TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Garabito Strong But Hooks Rally for Win

Published on July 25, 2019 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas (43-56/12-19) got a great start out of right-hander Gerson Garabito but it would not be enough as the Corpus Christi Hooks (48-53/15-17) would rally for a win over the Naturals in the series opener at Arvest Ballpark on Wednesday night. Trailing 1-0, the Hooks scored three runs over the final two innings to claim the victory.

Coming off a 7-game trip in Texas and an OFF day on Tuesday, the Naturals started fast on Wednesday night. Nick Heath singled to open the night before collecting his 49th stolen base of the season. After a fielding error by the Hooks' left fielder put runners at second and third, Emmanuel Rivera hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give Northwest Arkansas the early 1-0 lead.

The 49 swipes by Heath tops the Minor Leagues and puts him six shy of the club record of 55 set by Derrick Robinson in 2011.

With an early run on the board, Northwest Arkansas watched their starting pitcher settle in. Garabito was strong as he kept Corpus Christi hitless through the first 5.2 innings of the game before giving up back-to-back hits in the sixth inning. On the night, he tossed 6.0 scoreless innings allowing just the two hits while striking out five on 95 pitches, 61 which went for strikes. The mid-season All-Star lowered his ERA to 3.66 on the season, which is third best in the Texas League among active pitchers.

Andres Sotillet (H, 5) worked around trouble in the seventh to post a scoreless inning to keep the Naturals in front by a slim margin before the Hooks broke through in the eighth against Emilio Ogando (L, 1-2). With the bases loaded and two outs, Osvaldo Duarte singled to center to plate Seth Beer and Lorenzo Quintana to give Corpus Christi their first lead of the game.

Beer, a former first round pick out of Clemson, would deliver an RBI single in the ninth for an insurance run and a 3-1 lead.

After a walk to Khalil Lee started the home half of the ninth, J.B. Bukauskas slammed the door on the Naturals hopes by inducing a double-play ball off the bat of Rivera before getting Taylor Featherston to pop out to second base to end the game.

Bukauskas (W, 2-4) was brilliant in the win on Wednesday as he finished it with 5.0 scoreless innings and struck out seven.

The Corpus Christi pitching trio of Tyler Ivey, Carlos Sanabria, and Bukauskas was tough all night as they held the Northwest Arkansas offense to just two hits while striking out 16. Heath and newcomer Kevin Merrell had the two hits for the Naturals.

Northwest Arkansas will continue their 7-game homestand tomorrow night - Thursday, July 25th - with Game 2 of this 3-game series against the Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A Houston Astros) at Arvest Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on a Thirsty Thursday presented by Foghorn's. The Naturals will send right-handed pitcher Conner Greene (3-8, 5.46 ERA) to the mound where he'll face fellow righty Bryan Abreu (4-2, 5.33 ERA) of the Hooks. Catch all of the live play-by-play action with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket starting at 6:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show.

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, upcoming promotions, 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 July 25, 2019


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