

Soler played the first 6 innings, as planned, and went 2 for 3 with a home run and a single.

Peter O'Brien kept the lead intact in the bottom of the 5th; with 2 outs and a runner at 2nd, Doug Bernier singled to left field, but O'Brien threw out Drew Robinson at the plate to end the inning.

Allen Webster (L, 0-2) worked 5.1 innings for Round Rock, yielding 3 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 2 and walked 1.

Dziedzic (W, 3-1) settled in and pitched 7.1 strong frames (his longest Triple-A outing), scattering 7 hits and allowing just the single run. He issued no walks, and fanned 7.

Kevin McCarthy recorded the last 2 outs of the 8th inning, stranding 2 runners in the process. Ryan O'Hearn then gave the Chasers a bit more cushioning with a solo homer in the top of the 9th (his 4th of the year). Cam Gallagher followed with a double, and Dean Anna singled to drive him home; after back-to-back walks, Round Rock reliever Jaye Chapman balked home Anna, making it 6-1.

Eric Stout closed out the game despite yielding a meaningless run in the bottom of the 9th, sending Omaha to their 3rd consecutive win, and their 9th in their last 12. The Chasers also moved a season-high 3 games above .500 (9-6).

The Chasers begin a new road series in New Orleans tomorrow night. LHP Eric Skoglund (1-0, 2.77) takes the mound for Omaha, while New Orleans' starter has not been announced. First pitch will be at 6:00.

Bonifacio & Strahm Recalled, Soler Begins RehabPair of MLB Promotions & MLB Rehab Assignment among movesApril 22, 2017 Omaha Storm Chasershttps://www.milb.com/storm-chasers/news/bonifacio--strahm-recalled-soler-begins-rehab/c-225634818/t-196093384

The Kansas City Royals announced a series of transactions on Friday that affects their Triple-A affiliate Omaha Storm Chasers roster prior to this evening's series-ending road matchup against the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond. Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and left-handed reliever Matt Strahm have been recalled to Kansas City, while Royals outfielder Jorge Soler has joined the Storm Chasers on a Major League Rehab Assignment.

The Kansas City Royals announced a series of transactions on Friday that affects their Triple-A affiliate Omaha Storm Chasers roster prior to this evening's series-ending road matchup against the Round Rock Express at Dell Diamond.

Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio has been recalled by the Royals. He would make his Major League debut when he first appears in a game and would become the 38th Storm Chasers player to begin his Big League career with Kansas City since the start of the 2011 season. In 13 games this year with Omaha, the 23-year-old posted a .314 average (16-51) with six runs, two doubles, two triples, three homers and 12 RBI. His 12 RBI at the time of his promotion leads the club.

Over 134 contests in 2016 with the Storm Chasers he compiled a .277 mark (137-495), adding 82 runs, 22 doubles,

six triples, 19 homers and 86 RBI. Those 86 runs driven in ranked him fifth in the Pacific Coast League, in addition to finishing second among Royals farmhands in that category, as well as fourth in longballs. He was signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent on December 9, 2009.

In addition, left-handed reliever Matt Strahm has been recalled to Kansas City. In four appearances with the Storm Chasers after being optioned to Omaha on April 11, Strahm yielded just two hits over five scoreless innings, adding seven strikeouts. He began 2017 with the Royals, compiling an 0-2 record and 47.25 ERA (7 ER/1.1 IP) in three relief outings.

The Royals have also announced outfielder Jorge Soler has joined the Storm Chasers on a Major League Rehab Assignment. The 25-year-old has not played in a Major League regular season contest this season after suffering a strained oblique during Spring Training.

Soler was acquired by Kansas City via a December 6, 2016 trade from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-hander Wade Davis. The outfielder participated in 211 contests with the Cubs between the 2014-16 seasons, combining for a .258 average (176-682) with 87 runs, 35 doubles, two triples, 27 homers and 98 RBI. He helped lead the Cubs to the 2016 World Series title, and was signed by Chicago as a non-drafted free agent on June 30, 2012 out of Cuba.

Kansas City has also announced right-handed pitcher Mark Peterson has been transferred to Omaha from Single-A Idaho Falls. The 26-year-old has not allowed a run in 3.2 innings of work over three appearances with the Storm Chasers this season, adding two punchouts.

