TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: Naturals Look to Keep Rolling

Published on July 22, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR - On Sunday evening, fresh off a win over the Springfield Cardinals, the Naturals departed for Little Rock in third place in the North Division second half standings, four games behind the first-place Arkansas Travelers. In the span of one series, the Naturals erased that deficit with a sweep of the Travelers that pulled the club into a three-way tie for first. Having won five in a row, the Naturals host the Cardinals in a four-game series that is Springfield's final visit to Arvest Ballpark this season.

Though the Naturals scored eight runs in the first game of the series against the Travelers, pitching was the story of the sweep at Dickey-Stephens Park. On Tuesday, Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera combined on the first no-hitter in team history. Smith allowed only two walks, and promptly erased both runners by inducing a grounder to third that turned into the team's first-ever triple play. The strong pitching continued in the final two games of the series, as the Naturals allowed just three runs in each contest. Chris Dwyer put together a bounce-back outing, pitching through the sixth inning to earn his first win in over a month.

Offensively, the team's run production has been a mostly collaborative effort with different players rising to the occasion on each night. One player who stands out from the pack, though, is Jamie Romak. Romak enters this series riding a nine-game hitting streak, has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games and has cranked seven home runs in the month of July.

Springfield enters this weekend's series with some work to do. The lone team not part of the three-way tie atop the North, the Cardinals sit three games back. They also have the disadvantage in a potential wild card situation, as they finished the first half with the worst record in the division as well. Their current standing is no fault of their offense, however.

Matt Adams has crushed the ball all season and leads the club in batting average (.336), homers (21), RBI (67) and slugging percentage (.628). Along with Alex Castellanos, Ryan Jackson and the surging Zack Cox, Springfield carries a potent middle of the order into each game. The Cardinals' Achilles heel in 2011 has been its bullpen. In particular, closer Jorge Rondon has converted just six of nine save opportunities and holds a 10.61 ERA in 18 appearances.

The series opens on Friday night with a reprise of Sunday's mound matchup as Jake Odorizzi (1-0, 5.63) faces Springfield southpaw John Gast (1-0, 3.60). Neither pitcher factored in that game's decision, as Odorizzi allowed five runs in four innings while Gast gave up four in five.

The Naturals have not yet announced a starter for Saturday's game. Whoever does take the mound for the home team will do so against Scott Schneider (4-8, 6.01), who gave up seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings against Tulsa his last time out.

Sunday evening's game will begin at 6:00 p.m. as Smith (8-7, 3.93) pitches for the first time since Tuesday's combined no-hitter. Smith has a string of four consecutive quality starts and has gone 3-0 in that span. He'll do his work against Springfield's Michael Blazek (9-3, 5.82), who is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three starts against the Naturals this season.

The series concludes on Monday night. Right-hander Jeremy Jeffress (0-0, 2.25) will make his first appearance at Arvest Ballpark as he takes on top St. Louis prospect Shelby Miller (6-1, 2.04). Miller won his last start but struggled with his control, walking five Drillers on Wednesday night.

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. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 22, 2011


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