NATURALS WIN PITCHERS' DUEL; SHUTOUT CARDINALS

SPRINGDALE, Ark - Northwest Arkansas has caught fire of late and were victorious again on Saturday night at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals (17-25, 52-60) behind left-hander Foster Griffin (W, 7-12) won a pitchers' duel over the Springfield Cardinals (18-25, 51-62) in shutout fashion, 1-0. The victory earns Northwest Arkansas their fourth series win in their last five opportunities.
Griffin logged his team-leading 22^nd start of the season and was brilliant throughout the night. The former first round draft pick won his fourth straight decision, which is the longest winning streak by a Naturals' starter this season, after holding Springfield scoreless through 7.0 innings of work. In his last four outings, he is 4-0 with a 1.44 earned run average and 18 strikeouts.
Evan Kruczynski (L, 1-1) lived up to the billing and was extremely good in his second Double-A start for Springfield. The big left-hander gave up just a run on six hits through 6.0 innings of work but was ultimately outdueled by Griffin and the Naturals.

The lone blemish came in the sixth when Jecksson Flores started a two-out rally with a triple, his second of the year, into the gap in left-center field. Samir Dueñez would then deliver the game-winning run with a clutch single to center to plate Flores.
After a scoreless seventh, Naturals' manager Mike Rojas turned to the bullpen and right-hander Pedro Fernandez. Fernandez (S, 1) was up to the task as he fired 2.0 scoreless frames to preserve the shutout victory to earn him his first save of the season.
The shutout win was the Naturals seventh of the year in what was the fastest game played this season. The two hour and nine minute game broke the previous two hour and 10 minute mark set on May 19 in game against Springfield at Hammons Field.
Northwest Arkansas will conclude their series against the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, with the series finale tomorrow afternoon - Sunday, August 5 - with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Gates will open at Arvest Ballpark at 1:00 p.m. for a Strike Coloring Magnet Giveaway by Mercy Kids on Kids Eat FREE Family Sunday featuring Mercy Kids Run the Bases. In the finale, the Naturals will give the baseball to left-hander Luis Lugo (0-1, 6.14 ERA) and he'll be opposed by Cardinal newcomer Génesis Cabrera (7-6, 4.12 ERA in Montgomery) whom will be making his first start for Springfield since coming over in the Tommy Pham deal from the Tampa Bay Rays. Catch all the live play-by-play action 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.
-Naturals-