GRIFFIN TOSSES GEM AS NATURALS WIN AGAIN

SPRINGDALE, Ark - A pair of three-run homers was more than enough offense for starter Foster Griffin (W, 8-12) as he tossed another gem as Northwest Arkansas wins again. The Naturals (22-26, 57-61) defeat the Frisco RoughRiders (28-21, 52-67) by a 6-2 final at Arvest Ballpark on Saturday night to improve to 8-1 during this 10-game homestand with the finale set for Sunday.
Griffin made his team-leading 23^rd start of the season and was dominant once again. The former first round draft pick in 2014 scattered seven hits through 6.1 innings pitched where he allowed only a run while striking out five. The lone blemish on Griffin's line tonight was a solo home run that he allowed to Jose Cardona to begin the fourth. The victory was Griffin's fifth consecutive win as he's gone 5-0 over his last five appearances while only allowing five earned runs in 31.1 innings pitched.
While being out-hit on the night, the Northwest Arkansas offense did just enough and delivered when it mattered with two big swings of the bat. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Naturals put runners on first and third on a double from Corey Toups and a single by Xavier Fernández . That brought up Erick Mejia and the leadoff hitter deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left for a 3-1 lead.

Northwest Arkansas would strike again in the seventh against Frisco reliever Wei-Chieh Huang . A two-out triple by Samir Dueñez and a walk to Kelvin Gutierrez set the stage for Alex Liddi . The veteran slugger got a 1-2 breaking ball and crushed it over the wall in left for the Naturals second three-run homer of the game. The big fly gives Liddi a team-high 20 on the year to go along with 56 RBIs. For his career, Liddi has 33 home runs with the Naturals putting him in second-place on the all-time list.
Naturals' reliever Walker Sheller (S, 1) took over for Griffin in the seventh and immediately escaped a jam with runners on second and third to keep the lead at 3-1 at the time. The right-hander would go on to work the final 2.2 innings of the game to secure his first save of the season. He allowed three hits, a run on a homer by Eliezer Álvarez in the eighth, and struck out two.
Frisco starter Yohander Méndez (L, 1-1) took the loss as he gave up three runs through 5.0 innings of work.
Northwest Arkansas will conclude their series against the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers, tomorrow afternoon - Sunday, August 12 - with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Gates will open at Arvest Ballpark at 1:00 p.m. for a Kids Eat FREE Family Sunday presented by Good Humor featuring Bark in the Ballpark by I and love and you and Mercy Kids Run the Bases. In the finale, the Naturals will tab left-hander Luis Lugo (0-1, 6.75 ERA) to square off against right-hander Pedro Payano (4-8, 5.90 ERA) of the RoughRiders. Catch all of the live play-by-play action on Sunday afternoon with the Voice of the Naturals Benjamin Kelly on KQSM - 92.1 The Ticket starting at 1:45 p.m. for the Indigo Sky Casino Pregame Show.
Follow the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Facebook and Twitter @NWANaturals all throughout the year by using the hashtag #NaturalPastime and #CrowntoCrown for all of our up-to-date information on the 2018 season of Naturals baseball.
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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