TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Starling Hits for Cycle in Naturals 10-4 Win

Published on July 28, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A single seemed like the easiest part; but in his final at-bat in a Naturals 10-4 win on Tuesday night against the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park, that's all outfielder Bubba Starling needed to complete the cycle. Starling broke his bat on a 2-0 fastball and flared the Nate Hyatt pitch into left-field for his fourth hit of the night and the single to achieve the feat.

Starling becomes the first Natural in franchise history to hit for the cycle and the first Texas League player to do so since the Travelers' Zach Borenstein hit for the cycle on April 20 of last season.

The Royals prospect started his night with a ground out first base; but came to the plate in the third inning with Northwest Arkansas (52-49/12-19) already ahead 3-0, and blasted a three-run home run to check the long ball of the cycle list and give the Naturals a 6-0 lead.

Starling came to the plate for the third time and roped a double down the left-field line and scored a batter later as Hunter Dozier smashed his 9th home run of the season extending the Naturals lead to 8-1. Then the hardest part, the triple, came in the seventh inning his fourth time up.

The Garner, Kan. product hooked a 0-1 pitch into the left-field corner that caromed away from Ruben Sosa allowing Starling to race into third base with the triple. Starling scored on a ground-out by Dozier that added to the Naturals lead, 10-1.

Due up second in the top of the night, the game now a 10-3 lead, with the bases empty, Starling completed the feat in-front of a modest crowd of 2,547 at Dickey-Stephens Park and enjoyed a moment in the spotlight with Public Address Announcer, Russ McKinney, announced the achieve to an applause from the fans and both dugouts.

The four-hit night is his first of the season and extended Starling's hitting streak to five games.

Northwest Arkansas jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over the Travelers with Ramon Torres and Raul Mondesi opening the game with a pair of singles to right-field putting men at the corners for Alex Liddi. Mondesi took off for second base and forced Arkansas catcher, Raywilly Gomez's throw to skip into centerfield allowing Torres to score from third.

Liddi then cleaned the bases with his second home run in as many days - his 11th of the season - making it a 3-0 lead.

After Starling's home run in the third and Dozier's long ball in the 5th; Lane Adams got into the action with an RBI ground-rule double that bounced over the right-centerfield wall that extended his hitting streak to current team-high 11 games. The 11-game stretch ties a career high for Adams and he finished 1-for-5 on the evening.

Northwest Arkansas pounded out 15 total hits on the evening putting up eight runs on 11 hits on Arkansas' starter Michael Brady (5-5, 3.69) who lasted just 5.0 innings. The Naturals have now beaten Brady five times in his career.

Left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic (6-6, 3.57) earned his second win in three straight starts working 5.0 innings. The southpaw allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Right-hander Kyle Zimmer followed the Naturals' starter and tossed 3.0 innings, allowed two runs on two hits with three punchouts throwing a season-high 51 pitches.

Right-hander Aroni Nina finished out the ninth inning for the 21st time in 30 outings on his season.

The win forces a rubber match slated for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch tomorrow from Dickey-Stephens Park from North Little Rock, Ark.

Right-hander Luke Farrell (1-2, 3.42) will make his ninth start of the season taking on right-hander Kyle McGowin (6-7, 4.91) who goes for the Travelers.

Tune in with the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, at 6:55 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show leading up to the 7:10 p.m. first pitch on the Naturals flagship station, 92.1 - FM, the Ticket.

Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Twitter @nwanaturals throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime for all of our up-to-date information on tickets, groups, promotions, and team-related information.

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.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from July 28, 2015


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