The St. Louis Cardinals knew rookie right-handed starting pitcher Shelby Miller had talent since they drafted him No. 19 overall in the 2009 draft, but others in baseball questioned if the Houston-native’s maturity level would allow him to succeed at the sport’s highest level.

Miller projected he would be the in big leagues within two years of being drafted. Well, it took an extra year, but Miller has made the most of his first opportunity with the Cardinals and has set a pace that could earn him the highest honor a rookie can receive.

Miller gave up just one hit and struck out 13 Colorado Rockies in a complete game Friday to move his record to 5-2 and drop his earned-run average to a rotation-best 1.58.

His five wins are tied for second-most among Major League Baseball pitchers, and his ERA is four among all starters who have pitched more than two games so far in 2013.

Those are the sort of numbers that made the Cardinals draft Miller so high and made fans yearn for the team to call him up nearly anytime another starting pitcher had a couple of bad games. However, Miller didn’t look much like a Rookie of the Year-caliber pitcher when the Cardinals had holes to fill in their starting rotation at this point last season.

Projected starters Chris Carpenter and Kyle McClellan suffered long-term injuries in spring training last year. That left a potential spot for Miller to make good on his two-years-to-the-show claim, but Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly filled those positions instead.

Meanwhile, Miller was in the midst of a season with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds that produced an 11-10 record with a 4.74 ERA, not nearly numbers that would inspire a call-up to the major leagues.

However, Miller won six of his seven final starts in 2012 with the Redbirds and pitched six games in relief with a 1.32 ERA as the Cardinals made their late-season run toward the playoffs.

He’s been even better in 2013 as part of starting rotation that has had one of the best starts to a season in franchise history, posting a 2.15 ERA in April. In fact, the entire Cardinals starting rotation would likely receive an invite to the All-Star Game if it was played in May instead of July.

Granted, the season is still young, and Miller will eventually have to face teams for a second time as the season progresses, but he has set a foundation for what could be one of the best rookie seasons for a Cardinals starting pitcher in more than a decade.

Remember, Adam Wainwright pitched too many games as a reliever in 2006 to be considered a rookie although he went 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA in 2007 as a full-time starter.

Before Wainwright, the Cardinals hadn’t had a dominant rookie pitcher since Rick Ankiel burst into the big leagues to be Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2000 with 194 strikeouts and a 3.50 ERA in 30 starts. Unfortunately, his dominance didn’t last very long as he lost control of his pitches with five wild pitches in a playoff game against the Atlanta Braves later that season and eventually switched positions to become an outfielder.

Matt Morris finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1997, going 12-9 with a 3.19 ERA in 33 starts, but he suffered a major elbow injury midway through the next season and didn’t make a full return to the starting rotation until 2001.

Miller probably won’t maintain his sub-2.00 ERA throughout the season, but his first seven starts have set him up for a chance to go down as one of the best rookie pitchers in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals.

That could also be the first trophy on what could be a very full mantel by the end of his career.

If that’s the case, the Cardinals could be in the beginning stages of another decade full of good pitching, and that usually means many seasons with winning records.

Welcome to a new feature on I70 Baseball, the Royals Power Rankings. Each week we’ll rank the top five Royals in 2013 with a heavy emphasis on their performance in the past seven days. Just moments ago, Alex Gordon topped a 4-1 week with a walk off hit in the tenth inning. The club now sits at 17-10, on pace for 102 victories. As awesome as Gordon’s hit was, the week belonged to Lorenzo Cain, who continues to be the best hitter on the club in 2012.

#5 James Shields- Big Game James was brought in to be the ace and I seriously doubt the Royals thought his 3.00 ERA would rank third on the starting staff more than a month into the season. Shields picked up a victory off his old team with a gutsy performance on Tuesday night. After surrendering two runs in the first, Shields proceeded to pitch six shutout innings and notch his second victory of the season. It was the third time this season Shields has pitched 6+ innings and given up two runs of less.

#4 Alex Gordon- Sunday’s big hit aside, it was a rough week for the Royals’ left fielder. Gordon was 3/23 on the week before his 10^th inning stroke and saw his average slide from .337 to .303 this week. Still, he leads the team with 20 RBI and is tied for the team lead in both home runs (3) and doubles (6)

#3 Jeremy Guthrie- The performance of the week goes to Guthrie for his complete game shutout of the White Sox on Saturday night. Guthrie completely owns the Sox, and has now gone a club-record 17 straight starts without a loss. Guthrie hasn’t given up a run in his last two starts.

