Royals on the Farm 6/29

AAA: Omaha had Wednesday off in preparation for a short 4-game homestand against Albuquerque, which starts today. Omaha is 38-42 and 5 games back of Nashville. No starters have been announced as of this writing.

AA: Wichita withstood a late inning rally from Midland as the RockHounds tied the game but the Wranglers won it in extras, 5-4 in 10. The Wranglers scored 2 in the 2nd on an RBI double by DH Brett Groves and a sac fly by LF Mel Stocker. SP Brian Bass held Midland scoreless through 6 and Wichita added a run in the 7th on an RBI triple by Stocker to take a 3-0 lead. The lead wouldn't hold, though, as Midland scored 1 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to tie the game. Neither team threatened in the 9th but Wichita loaded the bases with 2 out in the 10th and Groves came through with a 2-run single to give Wichita a 5-3 lead. Midland LF Andre Ethier led off the bottom of the 10th with a solo homer off RP Colt Griffin but RP Trae McGill worked out of a 2-on, 0-out jam to end the game. Bass went 6 innings and allowed 3 hits and 3 BB with 8 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.79. RP Thad Markray got his 2nd hold with 1 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit to up his ERA to 4.40. RP Nate Hoelscher went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 UER on 1 hit to make his ERA 6.10. Griffin blew his 1st save but got the win to move to 1-0. He went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 0 Ks to bump his ERA to 4.08. McGill got his 2nd save with 1 IP in which he walked 2 and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 4.81. SS Mike Aviles was 0-4 to drop to .298; C Mathew Tupman was 1-5 to drop to .308; Groves was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .225; Stocker was 2-3 with a double, triple and 2 RBI to up his BA to .222; and RF Wilkin Ruan was 2-3 with a BB to improve to .239. Ruan also stole his 12th base. Aviles made 2 errors in the field to get to 19 on the season.

Wichita is 4-3 and still a game up on first for the second half. The Wranglers have today off before starting a 5-game home set with Springfield (3-4).

High-A: High Desert wrapped up its all-star break on Wednesday and takes on Lancaster (0-6) in a makeup game tonight. The Mavs are 3-3 on the second half.

Low-A: Burlington collapsed late as Clinton pushed across runs in the 8th and 9th to take a 7-6 win. The Bees jumped on the board with 1 in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Rusty Brown. The Bees added 5 in the 4th on a 2-run single by 2B Eddie Solis, RBI doubles by SS Irving Falu and 3B Mario Lisson and an RBI single by Brown to take a 6-0 lead. Clinton came back with 3 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to close the gap to 6-5 as Burlington didn't get another runner to first base. A walk-off single in the 9th ended the game for the Burlington loss. SP Patrick Hicklen went 4 2/3 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 6 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.72. RP Justin Sherman picked up the loss to drop to 0-2 with a 1.50 ERA. He went 3 2/3 IP and gave up 2 R (1 ER) on 4 hits and a BB with 6 Ks. DH Pete Maestrales was 0-2 with 2 BB to drop to .296; Brown was 2-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .280; and Solis was 2-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .175.

Burlington is 2-5 and 4 games back of first. A 4-game set at Peoria (4-3) starts tonight. RH Luis Cota (2–4, 3.17) goes for the Bees.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got shellacked in an 11-2 loss to Orem Wednesday. Both Idaho Falls runs came in the top of the 1st on RBI singles by DH Jeffery Howell and 1B Blake Adkison. SP Cody Harkcom was roughed up in his 2nd pro appearance as he allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks over 1 2/3 IP to drop to 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA. RP Adam Kalkhof went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits with 4 Ks to make his ERA 6.23. RP Jacob Eckley went 2 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 3 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.23. RP Kevin Bulger didn't record an out as he allowed 1 ER on 2 BB to bump his ERA to 4.91. RP Bruce McCleland went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits to move his ERA to 17.18. CF Ethien Santana was 2-5 with a triple to improve to .350; SS Christopher McConnell was 2-5 to move to .324; Howell was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .500; and LF Antonio Sabatini was 0-4 to drop to .360. The Chukars left 10 on base.

Idaho Falls is 4-5 and 3 games back of Ogden. Ogden comes to town for two games starting tonight.

The ASL Royals scored 9 runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to defeat the Cubs, 9-4, Wednesday. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd but the Royals scored 6 on an RBI single by 3B Valentino Arce, a 2-run single by 2B Joshua Johnson, a Cubs throwing error, an RBI single by SS Jeff Bianchi and an RBI single by DH Felix Peralta. The Royals tacked on 3 in the 3rd on a 3-run shot by Bianchi (his 2nd). SP Rayner Oliveros had a good start as he went 6 IP and allowed 3 R (1 ER) on 7 hits with 6 Ks to move to 1-0 with an 0.75 ERA. RP Tim Rice went an inning and walked 1 and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 19.29. RP Phillip Davidson pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 ER on 1 hit and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 1.50. Bianchi was 2-5 with a HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to move his BA to .476; CF Joseph Dickerson was 4-5 with a double to move to .421; Peralta was 1-4 with a BB and RBI to drop to .423; and Arce was 3-5 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .333.

Still no result posted from the Tuesday Royals-Rangers game so the Royals are either 4-3 or 3-4. They play the Brewers today before getting a day off Friday.

In draft signing news, 24 of the 50 are signed. Of the 26 unsigned players, 20 have been designated as "draft and follows," meaning the team will continue to scout the player before deciding whether to sign him. The six non-draft and follow players are Alex Gordon, P Chris Nicoll, 16th-round pitcher Mario Santiago, 22nd-round shortstop Justin Bristow, 26th-round pitcher Jake McLintock and 35th-round pitcher Luke Burnett.

Back in the W column

After squandering a late lead in an 11-8 loss Tuesday night the Royals finally snapped their losing streak with a 3-1 win today behind D.J. Carrasco, who has been the team's pitcher of the year thus far.

