SPRINGDALE -- Jason Vargas wasn't looking for anything particularly special in his rehab assignment Monday night.
The 32-year-old left-handed pitcher, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list in June, said he was just hoping to have a good outing in his first start since straining his flexor.
NW ARKANSAS 5, MIDLAND 2
Midland^000^101^000^—^2^8^1
NW Arkansas^300^101^00x^—^5^10^0
Midland^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Angle, RF^5^0^1^0^0^1^1^.229
Oberacker, CF^3^1^2^1^1^0^0^.295
Pinder, SS^4^0^1^0^0^1^3^.297
Ravelo, 1B^3^0^0^0^1^0^3^.300
Maxwell, DH^4^0^1^0^0^1^1^.257
Walsh, 2B^4^1^2^1^0^0^1^.284
Brugman, LF^3^0^1^0^1^0^0^.261
Kirkland, 3B^3^0^0^0^0^2^3^.189
Rickles, C^4^0^0^0^0^1^1^.167
Totals^33^2^8^2^3^6^13^
2B: Pinder (17), Angle (7), Brugman (15). HR: Oberacker (5), Walsh (11). TB: Angle 2; Pinder 2; Brugman 2; Maxwell; Walsh 5; Oberacker 5. RBI: Oberacker (32), Walsh (35).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ravelo 2; Kirkland 2; Angle. SAC: Kirkland. GIDP: Walsh. Team RISP: 1-for-7. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Hall (1, pickoff).
NW Arkansas^AB^R^H^RBI^BB^SO^LOB^AVG
Franco, 2B^4^1^1^0^0^1^3^.309
Starling, CF^4^0^0^0^0^0^1^.246
Liddi, 3B^3^0^1^0^1^2^1^.280
Bonifacio, J, LF^4^1^1^1^0^1^1^.235
Adams, L, RF^3^2^1^1^1^0^1^.250
Dozier, DH^4^0^2^1^0^1^0^.222
Evans, C^4^1^2^0^0^1^3^.276
Schwindel, 1B^4^0^1^1^0^0^2^.273
Torres, Ra, SS^3^0^1^1^0^0^2^.294
Totals^33^5^10^5^2^6^14^
2B: Franco (12), Bonifacio, J (16), Dozier (21), Liddi (20), Evans 2 (10), Torres, Ra (1), Schwindel (1). TB: Schwindel 2; Torres, Ra 2; Bonifacio, J 2; Dozier 3; Liddi 2; Adams, L; Evans 4; Franco 2. RBI: Bonifacio, J (50), Adams, L (21), Dozier (31), Torres, Ra (1), Schwindel (2).
2-out RBI: Bonifacio, J; Adams, L; Dozier; Torres, Ra. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Evans; Adams, L; Franco 3; Schwindel. Team RISP: 6-for-17.
Team LOB: 6. CS: Liddi (1). FIELDING DP.
PITCHING
Midland^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Overton (L, 1-1)^5.0^7^4^4^1^2^0^4.20
Hall^1.0^2^1^1^1^2^0^2.76
Avila, A^2.0^1^0^0^0^2^0^4.21
NW Arkansas^IP^H^R^ER^BB^SO^HR^ERA
Vargas, J (W, 1-0)^5.1^7^2^2^2^2^2^3.38
Stumpf (H, 4)^1.2^0^0^0^1^3^0^4.17
Zimmer^2.0^1^0^0^0^1^0^0.00
Umpires: HP: Ramon Hernandez. 1B: Derek Eaton. 3B: Sean Allen.
T: 2:19. Att: 3,772.
Vargas not only hit his marks, he also earned the win as Northwest Arkansas topped Midland 5-2 in front of 3,772 fans at Arvest Ballpark in Texas League baseball action to snap a seven-game losing streak.
"I was just looking to get up and down and throw the amount of pitches I needed to," Vargas said. "I was able to get some ground balls. A couple of guys squared some up and got me in a situation where I had to do some things to get out of the inning, but overall it was a good day, especially to get a win."
Vargas, who started Game 4 of the 2014 World Series for the Kansas City Royals, went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs -- both on solo home runs -- to go along with two strikeouts.
He did not know what the next step in his rehab process would be, saying he would return to Kansas City today and meet with the Royals' trainers.
Naturals Manager Vance Wilson said Vargas was able to throw all his pitches effectively.
"He had great depth on his curveball and his changeup was especially effective against their righties," Wilson said.
The Naturals (45-42) jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Angel Franco, Alex Liddi and Lane Adams all crushed doubles. It was a sign of things to come as Northwest Arkansas set a single-game record with eight doubles.
"The was big, especially with two outs," Wilson said of the first-inning outburst. "We haven't been scoring a lot lately, so that was huge with a Major League pitcher on the mound."
The Naturals added runs in the fourth on an RBI double by Ramon Torres that drove in Zane Evans, who had also doubled. And in the sixth, Frank Schwindel doubled home Lane Adams.
Naturals' relievers Daniel Stumpf and Kyle Zimmer were dominant in relief of Vargas, combining to go 32/3 innings and allowing just one hit with four strikeouts.
Midland (46-42) got solo home runs from Chad Oberacker in the fourth and Colin Walsh in the sixth.
Short Hops
• It was the Naturals' first win against Midland this season. Northwest Arkansas was swept at Midland last week, then dropped the first two games of this series.
• Not only did Alex Liddi swing a hot bat for the Naturals, he also made a nice backhand stop on a smash by Chad Pinder in the fourth inning to prevent a likely double down the third-base line.
• Zane Evans' double down left line in eighth inning was the team's eighth double of the game, breaking the team record of seven, set in 2013 at Springfield.
Extra Bases:
Monday's win snapped a five-game losing streak to Midland. The Rockhounds swept a three-game series from Northwest Arkansas last week, then won the first two games of this series. ... Before the three-run first inning, Midland had shut out the Naturals in back-to-back games. ... Six of the Naturals' nine hitters had a double.
On Deck: Northwest Arkansas is off today and will head to Springfield, Mo., to open a four-game series with the Cardinals on Wednesday at Hammond Field. The Naturals return home on July 19 to host Tulsa in a four-game series.
On The Air: KQSM-FM 92.1
On The Web: www.nwanaturals.com
Chip Souza can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAChip.
Sports on 07/14/2015