#2 Ervin Santana- The official stats will tell you that Ervin Santana didn’t even pitch last week, but of course we all know that’s not true. Santana continued his dominance on Thursday afternoon before a snow out erased his efforts. To say Santana has been great this year would be underselling it. He’s struck out 31 batters in 36 innings and sports a 2.00 ERA.

#1 Lorenzo Cain- Cain was one of the biggest question marks heading into the 2013 campaign and so far he’s been incredible. He leads the club with a .341 average and didn’t do anything to hurt that this week. We was 8/20 with five runs scored and five RBI on the week (including the only two RBI in the team’s 2-0 win on Saturday night. Through five weeks Cain has been the best player on the team and one of the best in the league.

Honorable mention: Bruce Chen- Chen picked up his second victory of the season with two shutout innings against the Rays on Wednesday night. Chen has now made five appearances out of the pen without allowing an earned run. Perhaps more impressively, he’s struck out 11 batters in only 9 2/3 innings.

This is the Adam Wainwright the St. Louis Cardinals think is worth $97.5 million for the next five years.

In his second season after Tommy John surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament, Wainwright has returned to the Cy Young award-caliber pitcher he was before the injury.

He simply dominated the Washington Nationals on Tuesday and now has a 4-1 record and a 1.93 earned-run average with 37 strikeouts against one walk in five starts. He’s established himself once again as the Cardinals’ ace, and that’s a huge relief for everybody involved.

Wainwright had put together a 64-34 record with a 2.99 earned-run average in four seasons as a starter before he suffered the elbow injury at the beginning of spring training in 2011. He also possessed a fastball that reached 96 mph and one of the most devastating curveballs in Major League Baseball.

But that was gone for much of 2012. Wainwright had a winning record, 14-13, but he also had the highest ERA of his career, 3.94, and rarely had the dominating games he did before the injury. His fastball wasn’t as fast, his curveball didn’t break as sharply and too many of his pitches were up in the strike zone, which allowed hitters to often drive balls they hit for extra base hits.

He did have a few standout games, including a four-hit, complete-game shutout May 22 against the San Diego Padres, but he also had several poor stretches such as back-to-back games against the Nationals and New York Mets in late August and early September when he gave up a combined 11 runs in just 7.2 innings.

Wainwright said he was sure his good stuff would come back, but he hadn’t proved it until that complete game against the Padres.

“It’s a huge sense of relief; it’s a huge sense of feeling blessed,” he said after the shutout against San Diego. “Mentally, tonight, I was so much better than I had been. I’ve worked very hard to get back to where I am.”

However, not every game went so well, and the Cardinals had an important decision to make as the 2013 season approached. Wainwright was about to enter the final year of his contract, and the Cardinals had to figure out if they were going to keep him beyond this season.

Overall, his career track showed he could be as good a pitcher as there is the game, but his performances after the injury caused plenty of concern.

Yes, most pitchers come back from Tommy John surgery and pitch as well as they did beforehand, but successful surgery is never a guarantee, and Wainwright’s 2012 season offered no certainties that he would ever be the type of pitcher he was beforehand.

But the Cardinals signed him to the long-term deal March 28, just days before the season started. Now, it is a fairly big risk to give a five-year contract to a 31-year-old pitcher who had major elbow surgery, but so far Wainwright has made the Cardinals’ management look pretty smart.

And the best could be yet to come. Wainwright sliced through the Nationals on Tuesday for 8.1 shutout innings with nine strikeouts and his first walk of the season after 34.2 innings, which was fewer than six innings from the franchise record.

He threw a fastball at 94 mph, his curveball buckled Nationals hitters’ knees throughout the night and his control was as precise as ever.

Wainwright is back to the form Cardinals officials hoped they would see when they signed him to the contract extension, and now they can sit back and watch their investment dominate opposing hitters as if its 2010 again.