As a result of these roster moves, Omaha's active roster now stands at 24, in addition to four on the Disabled List, and Soler on his Major League Rehab Assignment.

The Storm Chasers wrap up their four-game road series this evening in Round Rock, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT. Omaha is anticipated to send the reigning PCL Pitcher of the Week in LHP Jonathan Dziedzic (2-1, 1.04) to the hill, with the Express slated to give the ball to RHP Allen Webster (0-1, 10.45).

Following their road trip to Round Rock and New Orleans, the Storm Chasers return home to Werner Park on Thursday, April 27 to start a nine-game homestand. Their series opener in Omaha versus the Oklahoma City Dodgers is set for a 6:35 p.m. start time at Werner Park that evening.

The Naturals game against the Tulsa Drillers on April 21st has been postponedNorthwest Arkansas will face Tulsa as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22April 22, 2017 Northwest Arkansas Naturalshttps://www.milb.com/naturals/news/the-naturals-game-against-the-tulsa-drillers-on-april-21-has-been-postponed/c-225657996/t-196093316

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals game against the Tulsa Drillers, the Double-A Los Angeles Dodgers, has been postponed tonight - Friday, April 21 - due to consistent rain at Arvest Ballpark that will last through the evening hours.

Tonight's game has been rescheduled as part of a twi-night, same admission doubleheader to be held on Saturday, April 22. The teams will play two seven-inning contests with Game 1 beginning at 4:35 p.m. with a 30 minute intermission between the end of Game 1 and the beginning of Game 2. Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. and any ticket for Saturday is good for both games

All tickets from Friday, April 21 are eligible, per the Naturals' official weather policy, to be exchanged in-person at the Arvest Ballpark Box Office for a ticket of equal value, based on availability, to any regular season home game during the remainder of the 2017 season. Tickets for April 21 will not be valid for Saturday unless exchanged at the box office for a ticket to April 22.

Saturday, April 22 features a Season 10 Soft Cotton T-shirt Giveaway by OzarksGo and the giveaway will be available to fans when gates open at 4:00 p.m. The Bullpen Craft Beer Bar Saturday Night Happy Hour will take place from 4:00 p.m. until 5:35 p.m. where all alcoholic beverages are half off at the Bullpen Craft Beer Bar. In addition, the special appearance by Nickelodeon's Shimmer and Shine has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 22 so fans will have the opportunity to interact and pose for pictures with the popular Nickelodeon characters at TBD times on the concourse.

The Season 10 Team announcement scheduled for pregame on April 21 will now be announced on Saturday, May 6 while the post-game Fireworks Spectacular is rescheduled for Saturday, May 27 as part of the Memorial Day weekend festivities.

You can catch all the live play-by-play action from both games of the doubleheader with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on AM 1590 - The Ticket 2 at 4:15 p.m. for our Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch of Game 1.

Blue Rocks Offense Stymied in LossRocks Held to One Run for Second Straight GameApril 22, 2017 By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rockshttps://www.milb.com/blue-rocks/news/blue-rocks-offense-stymied-in-loss/c-225742994/t-196097164

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (6-9) offense was held in check in a 4-1 loss to the Winston-Salem Dash (5-11) at Frawley Stadium on Friday night. The Blue Crew had just four hits in the contest and have scored two runs through the first two games of the series. Elier Hernandez paced the offense with a pair of hits.

The game started as another pitching duel between Rocks starter Cristian Castillo and Dash starter Tanner Banks through the first five innings. The Dash were able to score on their first look at Castillo. Danny Mendick tripled with one out and Zack Collins scored him on a RBI groundout to give the Dash a 1-0 lead.

The Rocks tied it in the third inning. D.J. Burt led the inning with a walk and Hernandez singled to put runners at the corners with no out. Anderson Miller grounded out to third to score Burt to tie the game at 1-1. Both offenses were held in check in the fourth and fifth innings before Winston-Salem

chased Castillo out of the game in the sixth. With two runners on and two outs, Aaron Schnurbusch doubled down the right field line to score two runs and give the Dash their second lead of the game, 3-1. In the seventh inning, Luis Basabe cranked a solo homer over the right field wall to pad the Dash lead, 4-1.

