Wichita Eagle: Baseball

Wingnuts waste Hinson’s pitching gem

Jeffrey Lutz — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:29 CDT

There are often a multitude of complaints from an offense after it gets shut out — a missed opportunity here, poor execution there.

After the Wingnuts lost to New Jersey 1-0 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Thursday night, one grievance rose above the rest — the hard-luck loss Ryan Hinson was saddled with as the Wingnuts failed to score the runs that would have earned him a much-deserved win.

Hinson struck out 13 in eight efficient innings. His only blemish was the second inning, when the Jackals scored on a pair of doubles. That inning, though, also represented the best of Hinson, as he struck out the side on the way to a team record.

Royals’ comeback falls short against Angels

Bob Dutton — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:29 CDT

Finding a suitable low-note encore for losing a series at Houston is no easy task, but the Royals pulled it off Thursday night by becoming the first club to roll over for Angels right-hander Joe Blanton.

Yep, that’s where things are at the moment after

Los Angeles backed Blanton with a four-homer barrage against former teammate Ervin Santana in a 5-4 victory at Kauffman Stadium in the opener to a four-game weekend series.

Royals lose another to Astros

Bob Dutton — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:43 CDT

The best thing said about the Royals in their three days at Minute Maid Park is it could have been worse. But for a late rally Tuesday, they might have suffered a sweep against the American League’s worst club.

It was bad enough, though.

The Royals sent their ace to the mound in Wednesday’s finale and, as usually happens when James Shields pitches, their attack turtled and resulted in a 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros.

Wingnuts waiting for lower part of order to heat up

Jeffrey Lutz — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:56 CDT

Equating success — or lack thereof — between the Wingnuts’ offense and their overall play so far this season has been easy. When first four hitters in the batting order produce, the Wingnuts often win. When they don’t, Wichita usually loses.

The bottom of the order, mostly stocked with unproven players, has yet to make a collective difference for the Wingnuts. The top four hitters can sometimes mask the ineffectiveness of the rest, and Wichita’s superior pitching is also helping offset some of those problems.

Though little can be determined from results after seven games, Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper notices occasionally poor approaches at the plate from the younger players that occupy the bottom of the lineup. Hooper is confident, that the lineup can find balance and depth that will make the Wingnuts dangerous 1-through-9.

Astros help Royals end four-game skid

Bob Dutton — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:49 CDT

Well, hey, the Royals sure needed this, didn’t they? This being defined as the Houston Astros playing to form when the Royals desperately needed them to do do.

The Royals rallied Tuesday for a 7-3 victory at Minute Maid Park by scoring all seven runs against the Astros’ bullpen and with the aid of some atrocious defense.

So what?

Wingnuts fall to Gary 2-1

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:11 CDT

A play that Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper said later was a “botched call” brought in Gary-SouthShore’s only runs in a 2-1 victory over Wichita in an American Association game Tuesday afternoon in Gary, Ind.

With two outs in the fourth inning, Gary’s Drew Martinez hit a fly ball to left field. Colt Loehrs slid and attempted a diving catch, but the umpire ruled it a trap and two runs scored.

Hooper argued the call and was ejected.

Gary drops Wingnuts in opener

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:16 CDT

The Wichita Wingnuts los tto the Gary SouthShore RailCats 5-1 in their series opener on Monday in Gary, Ind.

Wichita startintg pitcher Kristhiam Linares too the loss in his debut, allowing two runs and six hits in five innings. Linares walked three and struck out five.

Alain Quijano earned the win for Gary with six shutout innings. Quijano allowed five hits, zero walks, and struck out three.

Wingnuts win rain-shortened game

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:36 CDT

The Wichita Wingnuts defeated the Kansas City T-Bones 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday in Kansas City, Kan.

The game was called after six innings due to heavy thunderstorms sweeping through the area.

The Wingnuts took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on Derek Perren’s RBI single that scored Cole Armstrong, who reached on a ground-rule double.