The St. Louis Cardinals began their World Series title defense in impressive fashion, going 14-8 in April and leading the NL Central division by three games over the Cincinnati Reds. But then the season quickly took a turn for the worse as several key players got hurt and the Cardinals lost the division lead.

However, the Cardinals looked a lot more like the team of April this week than the depleted roster that struggled to keep up through much of May and June.

Sure, they are just 3-2 in their last five games heading into play Sunday, but the team has played much more solid games devoid of the mental lapses and poor fundamental play that plagued the team for more than a month.

Lance Lynn started last week’s series against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers unimpressively. He gave up five runs in five innings, but since then the Cardinals pitching staff has been dynamite. Jake Westbrook threw a complete-game shutout Wednesday, and Kyle Lohse certainly pitched well enough to win Thursday afternoon’s game the Cardinals lost 2-1 in 10 innings.

But the real wake-up call came when the team showed up Friday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City to begin a beatdown of their cross-state rival, the Royals. The Cardinals plastered 10 runs on the board in the first two innings of Friday’s game started by Joe Kelly. They went on to win 11-4 and then pounded out eight more runs Saturday to help Adam Wainwright get the 8-2 win.

Perhaps how the Cardinals won those games is more impressive than the fact that they won them. The offense jumped out to early leads in both games and put the Royals in a position where they had to try and make a comeback if they were going to win.

That’s what the Cardinals did so well at the beginning of the season. Fans who were late to their seats would miss most of the scoring because the Cardinals often had a multiple-run lead before the stadium lights would begin to take effect.

Not coincidently, the Cardinals recent performances happened the same weekend as centerfielder Jon Jay and utility man Matt Carpenter returns from the disabled list. Both players returned to the lineup for Friday’s game.

Now let’s not oversell those two players return as the saviors to the season. Injuries have certainly played a major role in the Cardinals’ struggles this year, but there have also been defensive lapses and bullpen problems that have nothing to do with injuries.

Still, the return of Jay and Carpenter are a boost to the club and should be the beginning of a stretch of better baseball.

Plus, the Cardinals will begin a series Monday in Miami to face the Marlins, who are in the middle of a rough stretch where they’ve lost nine of their last 10 games. The Cardinals started the season in Miami with a 4-1 behind a masterful performance by Lohse and maintained that momentum for the rest of the month.

Westbrook is scheduled to start Monday’s game, but his complete game last week in Detroit might have been the spark for a similar run into the second half of the season.

ROYALS SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK KYLE ZIMMER

Kansas City, MO (June 7, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals today announced the club has signed first-round draft choice Kyle Zimmer, the fifth overall selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.  Consistent with team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The 20-year-old Zimmer, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed starter, went 5-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 13 starts, including three complete games, for the Dons in 2012.  In 88.1 innings, he allowed 76 hits, 28 earned runs and 17 walks, while striking out 104.  Zimmer led the West Coast Conference in shutouts (2), strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (10.6).  Baseball America rated Zimmer as having the best fastball among all collegiate prospects and his curveball as the third-best in the collegiate ranks.  He was named a preseason second-team All-American by Baseball America entering 2012 and to the 2012 Midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List last month.  Zimmer was also a member of the 2012 WCC All-Academic team, posting a 3.72 GPA.

Born in San Francisco, Calif., he attended La Jolla (Calif.) High School in the San Diego area where he played four years of baseball, mostly as a third baseman, while also competing in water polo and basketball.  Serving mostly as a position player, he pitched a total of 21.1 innings during his high school career.  Zimmer converted to pitcher his freshman season at USF, but only made five appearances that year.  He then posted a 6-5 record with a 3.73 ERA last season, including outdueling 2011 first-overall selection Gerrit Cole and the UCLA Bruins, 3-0, in a four-hit complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts in a NCAA regional game on June 3, 2011.

Zimmer is the 23^rd pitcher to be selected by the Royals in the first round and the first since 2011 All-Star Aaron Crow in 2009.

The Kansas City Royals have talent, but to they have what it takes mentally to win?

In watching the 2012 version of the Kansas City Royals, it is hard to deny that this is the most talented team they have put on the field in quite some time. This is not the same collections of “has-been’s” and “never-will-be’s” that Royals fans have become accustomed to seeing. But the fact of the matter is, the Royals are currently sitting with the second-worst record in the major leagues at 9-19. And it is hard to ignore idea that mental toughness is a big reason for the slow start.

