The Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, experienced the joy of participating in one of baseball’s truly rare moments, the no-hitter.  The Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals experienced the agony of being on the receiving end.

The following press releases were sent in to the i70 mailbox from the two teams.

Naturals No-Hit Cardinals
Holland, Dwyer, Lafferty, Volz combine to throw gem

SPRINGDALE, AR- The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (17-16) got the second no-hitter in franchise history topping the Springfield Cardinals 2-0 on Thursday night at Arvest Ballpark.  The no-hitter was the first in the history of Arvest Ballpark, and the second for the Naturals, the last coming on July 19, 2011 at North Little Rock.

Greg Holland was brilliant in his second major league rehab start.  He used just 14 pitches to strikeout the side in order.  The Naturals offense wasted not time getting to Cardinals (14-19) starter Trevor Rosenthal (2-4) getting three consecutive singles to start the game.  The last one was an RBI single from Wil Myers to give the Naturals a 1-0 lead.  Rosenthal was able to get Mario Lisson to ground into a force out and strike out Eric Duncan to strand runners on second and third.  The Naturals offense tacked on a second run in the bottom of the fourth inning when Julio Rodriguez smacked an RBI single to right field to score Duncan making it 2-0.

Chris Dwyer (2-4) came in the second inning and picked up right where Holland left off.  Dwyer worked six and two thirds inning without allowing a hit walking two and hitting one batter.  Brendan Lafferty came on and kept the no-hit bid alive getting Kolten Wong to fly out to Paulo Orlando just one step in front of the fence.

Kendal Volz got Jermaine Curtis to line out to Colon at short to get the first out of the ninth inning.  Cardinals top prospect Oscar Taveras grounded out to second base for the second out.  Kyle Conley stepped to the plate as the last chance for the Cardinals and he grounded out to shortstop to complete the no-hitter.

Naturals No-Hit Cardinals in 2-0 Loss
Springfield Suffers First No-Hitter in Franchise History

Springfield, MO – After a tremendous eight-game homestand which saw the Cardinals go 6-2, the Springfield squad embarked on yet another eight-game road trip beginning with four in NW Arkansas against the Naturals.

The last time away from Hammons Field the Cardinals went 0-8 and set a franchise record for most consecutive road losses in a row; they looked to snap that stretch Thursday night with Trevor Rosenthal on the mound. The Naturals countered with Major League Rehabber Greg Holland for an inning then lefty Chris Dwyer, coming off a start in which he allowed 10 runs to Springfield.

After a quick top of the first, Rosenthal battled through to bottom of the inning.  After allowing three straight singles, including an RBI single by Wil Myers, the Naturals had a 1-0 lead.  The righty settled down however to retire the next three batters to limit the damage to just the one run.

The Naturals added another run in the 4^th as former Springfield Cardinal Eric Duncan singled, stole second with two outs and scored on an RBI single by Julio Rodriguez to grab a 2-0 lead.  Rosenthal would leave after just 4.1 innings and gave way to Kevin Thomas with a runner at second and one out.  Thomas would strikeout the next two batters to keep the game 2-0 after five.

Springfield had their first real scoring chance in the 6^th with two outs after a hit by pitch and a walk brought Oscar Taveras to the plate, but the Cardinals’ centerfielder flied out to shallow center field to retire the side.

Chris Dwyer was dominant for the Naturals pitching 6.2 innings of no-hit ball while striking out five and walking just two.  After a two out walk in the 8^th, Dwyer gave way to Brendan Lafferty.  Kolten Wong was able to get good wood on the ball, but flied out to the wall in right field keeping the Cardinals out of the hit column.

In the 9^th, closer Kendal Volz retired the Cardinals in order to complete the second no-hitter in Naturals history.  It was the first time in Springfield’s history that they were no-hit.

The Redbirds will continue their four-game set against the NW Arkansas Naturals Friday night at 7:30pm.  Michael Blazek will start for Springfield against Jake Odorizzi of the Naturals. 

SPRINGDALE, AR – Jake Odorizzi set a new single-game franchise record punching out 11 batters as the Naturals snapped their four-game slide with a 5-0 win over the Springfield Cardinals Monday night in the opener of a four-game series at Arvest Ballpark.

Odorizzi (2-1), in by far his most dominating Double-A outing since his mid-summer promotion last season, fanned 11 in seven innings to set a new franchise record.  Four different Naturals’ hurlers – most recently left-hander Will Smith last August 30th – had fanned ten in an outing. The Royals’ top right-handed pitching prospect, Odorizzi scattered his 11 strikeouts over his seven frames – setting down at least one batter via the strikeout in each inning in a brisk game that ended in two hours and 19 minutes.