As for Tuesday's game, the Royals took an 8-7 lead in the 6th but the bullpen waved it goodbye for good in the 7th and Minnesota's actual solid bullpen finished the job. J.P. Howell proved once more he's not ready for prime time by allowing 5 ER on 6 hits and 4 BB with 1 K over 3 1/3 IP. Where's the 8 K J.P. we saw in start one? Mike Wood came in and didn't stop the bleeding for long but neither did Andy Sisco or Leo Nunez (another not-ready-for-prime-time player)....or Ryan Jensen, for that matter. Each pitcher gave up at least 1 ER. Meanwhile, Shane Costa looks to be getting comfortable at the plate as he was 3-4 with 3 RBIs and his 2nd big league homer and Gotay, Long, Brown, Buck and Stairs all had 2-hit games. DeJesus and Berroa led things off wrong with a combined 0-9 night. Those are our table setters, all right. The team actually got 4 XBH tho, which was nice to see. I was waiting for them to change the mascot to the Singletons, or the One-Base-Hit Wonders. Unfortunately for KC, Shannon Stewart duplicated Costa's efforts and C Mike Redmond had a good night at the plate, as did Luis Rivas, the Royal Killer. So that's another loss in a string of losses for KC. I don't think the struggles this trip would have bothered me as much if the team hadn't bobbled and whiffed their way through the first month-and-a-half or two of the season to dig themselves such a bad hole. Maybe it would have been worse, tho. There may have been some hope of a .500 year without that start. Now each loss is another brick in the wall.

Which is where D.J. Carrasco comes in. After getting shelled at Colorado last week he comes out Wednesday and gives up 1 ER over 6 2/3 IP. Gobble and MacDougal mopped up the win without too much drama, for a change. And as bad as DeJesus was Tuesday, he was great Wednesday with a 4-5 game including an RBI and 2 doubles. Brown got his hit to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and Stairs had a 2-hit, 1 RBI game to chip in. Terrence Long had the other RBI on the game for KC. Costa and Castillo were the only players with 0-fers. Brown pulled a Berroa at second base on a fly ball by Stairs but made up for it somewhat with an outfield assist at home to get Stewart. KC survived leaving 11 on base as Minnesota was held to only 6 hits -- all singles. Torii Hunter didn't start for Minny and Stewart and Jacque Jones were a combined 1-7. The pitchers stepped up and the offense didn't struggle for a change. Refreshing. Plus it was all (the scoring anyway) off former Twins ace Brad Radke. At least KC wasn't 0-for-the-road-trip in wins. Of course 1-8 isn't much better.

So it's an off day tomorrow and the Angels come to town Friday. Runelvys takes the hill against Paul Byrd in the opener, which should be winnable for KC. The Angels are riding an 8-game win streak entering tonight tho and their offense is potent to say the least. The Royals, as usual, will have their work cut out for them.

Royals on the Farm 6/28

AAA: Omaha outhit the Iowa Cubs, 8-7, in the teams' doubleheader Tuesday but managed just 2 runs in 2-1 and 4-1 losses to end the CWS road trip 10-6. In game 1, Omaha pitchers allowed only 3 hits but Iowa made them count for 2 runs to the Royals' 1 in the 2-1 win. Iowa took a 2-0 lead into the 5th after an RBI double in the 3rd and a solo homer in the 4th before Omaha got on the board with a solo homer by SS Luis Ugueto (his 5th). Omaha needed both games to go 9 but the doubleheader was two 7-inning contests so they were short two chances each game to tie the score. The homer by Ugueto was the only extra-base hit for Omaha in game 1. SP Denny Bautista got the loss to drop to 0-1 in his second rehab start. He went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 5 Ks to make his ERA 4.91. RP Shane Nance pitched a perfect 1/3 IP with a K to dip his ERA to 3.86 and P Chris George came out of the pen to go 3 IP and allow 1 ER on 1 hit with 3 Ks and make his ERA 4.76. 2B Denny Hocking was 2-3 to improve to .264 and LF Cory Aldridge was 1-2 to improve to .435. He also stole his 3rd base.

In game 2, Omaha was held to 2 hits and K'd 10 times against Iowa starter Rich Hill and the Cubs scored 4 in the 6th after entering the inning being no-hit by Omaha SP Shawn Camp. Omaha's run came in the 2nd on a solo homer by C Scott Walter (his 5th) and Camp was cruising, having given up only a walk through 5 2/3 IP. Iowa SS Nate Frese singled to break up the no-no and LF Trenidad Hubbard homered to break up the shutout and send the Royals to a loss as Iowa tacked on 2 more in the inning to take a 4-1 lead and eventually the win by that count. Camp went the 5 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to move to 2-5 with a 4.70 ERA. Tough loss. RP Santiago Ramirez went 1/3 IP and dropped his ERA to 6.42. 3B Chris Truby had Omaha's other hit -- a single. Aldridge was 0-2 to drop to .391. It was his first game for Omaha without a hit.

Omaha is 38-42 and 5 games back of Nashville. The O-Royals have today off before starting a 4-game set with Albuquerque (43-37) back at home Thursday.

AA: Wichita pitchers gave up 4 runs in the 7th and 8th to drop a game to Midland, 6-5. The Wranglers struck first in the 1st on an RBI double-play ball by 3B Brennan King but Midland tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Wichita added 3 in the 3rd on a balk that scored CF Mitch Maier and a 2-run single by 1B Josh Pressley to take a 4-1 lead and added another in the 6th on a Midland fielding error. Midland used homers in the 6th and 7th to rally to tie the game at 5 before moving ahead in the 8th on an RBI single. Wichita went down in order in the 9th to end it. SP Mike Stodolka went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits (3 HRs) with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 5.73. RP Barry Armitage picked up the loss as he went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB to move to 2-2 with a 3.76 ERA. Maier was 2-5 with a double to improve to .274 at Wichita; SS Mike Aviles was 1-3 with 2 BB to improve to .302; and LF John Draper was 1-2 with 2 BB and a double to move to .297. Aviles also stole his 7th base of the season.

