Royals in the Fall/organizational C assessment

EDITED TO ADD KC STATS

It's been nice to have a break....oddly I haven't been greatly inspired, or at least had the energy, to post in a while, especially since many other topics are interesting to me. Fantasy football, movies, music, books, etc. (God, I sound like an Overstock.com commercial) I wanted this to be not just a Royals blog but that sure looks like what it's pretty much ended up being. Anyway, with that said....

Royals position prospects LF Billy Butler, C Mathew Tupman and 1B Justin Huber joined organizational P prospects Brian Bass, Chris Demaria and Jonah Bayliss on the Arizona Fall League's Surprise Scorpions and it looks like they're on the team to beat:

Tuesday, Oct. 4 (opening day)
Surprise 14, Peoria 2
Bayliss 1 2/3 IP in relief, 1 hit, 1K
Butler 0-5
Tupman 1-3, RBI
Huber DNP

Wednesday
Surprise 11, Peoria 6
Butler DH'ed -- 4-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 RS
Tupman 0-1
Huber DNP
All 3 pitchers DNP

Angels top prospects 1B Kendry Morales, 2B Howie Kendrick, SS Brandon Wood and P Jered Weaver are also on the team, so it could be a juggernaut on offense. Just the pitching needs to hold up.

I also thought I'd start a position-by-position assessment of the Royals organization, starting with C:

stats -- games, AB, BA/OBP/SLG, HR, RBI, BB, K, E

KC

John Buck 118 G, 401 AB, .242/.287/.389, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 23 BB, 94 K, 3 E, 3 PB, 60/91 SB
Paul Phillips 23 G, 67 AB, .269/.269/.403, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 E, 2 PB, 4/11 SB
Alberto Castillo -- bad, just trust me

*** Buck had his moments but overall was bad in '05. He can't even get on base at a .300 clip. Walk/K ratio is bad, runners had pretty good luck on his arm as only 31 were caught in 91 chances. Phillips was better at catching runners but also didn't take a walk at the major level. C is one position the Royals need to shore up at the higher levels.

Omaha

Phillips 87 G, 332 AB, .268/.317/.401, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 21 BB, 41 K, ? E
Jared Price 24 G, 88 AB, .239/.264/.455, 5 HR, 11 RBI,2 BB, 23 K, 4 E
Scott Walter 38 G, 145 AB, .269/.303/.497, 8, 30, 4 BB, 33 K, 4 E
Tomas Duenas 4 G, 12 AB, .250/.308/.250, 0, 0, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 E

*** Actually I didn't see Phillips as doing a whole lot throughout
the year in Omaha. Enough, anyway, to wonder why he's on the 40-man roster.
Price had good stats at High Desert (will be listed later) before
playing a whopping 4 games at AA to earn a trip to Omaha (typical
Royals move) and is 5 years younger at 23. Actually his OPS is a
point higher than Phillips although his OBP is bad. Looks like he
needs to figure out the strike zone. He had some great moments for
Omaha during the late run. Couldn't find Phillips' E stats at Omaha.
Duenas was a late season signing who didn't do much in limited
action.

Wichita

Mathew Tupman 109 G, 365 AB, .263/.355/.334, 2, 32, 46 BB, 62 K, 10E
John Draper 62 G, 182 AB, .247/.357/.330, 1, 14, 29 BB, 38 K, 2 E
Price 4 G, 10 AB, .300/.300/.700, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K, ? E

*** Draper also played some OF. Both can get on base but neither had
much power. Tupman had a good early and middle part of the season but
didn't seem to do much (from memory) down the stretch as the
Wranglers faded. They're both 25, or will be by the end of the MLB
season. I wouldn't rate them as high prospects but they're decent.

High Desert

Adam Donachie 95 G, 347 AB, .294/.375/.467, 12, 48, 43 BB, 78 K, 10 E
Price 30 G, 107 AB,.318/.348/.720, 11 HR, 32 RBI, 4 BB, 31 K, ? E
Luis Gonzalez 6 G, 14 AB, .286/.474/.357, 0, 1, 5 BB, 5 K, 1 E
Brady Everett 6 G, 18 AB, .278/.318/.333, 0, 2, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 E
Damaso Espino 25 G, 91 AB, .231/.304/.275, 1, 12, 9 BB, 8 K, ? E

*** Damn, check out Price's SLG! Donachie also had a good season,
although you have to remember this is the Cal League where every game
is basically Coors Field conditions. The team is "High Desert," after
all. Donachie is only 21, tho, so I'd rate him and Price as the top 2
catching prospects in the organization, followed by some 2005
draftees including Everett. Everett did all right in a late call-up
after hitting well at Idaho Falls. He is 22. I'd bet Price starts at
Omaha in '06 and Donachie is at least at Wichita. Tupman also might
be up at Omaha. The bulk of Espino's work was done at Burlington.

Burlington

Damaso Espino 74 G, 278 AB, .263/.329/.284, 0, 41, 27 BB, 27 K, 9 E
Robert Grana 42 G, 113 AB, .168/.240/.177, 0, 8, 11 BB, 29 K, 3 E
F. Del Rosario 26 G, 78 AB, .256/.341/.410, 2, 9, 10 BB, 19 K, 6 E
Jorge Maduro 7 G, 17 AB, .118/.167/.176, 0, 1, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 E

*** Espino had his moments for the Bees, too, including some clutch
hits but he had little power with only 6 XBH -- all doubles. Del
Rosario did well after Grana went down with a season-ending elbow
injury midway through the season. Del Rosario showed some pop and
didn't do bad with plate discipline. Espino was also good in that
facet. Espino is 22, Del Rosario 23. I wouldn't be surprised to see
Espino at High Desert with Everett to start '06. Espino did have a HR
at HD, which shows the power of the Cal League.

Idaho Falls

Everett 29 G, 108 AB, .361/.457/.593, 5, 21, 13 BB, 16 K, ? E
Kiel Thibault 41 G, 145 AB, .310/.388/.593, 9, 34, 10 BB, 26 K, 7 E
Jeff Howell 39 G, 136 AB, .346/.455/.449, 1, 17, 29 BB, 36 K, 4 E

*** Thibault and Everett both DH'ed some at IF. All three impressed
at the plate with Howell and Everett looking especially good in terms
of plate discipline. All three are '05 draftees -- Thibault 21 and
Howell 22. Any could be the Royals' catcher of the future or could
end up being prospects to ship somewhere to plug a hole. It'd be cool
if the Royals could keep all three and put them to use by '07, '08 or
'09. Everett will likely move up to HD and I can see Thibault and
Howell at Burlington to start '06. The Pioneer League also inflates
hitters' ##s, tho, so keep that in mind.

ASL Royals

Ross Boudreaux 27 G, 81 AB, .259/.406/.420, 2, 13, 14 BB, 25 K, 6 E
Jefferson Infante 16 G, 28 AB, .286/.429/.607, 2, 7, 5 BB, 12 K, 0 E
Oscar Marrero 21 G, 57 AB, .246/.317/.246, 0, 5, 6 BB, 11 K, 5 E
Nicholas Doscher 17 G, 48 AB, .146/.349/.167, 0, 4, 15 BB, 10 K, 2 E

*** Quick rundown on ages, Boudreaux 23, Infante 23, Marrero 18,
Doscher 18. Doscher proved he can get on base but not much else.
Boudreaux's stats are better than I thought he did from just looking
at box scores so I'd expect him at IF next year. At this point in the
organization there's kind of a logjam at C. Infante did well but was
mainly used as a PH. Good stats for limited action. Marrero and
Doscher will likely get another year in Arizona or maybe IF.

By the way, a complete Royals' organizational depth chart can be
found at http://www.freewebs.com/steelcurtain88/schematic.htm

For 2006, I'd give the C position a C-, but for the farther-out future I'd give it a B/B-

Royals on the Farm 9/9 -- done for the summer

High-A: High Desert's batters, and more specifically OF Chris Lubanski, came to play in the 3-game series with Lancaster but the pitching staff couldn't get the job done as the Mavs' season ended Friday with a 9-8 11-inning loss to Lancaster after HD had an early 7-1 lead. SP Billy Buckner gave up a run in the top of the 1st but the Mavs scored 5 in the bottom of the inning on a 2-run triple by Lubanski, RBI single by 1B Kila Kaaihue and RBI singles by 3B Michael Gaffney and 2B Walter Sevilla for a 5-1 lead. The Mavs tacked on 2 in the 2nd on RBI doubles by Lubanski and RF Bernard Stephens for a 7-1 lead. Lancaster scored a run in both the 3rd and 6th to cut the lead to 4 but HD scored again in the 7th on a Lubanski solo homer (his 3rd of the series) for an 8-3 lead. RP Chad Blackwell gave up a run in the 8th and 2 in the 9th before getting pulled in favor of RP Gabe DeHoyos with the score 8-6. DeHoyos gave up a game-tying 2-run homer to the first batter he faced before getting the three outs in quick order. Lubanski singled to complete the cycle in the 9th but the Mavs couldn't get him home. Lancaster scored in the top of the 11th off RP Brian Steffek and, in the bottom of the inning, Lubanski walked and Kaaihue singled to put 2 runners on with 1 out. Stephens struck out before DH Alan Moye grounded into a season-ending force out. Buckner went 7 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to make his ERA 2.57; Blackwell went an inning and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits to make his playoff ERA 22.50 -- maybe they should have let him stay in Burlington....it was a weird time to give someone his first shot at pitching in the Cal League; DeHoyos blew his 1st save with an IP of 1 ER on a hit with a K to finish the series with a disappointing 6.75 ERA; RP Eric Ackerman pitched a hitless inning with 3 Ks to keep his ERA at 0.00; and Steffek took the loss with an IP of an ER on 3 hits with a K to finish with an ERA of 9.00. LF Pete Maestrales was 2-6 to finish at .267; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-6 with 2 RS to finish at .429; Lubanski was 4-5 with a walk, double, triple, HR, 4 RBI and 3 RS to finish at an amazing .867; Kaaihue was 3-6 with an RBI to finish at .357; Moye was 0-4 with 2 walks to finish at .154; C Adam Donachie was 0-5 to finish at .071; Sevilla was 3-5 with an RBI to finish at .556; and Gaffney was 2-4 with an RBI to finish at .444.

High Desert finished the second half at 39-31. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. The Cal League is hard on pitchers, which the Mavs found out throughout the season and in the playoffs. It's too bad, because this team could have won the league.

Royals on the Farm 9/8

High-A: High Desert was against the wall late after blowing an early lead in Thursday's game 2 with Lancaster but rallied to stay alive with a 15-11 win that sets up a deciding game 3 tonight in Adelanto. Lancaster took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 3rd but High Desert had a big inning with 5 runs on RBI singles by 1B Kila Kaaihue and RF Bernard Stephens and a bases-clearing 3-run double by 3B Michael Gaffney. The Mavs added a run in the 4th on a Stephens RBI single for a 6-3 lead but SP John Gragg III and RP Greg Atencio gave up 6 runs (thanks in part to back-to-back triples) in the 6th for a 9-6 lead. High Desert trimmed the lead to 2 in the 7th with a Stephens solo homer but Lancaster got the run back in the top of the 8th to make the score 10-7. With 2 out and 1 on in the bottom of the 8th, Kaaihue hit a 2-run homer and, 2 batters later, Stephens cracked a 2-run shot for his second of the game. C Adam Donachie doubled and 2B Walter Sevilla singled him home. Later with the bases loaded, SS Angel Sanchez hit a 2-run single and CF Chris Lubanski hit an RBI single to give the Mavs a 15-10 lead. RP Gabe DeHoyos gave up a solo shot in the 9th but held on to secure the win. Gragg III went 5 1/3 IP and allowed 8 R (7 ER) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to make his playoff ERA 11.81; Atencio blew his 1st save with 1 IP of an ER on 3 hits and a walk with a K to make his ERA 9.00; RP Brian Steffek went an inning and allowed an ER on 2 hits with a K to make his ERA 9.00; and DeHoyos got the with with 1 2/3 IP of an ER on a hit and walk with a K to improve to 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. Sanchez was 2-5 with a walk, 2 RBI and 2 RS to drop to .500; Lubanski had another standout game in going 5-6 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .900 in 2 games; Kaaihue was 2-4 with 2 walks, a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .250; Stephens was 4-5 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .444; Sevilla was 2-4 with a walk, double and RBI along with 2 RS to improve to .500; and Gaffney was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI to set a .400 BA.

