TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Series Preview: Weekend with the Travelers on Tap

Published on August 5, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR - The Arkansas Travelers last visited Arvest Ballpark on May 23. In the nearly two and a half months since that time, the Naturals played 12 games down in North Little Rock, the Travelers' top prospect got his first taste of the majors before returning to Double-A and the downpours of late spring gave way to a scorching summer.

With the first of two second-half series between the Naturals and Travelers set for this weekend, the two clubs will look to do something they have not yet done in Springdale this season - play an uninterrupted series. Repeated rain storms in April and May forced the postponement and eventual cancellation of three games. The Travelers took advantage of the teams' shortened 67-game first half, edging the Naturals by a game in securing an automatic playoff berth.

The Naturals have turned the tables on their southeastern neighbors in the second half, residing ahead of the Travelers in the standings for much of the last month. Northwest Arkansas enters this series as winners of two straight games, salvaging a 3-4 road trip to remain two games ahead of Tulsa and Springfield - and three games ahead of the Travelers - in the second-half standings.

Offensively, the month of July belonged to cleanup hitter Jamie Romak. The London, Ontario native clubbed 10 home runs in the month, and has since added one in August to give him a total of 20 in 2011. With the effort, Romak becomes the fifth Natural to reach that milestone in the course of one season and now needs just four more home runs to pass Clint Robinson and become the team's all-time home run leader. Another key for the Naturals of late has been the improvement of Chris Dwyer. Up and down through the first three and a half months, Dwyer has now won his last three starts. He pitched a season-high eight innings two starts ago and has allowed just two runs in his last two outings combined, striking out 14 with two walks in those games.

Despite Dwyer's recent success, the Travelers bring with them a pitching staff with a superior track record this season. The club's 3.57 team ERA leads the league, as Arkansas boasts a formidable front end of the rotation featuring league ERA leader Matt Shoemaker and 12-game winner Garrett Richards, who had a 10-game personal winning streak snapped on Thursday night. Worth noting is that Richards is not scheduled to pitch in this weekend's series.

The Traveler offense has been boosted by the recent return of center fielder Mike Trout, who rejoins the team after a 14-game big-league stint with the Angels. Though the 19-year-old posted an unremarkable .163/.213/.269 line in Anaheim, his experience at baseball's top level should prove valuable in his growth as a player. Trout's return makes the Traveler lineup significantly more potent, as the team has struggled to find consistent production from sources other than Luis Jimenez (.301, 33 2B, 14 HR, 75 RBI).

The series opens on Friday night, as Dwyer (5-9, 6.01) faces off against right-hander Orangel Arenas (8-5, 3.99). Dwyer will take the mound looking for his fourth consecutive quality start.

On Saturday, Jake Odorizzi looks to rebound from his first Double-A loss as he matches up with Traveler righty Eddie McKiernan (5-10, 5.72).

Newly inserted into the rotation, Mario Santiago (2-1, 1.34) makes his third Texas League start of the season in Sunday's 6 p.m. start against southpaw Andrew Taylor (2-9, 4.52).

The series concludes with a rematch of the Naturals' Jul. 19 no-hitter, as Will Smith (10-8, 4.52) meets Shoemaker (10-2, 2.47). Overshadowed by Smith's seven hitless frames, Shoemaker allowed only an unearned run in a complete-game effort in their last meeting.

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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