Wichita is 3-3 and still a game up on 1st on the division. RHP Brian Bass (6-4, 6.18) will go for the Wranglers in tonight's game.

High-A: At the Carolina-California League All-Star Game, the Carolina League pasted the Cal League boys by an 8-0 count. High Desert's Billy Butler followed up a second-place finish to Frederick's Nick Markakis in the pre-game Home Run Derby with an 0-1 night at the plate with 1 BB. 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-3 with 1 of the team's 4 hits on the night. P John Gragg III pitched in the 7th and went 2/3 of an inning and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits (including a homer) with a BB in the loss. Markakis was the game's MVP with 2 HRs and 3 RBI in a 3-5 performance. High Desert (3-3) gets back into action Thursday at Lancaster in a make-up game.

Low-A: Burlington took a 2-1 lead into the 6th but starter Patrick Green was touched up for 4 ER on a 5-3 loss to Clinton. Clinton took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd before Burlington pushed across 2 runs in the 3rd on an RBI single by 2B Pete Maestrales and a sac fly by C Damaso Espino. The game remained that way into the 6th when the LumberKings took the lead for good. The Bees' final run came in the 9th on an RBI single by RF Brian McFall. Green went 5 1/3 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 7 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to move to 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA. RP Gabe DeHoyos went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.81 despite allowing 2 of the runs in the 6th inning Clinton rally on a hit and balk. Maestrales was 1-3 with a BB and RBI to improve to .298. Only 3 other Bees had a hit. 3B Mario Lisson stole his 18th base and LF Kenard Springer had an outfield assist at third.

Burlington is 2-4 and 3 games back of first. Tonight's series finale with Clinton pits RH Patrick Hicklen (4–3, 3.44) vs. LumberKings RH John Bannister (4–7, 4.84).

Rookie: Idaho Falls came back from a shutout loss to Orem Monday with a 4-1 win over the Owlz Tuesday. The Chukars scored once in the 1st on a solo homer by SS Christopher McConnell (his 1st of the season) and 2 in the 2nd on a solo homer by 1B Blake Adkison (his 4th) and an RBI double by C (9th rounder) Kiel Thibault before scoring their final run in the 7th on a sac fly by McConnell. SP (11th rounder) Michael Penn made his second pro start and went 4 IP, allowing 4 hits and a BB with 4 Ks but 0 ER to drop his ERA to 2.16. RP David Henninger got the win to move to 1-0. He went 3 IP and K'd 1 to keep his ERA at 0.00. RP Kraig Schambough pitched an inning and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit (a homer) with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.86. RP Zane Carlson went an inning and K'd 2 to get his 1st save and set a 0.00 ERA. Thibault was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .231; LF Antonio Sabatini was 1-3 with a BB to drop to .429; and McConnell was 1-4 with a homer and 2 RBI to drop to .310.

Idaho Falls is 4-4 and 2 games back of Ogden. The series with Orem ends tonight before Ogden comes to town for a pair of games.

The ASL Royals' score from Tuesday must not have been posted to the league yet or something. It's not on MiLB.com's site yet, anyway. The Royals were set to take on the Cubs today.

Royals on the Farm 6/27

AAA: Omaha's game at Iowa Monday was rained out and set as part of a doubleheader today.

Omaha is 38-40 and 4 1/2 games back of Nashville. RH Denny Bautista (0-0, 9.00) goes vs. Iowa RH Jon Leicester (0-2, 5.53) in game 1 while RH Shawn Camp (2-4, 4.46) takes on Iowa LH John Koronka (5-6, 4.98) in game 2. Both are 7-inning games.

AA: A 4-run 6th made the difference for Wichita in a 5-2 win over Midland. Wichita opened the scoring in the 5th with a run on a fielder's choice by LF Mel Stocker and added 4 in the 6th on a throwing error off a ball hit by DH Josh Pressley (one of three on the game for Midland) and a 3-run double by RF Wilkin Ruan. The bullpen gave up 2 runs but Wichita held on to win. SP Ryan Baerlocher had a great start, going 6 IP and allowing only 2 hits with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.61. RP Trae McGill made his first appearance off the DL and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 1 K in 1 IP to up his ERA to 4.93. RP Colt Griffin went 1 1/3 and walked 1 while racking up Ks for all 4 outs he got. His ERA is 3.99. RP Nate Hoelscher went 2/3 IP and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 6.23. 3B Mike Aviles was 1-4 to drop to .302; 1B Brennan King was 2-4 with a double to improve to .275; C Mathew Tupman was 1-3 with a BB to drop to .316; and Ruan was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .231. He has been hitting well lately. Stocker stole his 12th base in the win.

Wichita is 3-2 and in first by a game in the TL East. LHP Mike Stodolka (2-7, 5.64) will face Rockhounds LHP Dallas Braden (6-2, 2.48) tonight.

High-A: High Desert is 3-3 and on its all-star break. The AS game is tonight in Frederick, MD. I'll report on it tomorrow.

Low-A: A 4-run 8th propelled Burlington to a 6-4 win over Clinton in the series opener at Clinton. The Bees scored the first 2 runs of the game in the 1st and 2nd on an RBI single by C Damaso Espino and a sac fly by 1B Rusty Brown. Clinton took the lead with 4 unanswered runs entering the 8th, when Burlington broke out with 4 on a 1-out rally. The big hit was a bases-loaded triple by RF Brian McFall while Brown followed with an RBI double to give the Bees a 6-4 lead. Relievers Greg Atencio and Chad Blackwell set the LumberKings down in order in the 8th and 9th to ice the win. SP Daniel Christensen went 3 innings and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and 4 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.69. P Matt Campbell, fresh off the DL, went 3 innings and allowed 2 UER on 2 hits with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.94. Atencio got the win to move to 5-2. He went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 4.14. Blackwell got his 4th save with an IP in which he K'd 2. His ERA sagged to 2.55. 3B Pete Maestrales was 2-3 with a double to improve to .298; Espino was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .242; McFall was 2-4 with a double, triple, 3 RBI and 2 RS to up his BA to .244; and Brown was 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .281. Campbell had an error and a pickoff in his return.