Northwest Arkansas (6-11) started the effort necessary to back Odorizzi with a pair of runs in the third. Johnny Whittleman’s two-run double in the bottom of the third scored Christian Colon and Wil Myers and put the Naturals up by a 2-0 margin.

They added three runs of insurance in the eighth. Sharlon Schoop, inserted in the eighth as a defensive replacement at first base, homered to left and then after back to back singles by Kurt Mertins and Paulo Orlando, who was also inserted for defensive purposes, Julio Rodriguez recorded the first two RBI’s of his Naturals’ career with a two-run double.

Patrick Keating, the Naturals’ franchise leader in saves, worked around an eighth inning walk to help Odorizzi and the Naturals complete the four-hitter.  For Keating, who had a rough outing in the road series opener Thursday at North Little Rock, it was his league-leading fourth save on the season.

Starter John Gast took the loss for Springfield (8-9).  Coming into the game with the league lead in wins, Gast (3-1) allowed a pair of runs and eight hits over six frames of work.

Christian Colon and Kurt Mertins had two hits each for the Naturals, who totaled 12 on the night.  Outfielder Lorenzo Cain, on a rehab assignment from the Kansas City Royals, served as the designated hitter and leadoff batter.  He hit the ball very hard, but ended the night 0-for-5 in the second game of his rehab.

Game two of the series with Springfield is Tuesday night. Left-hander Noel Arguelles (0-2, 6.08) will take the hill for Northwest Arkansas opposite right-hander Trevor Rosenthal (1-2, 4.30) for the Cardinals.  First pitch is 7:00 P.M. Listen live on News/Talk 1030 KFAY.  The game will also be available on Milb.TV (subscription required).

SPRINGDALE, AR – Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera’s combined no-hitter that featured a triple play is up for vote in an online competition hosted byminorleaguebaseball.com that seeks to determine the best game at the Double-A classification from this past season.

On July 19^th, Smith, the Naturals’ ace combined with hard-throwing reliever Kelvin Herrera to no-hit the Arkansas Travelers in North Little Rock. The occasion marked the first no-hitter in the four-year history of the Naturals.

In the sixth inning, Smith allowed his only two baserunners as he walked the first two batters. Next, ninth-place Travelers’ hitter Alberto Rosario grounded into a 5-4-3 triple play, also a franchise first. Following the game, the Naturals, along with assistance from the Elias Sports Bureau and the Texas League, determined that neither in Major League history nor Texas League history has a triple play been turned during a no-hitter.

Further, the Naturals’ media relations department failed to find any evidence of the feat ever having been accomplished in professional baseball history. The game received attention from both statewide media in Arkansas as well as media in Kansas City, and was featured as a Top Ten play on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Naturals fans may also want to cast a vote in the ‘best team’ category, as the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, fresh off their Pacific Coast League Championship and berth in the Triple-A National Championship game, are up for that award.

Omaha players Luis Mendoza (best starter) and Lorenzo Cain, who’s cycle and seven RBI game landed Omaha in the running for Triple-A’s best game. Former Natural Salvador Perez’ third grand slam in the span of a week in late July came with Omaha; that game is also in the running for Triple-A’s best game of the year. And former Naturals’ slugger Kila Ka’aihue’s September 10^th homer that sent the Storm Chasers to the PCL Finals is up for the vote for one of the best homers this season across the minors.

Fans can visit nwanaturals.com and click on the media wall link and cast their vote. Voting concludes on October 20^th.

Texas League News and Notes from the Past Week

Players report to Fall League: Naturals’ outfielder Wil Myers along with several of his teammates, including shortstop Christian Colon, left-hander Brendan Lafferty, right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, and infielder Anthony Seratelli are all unpacking again, this time in Surprise, Arizona. Next week they’ll begin their season as the Royals’ representatives with the Surprise Saguaros, the Royals’ co-op affiliate in the AFL. Seratelli is a roster replacement for former Naturals’ first baseman and Texas League Triple-Crown winner Clint Robinson, who had surgery for a sports hernia and is headed to Arizona to rehab this weekend. The Fall League commences on October 4^th.

Playing for your country: A handful of Naturals are involved with their respective countries as they make preparations to compete in the 2011 Pan American Games. The competition will occur October 14^th-30^th in Guadalajara, Mexico. Tim Smith and Jamie Romak are once again teammates with Team Canada, andMario Santiago along with former Natural Irving Falu are expected to play for Puerto Rico. Former Diamond Hog Drew Smyly, who finished the season with the Detroit Tigers’ Double-A club, will play for Team USA as will Travelers’ pitcher Matt Shoemaker, the reigning Texas League Pitcher of the Year.