Not just baseball, but all sports have seen supremely talented players who were not successful because they couldn’t hack it mentally. Whether that equates to a player buckling under pressure, a player’s lack of desire to properly prepare, or a combination of the two, there is no denying that the mental side of the game is absolutely critical to success. The two most recent demonstrations of a lack of mental toughness were put on display on Sunday agains the Yankees and Monday against the Red Sox by starting pitchers Luke Hochevar and Jonathan Sanchez. Both of these players have talent. And not just enough talent to be a big league player. These guys both have the talent to excel in the big leagues. They have each demonstrated that at different points in their careers.

Luke Hochevar was a #1 overall pick in 2006. In 2009 he threw an 80 pitch complete game against the Cincinnati Reds, and later in the season struck out 13 against the Texas Rangers. This is why the Royals continue to put up with his inconsistency and made him their Opening Day starter in 2011 and de facto “ace” going into 2012.

On Sunday, Hochevar made it only 2 1/3 innings into his start, giving up 7 earned runs on 7 hits. This was the 3rd time in 6 starts this season that Hochevar had put his team in a hole early in the ballgame that they had almost no chance of digging out of. His ERA for the season is now 9.00.

Jonathan Sanchez has averaged 9.3 SO per 9 innings over his 6+ year career. He also struck out 205 batters in 193 innings for the San Francisco Giants in 2010. This is why the Royals traded Melky Cabrera for him this past off-season.

In his start on Monday, Sanchez made it only 3 innings, giving up 6 earned runs on 6 hits while throwing only 35 of his 73 pitches for strikes. His ERA for the season is now 6.75.

There are other examples. Earlier in the season, over about a week period, Alex Gordon seemed to be coming up to bat on a nightly basis in key late-game situations. Each time he came up short-handed. While Gordon has begun to catch fire at the plate after an extremely slow start, his lack of success in these pressure situations is telling. This could be explained away by saying that since Gordon got off to such a slow start, he was lacking confidence in these situations which led to his inability to produce. Let’s hope this is true and now that he has snapped out of his funk that this pattern comes to a halt.

Last October, St. Louis Cardinals fans watched one of the most magnificent displays of the other side of this. On the largest stage in the sport, David Freese, Lance Berkman, and other Cardinals players showed the world the importance of mental toughness. Until the Royals have a team full of players who are not afraid to prepare for the big situations, and not afraid of the spotlight, they will be nothing more than a talented team that won’t win anything.

Last week we took a look at 23 year-old lefty Danny Duffy, and his prospects for a breakout season in 2012. The article was filled with optimism and antidotes that suggested Duffy may be ready to burst onto the scene for the Kansas City Royals. After his first outing in Spring Training, I was tempted to expand on those thoughts and the meaning of such an impressive start until I read this Rany Jazayerli piece. I think it’s fair to say that most of us are now excited by Duffy’s future, and the future is 2012. That did set me on a different path though, wondering if there were any others on the Royals staff poised for a breakout year. If you read this, then you probably know who I’m referring to; Cool Hand Luke.

For a guy with a career ERA north of 5 Luke Hochevar has a career highlight reel that would make just about any 5th year player proud:

• May 14, 2008 In just his 6th career start, Hochevar throws 6 shutout innings, striking out 5 and allowing just 4 hits.
• June 12, 2009 Hochevar holds the Cincinnati Reds to just 3 hits and 1 run in first career complete game. More impressive, he completes the feat in just 80 pitches.
• July 25, 2009 Hochevar strikes out 13 and walks 0 in 7 innings of work against the powerful Texas Rangers.
• September 18, 2009 Hochevar throws his first shutout against the Chicago White Sox. He strikes out 5 and allows only 4 base runners in the game.
• April 7, 2010 In 7 2/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers Hochevar allows 5 hits, 1 BB, and zero runs.
• May 19., 2011 Facing the eventual American League Champions Hochevar nearly goes the distance. In the end he delivers 8 2/3 inning of 1-run baseball on a night when the Royals win 2-1.
• September 3, 2011 Hochevar ended 2011 on a hot streak, but none of his performances down the stretch were better than this one against the Indians; 8 innings, 8 Ks, 1 BB and no runs.

