'Hounds Drop Opener to Arkansas

Early in a scoreless game, we said on RockHounds Radio that, if we looked at the baseball game in boxing terms, the Arkansas Travelers would have been "ahead on points," having had far more scoring chances than the RockHounds.   Before the game was over, it would be a case of "punch and counter-punch," with the counter-punching Travelers defeating the 'Hounds, 4-2, at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  
The RockHounds scored single runs in the sixth and seventh and Arkansas countered with two runs both times.
The RockHounds broke the scoreless tie in the sixth on singles from J.P. Sportman and Tyler Ramirez and Eli White's sharp RBI grounder, with a tremendous play from Travs third baseman Logan Taylor turning a would-be hit into an RBI fielder's choice.
Beau Amaral's two-out, two-run single in the home half of the sixth … counter-punch # 1 … put the Travelers on top, 2-1.
Santiago Chávez' leadoff single in the seventh turned into the game-tying run on Tyler Marincov's double to left-center but the Travs, again, counter-punched in the home half of the seventh against reliever Sam Bragg. A leadoff walk to Braden Bishop and back-to-back two-out RBI hits from Chris Mariscal (single) and Logan Taylor (double) gave Arkansas the lead and an insurance run, respectively.
The 'Hounds dropped their fourth straight in the opener of a six-game road trip (Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas).
Notables                                                                                                                                          
J.P. Sportman (1-for-4, run) has hit in 10-of-his-last-11 games (16-43, .372) with four doubles, a home run and six RBI.
After seeing a 15-game on-base streak end Monday, Richie Martin went 2-for-4 (double) and is hitting .370 (17-for-46) in his last 11 games, with seven runs, four doubles, one home run and seven RBI.
Tyler Marincov has broken out of a slump, hitting in four straight games, going 5-for-13, with three doubles, a home run and three RBI.
Santiago Chavez (1-for-4, run) has reached base in each of the 12 games in which he has at least one plate appearance (6-of-15, four runs, three doubles, two RBI). The RockHounds catcher also threw out one of two base-stealers Tuesday and is now 12-for-14 on the season.
Chris Mariscal led Arkansas, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one double and an RBI.
Sam Bragg took the loss, allowing two runs in the seventh.   After going 3-0, with a 1.29 in April (seven games), the 'Hounds reliever is 0-2, 10.13 in five appearances in May.
Roster Move                                                                                                                                    
Pitcher Logan Shore has been promoted to the RockHounds from the (Advanced-A) Stockton Ports. The 23-year-old right-hander, Oakland's second round draft choice in 2016, is rated the A's # 10 prospect by Baseball America and # 12 by MLB.com. After joining Stockton on April 29 (from extended spring training), Logan went 2-0, 1.21 in four starts, allowing 18 hits in 22-and-a-third innings. He walked just two batters while striking out 25 for a 0.90 WHIP.  At the University of Florida, Logan was a teammate of fellow A's prospect (and former RockHound) A.J. Puk and was the Gators' Saturday starter.
Completely Useless But Kinda Cool Stat(s)                                                                           
With Chris Mariscal at first and one out in the fourth inning, Joe De Carlo sent a pop-up to the right side. (Second baseman) Mikey White couldn't find it and both (shortstop) Richie Martin and (right fielder) Tyler Marincov saw it but had too much ground to cover to catch it. Mariscal saw it, too, and had to hold at first base in case it was caught. Marincov retrieved the ball and threw to second base for the force out, resulting in the time-honored "9-1 ground out at second base."
Next Game                                                                   
Wednesday, May 23   vs. Arkansas Travelers
Dickey-Stephens Park            North Little Rock, Arkansas
First pitch 7:10 p.m.    NewsTalk 550 with Bob Hards ... airtime 7:00 p.m.
- Second of a three-game series and a six-game road trip
- May 23-24 at Arkansas; May 25-27 at Northwest Arkansas
Probable Starters             
ARK:                     Nathan Bannister            (RH, 3-3, 4.95)
RH: Joel Seddon (RH,          2-2, 4.30)
Next at Security Bank Ballpark                           
May 29-June 3       vs. Arkansas Travelers & Northwest Arkansas Naturals