TOUPS BIG IN RETURN, OGANDO SHINES IN 4-2 WIN AT SPRINGFIELD

SPRINGDALE, Mo. - It was time. It had been 364 days since the Naturals last win at Hammons Field and on Friday night, Northwest Arkansas was not going to let this opportunity slip away. The Naturals beat the Springfield Cardinals on Friday night by a 4-2 final score behind seven shutout frames from Emilio Ogando and a big offensive night from Corey Toups . It marked the first win in Springfield, Mo. since May 19, 2017.
Ogando (3-2, 4.98) worked in-and-out of traffic all night; but found ways to dodge any damage, keeping up with Springfield's starter, Jake Woodford (2-5, 4.66). The left-hander worked out of a first and second jam in the second inning by picking off José Godoy at second base to end the Cardinals threat.
In the third inning, he stranded a lead-off double on second base, worked around a one-out single in the fourth, left runners at second and third in the fifth and a two-out single in the sixth. Ogando ended his night by throwing a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh on just 12 pitches and completed seven innings, scattered seven hits, struck out one batter and did not allow a walk.

The offense came to his aid, finally, in the sixth inning. Woodford allowed a lead-off double to Donnie Dewees to begin the contest; but went on to retired 15 consecutive batters before a lead-off triple by Toups. Two batters later, Dewees hit a line-drive to deep centerfield to plate Toups and break the scoreless time.
Toups came up big again in the seventh inning against Woodford. After Nick Dini coaxed a two-out walk, Toups blasted a two-run shot over the rightfield fence to extend the Naturals lead to 3-0. It marked the first home run for Toups since April 8, the third game of the season.
Erick Mejia added an important insurance run in the eighth inning with a solo shot over the right-centerfield wall - his fourth home run of the season and third over the last five games, giving the Naturals a 4-0 lead.
Yunior Marte worked 1.2 innings of two-run baseball before Luis Vasquez entered to notch the final two outs via strikeout and earn his second save in as many days and third on the year.
Northwest Arkansas (19-21) has won four straight games - the longest winning streak of 2018 - and are winners of seven of the club's last eight games. The Cardinals out-hit the Naturals tonight, 12-6; but Northwest Arkansas came up with the hits when it mattered most.
Toups finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs in his first game back from the disabled list since April 28. Dewees ended 1-for-3 along with Mejia and Nicky Lopez as well.
The series continues at Hammons Field on Saturday night with a 6:10 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander, Andres Machado (0-1, 1.80) will make his second start of the season for Northwest Arkansas and his eighth start of 2018 against Major League rehabber, Alex Reyes for the Cardinals. Reyes is coming back from Tommy John surgery and has been on the St. Louis disabled list since March 30, 2017.
Join the Voice of the Naturals, Benjamin Kelly, with a 5:50 p.m. pregame show leading up to first pitch to the 6:10 on AM-1590 the Ticket-2 and the Naturals Radio Network.
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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