What’s most astonishing to me, is that there are no trends represented in the data above. It’s not like he dominates early in the year and then wears down. It also isn’t a case where Hochevar just needs a few months to warm up this year. He has, over the course of 4 years, spread in completely random order a very impressive compilation of starts. Of course, the rest of the time he’s been pretty terrible. What does this mean? If anyone had the answer to that it would probably be fixed by now but at 28 years old there is still reason to believe that Hochevar could put it all together for a very dominant 2012.

Mendoza Earns PCL Pitcher of the Year Honors
Storm Chasers’ right-hander adds to his hardware haul in memorable 2011 season

OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha Storm Chasers right-hander Luis Mendoza has been named the 2011 Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday. Through August 30, he has compiled an 11-5 record with a PCL-best 2.15 ERA, a league-best 1.25 WHIP and has held opponents to a league-low .241 batting average.

In addition to his PCL Pitcher of the Year Award, Mendoza has been a part of the 30-member mid-season PCL All-Star Team, the 12-member post-season All-PCL Team and won the league’s Pitcher of the Week award for the week ending August 21. He has also been named the Omaha Pitcher of the Year by the Kansas City Royals organization.

Mendoza has been professional baseball’s best pitcher over the past three months. Since May 26, the 27-year-old has gone 10-2 with a 1.24 earned run average over 108.2 innings pitched, including 9-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 10 road appearances. He has taken no-hit or one-hit shutouts into at least the seventh inning of four starts, including a complete-game one-hitter against Memphis on July 18. He has also earned two saves out of the bullpen.

Mendoza is the first pitcher to be honored as the PCL Pitcher of the Year since Omaha joined the league in 1998. He is the third member of the franchise in 43 years to win his league’s top pitcher award, joining Mark Littell (1973) and Mark Huismann (1985) from the American Association.

The Veracruz, Mexico native earned more than two-thirds of the votes by the league’s field managers and media. He will start Wednesday night’s game against the Round Rock Express.

The fine folks at the Northwest Arkansas Naturals provide us with a brief rundown of the Royals farm system every week. The details are listed below:

Triple-A

The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) went 3-4 over the last week, bookending a three-game win streak with a pair of losses on either side. Most importantly, the Storm Chasers have lost two of the first three games of their key series against the Memphis Redbirds, their prime competition in the league’s American Northern Division. Omaha still holds a two-game lead over Memphis and has secured the head-to-head tiebreaker should it come into play.

Who’s Hot

Luis Mendoza had an incredibly eventful night on Monday, no-hitting the Redbirds through eight innings. In the ninth, a controversial play was first ruled a two-base error, giving Mendoza a no-hitter. Memphis then tried to get the play changed to a hit, but Omaha did not go along with the ruling, leaving Mendoza’s no-no intact for the time being. The Redbirds then field a formal appeal with the PCL, who overturned the ruling once and for all, wiping away the no-hitter. Still, Mendoza’s complete-game shutout continued his impressive season, lowering his ERA to 2.30. Offensively, Johnny Giavotella racked up 14 hits in six games last week, raising his batting average to .340.

Who’s Not

After two consecutive strong starts, southpaw Mike Montgomery had a pair of rocky outings last week, losing against both New Orleans and Memphis. On Wednesday, Montgomery allowed five runs in five innings and saw some of his control issues return, walking three against two strikeouts. In what was a generally solid offensive week for Omaha, infielder Lance Zawadzki went just 3-for-18 at the plate, striking out seven times.

Double-A

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) pushed themselves right back into the North Divison’s second half race with a 5-2 week that included the team’s first no-hitter and first triple play – in the same game. The Naturals enter Thursday with a chance to sweep the first-place Arkansas Travelers and pull even in the standings.

Who’s Hot

Tuesday was one of the most historic nights in Naturals’ history, as starter Will Smith and ace reliever Kelvin Herrera combined to face the minimum in the club’s first-ever no-hitter. Smith issued two walks to open the fifth but promptly erased them by inducing a 5-4-3 triple play. Herrera set down all six batters he faced and now has 39 strikeouts against only three walks in Double-A. Jamie Romak is in the midst of an offensive surge, as he has an active eight-game hitting streak that includes four two-hit games in his last five. Romak has also launched seven home runs in his last 13 games.