High Desert finished the second half at 39-31. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. Game 3 will be at High Desert's place. Tentative pitchers for tonight's do-or-die: Lancaster's Garrett Mock (RHP 13-7 4.20) vs. Billy Buckner (RHP 5-6 5.36). High Desert also has earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Rookie: Idaho Falls finished the season on a 4-game win streak after a 9-2 finale win over Orem Thursday. 3B Brenan Herrera blasted a 2-run homer in the 1st (his 2nd) for a 2-0 IF lead and the Chukars added runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th on an RBI single by PH Antonio Sabatini, an RBI ground out by RF Byron Barber and an RBI single by CF Felix Peguero for a 5-2 lead. Idaho Falls put it away with 4 in the 8th on a 2-run Orem throwing error, another fielding error by the Owlz and an RBI double by C Jeff Howell. SP Phillip Davidson got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER on 5 hits with 5 Ks and 0 BBs to improve to 7-3 with a 4.73 ERA; RP Brandon Brantley got his 1st hold with 3 IP of 1 hit and 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 7.11; and RP Matt Kniginyzky went an IP and K'd 2 to drop his ERA to 4.66. 2B Joshua Johnson was 3-5 with a triple to finish at .249; Howell was 2-3 with 2 walks, a double and RBI to finish at .346; SS Chris McConnell was 0-3 with a walk to finish at .331; Barber was 0-3 with a walk and RBI to finish at .304; and PH Kiel Thibault was 1-1 to finish at .310.

Idaho Falls finished the second half like the first half -- 17-21 -- and 3 games back of first. Overall the Chukars were 34-42.

Royals on the Farm 9/7

High-A: High Desert blew a 5-2 7th-inning lead to lose the opener with Lancaster, 8-5, and put them in a must-win situation in game 2 of the best-of-3 series tonight at home. The Mavs scored in the first on a solo shot by CF Chris Lubanski but Lancaster pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Lancaster took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd but High Desert knotted it in the 5th on a solo homer by DH Brandon Powell. The Mavs took the lead with 3 in the 7th on a 3-run homer by Lubanski but SP Patrick Green got torched in the bottom of the frame. With 2 out and 0 runs scored by Lancaster in the 7th, Green gave up an RBI single and then hit a batter to load the bases. Lancaster DH Alex Frazier then cranked a grand slam to give the JetHawks a 7-5 lead. Who knows why Green was left in when he was struggling. RP Chad Blackwell gave up a solo homer in the 8th to give Lancaster some padding and the Mavs didn't get a run on in either the 8th or 9th inning. Green took the loss with 7 ER on 10 hits and a walk with 4 Ks over 7 IP to drop to 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA; and Blackwell allowed 1 ER on a hit with a K in his 1 IP to make his playoff ERA 9.00 too. SS Angel Sanchez was 2-3 with a double; Lubanski stepped up and was 4-4 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS; and Powell was 1-4 with a HR and RBI. 1B Kila Kaaihue was among the 4 0-fers on the Mavs last night.

High Desert finished the second half at 39-31. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. Games 2 and 3 will be at High Desert's place in Adelanto. Pitchers for tonight's game 2: Lancaster's Matt Chico (7-2, 3.76) vs. John Gragg III (13-5, 4.36). High Desert also has earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Rookie: Idaho Falls won its 3rd straight with a 6-run 7th en route to an 11-4 win over Orem Wednesday. Orem started the scoring in the 2nd with a run but Idaho Falls scored 2 that inning on a bases-loaded HBP by 2B Joshua Johnson and an RBI ground out by CF Ethien Santana. Orem tied it in the 3rd but Idaho Falls inched back ahead in the 5th on a bases-loaded walk by 3B Joshua Colafemina. Orem took the lead with 2 in the 6th but Idaho Falls took it right back with 2 in the bottom of the inning on a 2-run single by RF Felix Peguero that was aided by an Orem throwing error. The Chukars put it away in the 7th with 6 runs on a Colafemina RBI double, Johnson RBI single, Santana RBI single, a steal of home by Santana and a 2-run triple by SS Chris McConnell. The Chukars stole 5 bases in the inning. SP Mario Santiago went 3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 7.27; RP David Henninger got the win with 3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits with 6 Ks to improve to 5-1 with a 3.60 ERA; RP Eliszer Garcia got his 1st hold with 2 hitless IP to drop his ERA to 3.45; and RP Matt Kniginyzky went a hitless inning with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.66. Santana was 1-4 with a walk, 2 RBI and 2 RS to drop to .300; C Kiel Thibault was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .306; Peguero was 2-4 with a walk, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .268; McConnell was 2-5 with a triple and 2 RBI to improve to .335; LF Byron Barber was 2-5 to improve to .315; DH Brenan Herrera was 2-5 with 2 RS to improve to .254; and Colafemina was 2-3 with 2 walks, a double and 2 RS to improve to .242. Santana stole his 19th and 20th bases and Johnson stole his 9th and 10th. Colafemina made his 15th error.

Idaho Falls is 16-21 and out of the playoff hunt with 1 last game left on the schedule, against Orem tonight.

Royals on the Farm 9/6

AAA: Omaha finished 72-72 and 3 games back of Nashville. SS Andres Blanco and SP Kyle Snyder joined the list of September call-ups Tuesday. DH Calvin Pickering was also designated for assignment.

AA: Wichita finished the second half 33-37 and 4 games back of first. The Wranglers were 68-72 overall to finish below .500 for the first time since 1997. RP Chris Demaria reaped the benefits of Pickering's DFA as another Sept. call-up. In other recent Wrangler news, OF Mitch Maier was named the Texas League Player of the Week for August 28-September 4, it was announced today by the Texas League office. He went 13-33 (.394) with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple and 9 RBI, with 7 runs scored. He hit in eight of nine games, including five two-hit games as part of a season-high 7 game hit streak.

High-A: The High Desert Mavericks will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs tonight. Pitchers: Patrick Green (RHP 3-4 4.33) vs. Lancaster's A.J. Shappi (RHP 5-6 5.10).

High Desert finished the second half at 39-31 and clinched a playoff berth and the second-half division title. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be at High Desert's place in Adelanto. High Desert also has earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Low-A: Burlington finished the second half at 31-39 and in the cellar of the MWL Western division. They finished 65-75 overall.

Rookie: Idaho Falls finished their road schedule on a high note with a 7-4 win over Casper Tuesday. The Chukars scored 3 in the 1st on a Casper wild pitch and a 2-run single by 1B Jase Turner and kept the lead at 3 with a run in the 2nd on an RBI force out by 3B Brenan Herrera. Idaho Falls expanded the lead in the 4th on an RBI double by SS Chris McConnell and finished scoring with 2 in the 8th on a 2-run shot by DH Felix Peguero (his 6th). SP Bennett Cromer got the win with 6 IP of 2 R (1 ER) on 5 hits with 9 Ks to improve to 7-3 with a 5.07 ERA; and RP Cody Harkcom got his 2nd save with 3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 8.16. McConnell was 3-5 with a double and RBI to improve to .333; CF Ethien Santana was 1-4 to drop to .301; OF Byron Barber was 1-4 to drop to .310; and C Kiel Thibault was 1-4 to drop to .314. McConnell made his 23rd error as one of four Chukar miscues in the game.

Idaho Falls is 15-21 and out of the playoff hunt with 2 games left on the schedule, both against Orem (20-16).

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 9/5

AAA: Omaha blew a late lead in a 6-4 loss to Oklahoma Monday to end the season at .500. The O-Royals scored 2 in the 2nd on an RBI single by 1B Chad Santos and an RBI force out by CF Adrian Brown but Oklahoma tied it in the 4th. Omaha scored 2 more in the 6th on an RBI force attempt by 2B Rudy Gomez and an RBI double by C Jared Price to take a 4-2 lead. RP Chris George coughed up 3 runs in the 7th to give Oklahoma the lead and the RedHawks scored again in the 8th to pad the lead. SP Denny Bautista went 3 IP and allowed 2 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.77; and George took the loss with 5 IP of 6 ER on 11 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop to 8-8 with a 5.63 ERA. SS Andres Blanco was 0-5 to end the season at .254; DH Calvin Pickering was 1-4 to end the season at .275; LF Shane Costa was 1-4 to improve to .188; Price was 2-3 with a HBP, 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .239; and Santos was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .259. Brown stole 3 bases to end the season with 33.

Omaha finished 72-72 and 3 games back of Nashville.

AA: Wichita finished the second half 33-37 and 4 games back of first. The Wranglers were 68-72 overall.

High-A: High Desert finished the second half at 39-31 and clinched a playoff berth and the second-half division title. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. The Mavs will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs Wednesday. Game 1 will be in Lancaster and games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be at High Desert's place in Adelanto. High Desert also has earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Low-A: Burlington finished its season on a good note with a 4-3 win in 12 over Clinton Monday. The Bees led off the scoring in the 4th on a solo homer by 1B Miguel Vega (his 3rd) but Clinton tied it that inning and took the lead in the 6th off RP Justin Sherman. Burlington scored 2 in the 7th on a double play ball by SS Irving Falu and an RBI single by 2B Gary Perez to take the lead but the LumberKings tied it in the 8th and the game went into extra innings. In the top of the 12th, Vega doubled home Falu to make the score 4-3 and RP Adam Rowe set Clinton down in order in the 12th to end it. SP Rayner Oliveros went 5 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.43; Sherman went 1 2/3 IP and allowed an ER on 2 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.90; and Rowe blew his 8th save but got the win with 5 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 4 hits and 8 Ks to improve to 6-6 with a 4.78 ERA. Falu was 2-4 with a walk and double to improve to .254; Perez was 1-6 with an RBI to finish at .252; 3B Edward Lucas was 2-6 to improve to .292; Vega was 2-6 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .276; and LF Kenard Springer was 1-2 with a walk, 2 HBP and double to end the season at .233. Falu stole his 34th base.

Burlington finished the second half at 31-39 and in the cellar of the MWL Western division. They finished 65-75 overall.

Rookie: Idaho Falls took down Casper for a 15-8 win Monday. The Chukars scored 3 in the 1st on a solo homer by SS Joshua Colafemina (his 1st), an RBI single by 3B Brenan Herrera and an RBI double by RF Byron Barber. After Casper scored in the 2nd, Idaho Falls scored 6 in the 3rd on a bases-loaded HBP by Herrera and walk by Barber before 2B Joshua Johnson cranked a grand slam (his 3rd homer) to make the score 9-1 IF. The Chukars added a run in the 4th on an RBI single by 1B Jase Turner and 2 in the 6th on a Turner 2-run shot (his 12th). Idaho Falls scored in the 8th on a Barber RBI single and added 2 in the 9th on a Turner RBI single and a wild pitch. SP Chris Nicoll couldn't hang on long enough to qualify for his first win as he went 4 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits with 0 BB and 10 Ks(!!!) to move his ERA to 3.62; RP Adam Kalkhof went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.31; RP Travis Trammell got the win with 1 1/3 IP of 1 hit with 3 Ks to improve to 2-0 with a 7.31 ERA; and RP Matt Kniginyzky went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with a K to move his ERA to 4.82. CF Ethien Santana was 0-5 with a walk to drop to .302; Colafemina was 1-4 with 2 walks, a HR, RBI and 4 RS to improve to .232; C Jeff Howell was 2-3 with 3 walks and 3 RS to improve to .338; Turner was 4-4 with a walk, HBP, HR, 4 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .284; Barber was 2-5 with a walk, double and 3 RBI to improve to .312; and Johnson was 2-3 with 2 walks, a HR and 4 RBI to improve to .241.

