Two with Sacramento-area ties on Triple-A All-Star teams

Local minor-league baseball fans will recognize two faces Wednesday night when the Triple-A All-Star Game is played at Werner Park in Papillion, Neb., home of the Omaha Storm Chasers.

River Cats first baseman Adam Duvall is on the Pacific Coast League roster. Galt High School graduate and former Sacramento City College pitcher Zach Phillips of the Charlotte Knights is on the International League roster.

Duvall, 26, is the River Cats’ most reliable hitter despite a slump in June, when he batted .164 (16 for 97) with four homers and 10 RBIs and saw his average dip 44 points to .253. In 12 games this month, Duvall has four homers and 11 RBIs and raised his average to .270. Three of those homers came Saturday against Fresno.

Duvall leads the PCL with 20 homers and 60 RBIs.

“The problem was I was landing open,” Duvall told MiLB.com regarding his batting stance. “I’ve taken about 25, 30 at-bats to where I felt like I actually had to take a step back to take a step forward. I closed my stance off, so I knew I wasn’t going to be hitting for power much, but I needed to do that to fix the old swing that I had.”

Phillips, a 28-year-old reliever who graduated from Galt in 2004, has six saves with a 2.43 ERA in 37 innings spanning 31 appearances.

Texas drafted Phillips in the 23rd round in 2004, but he played at Sac City one season before signing with the Rangers in 2005.

Phillips played for the PCL All-Stars in 2013 while pitching for New Orleans.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Two with Sacramento-area ties on Triple-A All-Star teams."