Who’s Not

Southpaw Chris Dwyer is still looking to get back on track. Though he pitched into the sixth inning on July 16 – his deepest outing in his last four – Dwyer still allowed five runs and took the loss. In his last four starts, Dwyer has walked 20 batters and struck out just eight. Returned to Double-A after being unable to find consistent playing time in Omaha, Paulo Orlando has just two hits in his first four games with the Naturals.

Class-A Advanced

A five-game losing streak cost the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) ground in the Northern Division standings last week. The Blue Rocks did stem the tide with Wednesday’s win at Myrtle Beach, but the team went just 1-5 since last week’s report. Wilmington is now in third place, 5.5 games behind both Frederick and Potomac.

Who’s Hot

Outfielder Nick Van Stratten got off to a scorching start with the Blue Rocks before going into a bit of a slump in early July. But in the last week, Van Stratten has put together a four-game hit streak. Van Stratten enters Thursday’s action with five hits in his last two contests. In a rare shaky week for Wilmington’s starting rotation, Michael Mariot gave up just three runs – one earned – in seven innings on Wednesday, earning his team’s only win of the week. The outing was the longest of the season for Mariot, who has worked out of both the rotation and the ‘pen.

Who’s Not

Left-hander Noel Arguelles endured his worst outing of the season on July 15, allowing five runs in just an inning and two thirds. Arguelles also walked four Frederick hitters, a third of his season total of 12 bases on balls allowed. Still, it is a testament to Arguelles’ body of work that his ERA sits at 2.99 despite this last start. Outfielder John Whittleman recorded just two hits in 19 at bats last week, striking out six times in five games.

Class-A

Like their Advanced-A brethren, the Kane County Cougars also snapped a five-game losing streak within the last few days. The club has now won two straight as they begin a six-game road trip. After posting a 2-4 record, Kane County is now 15-10 in the second half and tied with Quad Cities atop the league’s Western Division.

Who’s Hot

Another start brought yet another solid stat line for right-hander Greg Billo. Billo allowed one run over five innings against West Michigan on Wednesday, striking out four. Notably, this outing actually raised his ERA from 1.38 to a still-sterling 1.41. Billo continues to lead all qualifying full-season minor leaguers in earned run average. 18-year-old Cheslor Cuthbert continued his recent tear this week, as though his average “fell” to .329, Cuthbert worked four walks last week to maintain an impressive .383 on-base percentage.

Who’s Not

Outfielder Brett Eibner has continued to stumble at the plate, as his batting average stayed at .192 through last week’s play. After his late-June home run tear, Eibner has only homered once since June 30 and has just two extra-base hits since July 2. Both Yowill Espinal (.187) and Orlando Calixte (.204) are still looking to get themselves established at the plate as well.

Short Season

The Idaho Falls Chukars (Pioneer League) went 2-4 last week, allowing at least nine runs in all four of those losses. At 12-17, the Chukars remain in third place in the league’s South Division, seven games behind first-place Ogden. To get back in the race, Idaho Falls will look to improve on its 5.92 team ERA.

Who’s Hot

Runey Davis compiled another strong week in what is turning into an outstanding campaign for the outfielder. Davis had five hits and drew six walks in his four games since last week’s report, raising his on-base percentage to a remarkable .478, a figure that leads the league. Fellow outfielder Tyler Chism also turned in a great performance on the plate, cracking a pair of home runs as he raised his batting average from .262 to .288.

Who’s Not

Arkansas native Jonathan Dooley endured a rough outing in his last start, allowing nine earned runs in 3 2/3 innings against Missoula on July 17. Dooley has now walked 22 batters in 28 innings with a 9.96 ERA. Catcher Tyler Smith was hitless in two games last week and is now just 1-for-20 with the Chukars this season.

The Burlington Royals (Appalachian League) experienced an up-and-down seven day stretch, going 3-4 in the last week. At 11-18, the Royals have work to do to climb back in the league’s East Division. They currently reside in last place, six games behind the first-place Bluefield Blue Jays.

