Naturals hand Travelers 4-2 defeat

TEXAS LEAGUE NATURALS 4, TRAVELERS 2

SPRINGDALE — For Kansas City Royals fans, Monday’s 4-2 victory by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals against the Arkansas Travelers at Arvest Ballpark signaled a bright future for the organization.

The Naturals, the Royals’ Class AA affiliate, were sparked by the offense of Khalil Lee, the club’s top minor-league prospect, and a strong major-league rehab assignment start by Eric Skoglund, who hadn’t pitched in nearly a year.

Lee was 3-for-4 and drove in the go-ahead run when he legged out an infield single in the seventh inning. He drove in Nick Dini, who smacked a double off the left-field wall and moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Nick Heath.

It was Lee’s fourth multiple-hit game in his past six. He’s 10-for-24 during the

stretch, which has lifted his batting average from .215 to .266.

Skoglund threw 42 pitches, including 29 strikes, in 4 innings while allowing 3 hits and striking out 2 when he got Donnie Walton and Beau Amarel to whiff at breaking

balls in the dirt.

The 25-year-old lefthander is recovering from an ulnar collateral ligament sprain and has been out since August.

He made 14 starts in 16 appearances for the Royals before the injury.

The Naturals grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning with Jeckkson Flores and Erick Mejia each driving in a run.

The Travelers evened the score at 2-2 when Joey Curletta drove in a run in the fourth and again in the sixth on a sacrifice fly to deep center with the bases loaded. Northwest Arkansas reliever Scott Blewett then entered the game to snuff out the rally by inducing a double-play ground ball.

Chuck Taylor collected two of the Travs’ six hits.