Wilmington returns to Frawley Stadium on Saturday, April 22 and take on Winston-Salem in the third game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with LHP Foster Griffin (1-1, 6.57 ERA) on the hill for the Blue Rocks while the Dash call upon RHP Zach Thompson (1-1, 2.77 ERA). Fans can listen to the game as Matt Janus and Cory Nidoh will have the call on 89.7 WGLS-FM.

Pebbles of Knowledge

It was the second straight night the Rocks scored just one run and the first time their offense has been held to single tallies in back-to-back games this year. Their previous lowest run total was two back on Monday, April 17 at Salem. In games that Wilmington scores three runs or less, they are 3-5 on the season. It was just the fourth game this season that wasn't decided by a single run. In such games, Wilmington is 2-2.

With two more hits, Hernandez has now boosted his batting average to .246 after starting the season 2-for-26 with eight strikeouts. In his last ten games, he is hitting .300 (12-for-40) with two doubles, a triple and home run. He is tied for first on the team with nine RBI. Hernandez has put together three consecutive multi-hit efforts.

The Rocks continue to struggle producing with runners in scoring position. In the loss Friday night, the Blue Crew went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. In the game against the Dash, the lone run came with a runner at third base on a RBI groundout from Anderson Miller. On the season, the Rocks are hitting just .195 in that situation.

Miller had his modest five-game hitting streak snapped in Friday's loss, but managed to draw a walk in his first at-bat to extend his on-base streak to seven games. The seven-gamer currently stands as the longest-active streak by a Blue Rocks hitter. The season-high of 13 straight games set by both D.J. Burt and Roman Collins, came to an end in last night's 1-0 victory over Winston-Salem.

They Said It: Jamie Quirk

"Well I figured we were going to have trouble tonight. Banks is now 3-0 and he has three of their five wins. I knew his numbers were good and figured we would have a low scoring game. I thought (Cristian) Castillo did a good job. He pitched in traffic all night, but the one pitch to the lefty got down the line and hurt us, obviously, but he hung in there. It was a 1-1 game at the time and that kind of broke our backs a bit. We were having trouble with Banks and the lefties in their bullpen shut us down. Other than that, if the offense could have mustered up something I think we could have put a run on them."

"It is concerning. We didn't have a lot of chances and haven't hit well with runners in scoring position. We need to fix that and get guys to relax and they need to be able to put the ball in play and do their job. I think some of them have been pressing, maybe too much. The offense is a little concerning, you hope to get two or three guys hot at the same time and we just haven't had that. I give credit to Banks, he pitched a good game. He was in the league last year and he's taken

advantage of that experience. He pitched inside a lot, cut us hard in and soft away and we fell into the trap."

"Well (Hernandez) has stayed positive. He did get off to a bad start, but some of those hard hit balls could have been hits early on. Everything in this game is predicated on batting average but he kept going at it and got hot in Salem. He had two hits tonight and had two last night. He's starting to swing well in the number three spot. He keeps working hard, (Abraham) Nunez had him earlier today hitting and it's starting to show."

Elier Hernandez

"I'm working in the cage with (Abraham) Nunez. I'm working on the timing, the process and the mental aspect of hitting. It's going well." I'm in the process of getting where I want to be. I'm seeing the ball well, hitting the ball well and it's the start of the season. I would've like a couple of hits leading up to now, but everything is going well."

"I know the field, the fans and I know we play in a big field. I don't try to hit home runs here. Instead I try to hit line drives, doubles and focus on that."

Fireflies blank Legends; Tebow 3-for-3April 22, 2017 Lexington Legendshttps://www.milb.com/legends/news/fireflies-blank-legends-tebow-3-for-3/c-225789840/t-196097274

Columbia starter Merandy Gonzalez and reliever Taylor Henry teamed up for a four-hit shutout, and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow had three hits in three at bats as the Columbia Fireflies blanked the Lexington Legends 5-0 Friday night in Columbia.

Columbia jumped on top with three runs in the third inning. With one out and Gene Cone on at first base, Luis Carpio singled, sending Cone to third. Both runners scored on a double by Michael Paez. Paez went to third on a ground out and scored on a single by Jose Medina.

The Fireflies added a run in the fifth on a triple by Paez and a ground out by Dash Winningham. They scored their final run in the eighth on when Desmond Lindsay doubled, moved to third on a single by Tebow and scored when Milton Ramos grounded into a double play.

Gonzalez (3-0) allowed three hits in seven innings and picked up the win. He has not given up a run in 20 and two-thirds innings this season.