Who’s Hot

Slugging first baseman Murray Watts continues to crush Appy League pitching. Watts belted another pair of home runs to raise his league-leading total to 11. Watts has also drawn at least one walk in each of his last six games, raising his on-base percentage to a healthy .378. Infielder Justin Trapp has also been a key figure in the Royals’ offense, putting together a five-game hitting streak last week. Trapp’s 25 RBI put him three behind Watts for the team lead. Though he didn’t have a particularly remarkable week, Jovan Pickett’s body of work earned him a promotion to Kane County.

Who’s Not

On the mound, Robinson Yambati had another rough outing as he gave up four runs on five hits in just 2 1/3 innings against Bluefield. Yambati is allowing opposing hitters to bat .449 against him through six starts. Catcher Kenny Swab had just two hits in five games last week as he is now hitting just .135 in his first 10 games with Burlington.

Down in Surprise, Ariz., the AZL Royals (Arizona League) matched both Wilmington and Kane County with a five-game losing streak. The club went 1-5 since last week’s report, dropping their overall record to 9-15, 7 ½ games behind the Rangers’ complex league affiliate.

Who’s Hot

Infielder Nick DelGuidice racked up another three multi-hit games this week as he continues to make a great impression in Arizona. Though his average “plummeted” last week, DelGuidice is still hitting a remarkable .434. Outfielder Anthony Howard hit safely in his first seven games with the AZL Royals and is batting .400 through eight contests with the club. On the mound, reliever Andrew Stueve has allowed just two earned runs in 11 appearances, racking up 29 strikeouts against just two walks.

Who’s Not

Left-hander Cesar Ogando had a pair of rocky starts last week, allowing a total of eight runs in just an inning and two thirds. He has now walked more batters (13) than he has struck out (12). The AZL Royals are hitting an impressive .276 as a team, though Alexander Marquez is just 2-for-20 in the seven games in which he has played.

Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization

A change of scenery seems to be suiting Blake Johnson very well. After struggling in Omaha prior to his release from the Kansas City organization, Johnson fired four consecutive scoreless innings to begin his stint with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs. Johnson did allow two runs in as many innings on Wednesday but still has a solid 3.38 ERA. Fellow PCL reliever Dan Cortes had a solid week for the Tacoma Rainiers, firing three scoreless outings as he tries to get back on track.

At the plate, Corey Smith recorded just three bases hits for Triple-A Albuquerque but did crack his seventh home run as a member of the Isotopes. Over in the International League, Jordan Parraz has a six-game hitting streak for the Yankees’ affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Right-hander Juan Abreu finally saw his scoreless streak come to an end on Tuesday, taking the loss against the Louisville Bats. Abreu had not allowed a run since June 8, a stretch encompassing 14 straight scoreless outings. Abreu still has a rock-solid 2.14 ERA this season.

After his batting average fell to .218, utility man Ed Lucas was sent from Gwinnett to Double-A Mississippi, where he joins other formal Naturals Rowdy Hardy, Ben Swaggerty and Ernesto Mejia. Hardy allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings last week, while Swaggerty has not pitched since June 22. Swaggerty spent time on the disabled list and has yet to appear in a game since being re-activated. At the plate, Mejia had a bit of a slow week as he collected just three hits, with only a double going for extra bases.

Elsewhere, Chris McConnell is batting .214 with four extra-base hits for the Harrisburg Senators, while down in the Florida State League, Jose Duarte notched a pair of multi-hit games last week for the Jupiter Hammerheads. He is now joined in that league by Harold Mozingo, who recently signed with the Blue Jays and was assigned to Advanced-A Dunedin.

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.

When the New York Giants (57-27) came into St. Louis on July 15, 1954, manager Eddie Stanky knew he had his hands full. The Giants were a very solid team and were playing exceptional baseball. Their pitching was very good, and if the opposition somehow got into the bullpen, they had to contend with the likes of Hoyt Willhem (12-4) and Marv Grissom (10-7), both with ERA’s hovering around 2 runs per game. If that wasn’t enough, manning center field was a young slugger named Willie Mays. Mays would go on to win the first of his two Most Valuable Player awards, the other coming in 1965.

The Cardinals would split the first two of this early summer three game series. They would be shut out in the opener, 4-0, but after nearly blowing a lead late, Ray Jablonski drove in Wally Moon with a 2 out walk off single in the ninth. That set up an exciting rubber game on Saturday.