Idaho Falls is 14-21 and out of the playoff hunt with 3 games left on the schedule.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 9/4

AAA: Omaha gave it a good run after being 14 games out of first on July 27 but finished just short of division leading Nashville after being eliminated Sunday in a 10-8 loss to Oklahoma. Omaha fumbled away the game with 5 errors. DH Calvin Pickering hit an RBI single in the 1st to give Omaha an early lead but Oklahoma scored runs off SP Ryan Jensen in the 1st and 2nd thanks in part to errors by CF Adrian Brown, 3B Chris Truby and SS Andres Blanco. Oklahoma added 2 runs in the 4th before Omaha got back on the board in the 5th on a solo homer by RF Jaime Jones (his 5th). Oklahoma scored 2 more off Jensen in the 5th to take a 6-2 lead but Omaha came back with a run in the 6th on an RBI ground out by 2B Rudy Gomez. The RedHawks pulled away with 4 in the 8th off RP Shane Nance and RP Dave Elder but Omaha made a late 2-out rally with 5 in the top of the 9th on RBI singles by Blanco and Truby and a 3-run homer by Pickering (his 23rd) before Gomez grounded out to end the game. Jensen took the loss with 5 IP of 6 R (4 ER) on 8 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop to 2-11 with a 7.20 ERA. Hopefully that's his last game in the KC organization. RP Justin Huisman went a hitless inning with a K to drop his ERA to 3.92; Nance went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 3 hits to move his ERA to 5.16; and Elder went 2/3 IP and allowed an UER on a hit to keep his ERA at 0.00. Brown was 0-3 with 2 walks and 2 RS to break the 36-year-old single-season Omaha record for runs scored with 104. His BA dropped to .273; Blanco was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .266; Truby was 2-5 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .244; Pickering had a great game in going 5-5 with a double, HR and 4 RBI to improve to .275; LF Shane Costa was 0-4 to drop to .167; 1B Chad Santos was 1-4 to drop to .259; and Jones was 3-4 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .272. Truby's error was his 11th and Blanco's was his 10th.

Omaha is 72-71 and out of the playoffs with 1 game left in the season. Omaha plays the final game of the season today at Oklahoma. Pitchers: RH Denny Bautista (0-1, 3.60) vs. LH Derek Lee (5-2, 3.86).

AA: Wichita was on the short end of a pitchers' duel with Tulsa in the season finale Sunday as the Drillers scraped together a 6th-inning run and rode it to a 1-0 win. The Wranglers only had 3 hits in the game and only had a runner at third once. SP Mike Stodolka went 5 IP and allowed only 3 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.92; RP Stephen Bray took the loss with 2 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop to 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA; and RP Chris Demaria went an inning and gave up a hit with a K to drop his ERA to 1.76. 2B Ruben Gotay was 0-4 to end the season at Wichita at .245; 1B Josh Pressley was 1-3 with a HBP to end the season at .311; LF Billy Butler was 1-3 with a double to end his AA season at .312; and CF Mitch Maier was 1-3 to end the season at .255.

Wichita finished the second half 33-37 and 4 games back of first. The Wranglers were 68-72 overall.

High-A: High Desert lost its regular season finale, 9-4, to Lancaster but will have a couple days off before facing the JetHawks in a best-of-3 first-round playoff series starting Wednesday. Lancaster took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd before High Desert got 2 runs back on a 2-run homer by 3B Brandon Powell (his 18th). A Mavs run in the 5th on a Powell RBI ground out made the score 4-3 and another run in the 7th on a solo homer by DH Kila Kaaihue (his 20th) made it a 5-4 game. Lancaster pulled away with 3 in the 8th to get the win. SP Chris Coughlin took the loss with 2 IP of 3 ER on 4 hits and a walk to drop to 5-11 with a 7.31 ERA; RP Greg Atencio went 2 IP and allowed an ER on a hit and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.84; RP Eric Ackerman went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits to move his ERA to 5.54; RP Chad Blackwell, in his first game up from Burlington, went 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 2.55; and RP Brian Steffek went an inning and allowed an ER on a hit with a K to move his ERA to 5.60. LF Pete Maestrales was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .319; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-5 with 2 doubles to improve to .313; CF Bernard Stephens was 1-5 with a double to drop to .303; Kaaihue was 1-5 with a HR and RBI to drop to .304; Powell was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .287; C Brady Everett was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .278; and 1B Michael Gaffney was 2-4 to improve to .299. The Mavs set three records in the game as the new league record for homers in a season is 203, the league record for hits in a season is 1,536 by HD and the new record for homers allowed in a season is 173 by High Desert.

High Desert finished the second half at 39-31 and clinched a playoff berth and the second-half division title. Overall the Mavs finished 75-65. The Mavs will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs Wednesday. Game 1 will be in Lancaster and games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be at High Desert's place in Adelanto. High Desert also has earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Low-A: Burlington dropped another 1-run game to Clinton, 6-5, Sunday, to lose a 4th game in a row. The Bees scored 4 in the 1st on an RBI ground out by 1B Miguel Vega and RBI singles by RF Geraldo Valentin, DH Rusty Brown and C Felipe Del Rosario and another run in the 6th on an RBI double by LF Kenard Springer gave the Bees a 5-1 lead. Clinton scored 2 in the 6th off RP Kraig Schambough and then scored 3 more off Schambough in the 7th to take a 6-5 lead. The Bees didn't threaten in the last 3 innings. SP Daniel Christensen went 5 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 11 Ks to move his ERA to 3.54; and Schambough blew his 1st save and took the loss after giving up 4 R (2 ER) on 5 hits and 3 walks with a K to drop to 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA. 2B Gary Perez was 0-4 to drop to .257; 3B Edward Lucas was 1-4 to drop to .291; Vega was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .273; Brown was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .267; and Del Rosario was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .256. Lucas stole his 29th base and SS Irving Falu stole his 33rd. Lucas also made his 29th error.

Burlington is 30-39 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees end the season at Clinton today. No announced starters.

Rookie: Idaho Falls blew three leads Sunday in a 6-5 loss to Casper. Idaho Falls got out of the gate quickly with a run in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Brenan Herrera and 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run double by LF Antonio Sabatini. Casper scored 3 off SP Ryan DiPietro in the 3rd to tie the game but Idaho Falls scored a run in the 4th on a Sabatini RBI ground out. Casper tied it again off DiPietro in the 4th but, again, the Chukars took the lead with a run in the 5th on an RBI double by RF Byron Barber. DiPietro gave up the lead for good in the 5th on a 2-run homer that gave Casper the 6-5 lead. The Chukars got 2 on with 1 out in the 9th but couldn't tie the game. DiPietro got the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 6 ER on 8 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop to 1-6 with a 5.62 ERA; and RP David Henninger went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.47. Sabatini was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .246; Herrera was 3-4 with a walk, double and RBI to improve to .252; C Jeff Howell was 1-4 with a double to drop to .331; Barber was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .307; 3B Joshua Colafemina was 2-4 with 2 RS to improve to .232; and SS Chris McConnell was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .328. McConnell made his 22nd error.

Idaho Falls is 13-21 and out of the playoff hunt with 4 games left on the schedule. The series switches to Casper tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 9/3

AAA: Omaha is clinging to the last of its playoff hopes after a 3-2 loss to Oklahoma Saturday. The RedHawks scored in the 1st off SP Dennis Tankersley but Omaha tied it in the 3rd on a sac fly by 3B Chris Truby. The O-Royals took the lead in the 6th on an RBI single by LF Shane Costa but Tankersley gave up the tying single in the 7th. Omaha loaded the bases with 2 out in the 8th but couldn't score and with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th RP Justin Huisman allowed the RedHawks to load the bases and Oklahoma 1B Chris Richard hit a walkoff single to end it. Tankersley went 6 IP and allowed 2 ER on 6 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.24; RP Jaime Cerda went 2 1/3 IP and allowed a hit and walk with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.26; and Huisman took the loss with 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits and a walk to drop to 8-2 with a 3.97 ERA. SS Andres Blanco was 1-4 with a HBP to drop to .260; DH Calvin Pickering was 2-4 to improve to .264; Costa was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .250; C Jared Price was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .224; and 1B Chad Santos was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .259. Both teams left 10 on base.

Omaha is 72-70 and 2 games behind Nashville with 2 games left in the season. Omaha continues the final series of the season and tries to somehow salvage a playoff berth tonight at Oklahoma. Pitchers: RH Ryan Jensen (2-10, 7.20) vs. RH R.A. Dickey (9-6, 6.15). Jensen is just who Omaha needs on the mound with the season on the line. In other O-Royals news, with 102 runs now scored, CF Adrian Brown is just a run shy of the club’s single season record set by George Spriggs in 1969.

AA: Wichita won't finish .500 for the second half as both the Wranglers and Tulsa Drillers did all their offensive work in the 5th in a 4-3 Wichita loss Saturday. Both teams were quiet until the 5th when, with 2 out, 2B Ruben Gotay hit a 2-run double and CF Mitch Maier followed with an RBI double to give the Wranglers a 3-0 lead. Tulsa's runs came on one swing as Drillers LF Justin Czarniecki cranked a grand slam off SP Kyle Middleton to give Tulsa a 4-3 lead in the 5th. The Wranglers loaded the bases with 2 out in the 9th but Gotay struck out to end the game. Middleton took the L with 7 IP of 4 ER on 10 hits with 7 Ks to drop to 10-9 with a 5.31 ERA; and RP Nate Hoelscher went an inning and allowed a hit to drop his ERA to 5.63. Gotay was 1-5 with a double and 2 RBI to drop to .255; Maier was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .254; 1B Josh Pressley was 0-4 to drop to .311; 3B Brennan King was 2-4 to improve to .288; LF Billy Butler was 0-4 to drop to .312; and DH John Draper was 2-3 to improve to .251. Butler made his 3rd error in the 6th.

Wichita is 33-36 and out of the playoff hunt with 1 game to play. The season ends at Tulsa today. No announced starters.

High-A: High Desert got the division wrapped up Saturday in a comeback 11-10 win in 11 innings over Lancaster. Lancaster took a 7-0 lead with 5 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd off SP Cesar Herrera to put High Desert in an early hole. The Mavs broke through with 2 in the 3rd on RBI singles by 3B Walter Sevilla and CF Chris Lubanski. The JetHawks increased their lead to 10-2 by the middle of the 5th but it was all High Desert from there. The Mavs scored 6 in the 5th on a 2-run homer by 2B Pete Maestrales (his 15th), an RBI force out by RF Alan Moye and a 3-run homer by LF Bernard Stephens (his 14th) to close the gap to 10-8 and also break the California League season record for home runs by a team with 201. The record was previously set by Visalia in 1971. The Mavs tied it in the 6th with 2 runs on RBI singles by SS Angel Sanchez and 1B Kila Kaaihue and the game stayed tied at 10 into extra innings after Lancaster left the bases loaded in the 9th. In the bottom of the 11th, Kaaihue and Moye walked with 1 out and the winning run scored on a walkoff single by Stephens to give the Mavs an 11-10 win and the second-half division title. Herrera went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 10 R (9 ER) on 12 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to bump his ERA to 7.27; RP Stephen Chamberlain went 2 IP and allowed a hit and walk with a K to drop his ERA to 7.61; RP Eric Ackerman pitched a hitless inning with a walk to drop his ERA to 5.59; RP Gabe DeHoyos went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.48; and RP Brian Steffek got the win with 2 IP of 1 hit to improve to 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. Maestrales was 1-6 with a HR and 2 RBI to drop to .319; Sanchez was 3-6 with a triple, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .312; Lubanski was 2-5 with a walk and RBI to improve to .301; Kaaihue was 1-3 with 2 walks, a HBP and an RBI to improve to .305; Stephens was 3-6 with a HR and 4 RBI to improve to .304; DH Brady Everett was 3-5 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .333; and Sevilla was 3-4 with a walk and RBI to improve to .252. Sevilla made his 11th error.

High Desert is 39-30 and has clinched a playoff berth and the second-half division title with a game to play. The final regular season series ends tonight. No announced starters. The Mavs will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs Sept. 7. Game 1 will be in Lancaster and games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be at High Desert's place in Adelanto. High Desert also earned home-field advantage in the second round if they advance that far.

Low-A: Burlington dropped its 3rd straight to Clinton with a 5-4 loss to the LumberKings Saturday. Burlington led off the game with a run in the 1st on an RBI single by 3B Edward Lucas but Clinton scored 3 off SP Dusty Dossett in the 1st to take a 3-1 lead. The Bees scored runs in each of the 4th, 5th and 6th innings on an RBI double by 1B Rusty Brown, a Lucas RBI single and a double play ball by Brown that scored a run and gave Burlington a 4-3 lead. The score remained that way into the bottom of the 8th when Clinton got runs on a wild pitch and a Lucas throwing error to take the lead. The Bees loaded the bases with 2 out in the top of the 9th but C Damaso Espino lined out to end the game. Dossett went 6 IP and gave up 3 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.07; and RP Rusty Begnaud blew his 1st save and took the loss with 2 IP of 2 R (1 ER) on 3 hits and 2 walks with a K to drop to 0-1 with a 4.28 ERA. SS Irving Falu was 2-5 with a triple and 2 RS to improve to .252; 2B Gary Perez was 1-4 with a walk and double to drop to .267; Lucas was 3-5 with an RBI to improve to .292 and he had 2 errors to get to 28 on the season; and Brown was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .265.

