TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Corpus Christi Hooks Naturals in Series Opener, 6-1

Published on June 2, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas. - The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (31-18) fell to the Corpus Christi Hooks (34-16), 6-1 on Tuesday night at Whataburger Field. Hooks starter, Vince Velasquez (3-0, 1.37) no-hit the Naturals for 6 and one-third innings before Jorge Bonifacio drilled a 3-0 pitch over the left-field wall to break-up the bid. The Naturals now hold a two and a half game lead in the Texas League North Division standings with 21 games remaining in the opening half.

The Naturals collected a total of three hits on the night with Bonifacio accounting for the lone offense. Mike Bianucci and Alex Liddi both added singles to the cause.

The bullpen worked the final four innings with right-hander Matt Murray logging two strong frames. Mark Peterson allowed an unearned run to cross and now boasts a 1.31 ERA over his last nine outings. Benino Pruneda worked a scoreless eighth inning against the Hooks. The 5-foot-9 right-hander has not allowed a run in three straight appearances.

Right-hander Miguel Almonte (4-3, 4.30) took the loss working 4.0 innings allowing four runs on seven hits with a pair of strikeouts and walks. Almonte seven of the final 10 battered faced in his 11th start of the season.

Northwest Arkansas looks to even the series tonight at Whataburger Field with right-hander J.C. Sulbaran (4-3, 3.91) taking the baseball for the 10th time this season against right-hander Mark Appel (3-1, 5.85) whom the Naturals beat last week at Arvest Ballpark.

Sulbaran has turned in a staff-best five quality starts including 6.0 innings of two-run baseball on May 28 against Corpus Christi to earn his fourth win of the year. Sulbaran holds a 3.28 ERA over his last six starts.

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly beginning at 6:50 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch on the Naturals flagship station, 92.1 - FM, the Ticket.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @nwanaturals throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime for all of our up-to-date information on tickets, groups, promotions, and team-related information.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League Affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Ark. For more information including statistics, ticket options, and more, please visit NWANaturals.com, and follow us on Twitter @NWANaturals and Facebook.com/Naturals.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from June 2, 2015


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