Burlington is 2-3 and 3 games back of first. The series with Clinton continues tonight as RH Patrick Green (3–5, 4.71) goes against the LumberKings' RH Eric Hurley (7–2, 4.22). In other Bees news, OF Darwinson Salazar returned to Burlington from High Desert in a demotion and IF Ed Lucas has been placed on the disabled list with a broken nose received in Friday night's brawl with Beloit. Lucas' nose reportedly requires surgery. Ouch. His .315 BA leads the team.

Rookie: Idaho Falls was shut out and shut down by Orem's 4 pitchers in a 3-hit 3-0 loss to the Owlz Monday. The Chukars drew 6 walks and a HBP but only the 3 singles in the loss. SP Ryan Dipietro got his first pro loss to drop to 0-1. He went 4 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 5 hits and a BB with 5 K to move his ERA to 1.23. RP Bennett Cromer went 2 1/3 IP and gave up 2 ER on 3 hits with 2 Ks to make his ERA 5.06. RP Bruce McCleland went 1 inning and K'd 2 to drop his ERA to 27.00. LF Ethien Santana was 1-2 with 2 BB to improve to .333; CF Andrew Larsen and 1B Jase Turner had the other 2 hits.

Idaho Falls is 3-4 and 2 games back of first in the Pioneer League South division. The three-game set with Orem continues tonight.

The ASL Royals got their first win with a 10-5 double-up of the Mariners Monday. The Royals scored 4 in the 1st on a fielding error on a ball hit by RF Felix Peralta, an RBI triple by CF (4th rounder) Joseph Dickerson and a 2-run double by LF Alvi Morel. The Mariners came back to tie the score in the 4th but the Royals scored 2 in the each of the 5th and 6th on a 2-run homer by Peralta (his 1st), an RBI double by 2B (2nd rounder) Jeff Bianchi and a fielding error on a ball hit by Dickerson. The Royals added 2 more in the 8th on a sac flies by Bianchi and Dickerson. SP Angelo Morales improved to 1-0 as he went 5 IP and allowed 4 R (2 ER) on 6 hits with 5 Ks to make his ERA 2.00. RP Nelson Trifolio went 3 IP and K'd 3 to drop his ERA to 3.86 and RP Gilbert De la vara went 1 IP and gave up 1 ER on 1 hit with 2 BB and 2 Ks to make his ERA 27.00. Bianchi was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI to improve to .500; Peralta was 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .455; Dickerson was 1-3 with a BB, triple and 2 RBI to move to .286; DH Oscar Gonzalez was 2-4 with a BB to move to .333; Morel was 2-3 with 2 doubles, a walk, a HBP and 2 RBI to improve to .385; and C (8th rounder) Nicholas Doscher was 2-4 to up his BA to .333. The Royals left 10 on base and Bianchi made his 1st pro error in the win.

The Royals are 2-3. They were set to face the Rangers today and the Cubs tomorrow.

Unlucky seven

Another night, another loss for Kansas City as Zack Greinke pitched well but the offense was pretty much a no-show in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota. The only run came on an 8th inning solo bomb shot by David DeJesus. Buck and Everyday Emil Brown had 2-hit games but Buck's double and DeJesus' upper deck tater were the only extra-base hits for KC. Actually, other than those 3 only Berroa had a hit and the Twins only had 1 XBH. The Twins score 2 in the 2nd off Greinke and scratch across an insurance run in the 8th and Mays holds down the fort with Nathan polishing off the 9th for the win. It was a pitchers' duel with Greinke and the Royal O coming out on the short end. KC is now 25-50.

Tomorrow night is a winnable game for KC. J.P. Howell goes against Carlos Silva. Howell will have to be on his game and the offense may have to actually produce, but it's not impossible. There's nowhere to go but up or sideways.

Royals on the Farm 6/25 and 6/26

AAA: Omaha got its five-game win streak snapped Saturday in a 9-5 loss to Iowa. The O-Royals scored 3 in the 1st on an RBI double by 1B Denny Hocking and a 2-run homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 15th). From then on it was Iowa's game as the Cubs pounded out 9 runs before Omaha scored its final 2 in the 7th on a 2-run homer by 3B Chris Truby (his 8th). SP Dennis Tankersley got the loss to drop to 5-6. He went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 6 R (5 ER) on 8 hits and 3 BB with a K to bump his ERA to 4.84. RP Shane Nance went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 3 ER on 6 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 3.90. RP Matt Ford pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed 2 hits with 1 K to drop his ERA to 1.80. RP Santiago Ramirez went a hitless inning to drop his ERA to 6.47. Hocking was 2-3 with a double, walk and RBI to improve to .265; Truby was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to move to .268; and LF Cory Aldridge was 1-3 to drop to .500. Guiel had an outfield assist at second.

Sunday, Omaha got back on the winning track in a 9-4 win over Iowa. The O-Royals scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run double by CF Adrian Brown and another in the 3rd on a solo homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 16th and fourth straight game with a tater). Omaha added 3 in the 5th on an RBI double by 2B Justin Gemoll and a 2-run homer by C Paul Phillips (his 3rd). The final 3 came in the 7th on a 2-run double by 1B Chad Santos and an RBI single by SS Luis Ugueto. SP Kyle Snyder made his third rehab start and went 3 1/3 IP, giving up 2 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.56. RP Shawn Sonnier moved to 2-0 as he went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 6.28. RP Jaime Cerda pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 9.33. RP Scott Sullivan made another rehab appearance and gave up 2 ER in 1 IP on 3 hits to make his ERA 9.00. RP Wes Wilkerson pitched an inning and walked 1 with 1 K to drop his ERA to 4.44. The walk ended Wilkerson's club record for consecutive innings without a walk at 24. Guiel was 3-4 with a BB, double, HR, RBI and 3 RS to move to .266; Santos was 2-3 with a double, walk and 2 RBI to improve to .260; and Aldridge was 1-5 to drop to .429. Guiel had another outfield assist Sunday, this time at home plate.