Burlington is 30-38 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees continue the final series at Clinton tonight. No announced starters.

Rookie: Idaho Falls lost to Casper Saturday, 9-4. Casper scored all 9 runs in the 1st 3 innings off SP Phillip Davidson and the Chukars didn't recover. Idaho Falls got on the board in the 6th on a solo homer by SS Chris McConnell (his 6th) and scored 3 in the 8th on an RBI single by CF Ethien Santana and an RBI force out by McConnell that scored another run on a Casper error. Davidson took the loss with 2 1/3 IP of 9 ER on 9 hits and a walk to drop to 6-3 with a 4.83 ERA; RP Brandon Brantley went 3 2/3 IP and allowed only 3 hits with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 7.55; RP Kevin Bulger went an inning and allowed 2 hits and a walk with a K to drop his ERA to 10.45; and RP Jacob Eckley went an inning and allowed a hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 7.18. Santana was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .308; McConnell was 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to drop to .328; LF Felix Peguero was 2-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .265; C Kiel Thibault was 0-4 to drop to .316; and RF Byron Barber was 1-3 to improve to .310.

Idaho Falls is 13-20 and 5 games out of first with 5 games left on the schedule. The series switches to Casper tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 9/2

AAA: Omaha stayed a game back of Nashville with a late rally in a 5-3 win over Oklahoma Friday. Omaha broke a 0-0 tie in the 4th on an RBI single by 3B Chris Truby but Oklahoma tied it that inning off SP Kyle Snyder. RP Nate Field gave up a 2-run single in the 7th and the RedHawks took a 3-1 lead. After a ground out by SS Andres Blanco scored a run, Truby got the big shot with a 2-run blast (his 20th) to give Omaha a 4-3 lead. C Jared Price tacked on a solo homer (his 5th) in the 9th and RP Santiago Ramirez pitched the 9th for another save. Snyder went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 7 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.55; RP Shane Nance went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on a hit and walk to move his ERA to 4.81; Field got the win despite giving up the 2-run single. He allowed a hit and walk with a K as he improved to 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA; RP Dave Elder got his 3rd hold with a hitless IP that included a walk and 2Ks to keep to a 0.00 ERA; and Ramirez got his 17th save in allowing a hit and walk with 2 Ks in an IP to drop his ERA to 5.21. CF Adrian Brown was 3-5 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .277; Blanco was 0-5 with an RBI to drop to .260; Truby was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .244; Price was 1-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .232; LF Shane Costa was 0-4 in his first game at AAA; and RF Jaime Jones was 2-4 with a double to improve to .266. 1B Chad Santos was 0-4 to drop to .261. Brown also stole his 30th base.

Omaha is 72-69 and 1 game behind Nashville with 3 games left in the season. Omaha continues the final series of the season tonight at Oklahoma. Pitchers: RH Dennis Tankersley (9-8, 4.29) vs. RH Josh Rupe (6-7, 6.47). In other O-Royals news, with 101 runs scored on the season, Brown is the 2nd Royal to ever hit the century mark in a single season and is just two runs shy of the club’s single season record set by George Spriggs in 1969.

AA: Wichita cranked out a 7-5 win over Tulsa to stay on track to finish at .500 with wins in the remaining 2 games. Tulsa took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd but Wichita tied it in the 4th on a solo homer by LF Billy Butler (his 5th). After Tulsa scored 3 off SP Ryan Baerlocher in the 4th to open a lead, Wichita matched it in the 5th on a 3-run shot by 1B Josh Pressley (his 22nd) to tie it at 4. Tulsa again took the lead with a run in the bottom of the 5th but Wichita scored 3 in the 6th on a 2-run single by Pressley and an RBI single by 3B Brennan King. RP Jonah Bayliss got the lead into the 9th and RP Chris Demaria got out of a 2-on, 1-out jam with 2 Ks to end it. Baerlocher went 4 IP and allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to make his ERA 3.44; RP Wes Wilkerson got the win with 1 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits and a walk with a K to improve to 1-4 with a 6.53 ERA; Bayliss got his 1st hold with 2 2/3 hitless IP that included 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.84; and Demaria got his 1st save with an IP of 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.88. DH Ruben Gotay was 4-5 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .257; CF Mitch Maier was 0-3 with 2 walks and 2 RS to drop to .254; Pressley was 3-5 with a double, HR and 5 RBI to improve to .314; King was 2-4 with a walk and RBI to improve to .286; and Butler was 1-5 with a HR and RBI to drop to .324.

Wichita is 33-35 and out of the playoff hunt with 2 games to play. The final series at Tulsa continues tonight. No announced starters.

High-A: High Desert lost one chance to clinch the division title as Lancaster took a 13-11 win Friday. High Desert jumped out to a 4-0 lead with 3 runs in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd on a bases-loaded double by 2B Pete Maestrales and a solo homer by 1B Kila Kaaihue (his 19th). After Lancaster scored in the 4th, the Mavs regained the 4-run lead with an RBI single by SS Angel Sanchez. Lancaster put up 2 in the 5th and broke through with 5 in the 6th to take an 8-5 lead. High Desert scored again in the 6th on an RBI single by CF Chris Lubanski but Lancaster scored 4 in the 7th to make it a 12-6 game. The Mavs scored 2 in the 7th on a solo homer by 3B Adam Keim (his 26th) and an RBI ground out by C Adam Donachie but Lancaster got an insurance run in the 8th. RF Alan Moye led off the 9th with a homer (his 24th) and, with 2 out, Maestrales walked and Sanchez cracked a 2-run homer (his 5th) to make the score 13-11. Lubanski doubled to bring the tying run to the plate but Kaaihue struck out to end the game. SP Devon Lowery took the loss with 5 2/3 IP of 7 R (3 ER thanks to a Lubanski error with 2 out in the 6th) on 6 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to drop to 6-3 with a 3.84 ERA; RP Greg Atencio went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits and a walk to move his ERA to 4.85; RP Chris Coughlin allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and a walk with 2 Ks in 1 IP to move his ERA to 7.16; and RP Stephen Chamberlain went a hitless inning with a K to drop his ERA to 7.82. Maestrales was 2-5 with a walk, 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .321; Sanchez was 3-6 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .310; Lubanski was 2-5 with a walk, double and RBI to move back to .300 -- his error was his 8th; Kaaihue was 1-6 with a HR and RBI to drop to .305; LF Bernard Stephens was 3-5 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .302; and Moye was 4-4 with a walk, HR, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .295. Lubanski is up to 115 RBI on the season.

High Desert is 38-30 and has clinched a playoff berth with 2 games to play. The Mavs are up 1 1/2 games on Lancaster with a shot to take the second-half division title with another win. The final regular season series with the JetHawks continues tonight. No announced starters. Home field advantage in the first round of the Cal League playoffs is at stake as HD earns it with another win. They will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs Sept. 7.

Low-A: Burlington dropped another game in a 4-3 loss to Clinton Friday. No game log at the Bees' site. SP Luis Cota went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 6 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks and 3 wild pitches to move his ERA to 4.01; RP Chad Blackwell got his 2nd hold with 3 IP of 5 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.23; and RP Adam Rowe blew his 7th save and took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks to drop to 5-6 with a 5.01 ERA. SS Irving Falu was 2-5 to improve to .250; 2B Gary Perez was 1-5 with a 2-run homer (his 4th) and 2 RBI to drop to .267; 1B Miguel Vega was 2-5 to improve to .260; 3B Edward Lucas was 1-5 with an RBI to drop to .288; and LF Darwinson Salazar was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .174. Falu stole his 32nd base and Lucas swiped his 28th. Falu also made his 21st error.

Burlington is 30-37 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees continue the final series at Clinton tonight. No announced starters.

Rookie: Idaho Falls had a monster 1st in a 10-9 win over Casper Friday. The Rockies scored 3 off SP Mario Santiago in the 1st but the Chukars came back with 8 that inning on an RBI double by 1B Jase Turner, a Rockie wild pitch, an RBI single by C Kiel Thibault, a Casper fielding error, an RBI single by 2B Joshua Johnson, a 2-run single by CF Ethien Santana and a sac fly by SS Chris McConnell. Casper closed the gap to 8-5 before Idaho Falls scored again in the 5th on a McConnell solo homer (his 5th). Casper came back to tie it in the 8th before the Chukars regained the lead on a Johnson RBI single with 2 out in the 8th. RP Jacob Eckley set the Rockies down in order in the 9th to end it. Santiago went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 3 hits and 4 walks to make his ERA 7.39; RP Cody Harkcom went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 1 hit and a walk with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 8.31; RP Eliszer Garcia went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 2 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to make his ERA 3.61; RP Travis Trammell blew his 1st save but got the win with 2/3 IP of an UER on a hit and walk to move to 1-0 with a 7.98 ERA; and Eckley got his 3rd save with a hitless IP that included a K to drop his ERA to 7.42. Santana was 1-5 with 2 RBI to drop to .309; McConnell was 1-3 with a walk, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .329; Thibault was 1-5 with an RBI to drop to .326; and Johnson was 4-5 with 2 RBI to improve to .239. The Chukars took advantage of 5 Rockie errors. McConnell made his 21st error.

Idaho Falls is 13-19 and 4 games out of first with 6 games left on the schedule. The series switches to Casper tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 9/1

AAA: Omaha pulled a half-game closer to the division lead with a 4-3 win over Iowa Thursday as the O-Royals came back from a 1st-inning deficit. SP Danny Tamayo gave up a 2-run blast in the 1st to let Iowa take a 2-0 lead but Omaha scored runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th on solo homers by DH Scott Walter (his 8th coming fresh off the DL) and RF Jaime Jones (his 4th) and an RBI single by 2B Justin Gemoll. Iowa scored in the 7th to tie the game but 3B Chris Truby came through with a 2-out RBI single in the 7th to give Omaha the lead at 4-3. RPs Jaime Cerda and Santiago Ramirez held it down for the win. Tamayo went 7 1/3 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 5 hits with 4 Ks to improve to 9-8 with a 5.28 ERA; Cerda got his 7th hold with 2/3 IP of 1 hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.51; and Ramirez got his 16th save with a hitless IP that included a K to drop his ERA to 5.29. SS Andres Blanco was back in the lineup and went 1-3 with a walk to improve to .274; LF Chad Santos was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .263; and C Jared Price was 1-3 to improve to .231. 1B Calvin Pickering was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .262 and stole his 1st base of the season and first since 2000 in organized American baseball. Blanco made his 9th error in the win.

Omaha is 71-69 and 1 game behind Nashville with 4 games left in the season. Omaha starts its final series of the season tonight at Oklahoma (77-62). No announced starters. In other O-Royals news, 1B Justin Huber got a September call-up. Don't they know Omaha's in a playoff race? I'm only half-kidding.

AA: Wichita salvaged a chance to end the second half at .500 as they creamed Tulsa, 11-3, Thursday thanks to a big night from CF Mitch Maier. 3B Brennan King got the scoring started in the top of the 1st with a sac fly and DH Cory Aldridge followed with a 2-run shot (his 27th) to give Wichita a 3-0 lead. SP Derrin Ebert gave up a 2-run homer in the 1st to close the lead to 1 but the Wranglers added a run in the 2nd on an RBI triple by RF Shane Costa. The Wranglers scored again in the 5th on an RBI double by SS Brett Groves but Tulsa matched it that inning to make the score 5-3 Wichita. The Wranglers broke it open in the 6th on an RBI single by 1B Josh Pressley and loaded the bases with 2 outs. Maier stepped up and hit a grand slam (his 6th homer) to make the score 10-3 and then threw in a solo shot (#7) in the 9th to pile on another run. Ebert went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 7-3 with a 4.89 ERA; and RP Drew Endicott went 2 1/3 IP and allowed a hit with 2 BB and a K to drop his ERA to 1.50. 2B Ruben Gotay was 3-4 with a walk, double and 2 RS to improve to .229; Costa was 3-4 with a walk, triple, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .282; Pressley was 2-5 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .311; LF Billy Butler was 2-5 to improve to .330; and Maier was 2-5 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .256.

Wichita is 32-35 and out of the playoff hunt with 3 games to play. The final series at Tulsa continues tonight. Ryan Baerlocher (7-5, 3.18) will start for Wichita.