This will be the 16^th edition of the Pam American Games. The eight qualifying teams (USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Mexico) were determined through the qualifying tournament held last summer. Cuba has won the past eight Pan American Games dating back to 1971.

Instructional Insights: The Royals once again this season are fielding two clubs in Arizona this fall, not including the players with the Fall League team. They partner with the Texas Rangers for a Surprise-based “Advanced League” club and also have the regular Instructional League club which all teams typically field. The “Advanced League” club is where former Diamond Hog Brett Eibner, Naturals’ left-hander Kevin Chapman, and other players that spent all or part of 2011 with full-season Class-A clubs are placed, while the regular Instructional League roster features younger players including those drafted this past June.

Major League veteran, former Natural and Springdale resident Vance Wilson is managing one of the clubs, while former pitchers Devon Lowery and Julio Pimentel – both Naturals in 2008 – are serving among the coaching staff. Naturals’ clubhouse/equipment manager Danny Helmer is also in his second season working as an equipment manager in the Instructional League.

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.

Playoff Preview: First-Round In-State Showdown
Naturals, Travs meet in postseason for first time since 2008

SPRINGDALE, AR – After more than five months and a rain-shortened 137-game schedule, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Arkansas Travelers prepare to open the Texas League Division Series on Wednesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The teams will meet in the postseason for the second time – and first in three years – after a hotly-contested season series between the two teams.

For the first time in their four-year existence, the Naturals lost the season series to their in-state foe, as the Travelers emerged with a 15-14 record in the clubs’ matchups. But after winning just five of 13 first-half meetings, the Naturals went 9-7 against the Travelers in the second half, including a mid-July sweep in North Little Rock and a 3-1 mark in the crucial final home series at Arvest Ballpark. Having won five of their last six games to clinch their fourth consecutive second-half division title, the Naturals enter the postseason in much the same way that they did in 2008.

In that year, Naturals ripped off an eight-game winning streak in late August to hold off the Springfield Cardinals. That season, the Travelers had won the first-half title courtesy of a tiebreaker before falling off to the tune of a 26-44 record in the second half. This season, the Travelers edged the Naturals by a game in the first half and again finished the second half under .500. The Naturals hope that the parallels between the two seasons stop there, as in 2008, the Travelers blew Northwest Arkansas out of the playoffs with a clean sweep.

As is expected in minor league baseball, the two teams have nearly entirely different compositions from when they met three years ago. But one player who spans the two seasons happens to be one of the Naturals’ hottest bats. Mario Lisson ended the regular season on an eight-game hitting streak that included five doubles and a pair of home runs. That impressive finish allowed him to share the final Texas League Player of the Week award with teammate Tim Smith, who has provided pop since returning from the disabled list. Hitting the shelf with a back injury right around the All-Star Break, Smith is 15-37 (.405) with three doubles and a pair of homers since returning from the disabled list. Smith and Lisson have helped to anchor a lineup that is without a true weak spot, from Derrick Robinson’s league-leading 55 steals to Jamie Romak’s 23 home runs and Wil Myers’ solid finish (.267, eight doubles, five home runs after Aug. 1).

Meanwhile, the Travelers in the post-season will lack their offensive ignitor, Mike Trout, who was promoted to Anaheim. One of the consensus top prospects in baseball, Trout earlier today was named by Baseball America as the 2011 Minor League Player of the Year. They’ve also lost one of the top starters in the league in right-hander Garrett Richards, who is also now with the big club as well as their regular closer for the first three months of the season, Ryan Brasier, who left for Triple-A. Without those cornerstone players, the Travelers struggled offensively and sometimes even on the pitching side in the season’s second half.

The Naturals aren’t unscathed, either as they’ll be without their Pitcher of the Year. After leading the league with 161 1/3 innings pitched, Will Smith has reached his organization-prescribed limit. Still, each of the Naturals’ top three starters enter the postseason with individual momentum. Chris Dwyer pitched into the seventh inning against the Travelers on Sep. 1, allowing just a run on three hits. One day later, Jake Odorizzi held Arkansas hitless until the seventh, yielding a lone base hit in seven scoreless frames. Finally, Mario Santiago battled through six innings of one-run ball – with eight strikeouts – in the Naturals’ division-clinching game at Tulsa on Sep. 3. Supporting these starters is a bullpen led by Blaine Hardy, who has been nothing but dominant since returning to Double-A. In 19 appearances with the Naturals this season, Hardy has a 1.59 ERA and is holding opponents to a .194 batting average. In addition, the southpaw has worked multiple innings in 12 of those 19 games.