Oakland caps off disappointing weekend for Royals with sweep

BOB DUTTON — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:49 CDT

The script changed Sunday for the Royals, but not the ending as they concluded a three-game weekend pratfall in the East Bay with a 4-3 loss to the Oakland A’s.

“We had the lead in all three games,” left fielder Alex Gordon said, “but give them credit. They came back and pulled it off late. They did it to us three days in a row.”

The A’s capped their sweep when Yoenis Cespedes opened the eighth inning with a no-doubt homer against Kelvin Herrera — that’s eight homers yielded by Herrera in his last 14 innings.

Wingnuts rally to beat T-Bones

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:22 CDT

The Wichita Wingnuts rallied from an early, 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 win over the Kansas City T-Bones on Saturday night in Kansas City, Kan.

After trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Wingnuts’ pitchers combined for eight shutout innings.

Wichita’s C.J. Ziegler made the score 3-1 with a solo home run in the top of the second — Ziegler’s third homer in three games to start the season, which is one shy of the team record.

Wingnuts fall to T-Bones 5-4

Jeffrey Lutz — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:37 CDT

The veteran Wingnuts’ turn through the batting order was complete, and their younger players were going to decide Friday’s game against the Kansas City T-Bones.

The winning run stayed on first base as rookies Colt Loehrs and David Amberson made the final two outs to give Kansas City a 5-4 win at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The rookies missed their first chance to deliver their first difference-making hits, but as Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper sees it, that only makes them more likely to come through next time.

That’s why Hooper wasn’t concerned about the game coming down to the Wingnuts’ two most inexperienced players, even though veterans had a hand in all of the Wichita’s runs. C.J. Ziegler got the Wingnuts to within a run by leading off the bottom of the ninth with a home run.

Wingnuts shut out T-Bones in opener

Jeffrey Lutz — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:36 CDT

Even though Jon Link was nearly flawless through the first four innings of his start for the Wingnuts on Thursday, it was no indicator of how he would pitch as the game continued.

Link has spent almost all of his career as a relief pitcher, reaching the major leagues for nine games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009, so he isn’t accustomed to pitching more than an inning or two at a time.

While it was clear he was laboring after the fourth, Link’s final three innings appear just as impressive on paper. He pitched seven scoreless and the Wingnuts won their season-opener 8-0 over the Kansas City T-Bones at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Royals’ Yost says lineup changes are sign of platoons to come

Bob Dutton — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:18 CDT

Increased playing time in recent games for Jarrod Dyson and Elliot Johnson stems primarily, Royals manager Ned Yost said, from a desire to ride a player’s hot streak.

Yost dismissed the suggestion that he’s instituted a platoon arrangement in the outfield or at second base.

“I could play (Jeff) Francoeur (on Friday) against a right-hander,” he said. “Then it’s not a platoon. I’m going day-to-day right now. Dyson is swinging the bat well, so he’s playing more.”

Veteran Wingnuts pitchers making a fresh start

Jeffrey Lutz — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:29 CDT

Chris Smith’s welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment happened when he gave up a grand slam in 2008 to the second batter he ever faced. Once that was behind him, it became somewhat of a calming influence.

Jon Link is approaching his time with the Wingnuts similarly — something to get out of the way before he can be a productive pitcher in the upper levels of affiliated baseball again.

The calming influence will be a transition to starting that could make Smith and Link, both former major-league relievers, more marketable to MLB organizations. They’ll occupy the two spots in the rotation for the Wingnuts, and Link will make his 10th career start Thursday night as Wichita opens the season against Kansas City T-Bones at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Former Royals broadcaster Fred White dies

Bob Dutton — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:04 CDT

The news when it came Wednesday afternoon was surprising only in its suddenness. Those close to former Royals broadcaster Fred White knew he was terribly sick.

The Royals sent out word in the early afternoon that White, 76, had died of complications from melanoma. His death came one day after he officially retired from the club following a 40-year association.