High-A: High Desert had to wait an hour longer to start Thursday's game with Lake Elsinore because of bus problems for the Storm and then blew a 4-1 lead in an 8-5 loss to the Storm. Lake Elsinore pushed across a run in the 3rd but High Desert matched it that inning on a solo homer by CF Chris Lubanski (his 28th) and scored 2 more in the 4th on an RBI double by C Adam Donachie and an RBI single by 2B Walter Sevilla for a 3-1 lead. Another run in the 6th on a solo homer by DH Alan Moye (his 23rd) gave High Desert a 4-1 lead but the Storm rallied for 2 in the 7th off SP Billy Buckner and RP Eric Ackerman to close the gap to 1. The Storm tied it in the 8th on a solo homer and then scored 4 more runs that inning to take an 8-4 lead. 3B Adam Keim led off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer (his 25th) but the Mavs couldn't get anything going. Buckner went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits and 4 walks with 6 Ks to move his ERA to 4.78; Ackerman blew his 3rd save and took the loss with an IP of 3 ER on 4 hits to drop to 3-2 with a 5.70 ERA; and RP Brian Steffek went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and 4 walks with a K to move his ERA to 6.14. LF Pete Maestrales was 1-5 to drop to .320; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-5 to improve to .308; Lubanski was 1-4 with a walk, HR and RBI to drop to .299; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-5 to drop to .307; RF Bernard Stephens was 1-4 to make his BA .299; and Donachie was 1-3 with a walk, double and RBI to improve to .296.

High Desert is 38-29 and has clinched a playoff berth with 3 games to play. The Mavs are up 2 1/2 games on Lancaster with a shot to take the second-half division title with another win. The JetHawks (35-31) come to town to face the Mavs in the final series of the regular season tonight. No announced starters. Home field advantage in the first round of the Cal League playoffs is at stake as HD earns it with another win. They will face Lancaster in a best-of-3 series to start the playoffs Sept. 7.

Low-A: Burlington took a beating from Clinton Thursday, 10-2, to fall into a tie with the LumberKings for last place in the division in the second-half standings. Clinton took an early 2-0 lead but the Bees cut it to 1 in the 3rd on an RBI single by 2B Gary Perez. From there, Clinton rattled off 8 unanswered runs off SP Patrick Hicklen and RP Rayner Oliveros (rude welcome in his A ball debut) before the Bees scored their final run in the 8th on an RBI double by DH Miguel Vega in his first game back off the DL. Hicklen got the loss with 5 IP of 6 R (4 ER) on 10 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop to 6-8 with a 4.19 ERA; Oliveros went 2 IP and allowed 4 ER on 8 hits and a walk to establish an 18.00 ERA; and RP Rusty Begnaud went 2 IP and gave up a hit and walk to drop his ERA to 4.26. Perez was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .271; 3B Edward Lucas was 1-4 to drop to .289; and Vega was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .254. SS Irving Falu made his 20th error.

Burlington is 30-36 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees start the final series of the season -- a 4-gamer -- at Clinton tonight. Pitchers: RH Luis Cota (5-8, 4.03) vs. Clinton RH Kea Kometani (3-2, 2.28). In other Bees news, the team met its home attendance goal for the season of 70,000 and finished with a final total of 70,807 in 68 games.

Rookie: Idaho Falls took down Casper Thursday in a 5-3 win. The Chukars scored in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Jase Turner for a 1-0 lead but Casper tied it in the 2nd. Idaho Falls scored again in the 2nd on a sac fly by 2B Joshua Johnson but Casper struck back with 2 in the 3rd for a 3-2 lead. The Chukars tied it in the 4th on a Johnson RBI single and took the lead for good with 2 in the 5th on a wild pitch and a sac fly by C Jeff Howell. SP Bennett Cromer got the win with 6 IP of 3 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to improve to 6-3 with a 5.47 ERA; RP Adam Kalkhof got his 1st hold with 2 hitless IP that included 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.32; and RP Matt Kniginyzky got his 5th save with a hitless 9th in which he K'd 2 to drop his ERA to 4.85. CF Ethien Santana was 2-4 with a double and walk to improve to .312; SS Chris McConnell was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .329; Turner was 2-2 with 2 walks and an RBI to improve to .270; LF Felix Peguero was 2-3 with a walk, double and 2 RS to improve to .259; Howell was 1-2 with a walk and RBI to improve to .333; and RF Byron Barber was 0-2 with a walk to drop to .309. 3B Brenan Herrera had 2 errors to get to 7 on the season.

Idaho Falls is 12-19 and 4 games out of first with 7 games left on the schedule. The Chukars continue the series with Casper tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 8/31

AAA: Omaha got another win in a 6-2 victory over Iowa and, combined with a Memphis sweep of Nashville in a doubleheader, that put the O-Royals a game and a half closer to the division lead. Omaha scored 2 in the 1st on RBI singles by 1B Calvin Pickering and LF Chad Santos but Iowa cut the lead to 1 in the 3rd. A 3-run Omaha 6th put it away as a single by RF Jaime Jones was aided by an error to score DH Justin Huber and C Jared Price cracked a 2-run homer (his 4th). Omaha added its final run in the 8th on an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown. SP Denny Bautista went 2 2/3 hitless IP with 2 Ks in a decent rehab start to drop his ERA to 3.60; RP Chris George got his first home win with 4 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to improve to 8-7 with a 5.45 ERA; and RP Justin Huisman went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 2 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.87. Brown was 2-5 with a double and RBI to improve to .274; Pickering was 3-4 with an RBI to improve to .265; Santos was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .265; Huber was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .274; Jones was 2-3 with a walk and 2 RS to improve to .260; and Price was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .227. SS Andres Blanco didn't play again after fouling a ball off his right knee over the weekend.

Omaha is 70-69 and 1 1/2 games out of first behind Nashville with 5 games left in the season. Omaha concludes the final home set of the season tonight. Pitchers: Cubs RH Bobby Brownlie (6-6, 4.70) vs. RH Danny Tamayo (8-8, 5.41).

AA: Wichita got a bad introduction to SP Yovany Damico, just up from Burlington, as he gave up 7 ER over 3 2/3 IP to take the L in an 8-3 Wrangler loss to Tulsa Wednesday. Wichita scored in the 1st on an RBI single by DH Cory Aldridge but the Drillers got 3 off Damico in the bottom of the inning on a 3-run shot to take the lead. Wichita scored runs in the 2nd and 3rd on an RBI ground out by 2B Ruben Gotay and a solo homer by Aldridge (his 26th) to tie the game at 3 but Damico gave up 2 runs in both the 3rd and 4th to allow Tulsa to pull away. Wichita didn't get another runner past second. Damico had a line of 3 2/3 IP, 7 ER on 7 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to start out 0-1 at Wichita with a 17.18 ERA; RP Stephen Bray went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 4 Ks to make his ERA 4.71; and RP Chris Demaria pitched 2 innings and gave up a hit to drop his ERA to 2.02. Gotay was 1-5 with an RBI to drop to .207; RF Shane Costa was 1-5 to drop to .275; 1B Josh Pressley was 2-4 to improve to .310; Aldridge was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .274; LF Billy Butler was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .326; CF Mitch Maier was 2-4 to improve to .254; and 3B Brennan King was 2-4 to up his BA to .286. Butler made his 2nd AA error in the loss.

Wichita is 31-35 and out of the playoff hunt with 4 games to play. The final series at Tulsa continues tonight. Pitchers: LH Derrin Ebert (6-3, 4.94) vs. Tulsa RH Jon Asahina (12-9, 4.04).

High-A: High Desert clinched at least a wildcard playoff spot with a 10-2 win over Lake Elsinore Wednesday. There's no game log at MiLB's site. SP John Gragg III took the win with 5 IP of 0 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to improve to 13-5 with a 4.36 ERA; RP Chris Coughlin went an inning and allowed an ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to make his ERA 7.13; and RP Greg Atencio went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 3 hits and a walk with a K to move his ERA to 1.51. LF Pete Maestrales was 2-5 with 2 RS to improve to .325; SS Angel Sanchez was 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .308; CF Chris Lubanski was the offensive star of the game with a 4-4 night with a walk, double, 2 HR (#s 26 and 27), 7 RBI (to get his season total to 112) and 2 RS to get over the .300 mark at .302; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-5 with an RBI to drop to .311; RF Bernard Stephens was 1-4 to make his BA .299; and 2B Walter Sevilla was 2-4 to improve to .242.

High Desert is 38-28 and has clinched a playoff berth with 4 games to play and are up 3 1/2 games on Lancaster with a shot to take the second-half division title with another win. They end the set with Lake Elsinore tonight. No announced starters.

Low-A: Burlington dug itself out of an early 4-run hole to take a 6-4 win over Clinton Wednesday. The LumberKings jumped on SP Justin Sherman for 4 in the 2nd to chase him from the game and take the 4-0 lead. It held into the 4th when the Bees scored 2 on a 2-run homer by C Felipe Del Rosario (his 2nd). Burlington added a run in the 5th on an RBI single by 2B Gary Perez and took the lead with 2 in the 6th on an RBI single by RF Darwinson Salazar and a Perez RBI double. They got some insurance in the 8th on a Perez RBI single. Sherman went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with a K to move his ERA to 4.89; RP Kraig Schambough got the win with 5 1/3 IP of 3 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA; and RP Chad Blackwell got his 14th save with 2 IP of 1 hit and a BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.33. SS Irving Falu was 2-5 with a double, triple and 2 RS to improve to .249; Perez was 4-5 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .272; 3B Edward Lucas was 0-4 to drop to .289; and Del Rosario was 2-3 with a walk, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .258.

Burlington is 30-35 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees conclude the final home set with Clinton tonight and have 5 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: RH Patrick Hicklen (6-7, 4.07) vs. Clinton RH Eric Hurley (11-6, 3.85). In other Bees news, 1B Miguel Vega was activated from the DL after June thumb surgery.

Rookie: Idaho Falls tried to come back from an early 4-run deficit but couldn't as SP Chris Nicoll went another game in search of his first pro win in a 5-4 loss to Casper. Nicoll was tagged for 4 runs in the 1st by the Rockies but 2 were unearned thanks to an error by SS Chris McConnell. McConnell tried to right his wrong with an RBI single in the 1st to cut into the lead but Casper scored again in the 4th to make the lead 4 again at 5-1. It held until the 7th when the Chukars scored 3 on a 2-run triple by 2B Joshua Johnson and an RBI single by CF Ethien Santana. Johnson hit a 2-out double in the 9th to give Idaho Falls one last chance but 3B Brenan Herrera grounded out to end it. Nicoll went 4 IP and allowed 5 R (3 ER) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to drop to 0-3 with a 3.47 ERA; RP David Henninger went 3 IP and allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.71; and RP Brandon Brantley went 2 hitless IP with a walk and 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 8.18. Santana was 1-4 with a walk and RBI to drop to .308; McConnell was 1-2 with 2 walks and an RBI to drop to .335 -- his error was his 20th; LF Felix Peguero was 2-4 with a double to improve to .253; DH Kiel Thibault was 0-4 to drop to .331; C Jeff Howell was 0-2 with 2 walks to drop to .331; and Johnson was 2-4 with a double, triple and 2 RBI to improve to .224.

Idaho Falls is 11-19 and 5 games out of first with 8 games left on the schedule. The Chukars continue the series with Casper tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22. The Giants won both halves of the season so there won't be any playoffs. The Royals would have won the wild card if there was one.

Royals on the Farm 8/30

AAA: Omaha took care of business Tuesday night with a late surge in an 11-5 win over Iowa as SP Ryan Jensen snapped his losing streak. Iowa took a 4-0 lead off Jensen before the O-Royals broke through with 3 in the 4th on a solo homer by DH Calvin Pickering (his 22nd) and a 2-run homer by 1B Justin Huber (his 6th). After Iowa scored in the 5th to regain a 2-run lead, the O-Royals scored once that inning on an RBI single by 3B Chris Truby and took the lead for good with 3 in the 6th on a 3-run bomb by C Jared Price (his 3rd). Omaha padded the lead with 4 in the 7th on an RBI single by Pickering and a 3-run shot by Huber (his 7th). Jensen went 6 IP and allowed 5 R (3 ER) on 8 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks to move to 2-10 with a 7.20 ERA; RP Shane Nance went 1 1/3 IP of 1 hit with 1 K for his 8th hold and dropped his ERA to 4.55; and RP Dave Elder kept his scoreless inning streak with Omaha going with 1 2/3 IP of a hit with 2 Ks to keep his ERA at 0.00 over 14 1/3 IP. Truby was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .244; Pickering was 3-4 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .259; LF Chad Santos was 2-4 with 2 RS to improve to .263; Huber was 2-4 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .273; and Price was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .211. Huber made 2 errors in the game to get to 3 at Omaha.