The rest of the Naturals’ pitching staff is somewhat in flux, as the club will call on a pair of left-handers who spent the entirety of the season with Advanced-A Wilmington. Justin Marks and Ryan Dennick joined the team in advance of Wednesday’s roster deadline and will provide a pair of fresh arms, replacing Elisaul Pimentel and Kevin Chapman, each of whom left their last outing due to injury. Marks spent most of the year in Wilmington’s rotation, and the 23-year-old is a candidate to start either Game 4 or Game 5. Dennick struck out 51 batters in 53 2/3 innings out of the Blue Rock bullpen.

To this point, the Naturals only announced a starting pitcher for the first three games of the series. Dwyer (8-10, 5.60) takes the mound in Wednesday’s series opener against Texas League Pitcher of the Year Matt Shoemaker (12-5, 2.48). Thursday’s second game features Odorizzi (5-3, 4.72) against Chris Scholl (4-3, 2.32).

The series moves to Arvest Ballpark on Friday, as Santiago (5-1, 2.23) will match up against Traveler right-hander Orangel Arenas (9-10, 4.48). Friday’s game begins at 7:00 p.m. Should they become necessary, Game 4 is slated for 1:00 p.m. Saturday with a decisive fifth game on tap for Sunday at 6:00 p.m.

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.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals closed out a win over the Arkansas Travelers on Friday night and pitcher Chris Dwyer tied a franchise record with his performance.

The following is a press release provided to i70baseball by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals and is reprinted in its entirety.

Dwyer Ties Franchise K Mark In Naturals Win
Myers’ three-run HR provides the margin

SPRINGDALE, AR – Afforded a couple of extra outs by critical Travelers mistakes, the Naturals took full advantage and Wil Myers capitalized with a three-run bomb in the third, providing the necessary margin in a 6-2 win Friday night at Arvest Ballpark.

Travelers’ shortstop Darwin Perez booted a hot grounder off the bat of Jamie Romak for what would have been the final out of the third inning, the first of two errors they made leading to four unearned runs.

Given new life and holding a 1-0 lead they built on an RBI single by Ryan Eigsti in the second inning, Romak reached and Travelers’ starter Orangel Arenas (8-6) issued a walk to Anthony Seratelli before Wil Myers took a 1-0 fastball and lasered it over the wall where it ricocheted off a wall next to the Travs’ bullpen for his fifth homer on the season and a 4-0 Naturals’ lead.

Meanwhile, suddenly spectacular Naturals’ starter Chris Dwyer (6-9) mowed down Travs hitters with aplomb. Dwyer racked up ten strikeouts over six innings of work, tying a franchise single game record. Two Naturals’ hurlers in the club’s four year existence have accomplished the feat, most recently on June 18^th, 2008 when Dan Cortes fanned ten in a loss to Tulsa. Dwyer allowed four hits and two runs, one unearned, while issuing just two walks.

Those two runs for North Little Rock (18-23, 54-54) came in the fourth. Gabe Jacobo doubled down the left field line and moved to third on a double by Roberto Lopez. After Angel Castillo popped out for the second out, Alberto Rosario hit a hard grounder that Naturals’ second baseman Christian Colon was able to field at the outer edge of the infield. Colon’s throw to first was slightly offline and both runners scored as Colon was charged with a throwing error.

That was the end of the scoring for the Travs as Northwest Arkansas (22-19, 57-51) tacked on another in the sixth and one more in the eighth. Nick Francis reached with one out in the sixth when Travs’ third baseman Luis Jimenez allowed his three-hop hit to roll through his legs. Later in the frame Paulo Orlando, who was one of four Naturals to have a two-hit effort, drove him in with an RBI single.

Francis plated Wil Myers with an RBI single in the eighth to cap the scoring as Edgar Garcia took care of the rest on the mound for the Naturals, limiting the Travs to just a pair of baserunners as he allowed a single and a walk, both in the seventh. But Darwin Perez, unable to atone for his earlier miscue, grounded into the twin-killing to get the Naturals out of that threat. North Little Rock then went down in order in both the eighth and ninth as Garcia notched his second save with the Naturals.

The second game of the series on Saturday features Jake Odorizzi (3-1, 4.46), the Royals’ top right-handed pitching prospect as he looks to rebound from his first Double-A loss. He’ll match up with Traveler righty Eddie McKiernan (5-10, 5.72). Game time is 7 P.M, and the broadcast can be heard on ESPN 92.1 The Ticket. Tomorrow’s broadcast will also be available on MILB.TV (subscription required) and also broadcast on Jones TV (Channel 22 on Cox Cable in Northwest Arkansas) as well as on Time Warner Cable Metro Sports throughout the Kansas City metro as well as portions of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.