SPRINGDALE -- If Josh Staumont keeps it up, he won't be pitching at Northwest Arkansas much longer.
Staumont, a 23-year-old right-hander, ran his scoreless innings streak to 13 to lead the Naturals to a 2-0 victory against the Arkansas Travelers on Monday at Arvest Ballpark.
Fresh off no-hitting Springfield for seven innings Wednesday, Staumont pitched six shutout innings to beat the Travs and help Northwest Arkansas avoid a series sweep. Staumont gave up a pair of bloop singles in the first inning before retiring 15 of the next 16 batters.
It's the longest streak of shutout innings in a professional career that began when Kansas City selected Staumont in the second round of the 2015 draft. He's the No. 9 prospect in the Royals' organization, according to MLB.com.
He walked just one batter and struck out eight batters for the second consecutive game by throwing 57 strikes on 95 pitches.
"To have a couple of good outings stacked up here at the end of the season is really nice," Staumont said. "I've had some ups and downs this year, and when you have struggles, it's really two-sided with you as a person and you as a player. You take those struggles on the field with you off the field, and you start working too hard and pushing yourself too much."
The Naturals spotted Staumont a 2-0 lead when Humberto Arteaga and Nicky Lopez each drove in a run in the second inning. Alfredo Escalera and Anderson Miller each singled to leadoff the inning before later scoring on a sacrifice fly by Arteaga and a fielder's choice by Lopez.
Walker Shellar preserved the shutout by pitching the final three innings to pick up a save.
Aaron West took the loss for the Travs, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 4 innings.
Sports on 08/29/2017