SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas pitcher Sugar Ray Marimon turned in his longest performance in a month, and Whit Merrifield hit a pair of RBI doubles as the Naturals held off Springfield 6-5 before 3,954 in Arvest Ballpark.
Springfield (14-13) scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning and had runners at second and third, but Naturals (14-13) reliever Zach Jackson struck out cleanup hitter Chris Swauger to end the game.
Marimon (6-10) carried a one-hitter into the seventh, but gave up two doubles and a triple as the Cardinals scored a pair of runs to cut the Northwest Arkansas lead to 5-2. Marimon gave up four hits, walked three and struckout five in seven innings of work.
Northwest Arkansas infielder Angel Franco was 3-for-4 with three singles as the Naturals finished with nine hits. Franco is 7-of-18 since coming off the disabled list July 13.
The Lingo
“Jackson came in and saved us. Marimon used his fastball better, and he had a good breaking ball. I thought it was one of his best outings out of his last three or four.” — Naturals manager Brian Poldberg
Short Hops
w Royals right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer will make his Double-A debut Saturday when he gets the start against Springfield. Zimmer (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) was Kansas City’s top pick in the 2012 draft (fifth overall) and was 4-8 with a 4.82 ERA at Class A-Advanced Wilmington. He was 2-0 in his last two starts with 23 strikeouts in 11 innings of work.
w Naturals infielder Rey Navarro extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a single in the sixth inning. He also walked twice.
w Springfield designated hitter Ruben Gotay and Cardinals manager Mike Shildt were ejected after Gotay struck out for the third time in the eighth inning.
Extra Bases: Orlando Calixte and Mitch Canham each had RBI sacrifice flys for the Naturals. … Jon Keck relieved Marimon in the eighth and threw just one strike in 11 pitches before being replaced. … Natutals designated hitter Matt Fields collected two RBI and now has a Texas League best 69 RBIs.
Royals Pipeline: Class-A Lexington shortstop Raul Mondesi, 17, is batting .265 with 38 RBIs, 11 doubles, five triples and five home runs. He was signed by the Royals ($2 million) on July 27th, 2011, which was his 16th birthday. His father, Raul Mondesi, was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994 while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The elder Mondesi is currently the mayor of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic.
On Deck: Right-handed pitcher Aaron Brooks (3-3, 5.53 ERA) will start for the Naturals tonight, while Springfield will send lefty Jonathan Cornelius (2-3, 5.11 ERA) to the hill.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
Upcoming Promotions: There will be post-game fireworks tonight.
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com.
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Castillo, Baker (6), Almarante (7) and Stanley; Marimon, Keck (8), Alexander (8), Jackson (9) and Pina. W — Marimon, 6-10. L — Castillo, 6-6. Save _ Jackson, 11. HRs — None