Royce Lint would get the start for the Cardinals. The rookie left-hander would start the season in the bullpen, and had been shaky at times. He had also been able to work long relief, often 5 innings or more. Thanks to a doubleheader in Chicago on July 4, Lint would make his first major league start and it was a dandy – a complete game shutout at Wrigley Field. That would earn him another start, and he pitched well enough to win, but the Cardinals bats did not cooperate. This game would be his third start, and also the shortest of his brief career, lasting just 1/3 of an inning.

Cot Deal

Three of the first four Giants batters would reach base against Lint. With the score 2-0, Stanky goes to his bullpen for Cot Deal. Deal was a veteran who had been called up several times, but failed to stay with the big club for long. Entering the game in a difficult situation, he gets Willie Mays to hit into a double play, ending the inning without any further damage.

Deal would retire the Giants in order in the second inning, but totally fell apart in the third. Deal would face seven men in that brutal inning, not retiring any of them. A pair of errors by Ray Jablonski, the late inning hero the day before, extended the inning and led to a barrage of subsequent hits and runs.

Ralph Beard would enter the game with runners on the corners and a 7-0 deficit. A pair of fly balls would give the Giants two more runs and a seemingly insurmountable 9-0 lead. Or that’s what the modest crowd at Sportman’s Park thought.

Beard would pitch three more scoreless innings, doing all that he could to give the Cardinals a chance for a comeback. That comeback would start in the sixth inning.

Giants starter, Johnny Antonelli, had been cruising until the Cardinals bats came to life in the sixth inning. And that inning reads like a Who’s Who in Cardinals history: Wally Moon, Stan Musial, Joe Cunningham and Red Schoendienst. The big blow in the inning was a two out double by Red, cutting the Giants lead to 9-5. The Cardinals also managed to chase Atonelli, with Hoyt Willhem taking over in relief.

The Cardinals would pull even closer in the seventh. With Ray Jablonski on first base with two outs, pinch hitter Solly Hemus draws a walk. Pinch hitter Joe Frazier would rip a triple, scoring Jablonski and Hemus. That would be the end of Wilhelm’s appearance, a rare short and ineffective outing. Frazier would not stay on third base for long. A Rip Repulski single brought the Cardinals to within a run at 9-8.

Meanwhile the Cardinals bullpen was just brilliant. The Giants had not been able to mount anything resembling a rally against Ralph Beard, Joe Presko, and the new Cardinals hurler, Al Brazle.

Harry "Peanuts" Lowrey

With the score still 9-8 in favor of the Giants, the Cardinals were about to accomplish the unthinkable. After chasing Hoyt Willhem, they were about to tie the game against the Giants All Star reliever, Marv Grissom. And it was just the kind of run you would expect in a game like this. With runners at first and second base with one out, Joe Cunningham grounded into what looked like an inning ending double play. But the 3-6-3 is one of the hardest to turn, and the Giants failed to do so. Dick Schofield, grandfather of the Washington Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth, scored from second base when a throw went wild, tying the game. Solly Hemus would extend the inning with a single, putting the go-ahead run on third base. Unfortunately, Peanuts Lowrey was unable to drive Cunningham home.

The game would go into the ninth inning tied at 9 runs apiece. Marv Grissom and Harvey Haddix were now the pitchers of record. They would still be on the mound when the Giants took the lead in the 11th inning, and it was a beautifully manufactured run, typical of how that Giants team won many of those 58 games. A lead-off single, sacrifice bunt and infield single would put the potential winning run on third base. That run would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Don Mueller. Haddix limited the damage to just one run, but that would prove to be enough as Windy McCall retires the now disappointed Cardinals in order in the bottom of the 11th.

Marv Grissom failed to earn the save, but a courageous long relief effort was enough to earn him the win. McCall would pick up the save. Harvey Haddix would take the loss for the Cardinals.

Following this series, the Giants would continue steamrolling over opponents in the National League. They would go on to win 97 games, capturing the NL Pennant by 5 games over their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. In a workman like fashion, they would sweep the Cleveland Indians in the World Series.

Bob Netherton covers Cardinals history for i70baseball.com and writes at On the Outside Corner. You may follow Bob on Twitter here or on Facebook here.