Royals on the Farm 5/26

AAA: Omaha starter Chris George gave up 6 runs and the O-Royals had to settle for a split of the Fresno series with an 8-4 loss. Fresno took a 4-0 lead in the 3rd before Omaha got on the board with a solo HR by SS Alejandro Prieto (his 1st) and an RBI single by 3B Chris Truby. The Grizzlies tacked on 2 in the 4th to increase the lead to 6-2 before Omaha scored 2 in the 6th on a 2-run HR by C Scott Walter (his 2nd) but that was all she wrote for the Omaha offense as the O-Royals didn't get another runner past second. George went 5 IP and gave up 6 ER on 9 hits and 2 BB while K'ing 4 to drop to 3-3. Hey, it was better than Lima's outing last night. Anyway, George's ERA grew to 5.68. RP Shawn Camp went 3 IP and gave up 1 ER on 1 hit and a BB while K'ing 1 to drop his ERA to 5.68. RP Santiago Ramirez pitched 1 inning and gave up 1 ER on 2 hits and K'd 1 to hike his ERA to 5.00. Truby was 2-3 with a double, BB and RBI to improve to .274. Walter was 2-4 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .365 and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Prieto was 2-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .255 and CF Adrian Brown was 2-5 with a double and his 14th SB to improve to .250. 2B Justin Gemoll was 0-4 to drop to .336.

Omaha is 22-26 and 4 games back of Memphis in the PCL American North division. A four-game set at 26-22 Albuquerque starts tonight. RH Danny Tamayo (3-2, 4.38) and Isotopes RH Jeff Fulchino (3-3, 5.73) are the slated starters. In other news, Jaime Cerda will be joining Omaha with the promotion of Steve Stemle and Camp was designated for assignment. Good riddance. INF Luis Ugueto also completed his 15-game suspension for drug violation and has been reactivated.

AA: Wichita's bats were anemic as the Wranglers managed only 4 hits in a 3-1 loss to San Antonio. Wichita's only run off Missions SP Bobby Livingston came in the 2nd on a solo blast by RF Cory Aldridge (his league-leading 12th) and gave Wichita a 1-0 lead but San Antonio scored 3 in the 5th and 6th off Wranglers SP Mike Stodolka to get the win. Only three Wranglers even reached base on Livingston. Stodolka dropped to 1-4 with 6 1/3 IP of 3 ER on 4 hits and 1 BB with 5 Ks as his ERA moved to 5.40. RP Jonah Bayliss went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 2 hits and K'd 2 to drop his ERA to 3.19. Aldridge was 1-4 with the HR and RBI to drop to .296. RF John Draper was 1-4 to drop to .317, 2B Adam Keim was 1-4 to drop to .308 and 1B Justin Huber was 0-4 to drop to .352.

Wichita is 23-24 and 6 games back of Tulsa in the TL East. Tonight, LHP J.P. Howell (1-0, 5.06 ERA) makes his second start for Wichita against Missions' RHP Juan Sandoval (2-2, 3.48).

High-A: High Desert cracked 4 home runs as the Mavs defeated Stockton, 9-5, to take the series. The Mavs showed their power early as LF Bernard Stephens and 3B Billy Butler hit back-to-back shots in the first (Nos. 6 and 13 on the year, respectively) and, two batters later, 1B Kila Kaaihue joined in with his 8th homer to give High Desert a 3-0 lead. The Mavs added a run in the 2nd on a double-play ball by SS Angel Sanchez to take a 4-2 lead. Stockton tied the game in the 4th but High Desert scored 2 in the 5th on a 2-run shot by Stephens (his 7th and second on the day). The Mavs added a 7th-inning run on an RBI single by Kaaihue and added 2 in the 9th on a 2-run double by Butler. SP Cesar Herrera went 2 IP and gave up 3 ER on 2 hits and 5 BB with 2 Ks to blow his ERA up to 7.05. RP Drew Endicott got the win to move to 1-2 as he pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up 1 UER on 4 hits and a BB. His ERA is 5.53. RP Eric Ackerman got his 3rd hold with 1 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB. His ERA is 5.52. RP Stephen Bray picked up his 7th save with 2 IP in which he allowed 0 hits and 0 BB and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 5.22. Stephens was 2-4 with a BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .281. Butler was 2-5 with a double, HR and 3 RBI (his 39-41st of the season) to improve to .357 despite striking out 3 times and committing his 17th error in the field. Kaaihue was 2-4 with a BB, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .368 and 1B Michael Gaffney was 2-3 with a BB to improve to .317. RF Mitch Maier was 1-5 with his 23rd double of the season and had 2 outfield assists in the game to nail runners at first and home. 2B Brandon Powell was 1-4 to drop to .322.

High Desert is 24-22 and a game back of Lake Elsinore. A 3-game set at nemesis 19-27 Inland Empire starts tonight. The 66ers took 5 of 6 from the Mavs late last week.

Low-A: A 3-run South Bend 8th sent Burlington to a 6-3 loss along with a series loss to the SilverHawks. Burlington started the scoring in the 5th with 2 runs on an RBI double by 2B Irving Falu and an RBI single by RF Geraldo Valentin. South Bend took the lead with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning but Burlington tied the score in the 7th with a run on a double-play ball hit by Valentin. The SilverHawks scored the runs in the 8th off RP Daniel Christensen and secured the win as the Bees went down in order in the top of the 9th. SP Patrick Hicklen got a ND as he went 6 IP and gave up 3 R (2 ER) on 5 hits and a BB with 2 Ks. His ERA moved to 2.48. Christensen dropped to 0-3 in giving up 3 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB along with 2 Ks in 2 IP. His ERA is 5.40. Falu was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .217. SS Edward Lucas was 1-3 with a double and BB to improve to .321 and Valentin was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .290.

Burlington is 20-26 and 7 1/2 games out of first. The Bees host a 4-game set with 20-26 Dayton starting tonight. LH Matt Campbell (0–5, 4.60) takes on Dayton RHP Zac Stott (1-1, 3.51).