Omaha is 38-40 and 3 1/2 back of Nashville. RH Denny Bautista (0-0, 9.00) is set to make another rehab start vs. Iowa RH Jon Leicester (0-2, 5.53) Monday.

AA: Wichita allowed an unearned run in the 7th that made the difference in a 4-3 loss to Frisco Saturday. The Wranglers started the scoring in the 2nd with a run on an RBI double by C Mathew Tupman and 2 Wichita runs in the 5th on a 2-run shot by CF Mitch Maier (his 2nd) made it a 3-2 Wichita game. Frisco tied it in the bottom of the inning and took the lead for good after a fielding error by 1B Josh Pressley in the 7th. SP Derrin Ebert went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and 4 BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 5.65. RP Thad Markray picked up the loss to drop to 3-3. He went 3 1/3 innings and allowed the UER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.30. RP Nate Hoelscher went 1/3 IP of scoreless relief to drop his ERA to 6.44. 3B Mike Aviles was 0-3 to drop to .299 and Tupman was 1-4 with a double and RBI to move to .317. LF Mel Stocker stole his 11th base in the loss. Pressley's error was his 5th.

Sunday, Frisco pulled out another win as the RoughRiders scored 3 in the 8th to get the 6-4 victory. Wichita tied the game at 1 in the 4th on an RBI force out by DH Josh Pressley and scored 2 in the 6th on an RBI ground out by Pressley and an RBI single by C John Draper. The lead was short-lived as Frisco tied the game in the 6th. Wichita scored its final run in the 8th on a sac fly by Aviles but Frisco quickly took the lead back for good. SP Kyle Middleton dropped to 7-5 as he went 7 1/3 IP and allowed 6 ER on 11 hits with 6 Ks to bump his ERA to 3.86. RP Hoelscher went 1/3 IP of hitless relief to drop his ERA to 6.37. RP Stephen Bray made his first AA appearance of the season and went 1/3 of an inning, giving up 1 hit and 1 BB to set a 0.00 ERA. Maier was 2-4 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .267; Aviles was 2-3 with an RBI to improve to .303; 1B Brennan King was 2-4 with a double to move to .272; Draper was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .294; and Tupman was 0-1 as a PH to drop to .315.

Wichita is 2-2. A 3-game set at Midland (3-0) starts Monday.

High-A: High Desert entered the all-star break on a good note Saturday with a 13-7 win over Bakersfield. The Mavs scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run shot by C Adam Donachie (his 5th) and, after Bakersfield took a 4-2 lead in the 3rd, the Mavs scored 4 in the 4th on an RBI single by CF Chris Lubanski, a 2-run homer by Donachie (his 6th) and an RBI hit by pitch by 1B Jared Price. With the score 6-5 HD entering the bottom of the 6th, the Mavs scored 7 on a 3-run triple by LF Billy Butler, a 2-run homer by Price (his 1st) and a 2-run shot by Lubanski (#17 on the year). SP John Gragg III got the win to move to 7-2. He went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 9 hits and 3 BB with 5 Ks to make his ERA 4.00. RP Drew Endicott got his 3rd hold with 1 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits to make his ERA 4.56. RP Chris Demaria pitched 1 2/3 innings and K'd 4 to drop his ERA to 2.82. SS Angel Sanchez was 2-5 to improve to .279; Butler was 2-5 with a double, triple and 3 RBI to improve to .367; Lubanski was 3-5 with a HR, 3 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .259; Donachie was 3-5 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to move to .289; 3B Brandon Powell was 0-5 to drop to .302; and 2B Walter Sevilla was 2-3 with 2 RS and a BB to improve to .216.

High Desert is 3-3 and tied atop the Cal League South division. The all-star break began today and the game is Tuesday in Frederick, MD, as the Cal League takes on the Carolina League. Butler, Gragg and 1B Kila Kaaihue are all set to take part.

Low-A: Saturday, a 4-run 1st started Beloit to a 8-2 win over Burlington. The Bees scored their runs in the 4th and 8th on a bases-loaded wild pitch and a solo homer by RF Brian McFall (his 5th). SP Luis Cota went 4 IP and allowed 7 ER on 7 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 2-4 with a 3.17 ERA. RP Justin Sherman went 4 innings and allowed only 2 hits and 2 BB with 1 K to drop his ERA to 1.33. RP Greg Atencio went 1 inning and gave up 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB to make his ERA 4.12. SS Irving Falu was 2-5 with a double to move to .242 and McFall was 4-4 with the HR, RBI and 2 RS to move to .243. Falu stole his 8th base and 3B Mario Lisson committed his 18th error.

Sunday the Bees got revenge by scoring 5 in the 1st en route to a 10-1 win over Beloit in the series finale. C Damaso Espino cracked a 2-run double to start the scoring and 1B Rusty Brown followed with a 3-run homer (his 5th) to make it a 5-0 game. After Beloit scored its run in the 2nd, Burlington added a run in the 3rd on a solo shot by Brown (his 6th) and 2 in the 4th on RBI singles by Falu and 2B Pete Maestrales. The final 2 came in the 7th on Brown's third homer, a 2-run shot for his 7th of the year. Three Bees pitchers combined for a 3-hitter led by SP Kyle Crist, who went 5 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and 3 BB with 1 K to improve to 5-1 with a 4.62 ERA. RP Adam Rowe pitched 3 innings and allowed 1 hit and 1 BB with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.35. RP Yovany Damico went 1 inning and walked 1 with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.34. Falu was 3-4 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .251; Brown was 4-4 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .276; and LF Cody Cure was 2-4 to improve to .400 after signing as a free agent late in the week.

