Dwyer, Romak help Naturals roll Sunday
Fresh off his best start of the year - a eight-inning, nine-strikeout performance against Tulsa on Tuesday - Dwyer (5-9) retired the first Springfield (16-20, 48-58) batters he faced before Chris Swauger singled with two out in the third. Dwyer then worked around a leadoff double in the fourth to keep the Cardinals.
Firing blanks until Jose Garcia led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, Dwyer again displayed impressive control, walking just one batter for a second straight outing. The southpaw also fanned five hitters on Sunday, and has combined to strike out 14 against just a pair of walks over his last two starts.
The Naturals (19-17, 54-49) gave their starter a lead before Dwyer even took the mound. In the top of the first, Paulo Orlando led off the game with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on Jamie Romak's RBI single, giving Northwest Arkansas a 1-0 lead. That lead increased in the next inning, as Ryan Eigsti doubled home Rey Navarro.
With runners on second and third in the top of the fourth, Orlando hit an infield single. Springfield pitcher Joe Kelly then hit Orlando with his throw to first as the error allowed both runners to cross the plate. Though Kelly (2-2) settled down after that, finishing six innings, his miscue gave the visitors a comfortable 4-0 margin.
After Garcia's homer made the score 4-1, the Naturals broke the game open in the top of the seventh. Eigsti opened the inning with a double off of reliever Jared Lyman. After Orlando singled and stole second, the Cardinals elected to intentionally walk Wil Myers, loading the bases. Jamie Romak made Springfield pay for that decision, hammering a 1-1 pitch well over the wall for his first grand slam of the season.
On the final day of July, Romak's slam capped a remarkable individual month. Romak belted 10 home runs in July, more than half of his team-leading total of 19. This month, he homered in three straight games on two separate occasions and finished July with three long balls in a two-day span.
Orlando provided some additional insurance with an RBI single in the top of the eighth, his fourth hit of the game. Kevin Chapman relieved Dwyer and worked the final two innings, retiring all six batters he faced with three strikeouts. Chapman needed just 24 pitches to finish the game.
Orlando, Romak, Navarro and Eigsti each recorded a multi-hit game for the Naturals. The four-hit game was Orlando's first of the season, while Eigsti has now hit safely in all six games in which he has come to the plate at Double-A this season.
Northwest Arkansas pitching coach Larry Carter was ejected from Sunday's game after Swauger was ruled to have beat out an infield grounder in the bottom of the seventh.
The series concludes on Monday night, as Jake Odorizzi (3-0, 4.71) looks to win a third consecutive start as he takes on Springfield's John Gast (2-1, 4.26). The first pitch is set for approximately 7:07 p.m. and all the action will be broadcast live on ESPN 92.1 The Ticket.