TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: Diamond Series Reaches Apex This Week

Published on June 3, 2008 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


Nice weather and pennant-race baseball, Texas League style, is on tap at Arvest Ballpark this week as the Naturals and Travelers meet once again in a similar situation to the one they left behind just over two weeks ago.

On May 19th, the Naturals departed Dickey Stephens Ballpark in North Little Rock with a two game lead in the Texas League North Division, a letdown of sorts as it could just have easily been a four game lead. A wild extra-inning affair went in the Travelers direction, giving Arkansas a 3-1 series win and the 7-5 advantage on the Arkansas Diamond Series thus far. The first two series between the two teams were both sweeps at the hands of the home team; The Travs shut down the Naturals in their first series in North Little Rock in April, and the Naturals returned the favor one week later at Arvest Ballpark. That third series, while it did not result in a sweep, did give the Travelers possession of the Car Mart Cup and helped them close the gap on the Naturals, who have now had possession of first-place all to themselves for the better part of a month.

The two teams parted ways for twelve games all against the South Division-the Naturals with six games each against second-place Midland and first-place Frisco, and the Travs with six games each against Corpus Christi and San Antonio, the third and fourth-place teams.

No ground was lost or gained in the past two weeks. Both teams went 7-5, and the Naturals, for their part, went 4-2 against Midland and Frisco at home and 3-3 on the road, while the Travelers were swept in a double-header at home at the hands of San Antonio on Monday in a day that helped get everything, standings-wise, right back to where it was when these teams met last.

And so, in come these Arkansas Travelers, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles of Anaheim, to face the Naturals, who have retention of first place and with it, re-acquisition of the Car Mart Cup in the forefront of their minds. As of Tuesday, the Naturals magic number to clinch first-place in the Texas League North Division for the season's first half, is thirteen. Any combination of Naturals wins and Travelers losses (assuming the division standings remain as they presently are) adding up to thirteen will mean the Naturals will host the first two home playoff games here at Arvest Ballpark in early September. Not to be discounted however, are the Springfield Cardinals, who loom only four games out of the division race and could make things interesting as they face both the Travelers and the Naturals in the next week.

The Travelers' roster hasn't changed too much from the first time they visited-they still have just two of the Angels' top 30 prospects according to Baseball America (RHP Steve Marek and SS Hainley Statia), but what they do have is experience and leadership in abundance, as 15 of their 24 active players played at the Double-A level or higher last season. Two of those veterans have joined the club since they last visited Springdale: OF's Adam Greenberg and Brian Stavisky. Stavisky, 27, saw time with Triple-A Sacramento (Oakland) last season, while Greenberg, 25, spent last season as a mainstay of the Wichita Wranglers, the Royals' Double-A predecessor to the Naturals.

They also have now have catcher Brian Walker, no stranger to most Northwest Arkansans as he played for the Arkansas Razorbacks just last year. Walker was promoted late last week from Class-A Adv. Rancho Cucamonga after two injuries to catchers at Triple-A Salt Lake necessitated an Angels' organization-wide catching shift. This is actually the second promotion this season for the popular "BWalk," as he was a late addition to the Rancho Cucamonga roster after former first-round selection Hank Conger, the Angels' top catching prospect, was injured late in spring training. During his time in the California League this spring the former Diamond Hog became a dominant force in the middle of the Quakes' order, hitting .283 with five homers and 21 RBI. The Tulsa resident now brings his bat and glove to the Travs' roster at least for the time being. There is one other player on the Travs with SEC ties -- outfielder Jordan Czarniecki is a Tennessee alum and is no stranger to the Texas League, having signed with the Angels after two seasons with the Tulsa Drillers.

Walker will assist in the direction of what is, for now, the league's number one pitching staff. The Travs' staff ERA is 3.94, closely followed by the Naturals (4.01). The Travelers are hitting .255 on the year coming into this series, ranked last, while the Naturals (.263) are now ranked sixth offensively. The speedy Naturals' 90 steals are still tops in the loop and their walks issued (143) still by far the lowest total amongst Texas League teams, despite the 12-game stint against the patient hitters of Midland and Frisco. The Travelers' 244 runs scored is last in the loop, but their pitching staff is very adept at keeping the ball in the park-they have allowed just 39 homers this season, the second-lowest total amongst all staffs in the league. They also have a very solid bullpen, led by closer Kevin Jepsen (2-1, 1.57 ERA, 10 saves), a durable right-hander who throws into the mid-90s that the Travs don't hesitate to use for multiple innings and on consecutive days.

Pitching matchups for this pivotal series will see Naturals righty Blake Wood make his Arvest Ballpark debut and second Double-A start against Travs veteran righty Dan Denham on Wednesday, LHP Rowdy Hardy against RHP Anthony Ortega on Thursday, RHP Blake Johnson vs. RHP Robert Mosebach on Friday, and RHP Dan Cortes facing RHP Fernando Rodriguez on Saturday.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The Naturals have a toll-free ticket hotline (1-877-444-2637) for fans to purchase Naturals tickets. Our website also offers fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online and avoid lines at the ticket windows by printing their tickets at home or at the office.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from June 3, 2008


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