Burlington is 1-3 and starts a 3-game set at Clinton (2-2) Monday. LH Danny Christensen (1–3, 3.74) will start for the Bees.

Rookie: Saturday, a 4-run 8th helped Casper force extra innings before dropping Idaho Falls in 11, 5-4. The Chukars had the game in hand before the wheels fell off in the 8th as they scored 1 in the 1st on a wild pitch, 1 in the 4th on an RBI double by DH Felix Peguero, 1 in the 6th on an RBI single by RF Andrew Larsen and 1 in the 7th on a passed ball. Only 1 Chukar reached base after the 8th. SP (and 29th-rounder) Brandon Brantley went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks but 0 runs to make his ERA 0.00. RP Mitch Goins went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 5 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to make his ERA 7.94. RP Jacob Eckley blew his 2nd save with 1 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 3.86. RP (25th-rounder) Kevin Bulger got the loss to drop to 0-1. He went 2 2/3 IP and allowed the 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB to make his ERA 2.45. Larsen was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .375 and 3B Jeremy Jirschele was 3-4 to improve to .385. Five other Chukars had 1 hit each. 2B Gary Perez made 2 errors in the loss.

Sunday, Idaho Falls put the bats to good use in a 14-1 rout of Casper to end six games against the Rockies even at 3-3. The Chukars scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run single by Peguero, 4 in the 3rd on a 2-RBI fielder's choice by Larsen, an RBI single by C Jeffery Howell and a passed ball, and 3 in the 4th on a wild pitch and 2-run triple by LF Antonio Sabatini. The Chukars added another in the 5th on a solo homer by 1B Jase Turner (his 3rd) and 1 in the 7th on a solo homer by DH Blake Adkison (his 3rd). The final 3 runs for the Chukars came in the 8th on an RBI ground out by Sabatini, an RBI single by RF Byron Barber and an RBI force out by SS (and 24th-rounder) Josh Colafemina. SP Rusty Begnaud got the win to move to 2-0. He went 6 innings and gave up 1 ER on 6 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.86. RP Eliszer Garcia got his 1st save with 3 IP of 3 hits and 1 K to drop his ERA to 5.79. 7 Idaho Falls players had 1 hit each led by Turner, who was 1-1 with the HR, RBI, 3 BB and 3 RS to improve to .312; and Peguero, who was 1-2 with 2 BB and an RBI to improve to .273. Idaho Falls drew 13 walks in the win.

Idaho Falls is 3-3. A 3-game set at the Orem Owlz (2-4) starts Monday.

The ASL Royals lost to San Diego's ASL team, 8-3, Saturday and had Sunday off. They are 0-3 and face the Mariners Monday and the Rangers Tuesday. The Padres scored all 8 runs in the 2nd as the Royals scored 1 in the 7th on an RBI ground out by LF Jose Duarte and 2 in the 9th on a 2-run single by C Jefferson Infante. The Royals had only 3 hits in the loss. SP (7th-rounder) Brent Fisher had an outing to forget in his first pro appearance as he started 0-1 after going 1 1/3 IP and allowing 6 R (5 ER) on 5 hits with 1 K to start with a 33.75 ERA. RP Drew Coffey went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 1 K to make his ERA 20.25. RP (18th-rounder) Paul Raglione went 1 inning and walked 1 to make his ERA 0.00. RP Enrique Barrera went 2 IP and walked 1 with 3 Ks to lower his ERA to 9.00. RP Matt Pena went 4 IP and gave up 2 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks to keep a 0.00 ERA. No big offensive guys to report. CF Alvi Morel pinch-hit and was 0-0 with 2 BB and 2 RS. He's hitting .333. Infante also came off the bench to go 1-1 with 2 RBI to improve to .333. 2B Joshua Johnson made 2 errors in the loss.

Swept....again

If I would have told you, as a Royals fan, in March that on June 26, Jose Lima's record would include the numbers 6 and 1, you probably would have held out hope that he was 6-1 but known deep down inside the way Royals FA signings have gone in recent years, he would probably be 1-6. The nightmare has come true. The Royals scored 2 in the 1st but that was before Lima took the mound. He gave up 2 in the 1st and 4 over 4 2/3 IP to get the loss in a 9-4 sweep clincher by Colorado Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile the team's singles barrage continued as all but 1 of the 10 Royals hits was of the one-base variety. The 1 was a 2-run homer by Matt Stairs in the 9th to account for the other 2 KC runs. Kansas City goes into one of the most prolific hitters' parks in MLB history and can hit only singles. Perfect. Teahen was the only Royal with 2 hits and Emil Brown had his hit to move his hit streak to 13 games. The golden 0-fers went to Berroa and Graffanino today. Sisco, Nunez and MacDougal also gave up runs out of the pen. Another great day to be a Royals fan. When it rains it pours. Oh, on a good note, Justin Huber had an RBI for the second straight day so he's holding his own thus far. Bell finally switched Berroa out of the leadoff position in favor of DeJesus, who went 1-5. Berroa had his 0-fer in the 2-hole.

On to the HomerDome in Minnesota to face the 40-33 Twins. Johan Santana isn't slated to go in the set. Game 1 tomorrow is Greinke v. Joe Mays, who beat the Royals April 27 but did give up 4 ER doing so. Greinke faces the Twins for the first time this season. Let's see what Zack has tomorrow. He's been Lima-esque of late. The Royals return later this week to Kauffman to take on the Angels. Could be another tough week, but the Royals seem to play better against better teams.

Finding ways to lose

Another day, another loss for KC as Runelvys Hernandez walked in 2 runs that made the difference in a 4-2 loss at Colorado. The first of the two was to opposing pitcher Jeff Francis, violating a cardinal rule of walking the pitcher. Anyway, the Rockies got one run through good offense and the Royals' offense sputtered again with 6 singles and, again, no extra-base hits. In Coors Field. Emil Brown got his 2 hits. He's got to be the team's all-star this year. He's on a 12-game hitting streak and has had a great June. Graffanino, Long and McEwing had 0-fers. Another loss that could have been a win if a couple parts had gone differently.