Omaha is 69-69 and 3 games out of first behind Nashville with 6 games left in the season. Omaha continues the final home set of the season tonight. Pitchers: Cubs RH Sergio Mitre (5-5, 4.32) vs. RH Denny Bautista (0-1, 4.91) in his second rehab start. In other O-Royals news, OF Matt Diaz did get the call to KC and wasn't replaced on the Omaha roster.

AA: Wichita got a good start from Brian Bass and took a 7-2 win over Springfield in the home finale Tuesday. The Wranglers got a run in the 1st on an RBI double by DH Josh Pressley and added 3 runs in both the 3rd and 4th on a 2-run single by SS Mike Aviles, an RBI single by LF Billy Butler, a sac fly by RF Shane Costa and a 2-run Aviles homer (his 14th). Bass went 8 1/3 IP for the win and gave up 2 ER on 7 hits and 3 walks with 4 Ks to improve to 12-8 with a 5.24 ERA. RP Wes Wilkerson got the final 2 outs with 1 K included to drop his ERA to 6.52. 2B Ruben Gotay was 1-4 to improve to .207; Costa was 1-2 with a walk, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .276; Pressley was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .308; Aviles was 2-4 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .289; Butler was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .337; and CF Mitch Maier was 2-4 to improve to .251.

Wichita is 31-34 and out of the playoff hunt with 5 games to play. A final 5-game series at Tulsa (29-36) starts tonight. Pitchers: RH Yovany Damico (NR) will make his double-A debut after being a reliever at Burlington. In other Wichita news, RP Jonah Bayliss is back for a few days after being sent down to make room for Diaz at KC and SS Irving Falu was sent back to Burlington.

High-A: High Desert stumbled again Tuesday in a Cal League classic as a valiant comeback attempt fell short in a 13-12 loss to Lake Elsinore. The Mavs started the scoring with 3 in the 2nd on RBI singles by 2B Pete Maestrales and SS Angel Sanchez and an RBI double by CF Chris Lubanski. The Storm came to bat in the 3rd and pounded SP Patrick Green for 6 runs that inning and then came up in the 4th and scored another 6 off Green and RP Eric Ackerman for a 12-3 lead. Errors by 1B Kila Kaaihue (his 19th) and Sanchez (his 26th) helped in the rallies. The Mavs crept closer with a run in each of the 4th, 5th and 6th on a Sanchez RBI double, solo homer by 3B Adam Keim (his 24th) and a Storm wild pitch that allowed Lubanski to score. Lake Elsinore got a solo homer in the 7th to make the score 13-6 and it ended up meaning something as the Mavs scored 5 in the 7th on a Sanchez RBI single, Lubanski RBI single, Kaaihue bases-loaded walk, Keim RBI single and an RBI ground out by LF Bernard Stephens to make the score 13-11. Lubanski hit a leadoff single in the 9th and stole second with 2 out before being driven home by Stephens to close the gap to 1. RF Alan Moye then flew out to end the game. Green took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 10 R (7 ER) on 9 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to fall to 9-11 with a 4.16 ERA; Ackerman went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 5.24; RP Nate Moore went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 1 ER on a hit and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.76; and RP Brian Steffek pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings to drop his ERA to 5.40. Maestrales was 3-4 with 2 walks, a double, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .321; Sanchez was 3-6 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .305; Lubanski was 4-5 with a double, walk, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .294; Kaaihue was 0-4 with 2 walks and an RBI to drop to .313; Keim was 2-6 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .286; Stephens was 3-6 with 2 RBI to improve to .299; and Moye was 2-6 to up his BA to .289. Maestrales also made his 17th error.

High Desert is 37-28 and up 2 1/2 games on Lancaster. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 3 for the second-half division title and 2 for the wild card with 5 games to play. They continue the set with Lake Elsinore tonight. No announced starters.

Low-A: Burlington got held to 2 hits in a 7-0 shutout loss to Clinton Tuesday as the season is ending hard for the Bees. Burlington didn't get a hit until the 6th and never got a runner past second. SP Daniel Christensen took the loss with 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 9 Ks over 5 IP to drop to 3-7 with a 3.55 ERA; RP Zane Carlson went 2/3 IP and allowed 5 R (3 ER) on 4 hits and 2 walks with a K to bump his ERA to 5.82; and RP Rusty Begnaud went 3 1/3 IP and allowed a hit and walk with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.63. SS Irving Falu, back from Wichita, was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .247; 3B Edward Lucas was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .292; LF Kenard Springer was 1-3 to improve to .291; and 2B Gary Perez was 0-3 to drop to .241.

Burlington is 29-35 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bees continue the set with Clinton tonight and have 6 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: RH Justin Sherman (3-8, 4.55) vs. Clinton RH Kyle Rogers (6-10, 6.26). In other Bees news, RHP Yovany Damico headed to Wichita, OF Brian McFall was placed on the disabled list with a hairline fracture in his right wrist after getting hit by a pitch on Friday night and RH Rayner Oliveros joined the team from the ASL.

Rookie: Idaho Falls stopped its 5-game skid with a 14-6 pounding of Ogden. The Chukars scored 1 in the 1st on an Ogden throwing error and added 5 in the 4th on a grand slam by CF Ethien Santana (his 3rd homer) and an RBI single by LF Felix Peguero for a 6-0 lead. The benches cleared twice in that inning as two Ogden pitchers were ejected. The Chukars tacked on 4 in the 5th on 2-run singles by 1B Brenan Herrera and Peguero and 2 in the 7th on a Herrera RBI double and sac fly by Peguero for a 12-1 lead. The final 2 runs came in the 9th on a 2-run triple by Santana, who was a double short of the cycle in the game of his life. All that run support meant the first pro win for SP Ryan DiPietro, who went 6 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to improve to 1-5 with a 5.13 ERA. RP Jacob Eckley went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and a walk with a K to up his ERA to 7.67; and RP Travis Trammell went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 2 ER on 4 hits with 2 Ks to make his ERA 8.36. Santana was 5-5 with a HBP, triple, HR, 5 RBI and 5 RS to improve to .310; Herrera was 2-4 with 2 walks, a double, 3 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .250; SS Chris McConnell was 0-3 with 2 walks and a HBP to drop to .333; Peguero was 2-4 with a walk and 4 RBI to improve to .249; C Kiel Thibault was 0-5 with a walk to drop to .341; RF Andrew Larsen was 3-6 to improve to .281; and DH Jeff Howell was 2-3 with 3 walks and 2 RS to improve to .336. 3B Joshua Colafemina made his 14th error.

Idaho Falls is 11-18 and 4 games out of first with 9 games left on the schedule. The Chukars start a 3-game home series with Casper (13-16) tonight.

The ASL Royals finished the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first. Overall the Royals finished 34-22.

Royals on the Farm 8/28 and 8/29

AAA: Omaha dropped the finale with Oklahoma, 3-2, in a rain-shortened game Sunday before losing the opener of a 4-game set with Iowa Monday, 4-1. The losses dropped Omaha farther behind Nashville and damaged the team's playoff hopes. Sunday, both teams had one inning of scoring offense before rain intervened in the 8th. Omaha took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd on an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown and an RBI ground out by 2B Justin Gemoll. SP Kyle Snyder took a perfect game into the 6th before walking the leadoff batter. A 2-out single for the RedHawks' first hit put runners at first and second before Oklahoma 2B Ian Kinsler ruined Snyder's great outing with a 3-run homer to put the RedHawks up, 3-2. The lead held into the bottom of the 8th when Omaha got a 1-out double from RF Matt Diaz, but the rain came soon after and ended the game with the tying run forever on second. Snyder took the loss with 6 IP of 3 ER on 2 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop to 2-3 with a 3.73 ERA and RP Jaime Cerda went 2 IP and allowed 3 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.59. Brown was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .275; Diaz was 1-4 with a double to drop to .372; 1B Justin Huber was 0-2 with a walk to drop to .275; and C Tomas Duenas was 2-3 to improve to .375.

Monday, the O-Royals suffered from offensive problems in a 4-1 loss to Iowa. SP Dennis Tankersley allowed 4 runs over 7 IP but the O-Royals managed only 6 hits in the game. Their only run came in the 7th on a solo homer by 3B Chris Truby (his 19th) but Omaha only got a runner to third one other time in the game. Tankersley went 7 IP and allowed 4 ER on 11 hits with 11 Ks to drop to 9-8 with a 4.29 ERA. RP Nate Field went 2 IP and allowed a hit and 2 walks with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.06. SS Rudy Gomez was 2-4 to improve to .290 as SS Andres Blanco missed a second straight game; Diaz was 0-1 to drop to .371 before leaving the game for his call-up to KC; Truby was 2-4 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .242; and Huber was 0-4 to drop to .264.

Omaha is 68-69 and 3 1/2 games out of first behind Nashville with 7 games left in the season. Omaha continues the final home set of the season tonight. Pitchers: Cubs RH Jon Leicester (2-7, 5.38) vs. RH Ryan Jensen (1-10, 7.41). In other O-Royals news, OF Aaron Guiel was named to the 2005 All-PCL Team after leaving for KC tied for the PCL lead in home runs (30), tied for 3rd in RBI (95), 2nd in extra-base hits (67) and 3rd in runs (94).

AA: Wichita fell completely out of the playoff picture with an 8-6 loss to Springfield Sunday and then a split of a Monday doubleheader with the Cardinals. Sunday, a late Wrangler comeback was thwarted in the 8th by Springfield. The Cardinals took a 4-0 lead off SP Kyle Middleton before Wichita notched 3 runs in the 2nd on a solo homer by LF Billy Butler (his 4th), a sac fly by C Mathew Tupman and an RBI single by SS Irving Falu. Former pitcher Rick Ankiel, now an OF for Springfield, homered in the 4th to help Springfield expand the lead and the Cardinals took a 6-3 lead into the 6th. Wichita scored that inning on a solo homer by DH Cory Aldridge (his 25th) and added 2 more in the 7th on a Springfield throwing error and a sac fly by 3B Mike Aviles to tie the game at 6 and send the game to extra innings as it was slated to be the opener of a doubleheader. Two errors in the 8th helped Springfield to 2 runs and an 8-6 lead and Wichita made 3 pop outs in the bottom of the inning to end it. Middleton went 6 IP and allowed 6 ER on 15 hits with 7 Ks to make his ERA 5.31; RP Wes Wilkerson took the loss with 1 IP of 2 UER on a hit and walk with a K to drop to 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA; and RP Leo Nunez allowed 1 hit in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 0.69. 2B Ruben Gotay was 1-4 to improve to .221; 1B Josh Pressley was 0-4 to drop to .311 and made his 14th error; Butler was 1-4 with a HR and RBI to drop to .337; CF Mitch Maier was 1-4 to improve to .239 and made his 3rd error; and RF Wilkin Ruan was 2-3 to move to .254 and stole his 18th base. Game 2 of the twinbill was tied at 4 in the 2nd when rain canceled the game. It was reset for Monday.

Monday, a 12-4 Springfield win in game 1 of the double dip ended the Wranglers' playoff hopes as they could do no better than a tie with division leader Arkansas, which won the season series with Wichita. Springfield pounded SP Mike Stodolka to take a 6-0 lead in the 2nd before Wichita scored 2 on a Maier RBI triple and an RBI ground out by RF Shane Costa to cut the lead to 4. Stodolka gave up 2 more runs in the 3rd before Wichita cut the lead back to 4 with 2 in the 4th on a 2-run triple by C John Draper to make the score 8-4. Stodolka came out for the 5th and loaded the bases with 1 out before MGR Frank White replaced him with RP Chris Demaria. Demaria promptly gave up a grand slam to help Springfield put it away. Stodolka took the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 11 ER on 12 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop to 4-11 with a 6.17 ERA; and Demaria went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits to move his ERA to 2.38. Gotay was 0-4 to drop to .210; Butler was 2-4 to improve to .345; Pressley was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .308; Maier was 2-3 with a triple and RBI to improve to .243; Costa was 0-2 with a HBP and RBI to drop to .278; Falu was 2-3 with a double to improve to .267; and Draper was 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBI to improve to .256. Aviles made his 41st error and 1B Brennan King made his 14th.

