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TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Naturals Complete Sweep of Cardinals

August 5, 2018 - Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas was looking for their first sweep of the 2018 season in Sunday afternoon's finale against Springfield and would accomplish it in come-from-behind fashion. Kelvin Gutierrez delivered the game-winner, a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth as the Naturals (18-25, 53-60) defeated the Cardinals (18-26, 51-63) by a 5-4 final to complete the 4-game sweep. It marked the first time the franchise has swept Springfield in a 4-game set since the 2016 season.

With the game tied up at 4-4, the Cardinals turned to reliever Hector Mendoza (L, 2-2) for the bottom of the ninth. Erick Mejia provided a professional at-bat with a 13-pitch walk to give the Naturals a base-runner with one out in the inning. He would then move to second on a balk by Mendoza. Springfield would elect to intentionally walk Samir Duenez to put runners at first and second to setup a matchup with Gutierrez. The plan backfired as Gutierrez rifled a 1-0 pitch to right and the celebration ensued.

Springfield got the scoring started in the fourth after three scoreless frames to begin the game. The hot-hitting Tommy Edman singled to center then came into score on a RBI double by Ramon Urias to give the Cardinals the 1-0 lead. Northwest Arkansas responded with a run of their own in the home half as Jecksson Flores singled, stole second with two-outs, and then came into score on a Kort Peterson single to right-center to even the game at 1-1. The run by Flores marks the 11th straight game that he has scored at least one run for the Naturals giving him 15 runs scored since July 25, which is the best total in the Texas League.

The Cardinals would break-up the tie game by posting a crooked number in the top of the fourth against Naturals' starter Luis Lugo. Blake Drake began the inning with a solo home run to give Springfield a 2-1 advantage. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Andy Young came through with the big hit as he drove a two-run single to right field to push the Cardinals lead to 4-1.

Gutierrez got a run back for the Naturals in the sixth as he launched a solo home run to deep left for his fourth big fly of the year. Entering today's game, he has been on fire of late as he was hitting .341 with a homer and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.

Northwest Arkansas would make it all the way back in the seventh. The Naturals loaded up the bases on a double by Anderson Miller, single by Xavier Fernandez, and a walk to Corey Toups with one out. Mejia delivered the first run-scoring single to plate Miller then Duenez followed with an infield single to score Fernandez to even the game at 4-4 to setup the ninth inning heroics.

Walker Sheller (W, 3-1) earned the victory with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. The duo of Sheller and Yunior Marte was huge out of the Northwest Arkansas bullpen as they held the Cardinals scoreless for the last 4.1 innings of the game.

Springfield got a solid start from newcomer Genesis Cabrera as the lefty the Cardinals received from Tampa Bay in the Tommy Pham trade tossed 6.0 innings of three hit baseball, allowing two runs and striking out four. The Naturals offense though was able to get to the Cardinals relievers as they scored three runs in the final 2.2 innings with Mendoza taking the loss.

After tomorrow's league-wide OFF day, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals will continue their 10-game homestand by welcoming the Midland RockHounds, the Double-A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, to Arvest Ballpark for a 3-game series beginning on Tuesday, August 7 with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m. for an Arvest Two for Tuesday with Johnsonville Buck-A-Brat. The Naturals will turn to right-hander Jace Vines (1-1, 6.30 ERA) in the series opener while the RockHounds will counter with right-hander Norge Ruiz (3-7, 4.90 ERA). Join Benjamin Kelly, the Voice of the Naturals, on Tuesday night starting at 6:45 p.m. on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to first pitch.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.

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.

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