Good Lord. Tomorrow it's Jose Lima at Coors. Of course, Rockies starter Joe Kennedy hasn't been lights out either but the thought of Lima at the Colorado Launching Pad makes me cringe. I don't know what to expect. The reality is hitting the fan for the Royals right now.

Royals on the Farm 6/24

AAA: Omaha broke out the bats Friday and scored in six innings in a 10-4 win to sweep New Orleans. Omaha scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run homer by C Paul Phillips (his 2nd) and added 3 in the 3rd on an RBI single by DH Denny Hocking and a 2-run homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 14th). New Orleans scored 4 in the 3rd to close the gap to 1 but that was it for the Zephyrs. Omaha scored in the 5th on a solo homer by LF Cory Aldridge (#1 for him in AAA) and 2 in the 7th on a 2-run shot by Aldridge (that would be #2). The O-Royals added 1 in the 8th on an RBI double by Phillips and 1 in the 9th on an RBI single by 2B Justin Gemoll. SP Danny Tamayo got the win to up his record to 4-5. He went 5 IP and allowed 4 ER on 10 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 5.27. RP Jaime Cerda got his 2nd hold with 2 IP that included 1 K to drop his ERA to 9.92 (finally back to triple digits). RP Wes Wilkerson went 2 IP of hitless relief and allowed 1 BB with 1 K. His ERA is now 4.53. Gemoll was 1-4 with a BB and RBI to drop to .297; Phillips was 3-4 with a double, HR and 3 RBI to move to .274; and Aldridge was 3-4 with a double, 2 HR, 3 RBI and 3 RS to move to .538 at AAA.

Omaha is 37-39 and 3 games back of Nashville. A four-game set at Iowa (34-42), which like Omaha is on a 5-game win streak, starts tonight with RH Dennis Tankersley (5-5, 4.41) vs. Cubs LH Raul Valdez (4-2, 3.66).

AA: A 4-run 9th made the difference for Wichita as the Wranglers tied the game in the 8th before pulling away for a 6-2 win over Frisco. Frisco took a 2-0 lead in the 4th and held it until the 6th when Wichita scored 1 on an RBI single by 3B Mike Aviles. Wichita added another run in the 8th on an RBI single by DH Josh Pressley to tie it up and, with 2 out in the top of the 9th, Aviles singled home two runs. DH John Draper, who pinch-ran for Pressley in the 8th, added an RBI single and 1B Brennan King followed with an RBI double to make the score 6-2. RP Barry Armitage set the RoughRiders down in order in the 9th to secure the win. SP Brian Bass went a strong 7 innings and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 8 Ks to drop his ERA to 6.18. Armitage got the victory to move to 2-1. He went 2 IP and walked 1 with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.68. SS Donnie Murphy was 1-5 to drop to .296; Aviles was 4-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .302; Pressley was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .296; C Mathew Tupman was 1-4 with a BB and double to drop to .318. Aviles stole his 6th base in the win while LF Mel Stocker swiped his 10th base.

Wichita is 2-0. LH Derrin Ebert (3-2, 5.60) starts against Frisco RH Edison Volquez (1-2, 2.57) in tonight's game.

High-A: High Desert got blown off the field by Bakersfield in a 19-7 loss. Four extra-base hits to start the game helped the Blaze to 4 1st-inning runs off Mavs SP Kahi Kaanoi but High Desert came back with 1 in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Kila Kaaihue. The teams traded runs in the 2nd and 3rd with the Mavs' tallies coming from solo HRs by C Adam Donachie (his 4th) and LF Billy Butler (his 18th). The Blaze racked up 13 in the 5th and 6th to put the game way out of reach. The Mavs scored 2 in the 8th on an RBI single by DH Alan Moye and a fielding error and added 2 in the 9th on RBI doubles by SS Angel Sanchez and Kaaihue. Kaanoi went 4 IP and allowed 8 R (7 ER) on 9 hits and 3 BB with 1 K to drop to 4-8 with a 6.09 ERA. RP Stephen Chamberlain went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 10 R (7 ER) on 7 hits and a BB to balloon his ERA to 7.14. RP Nate Moore went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 1 BB and 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.82. RP Drew Endicott went an inning and lowered his ERA to 4.34. RF Bernard Stephens was 2-5 with 2 RS to improve to .267; Sanchez was 3-5 with a double, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .277; Butler was 2-4 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to move to .366; Kaaihue was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .325; Moye was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .260; 3B Brandon Powell was 0-4 to drop to .310; and Donachie was 3-4 with a double, HR and RBI to move to .280. Kaaihue committed error #11 on the year while Sanchez marked up error #16.

High Desert is 2-3 and 1 game behind Rancho Cucamonga. Tonight is the series finale with Bakersfield before the All-Star break begins Sunday.

Low-A: Tensions erupted in the 9th inning of Burlington's 8-3 loss to Beloit Friday with a bench-clearing brawl. Two Bees hitters were hit with a pitch in the 9th to spark the fight and Bees 1B Edward Lucas ended up with what was preliminarily called a broken nose. Beloit took an early 4-0 lead before the Bees scored in the 3rd on an RBI force out by Lucas. The score was 7-1 Snappers in the 6th when Burlington scored its 2nd run on an RBI ground out by C Damaso Espino. The final Bees run came on an RBI single by SS Irving Falu before the brawl in the 9th. DH Pete Maestrales, who was hit by the pitch that started the fight, was ejected along with Bees CF Geraldo Valentin. Two Snappers were also ejected. SP Patrick Hicklen got the loss to drop to 4-3. He went 5 IP and gave up 5 ER on 10 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.44. RP Gabe DeHoyos went 3 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 4 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 1.93. RP Chad Blackwell went 1 inning and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 2 BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 2.62. Maestrales was 2-4 with a double to move to .297; Lucas was 1-3 with a double and RBI to move to .315; and Falu was 2-4 with a double and RBI to move to .238.