“It’s kind of stunning,” longtime broadcast partner Denny Matthews said. “I talked to him two weeks ago. I was in his office, and nothing looked out of the ordinary or sounded out of the ordinary.

Wingnuts’ Kahaulelio can’t resist baseball’s allure

Jeffrey Lutz — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:13 CDT

Jake Kahaulelio had to be talked into returning to baseball this season. Now the Wingnuts second baseman can’t imagine ever being talked out of it.

Kahaulelio briefly retired during the offseason, sending the Wingnuts scrambling for a player who probably had little chance of matching Kahaulelio’s production and importance. Once personal issues that forced Kahaulelio from the game were resolved, he thought about coming back.

It took a conversation with former Wingnuts infielder Patrick Brooks to turn those thoughts into actions. Kahaulelio took Brooks’ words to heart and opted to return to Wichita, where he won the American Association batting title by hitting .372 and formed an exciting double-play combination with Ryan Khoury.

Wingnuts’ outfield young, but fast

Jeffrey Lutz — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:40 CDT

The start of the Wingnuts’ season on Thursday will be a relief for manager Kevin Hooper and his seemingly endless efforts to put together the team’s outfield.

Wichita’s plans have often gone awry during the offseason, as the Wingnuts had designs on an outfield filled with players who had previous success in the American Association and/or in affiliated baseball.

Injury and untimely and unforeseen defections have hampered those efforts, and the Wingnuts are left with an outfield made up of no players with affiliated baseball experience beyond rookie league and who are largely unproven.

Breaking down the Wingnuts

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:40 CDT

Pitcher

The Wingnuts of manager Kevin Hooper’s five-year era have been built on starting pitching, and this season appears no different. Anchoring the rotation are right-handers Chris Smith and Jon Link, who both pitched briefly in the major leagues. Another ex-MLB pitcher, Mike Burns, will serve as the bullpen coach and could be activated at some point. Ryan Hinson returns after winning 20 games over the last two seasons, and right-hander Junior Guerra is back in Wichita after spending last season in the Mexican League. In 2011, Guerra went 9-3 for the Wingnuts. Rounding out the rotation will probably be former WSU left-hander Anthony Capra, who had an inconsistent Wingnuts debut in 2012. The bullpen is once again led by Josh Dew, entering his third season as closer. Nick Walters gives Wichita a dominant left-handed specialist or eighth-inning setup reliever, while newcomers Lincoln Holdzkom, Tyler White, Daniel Bennett and Kristhiam Linares will open the season in the bullpen.

Catcher

Wingnuts schedule

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:39 CDT

May

16-17—Kansas City; 18-19—at Kansas City; 20-22—at Gary; 23-25—New Jersey; 27-29—Amarillo; 31—at Sioux Falls.

June

Wingnuts roster

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:39 CDT

	Pitchers
No.	Name	B/T	Ht.	Wt.
21	Daniel Bennett	R/R	6-4	220
22	Anthony Capra	L/L	6-1	215
18	Josh Dew	R/R	6-4	230
19	Junior Guerra	R/R	6-0	230
44	Ryan Hinson	L/L	6-3	220
45	Lincoln Holdzkom	R/R	6-6	245
17	Kristhiam Linares	L/L	6-0	218
23	Jon Link	R/R	6-1	210
26	Chris Smith	R/R	6-0	197
7	Nick Walters	L/L	6-2	180
15	Tyler White	R/R	6-3	205
	Catchers
37	Cole Armstrong	L/R	6-3	230
4	Stephen Yoo	S/R	5-10	185
	Infielders
11	Jake Kahaulelio	R/R	5-10	185
2	Ryan Khoury	R/R	5-11	180
13	Abel Nieves	R/R	6-0	205
33	C.J. Ziegler	R/R	6-5	240
	Outfielders
30	David Amberson	R/R	6-3	210
24	Colt Loehrs	R/R	6-2	215
16	Jared McDonald	L/R	6-1	195
5	Derek Perren	L/L	5-9	190
25	John Rodriguez	L/L	6-0	220