Minor Leagues: Burlington Royals secure second win

DANVILLE, Va. -- John Flanagan and Mike Lehmann combined on a seven-hitter as the Burlington Royals snapped an eight-game losing streak by defeating the host Danville Braves 5-1 in Appalachian League baseball Wednesday night.

Lehmann (1-1) was the winning pitcher by going 5 2/3 innings. He yielded the only Danville run in the sixth. Lehmann struck out six after Flanagan fanned five in 3 1/3 innings.

By then, Burlington (2-13) had a lead courtesy of a two-run fourth inning against North Division-leading Danville (12-4).

Second baseman Jorge Gutierrez was involved in the scoring in the fourth and the two-run seventh. Catcher Miguel Moctezuma hit an RBI double in the seventh and a run-scoring single in the eighth.

The Royals added first baseman David Wood to the roster Wednesday and he was a ninth-inning defensive replacement. Wood was batting .156 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A Carolina League.

International League

At Durham, Justin Ruggiano homered twice and starting pitcher Jeff Niemann threw the first complete game of the season for the Durham Bulls in their 7-1 victory against the Charlotte Knights at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Ruggiano homered in the first and fifth innings. His fifth-inning blast to right-center field was followed on the next pitch by Dan Johnson's homer.

Niemann (6-2), a 6-foot-9 right-hander, struck out 12, including 10 in the first six innings. He ended with a seven-hitter and didn't issue a walk until two outs in the ninth. It was his first professional complete game.

Charlotte's lone run came on Cole Armstrong's two-out single off the left-field wall in the sixth. Armstrong was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double.

Ruggiano finished with three hits and three runs scored. Johnson also scored three runs. In the eighth, Josh Johnson hit his first homer of the season.

The Bulls have won five games in a row.