In game 2, Wichita salvaged a split with a 7th-inning rally for a 6-5 win. Springfield jumped on the scoreboard with 3 in the 1st off SP Nate Hoelscher before Wichita came back with 4 in the 1st on a wild pitch, an RBI force out by Aviles, a Maier RBI double and a Costa RBI ground out. Springfield tied the game at 4 in the 2nd and the score remained knotted at 4 into the 7th when Springfield scored once on a sac fly to take the lead off RP Drew Endicott in his first game after a call up from High Desert. Pressley reached on an error with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th and final inning and Aviles doubled PR Brett Groves to third. A Maier sac fly scored Groves and Costa walked to load the bases. King grounded to Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan, who fumbled the ball as Aviles scored the winning run. Hoelscher went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 5.74 and Endicott got the win with 3 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 0 hits and 4 walks to establish a 1-0 record and 2.45 ERA. Gotay was 0-2 with 2 walks to drop to .205; Pressley was 0-3 with a HBP to drop to .306; Aviles was 2-4 with 2 doubles, an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .287; Butler was 0-1 with 3 walks to drop to .341; Maier was 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .247; and Costa was 0-3 with a walk and RBI to drop to .274.

Wichita is 30-34 and now out of the playoff hunt with 6 games to play. The series with Springfield ends tonight in the Wranglers' final home game of 2005. Pitchers: Brian Bass (11-8, 5.40) vs. Cardinals SP Chris Lambert (3-6, 5.27).

High-A: High Desert hit a pothole in the road to the playoffs with a 9-6 loss to Lancaster Sunday and an 11-8 loss to Lake Elsinore Monday. Sunday, SP Devon Lowery gave up runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th to give Lancaster a 3-0 lead before High Desert scored in the 5th on an RBI single by C Adam Donachie. Lowery gave up 2 more runs in the 5th to give Lancaster a 5-1 lead and the JetHawks took a 6-1 lead into the 7th. Donachie hit a 1-out double in the 7th and 3B Walter Sevilla followed with a 2-run shot (his 6th) to cut the lead to 6-3. Three batters later, CF Chris Lubanski hit a sac fly to bring home another run and 1B Kila Kaaihue followed with a 2-run shot (his 16th) to tie it. RP Greg Atencio gave up a 3-run homer in the 7th to hand the lead back to the JetHawks and the Mavs couldn't come back. Lowery went 5 IP and allowed 5 ER on 9 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to make his ERA 3.76; RP Nate Moore went 2/3 IP and allowed 1 UER on a hit and walk to drop his ERA to 4.75; RP Eric Ackerman took the loss with 2/3 IP of 2 ER on a hit and walk with a K to drop to 3-1 with a 5.15 ERA; and Atencio pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up 1 ER on 3 hits to move his ERA to 4.46. DH Pete Maestrales was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .316; SS Angel Sanchez was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .303; Lubanski was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .290; Kaaihue was 1-4 with a walk, HR and 2 RBI to drop to .314; 2B Adam Keim was 2-4 to improve to .287; and Donachie was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .298.

Monday, the Mavs fell behind early, rallied to tie it and then fell behind for good in an 11-8 loss to the Lake Elsinore Storm. The Storm scored 3 off SP Cesar Herrera in the 1st (thanks to 4 HD errors) to take the lead but the Mavs tied it in the 2nd on a solo homer by Kaaihue (his 17th), an RBI double by RF Alan Moye and a Storm wild pitch. Lake Elsinore scored 2 in the 3rd and never trailed again. The Mavs scored in the 3rd and 4th on a wild pitch and a sac fly by C Brady Everett to make the score 6-5 but the Storm scored 3 in the 6th. The Mavs scored runs in the 6th, 7th and 9th on a Maestrales RBI single, Moye RBI single and another solo homer by Kaaihue (his 18th) but it wasn't enough. Herrera got the loss with 5 1/3 IP of 8 R (4 ER) on 5 hits and 4 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 7-7 with an ERA of 6.86; RP Chris Coughlin went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 7.11; and RP Stephen Chamberlain went 2 IP and allowed an ER on a hit and walk with 2 Ks to make his ERA 7.93. Maestrales was 2-5 with a double and RBI to improve to .317; Sanchez was 1-5 with a double to drop to .303; Lubanski was 1-5 to drop to .289; Kaaihue was 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .316; LF Bernard Stephens was 2-5 with a double to improve to .297; Moye was 2-3 with a walk, double and 2 RBI to improve to .289; and Everett was 1-3 with an RBI to improve to .200. Kaaihue had 2 errors to get to 18 on the season. Maestrales committed his 16th.

High Desert is 37-27 and up 3 1/2 games on Lancaster. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 3 for both the second-half division title and 2 for the wild card with 6 games to play. They continue the set with Lake Elsinore tonight. No announced starters.

Low-A: Burlington's season-long losing streak got to 9 with a 5-2 loss to Cedar Rapids before it was snapped Monday with a 6-1 win over Clinton. Sunday, the Bees scored runs in the 5th and 7th but Cedar Rapids scored insurance runs in the 8th and 9th to take the 5-2 win. The Bees' runs scored on an RBI ground out by RF Darwinson Salazar and a Salazar RBI double. SP Luis Cota took another loss with 6 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 7 hits and 3 walks with 7 Ks to drop to 5-8 with a 4.03 ERA. RP Zane Carlson went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and a walk with a K to move his ERA to 4.71 and RP Adam Rowe went 1 2/3 IP and gave up an UER on 1 hit with a K to drop his ERA to 5.02. 3B Edward Lucas was 3-4 to improve to .295; 2B Gary Perez was 0-4 to drop to .250; and 1B Eddie Solis was 2-4 with a double to up his BA to .202. SS Geraldo Valentin made 2 errors to get to 15 on the season.

Monday, the Bees bounced back to take the win over Clinton thanks to some good pitching by SP Dusty Dossett. The Bees took the lead with 2 in the 2nd on an RBI single by DH Rusty Brown and a Salazar RBI double and padded the lead with a run in the 5th on an RBI ground out by C Damaso Espino. Burlington got insurance with 3 in the 8th on a Solis 3-run double. Dossett went 7 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA; and Rowe got his 7th save with 2 hitless IP that included 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.87. Lucas was 1-4 with a double to drop to .294; Springer was 2-3 with a HBP and 2 RS to improve to .230; Perez was 1-4 to keep his BA at .250; and Salazar was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .168.

Burlington is 29-34 and 6 games back of first. The Bees continue the set with Clinton tonight and have 7 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: LH Danny Christensen (3-6, 3.55) vs. LumberKings RH Michael Schlact (9-7, 4.23).

Rookie: Idaho Falls ran its losing streak to five games with a 9-4 loss to Orem Sunday and a 6-5 10-inning loss to Ogden Monday. Sunday, Orem pieced together three 3-run innings and Idaho Falls didn't get on the board until the 6th in the 9-4 loss. The Chukars scored 2 in both the 6th and 8th on RBI ground outs by 1B Jase Turner and RF Andrew Larsen and a 2-run homer by Turner (his 11th). SP Mario Santiago took the loss with 4 IP of 6 R (3 ER) on 6 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 0-4 with a 6.83 ERA; RP Cody Harkcom went 2 IP and gave up 3 ER on 2 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 9.00; and RP Adam Kalkhof went 2 IP and gave up 3 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.50. SS Chris McConnell was 1-4 with a walk, double and 2 RS to drop to .340; DH Felix Peguero was 2-4 to improve to .240; C Jeff Howell was 1-4 to drop to .328; and LF Byron Barber was 1-3 to improve to .317. 2B Joshua Colafemina made his 13th error.

Monday, the Chukars lost again after tying the game in the 9th in the opener with Ogden. Idaho Falls started the scoring in the 2nd on an RBI double by C Kiel Thibault but Ogden took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Idaho Falls scored 2 in the 4th on a Peguero RBI double and a Barber RBI single but, again, Ogden came back to take the lead with 3 in the bottom of the frame. Idaho Falls closed the gap to 1 in the 6th on a Thibault solo shot (his 9th) and CF Ethien Santana came through with a 2-out RBI single in the 9th to tie the game at 5. Ogden got an RBI double off RP Matt Kniginyzky in the 10th and Kniginyzky killed the Chukars' hope for a win with a Thibault passed ball and then a wild pitch to score the runner without another hit. SP Phillip Davidson went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 10 hits and 3 walks to move his ERA to 3.61; RP Eliszer Garcia went 3 2/3 hitless IP with 4 walks and 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.29; and Kniginyzky took the loss with 2 IP of an UER on a hit and walk with 3 Ks to drop to 2-5 with a 5.04 ERA. Santana was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .293; McConnell was 1-5 with a double to drop to .337; Larsen was 2-4 with a walk to improve to .275; Peguero was 2-5 with 2 doubles, an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .244; Thibault was 2-3 with a HBP, double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .356; and Barber was 1-3 with a walk and RBI to improve to .318. 2B Joshua Johnson made his 13th error.

Idaho Falls is 10-18 and 5 games out of first with 10 games left on the schedule. The Chukars end the short Ogden series tonight.

The ASL Royals ended the season on a good note with a 7-0 win over the Brewers Sunday and a 4-2 win over the Mariners Monday. Sunday, two pitchers combined on a 6-hit shutout as the Royals won. The Royals scored 1 in the 3rd and 5th on an RBI single by 2B Valentino Arce and a solo homer by 3B Jon Aughey (his 1st) and added 5 in the 6th on a 2-run single by C John Lowen, an RBI single by 1B Willie Matos and a 2-run shot by Aughey (his 2nd). SP Gilbert De la vara got the win with 5 IP of 4 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to improve to 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA; and RP John Sokoll went 2 IP and allowed 2 hits and a walk with a K to drop his ERA to 4.63. LF Jose Duarte was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .314; Arce was 1-2 with a walk, HBP and RBI to improve to .335; DH Joseph Dickerson was 0-4 to drop to .296; RF Alvi Morel was 1-3 to improve to .328; Matos was 2-3 with an RBI to improve to .247; and Aughey was 2-3 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .130.

Monday, the Royals took down the Mariners thanks to another good start from SP Rayner Oliveros. The Royals scored 1 in the 1st on a Dickerson RBI force out and added 2 in the 2nd on an RBI single by SS Carlos Avila and an RBI force out by Duarte. They scored their 4th run in the 5th on a Dickerson RBI single. Oliveros went 6 IP and allowed 1 hit with 7 Ks to improve to 7-1 with a 2.39 ERA; RP Drew Coffey went 1 IP and allowed an ER on a hit and walk to move his ERA to 8.82; and RP Henry Barrera got his 6th save with 2 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.72. Duarte was 0-3 with a walk and RBI to end the season at .309; Arce was 1-4 with a double to end the season at .335; Dickerson was 1-4 with 2 RBI to end the season at .294; Morel was 0-4 to end the season at .313; and Avila was 2-4 with an RBI to end the season at .246.

The Royals ended the second half at 15-13 and 3 games back of first (they beat the Angels Saturday, 3-2, and lost to the Brewers, 7-4, Aug. 9).

Royals on the Farm 8/26 and 8/27

AAA: Omaha used some late-inning offense to get wins over Oklahoma Friday and Saturday, 1-0 and 4-3. Friday's tilt was a classic pitchers' duel as Oklahoma got its first hit in the 3rd while Omaha got a hit in the 4th but couldn't score. The O-Royals got a 1-out triple from SS Andres Blanco in the 6th but RF Matt Diaz grounded to Oklahoma SS Manny Alexander, who nailed Blanco at the plate to keep goose eggs on the scoreboard. In the 9th, Blanco led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error. After a Diaz strikeout and IBB to DH Cal Pickering, LF Chad Santos singled to bring Blanco home with the winning run. SP Chris George went 6 IP and allowed 2 hits and 2 walks with 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.56 and RP Dave Elder went 3 IP and allowed 2 hits and a K to improve to 2-0 and keep his ERA at 0.00. Blanco was 3-4 with a triple to improve to .275; Diaz was 0-4 to drop to .368; Santos was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .262; and 1B Justin Huber was 0-2 with a walk to drop to .271.