Lexington starter Nolan Watson (0-3) was the losing pitcher.

The series is even at one win apiece and continues Saturday. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

MLB TRANSACTIONSApril 22, 2017 •.CBSSports.comhttp://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Chicago

White SoxCharlie Tilson

Transferred to 60-Day

DL, (Stress reaction,

right foot)

Chicago

White SoxMike Pelfrey

Purchased From

Minors

Chicago

White Sox

Geovany

Soto

Removed From 10-

Day DL, (Right elbow

inflammation)

Tampa Bay

Rays

Xavier

Cedeno

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Left forearm

tightness)

Tampa Bay

RaysRyan Garton Called Up from Minors

Texas

RangersNick Martinez Called Up from Minors

Boston Red

SoxBrock Holt

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Vertigo)

Boston Red

Sox

Jackie

Bradley Jr.

Recalled From Minors,

Rehab Assignment

Boston Red

Sox

Jackie

Bradley Jr.

Removed From 10-

Day DL, (Right knee

sprain)

Chicago

White SoxKevan Smith Sent to Minors

Chicago

White Sox

James

Shields

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Strained right lat)

Cincinnati

RedsTony Cingrani

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Strained right oblique)

Cincinnati

RedsPhillip Ervin Called Up from Minors

Cleveland

IndiansJason Kipnis

Removed From 10-

Day DL, (Right

shoulder inflammation)

Cleveland Jason Kipnis Recalled From Minors,

Indians Rehab Assignment

Cleveland

IndiansYandy Díaz Sent to Minors

Detroit Tigers Joe Jimenez Called Up from Minors

Detroit Tigers Jose IglesiasPlaced on 7-Day DL,

(Concussion)

Detroit Tigers Blaine Hardy Called Up from Minors

Kansas City

Royals

Paulo

OrlandoSent to Minors

Kansas City

Royals

Jorge

BonifacioCalled Up from Minors

Kansas City

RoyalsMatt Strahm Called Up from Minors

Kansas City

RoyalsRaul Mondesi Sent to Minors

Kansas City

RoyalsJorge Soler

Sent to Minors, For

Rehabilitation

Los Angeles

AngelsMike Morin

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Neck tightness)

Los Angeles

AngelsAlex Meyer Called Up from Minors

Miami

MarlinsTyler Moore Outrighted to Minors

Milwaukee

Brewers

Kirk

Nieuwenhuis

Designated for

Assignment

Milwaukee

BrewersBrent Suter Called Up from Minors

Minnesota

Twins

Ehire

Adrianza

Sent to Minors, For

Rehabilitation

New York

Mets

Sean

GilmartinCalled Up from Minors

New York

MetsWilmer Flores

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Right knee infection)

New York

MetsLucas Duda

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Hyperextended left

elbow)

New York

MetsT.J. Rivera Called Up from Minors

New York

Yankees

Didi

Gregorius

Sent to Minors, For

Rehabilitation

Oakland

AthleticsCesar Valdez Sent to Minors

Oakland

AthleticsMatt Olson Called Up from Minors

Philadelphia

PhilliesPat Neshek

Reinstated from

Paternity Leave List

Philadelphia

PhilliesBen Lively Sent to Minors

San

Francisco

Giants

Madison

Bumgarner

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Left shoulder strain)

San

Francisco

Giants

Trevor Brown Sent to Minors

San

Francisco

Giants

Trevor Brown

Removed From 10-

Day DL, (Sprained

right ankle)

San

Francisco

Giants

Trevor BrownRecalled From Minors,

Rehab Assignment

San

Francisco

Giants

Chris Stratton Called Up from Minors

Seattle

MarinersJean Segura

Sent to Minors, For

Rehabilitation

Seattle

Mariners

Chase De

JongCalled Up from Minors

Seattle

MarinersDan Altavilla Sent to Minors

Texas

Rangers

Josh

HamiltonReleased

Texas

RangersA.J. Griffin

Placed on 10-Day DL,

(Gout in left ankle)

Toronto Blue

JaysTy Kelly

Designated for

Assignment

Toronto Blue

JaysMat Latos

Purchased From

Minors

Washington

NationalsGrant Green

Designated for

Assignment

Washington

NationalsTrea Turner

Removed From 10-

Day DL, (Strained

right hamstring)