Teaford Shuts Down Travelers

By Paul Nielsen

Posted: September 3, 2010 at 6:02 a.m.

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SPRINGDALE — An influx of Kansas City pitching prospects pushed Northwest Arkansas pitcher Everett Teaford to the Naturals’ bullpen when the season started back in April.

Now, five months later, Teaford is the ace of the Naturals staff and perhaps the best starter right now in the Texas League.

Teaford took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the left-hander struck out six in a two-hit performance as the Naturals defeated Arkansas 7-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday night in Arvest Ballpark.

Clint Robinson and Johnny Giavotella hit home runs in the nightcap as the Naturals won 5-0 in a game that was called because of rain after 4 1/2 innings. Robinson’s two-run home run was his 28th of the year and gave Northwest Arkansas a 4-0 lead in the third.

Teaford (14-3, 3.36 ERA) is 8-0 since June 20 and has a 1.27 ERA in his last 10 games. He has 49 strikeouts and 14 walks in his last 42 1/3 innings. He went 6 1/3 innings in Thursday’s seven-inning contest.

“(Teaford) changed speeds, his fastball location was good and his curveball was a good pitch tonight,” Naturals manager Brian Poldberg said. “He was aggressive.”

With the Texas League playoffs beginning Wednesday, Teaford could throw the first pitch when the Naturals host either Springfield or Tulsa in Arvest Ballpark.

“That’s still up for discussion,” Poldberg said. “We have a lot of different ways we can go.”

Teaford’s velocity has increased to where his fastball is consistently in the low 90s and the 2006 12th-round draft pick said he is more comfortable on the mound.

“I’m throwing strikes pretty much with all my pitches,” Teaford said. “I’m just getting ahead of guys, that’s the main thing.”

Johnny Giavotella provided most of the offense in the first game with a 3-for-4 effort that included a two-run double in the Naturals’ four-run second. Giavotella (.325) leads the Texas League with 164 hits.

TRAVELERS AT THE PLATE: Andrew Romine broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the sixth. Roberto Lopez added an RBI double in the sixth.

NATURALS AT THE PLATE: Manny Pina was 2-for-2 with a RBI on a sacrifice fly.

TRAVELERS ON THE MOUND: Starter Manuel Flores (1-5, 5.81 ERA) took the loss after giving up 11 hits and six earned runs in going the distance. He didn’t record a strikeout.

NATURALS ON THE MOUND: Reliever Barry Bowden gave up a single in 2/3 of an inning of work.

EXTRA BASES: Naturals lefty John Lamb has been named the Royals’ minor league Pitcher of the Year. In three levels this season, Lamb, the No. 7 prospect in the organization, is 10-7 with a 2.33 ERA.

ALUMNI UPDATE: Former Naturals third baseman Mike Moustakas hit his 36th minor league home run Thursday and his 15th for Triple-A Omaha.

ON DECK: Right-hander Blake Johnson (4-3, 4.00 ERA) will start tonight for the Naturals while top Kansas City prospect Mike Montgomery (5-3, 3.53) will throw the first pitch of Saturday’s 1 p.m. game. That means Montgomery likely won’t throw again until Game 2 of the Texas League North Division Championship Series, which is scheduled for Thursday in Arvest Ballpark. Game 1 is at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Arvest.

ON THE WEB: www.nwanaturals.com.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: See today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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