STARLING DRIVES IN THREE AS THE NATURALS WIN 10TH STRAIGHT
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A two-run home run and a RBI double by Naturals centerfielder Bubba Starling propelled the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (16-9) to the clubs franchise-best, 10th straight win over the Springfield Cardinals (6-19) on Tuesday night in a 5-3 final. Starling finished 2-for-4 with three RBI with his first home run of the season.
Right-hander J.C. Sulbaran (2-2, 3.33) turned in his second straight quality start against the Cardinals to earn his second straight win. The 25-year old hurler tossed 6.0 innings allowing one run on six hits and struck out three. Sulbaran did not allow a man to reach scoring position all night outside of the Jacob Wilson's solo home run in the second.
Starling gave the Northwest Arkansas a 2-0 lead after Hunter Dozier led off the second inning with a walk issued by Springfield's starter Andrew Morales (1-2, 3.42). The former first-round draft pick belted a 2-1 pitch well beyond the left-field wall for his first of the season.
Naturals designated hitter, Mike Bianucci extended his hitting streak to a league best 14 games with a solo home run - his sixth of the year - off Morales to increase the Northwest Arkansas advantage to 3-1. Starling came to bat with two runners on and two outs in the fifth inning and took Morales 1-2 pitch down the left-field foul line for an RBI double for his third RBI of night.
Springfield's Jonathan Rodriguez made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth producing a two-run double to cut in to the Naturals lead, 4-3. But, Alex Liddi's RBI triple scored Terrance Gore from third base to add the insurance tally in the top of the ninth. Left-hander Daniel Stumpf worked the final 1.1 innings to notch his second save while Malcom Culver bridged the gap for 1.2 innings of work between Sulbaran and Stumpf. Culver did not allow a hit.
Northwest Arkansas generated double-digit hits for the seventh time during the 10-game winning streak while the starting rotation has now turned in six quality starts in the last nine games and is 8-0 during the stretch.
With the win, the Naturals now move into a tie for first place in the Texas League North Division with the Arkansas Travelers 2-1 loss to the Tulsa Drillers Tuesday night. It is the first time the Naturals have been in first place all season.
Northwest Arkansas looks for their 11th straight win with a day game from Hammons Field on Wednesday, May 6. Right-hander Miguel Almonte (1-1, 5.00) hopes to build off his seven-strikeout performance from May 1 against Tulsa as he duels against right-hander Nick Petree (0-2, 5.87) in the 11:10 a.m. start.
Tune in to the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show with Benjamin Kelly set to hit the airwaves at 10:55 a.m. on 92.1, 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.
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