Saturday, the O-Royals entered the bottom of the 7th down, 3-0, but used the longball to get a 4-3 win. SP Denny Bautista made his first rehab start and didn't do well. He allowed 2 runs in the 1st and, after getting a double play he was pulled (not a good sign) in favor of P Danny Tamayo. Tamayo gave up a run in the 7th to allow Oklahoma to expand the lead to 3 but the Omaha offense came alive that inning. C Jared Price hit a 2-run homer (his 2nd) with 1 out in the 7th to close the gap to 3-2 and, after RP Justin Huisman cruised through the 8th, Huber cracked a 2-run shot in the 8th (his 5th) to give Omaha the 4-3 lead. RP Santiago Ramirez survived a 9th-inning leadoff single to get the save. Bautista went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on a hit and 2 walks to up his ERA to 4.91; Tamayo went 6 1/3 IP and allowed an ER on 5 hits and a walk with 6 Ks to move his ERA to 5.41; Huisman got the win with a hitless IP to improve to 8-1 with an ERA of 3.86; and Ramirez got his 15th save with a hit and K in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 5.37. Blanco was 0-1 before being pulled in the 3rd for fouling a ball off his knee in the 1st-- his BA dropped to .272; 2B Justin Gemoll was 2-3 to improve to .267; Diaz was 3-4 with a double to improve to .374; Santos was 2-4 to improve to .264; Huber was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .280; and IF Rudy Gomez was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .250.

Omaha is 68-67 and 3 games out of first behind Nashville with 9 games left in the season. The home set with Oklahoma ends today. Pitchers: RedHawks LH Michael Tejera (3-2, 4.14) vs. RH Kyle Snyder (2-2, 3.64).

AA: Wichita continued a slide at the worst possible time to fall farther out of the playoff hunt with a 7-5 series-ending loss to Arkansas Friday and a 3-1 loss to Springfield Saturday. Friday, the Wranglers fell behind thanks to two 3-run innings from the Travelers and couldn't come back in the 7-5 loss. Wichita started off the scoring in the 2nd with a solo homer by DH Cory Aldridge (his 24th) but Arkansas rattled off 7 unanswered runs to take a 7-1 lead in the 5th. Wichita scored twice in the 7th on an RBI triple by RF Wilkin Ruan and an RBI ground out by SS Irving Falu and got 2 in the 9th on a 2-run shot by LF Billy Butler (his 3rd) but couldn't get the tying run to the plate. SP Ryan Baerlocher took the loss with 7 ER on 10 hits and 3 walks with 6 Ks over 4 2/3 IP to drop to 7-5 with a 3.18 ERA; RP Juan Cedeno went 2 1/3 hitless IP and walked 1 with 3 Ks to lower his ERA to 7.20; and RP Leo Nunez pitched an inning and allowed a hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 0.75. CF Mitch Maier was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .239; 2B Ruben Gotay was 1-4 to improve to .232; 1B Josh Pressley was 1-4 to drop to .318; and Butler was 2-4 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .320.

Saturday, Wichita took a 1-0 lead in the 4th on a Butler RBI single and held it into the 7th before RP Chris Demaria gave up 2 homers to allow the Cardinals to take a 3-1 lead. Maier hit a 2-out triple in the 9th to bring Ruan to the plate as the tying run but Ruan struck out swinging. SP Derrin Ebert went 6 IP and allowed 1 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.94; Demaria blew his 1st save and took the loss with 1 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA; and RP Wes Wilkerson went 2 IP and allowed only 2 hits to drop his ERA to 7.13. Gotay was 0-4 to drop to .219; 3B Mike Aviles was 2-4 to improve to .290; Pressley was 1-4 with a double to drop to .314; Butler was 3-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .342; and Maier was 1-4 with the triple to stay at .239.

Wichita is 29-32 and 5 1/2 games back of Arkansas. A doubleheader with Springfield is today as the 5-game set continues. Kyle Middleton (10-8, 5.17) takes the mound in game 1 for Wichita and the Wranglers' game 2 starter hadn't been set as reported by the team site. Nine games remain on Wichita's schedule.

High-A: High Desert took big steps toward a second-half title Friday and Saturday with 15-11 and 2-0 wins over Lancaster to increase the division lead to 5 games. Friday's game wasn't quite as close as it looks as the Mavs put up 10 runs early and coasted from there. High Desert scored 5 in the 1st on RBI doubles by CF Chris Lubanski and 1B Kila Kaaihue and a 3-run homer by RF Alan Moye (his 22nd) and added 2 in the 2nd on a sac fly by SS Angel Sanchez and solo homer by Lubanski (his 24th HR and also his 100th RBI of the season). The Mavs piled on 3 in the 3rd on an RBI double by DH Brandon Powell and a 2-run shot by C Adam Donachie (his 12th) for a 10-0 lead. Three in the 5th on an RBI single by Sanchez, a wild pitch and an RBI double by Lubanski made it a 13-0 game and the Mavs added runs in the 6th and 8th on a Lancaster fielding error and a solo homer by LF Bernard Stephens (his 13th). The JetHawks scored all 11 runs after the 4th to make it closer but left the bases loaded in the 9th. SP John Gragg III got the win with 6 IP of 3 ER on 5 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to improve to 12-5 with a 4.51 ERA; RP Stephen Chamberlain went an inning and allowed 6 ER on 7 hits and a walk to move his ERA to 8.02; RP Drew Endicott went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 UER on 2 hits and a walk to drop his ERA to 6.40; and RP Brian Steffek got his 3rd save with 1/3 IP that included a walk to drop his ERA to 6.00. 2B Pete Maestrales went 2-6 with a double to improve to .322; Sanchez was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .304; Lubanski was 3-6 with 2 doubles, a HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .293; Kaaihue was 2-4 with 2 walks, a double and RBI to improve to .313; Stephens was 3-4 with a HBP, HR, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .295; and Donachie was 2-4 with a walk, double, HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .298.

Saturday was a different story although still in the Mavs' favor in a 2-0 win over Lancaster. Mavs starter Billy Buckner and JetHawks starter A.J. Shappi dueled through 6 innings and Shappi matched RP Chris Coughlin into the 9th. Shappi only gave up 3 hits before the 9th, when the Mavs rallied for both runs on a 2-run shot by Lubanski (his 25th). RP Gabe DeHoyos mowed the JetHawks down in order in the bottom of the 9th. Buckner allowed 3 hits and 3 walks with 6 Ks over 6 IP to drop his ERA to 4.81; Coughlin went 2 IP and allowed a hit and walk with a K to improve to 5-10 with a 7.03 ERA; and DeHoyos got his 5th save with a perfect 9th that included a K to drop his ERA to 1.41. Maestrales was 0-4 to drop to .319; Sanchez was 1-4 to drop to .304; Lubanski was 1-4 with the HR and 2 RBI to stay at .293; and Kaaihue was 2-4 with a double to improve to .314.

High Desert is 37-25 and up 5 games on Lancaster. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 4 for both the second-half division title and the wild card with 8 games to play. They end the set at Lancaster tonight. No announced starters. In other Mavs news, the Mavs led all teams with three All-Stars on the recently announced 14-player team -- DH Billy Butler, utility player Brandon Powell and SP John Gragg III. Billy Butler also won the league's Rookie of the Year award. He is the third Maverick to win the award (Matt Mieske in 1991 and Mike Stoner in 1997).

Low-A: Burlington ran its losing streak to 8 games with 7-6 and 4-3 losses to Cedar Rapids Friday and Saturday to all but eliminate themselves from the division race. Friday, the Bees matched Cedar Rapids runs in the 2nd and 4th on an RBI ground out by 2B Gary Perez and an RBI single by CF Cody Cure but the Kernels pounded out 5 runs in the 6th through 8th to take a 7-2 lead. The Bees scored a run in the 8th on a Perez RBI double and a leadoff single by DH Darwinson Salazar started a rally in the 9th. SS Geraldo Valentin tripled home Salazar, RF Edward Lucas singled Valentin home before the Bees got 2 outs and brought 3B Eddie Solis to the plate. Solis doubled home Lucas and LF Kenard Springer singled Solis to third to put runners at the corners with 2 out and the Bees down, 7-6. Perez was hit by a pitch to load the bases but Cure grounded out to end it. SP Justin Sherman went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 6 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.55; RP Kraig Schambough went 2 1/3 IP for the loss as he gave up 4 ER on a hit and 5 walks with a K to move to 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA; RP Adam Rowe went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 5.15. Valentin was 2-5 with a triple and RBI to improve to .238; Lucas was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .288; Springer was 3-4 with a walk to improve to .232; and Perez was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .268. Lucas stole his 27th base. Perez made 2 errors to run his season total to 12.

Saturday, the Bees' woes continued as the Kernels took a 4-3 win in 12. Burlington took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on an RBI force out by IF Damaso Espino and SP Patrick Hicklen left after 6 IP with a 1-0 lead. Cedar Rapids scored 2 in the 8th but Espino came through in the 9th with a 1-out RBI single to tie the game. The Kernels got a 2-run triple off RP Yovany Damico in the 12th to take a 4-2 lead but Solis hit a solo homer (his 9th) with 1 out in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 1. The Bees got two more runners on but couldn't get either home to lose. Hicklen went 6 IP and allowed 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.07; RP Chad Blackwell blew his 4th save with 2 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 2.40; and Damico took the loss with 4 IP of 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to drop to 2-3 with a 4.66 ERA. Cure was 2-6 with 2 RS to improve to .266; Lucas was 2-4 to improve to .290; Perez was 1-5 to drop to .263; and Solis was 2-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .198. Perez made his 13th error and Springer had an outfield assist to get to 21 on the season and set a new Bees single-season record.

Burlington is 28-33 and 6 games back of first. The Bees end the set with Cedar Rapids today and have 9 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: RH Luis Cota (5-7, 4.07) vs. Kernels RH Ronnie Ray (5-3, 3.64).

Rookie: Idaho Falls dropped games to Orem, 7-3 Friday and 9-4 Saturday. Friday, the Chukars never led in the 7-3 loss. Orem took a 2-0 lead into the 5th before the Chukars got a run on a solo homer by C Kiel Thibault (his 8th). Orem made the lead 6-1 going into the 7th before Idaho Falls got its final runs in the 7th and 8th on a solo homer by 1B Jase Turner (his 10th) and a Turner RBI single. SP Chris Nicoll took the loss with 4 2/3 IP of 4 R (3 ER) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 6 Ks to drop to 0-2 with a 2.79 ERA; RP David Henninger went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 2 UER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.93; and RP Travis Trammell went an inning and gave up 1 ER on 3 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 8.03. SS Chris McConnell was 2-4 with a triple to improve to .348; Turner was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .276; RF Andrew Larsen was 2-4 to improve to .270; and Thibault was 2-4 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .348. Henninger had 2 errors to get to 5 on the season.

Saturday, Idaho Falls tied it up early but got blown out, 9-4. The Chukars tied it at 1 in the 2nd on an RBI ground out by 3B Brenan Herrera but the Owlz scored 7 runs in the next 3 innings to take an 8-1 lead that held into the 8th when the Chukars scored 3 on a 2-run triple by DH Ethien Santana and an RBI ground out by McConnell but Orem put it away. SP Bennett Cromer went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 7 R (5 ER) on 11 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop to 5-3 with a 5.59 ERA; RP Brandon Brantley went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 8.57; RP Kevin Bulger pitched an inning and allowed 1 ER on a hit to move his ERA to 11.57. McConnell was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .342; C Jeff Howell was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .330; and RF Byron Barber was 1-2 to improve to .317. McConnell made his 19th error.

Idaho Falls is 10-16 and 3 games out of first with 12 games left on the schedule. The Chukars end the series at Orem tonight.

The ASL Royals lost to the Giants, 5-2, Friday and Saturday's game with the Angels wasn't reported. The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on a Giant throwing error but the Giants came back with 4 off SP Paul Raglione in the 1st to take a 4-1 lead. The Royals scored again in the 2nd on an RBI single by 1B Oscar Marrero to cut the lead to 4-2 but never threatened again. Raglione went 4 IP and took the loss as he allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and 4 walks to drop to 3-4 with a 5.94 ERA; RP Nelson Trifolio went 2 IP and gave up a hit and 3 walks with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.32; and RP Drew Coffey went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 8.80. LF Jose Duarte was 1-4 with a double to drop to .315; IF Valentino Arce was 0-3 with a HBP to drop to .333; CF Joseph Dickerson was 2-4 with a double to improve to .302; DH Alvi Morel was 0-4 to drop to .339; and 2B Carlos Avila was 3-4 to improve to .222.

Saturday's game with the Angels hasn't been reported to the MiLB site.

The Royals are 13-12 and 4 games back of first with two game unreported on MiLB's site (they beat the Cubs, 8-7, Aug. 2). They play the Brewers tonight and the M's tomorrow. Two games remain in the ASL schedule so the Royals are eliminated from the second-half title chase.