Burlington is 0-2. It's Beloit RH Kyle Waldrop (3–5, 4.97) vs. RH Luis Cota (2–3, 2.48) tonight.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got on the board early en route to an 8-5 win over Casper. The Chukars scored 3 in the 1st on a 2-run homer by 1B Jase Turner for his 2nd pro HR and an RBI single by C Brady Everett. Idaho Falls added 1 in the 2nd on a sac fly by DH Christopher McConnell and another in the 3rd on a solo homer by RF Andrew Larsen (his 2nd). Runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th on solo homers by Everett (his 1st) and LF Antonio Sabatini (the 14th-rounder's 1st) and an RBI fielder's choice by Everett helped the Chukars to the win. SP (and 12th-rounder) Cody Harkcom went 3 IP and gave up 4 R (2 ER) on 7 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 6.00. RP Bennett Cromer went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 2 Ks to establish a 3.00 ERA and pick up the win to move to 1-0. RP David Henninger (21st-rounder) went 3 IP and allowed 1 hit and 2 BB with 5 Ks to get his 1st save and keep a 0.00 ERA. CF Ethien Santana was 2-5 to move to .375; Everett was 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI to move to .444; and Sabatini was 3-3 with a BB, double, HR and RBI along with 2 RS to move to .600. Sabatini and Larsen had outfield assists in the win.

Idaho Falls is 2-2. The teams move to Casper for 2 games this weekend.

The ASL Royals took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th but the A's team scored 3 off RP Troy Garrett to win, 3-2, Friday. The Royals' runs came on an RBI triple by 2B Joshua Johnson in the 5th and an RBI double by DH Felix Peralta in the 6th. SP Rayner Oliveros went 6 IP and allowed only 2 hits with 3 Ks to keep an ERA of 0.00. Garrett blew his 1st save and dropped to 0-1 with 2 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 3 hits and 1 BB to make his ERA 10.12. SS Jeff Bianchi was 2-4 to move to .667 on the season. LF Alvi Morel was 2-4 to improve to .333.

The ASL Royals are 0-2. They were set to take on the Padres this morning and the Mariners Monday.

Power outage

I guess we can forget getting to Byung-Hyun Kim. Royals pitchers had a bad night and the offense managed 1 extra-base hit in 9 hits -- a double by PH Justin Huber for his first major league hit and RBI in the 6th. Kim gave the Royals a run on a passed ball in the 1st but D.J. Carrasco was racked for 8 R (7 ER) in 3 1/3 IP. Berroa and DeJesus were the only Royals with 2 hits. Emil Brown got his hit to move his hitting streak to 11 games. Buck and Gotay were the starters with 0-fers tonight. Jimmy Gobble got touched up for 3 ER over 1 1/3 IP. Not much good to report....again. Brown and Teahen committed errors in the game and Teahen's cost KC a run.

Well, crap. Maybe Runelvys can right the ship tomorrow. Rockies prospect pitcher Jeff Francis goes for Colorado. The team is headed the wrong way and needs to get well against the Rockies, not worse.

Royals on the Farm 6/23

AAA: Omaha turned it on in the 7th and scored 8 runs from then on in an 8-4 win over New Orleans. The Zephyrs took a 2-0 lead into the 7th as Omaha had managed only 6 hits but the O-Royals tied the game on a 2-run shot by RF Aaron Guiel (his 13th). The O-Royals added 3 in the 8th on an RBI triple by SS Luis Ugueto, an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown and an RBI single by 2B Justin Gemoll. The last 3 runs came in the 9th on a 3-run homer by 1B Chad Santos (his 12th). SP Shawn Camp went 4 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 8 hits and 3 BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 4.46. RP Shawn Sonnier (promoted back to Omaha) went 2 IP and allowed only 2 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his AAA ERA to 6.39. RP Scott Sullivan, making his first rehab appearance, went an inning and K'd 1 to get the win and move to 1-0. RP Matt Ford got his 3rd hold with 1 IP of 1 hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.70. RP Santiago Ramirez went an inning and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.64. Brown was 2-5 with a BB, double and RBI to move to .271; Guiel was 3-6 with a HR and 2 RBI to move to .259; C Scott Walter was 2-5 to move to .289; DH Calvin Pickering was 2-4 with a BB to improve to .219; and LF Cory Aldridge was 3-5 to improve to .444 at AAA. Omaha left 12 on base. Brown also stole his 24th base. The Royals are doing well so far on their College World Series road trip -- they're 8-3.

Omaha is 36-39 and 4 games back. RHP Danny Tamayo (3-5, 5.15) squares off against Zephyr RHP Chad Durbin (0-2, 6.40) in tonight's series ender. In other Omaha news, CF Adrian Brown will represent Omaha on the PCL’s All-Star Team against the International League team at the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 13th at Sacramento. Brown is the only Royal on the team. He leads Omaha with six triples and 52 runs scored. Sonnier rejoined the O-Royals after going 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA and five saves in 18 appearances for the Wranglers. The Royals have the best road record (22-20) and worst home mark (13-19) in the PCL.

AA: Three Wichita pitchers combined for a 7-hit shutout as Wichita cruised past Frisco, 13-0, in the first game of the second half. The Wranglers scored 3 in the 1st on an RBI single by 3B Mike Aviles, a passed ball and an RBI single by DH Josh Pressley. They added 4 in the 2nd on a 2-run homer by Pressley (his 7th) and a 2-run homer by SS Donnie Murphy (his 3rd) in his first game back off the DL. Wichita added 4 more in the 5th on a grand slam by CF Mitch Maier for his 1st AA homer. The final 2 runs came in the 6th on a sac fly by 2B Brett Groves and an RBI single by LF Mel Stocker. SP Mike Stodolka got the win to move to 2-7. He went 7 IP and allowed only 5 hits and 2 BB with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.64. RP Colt Griffin pitched an inning and walked 1 and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 4.14. RP Trae McGill also came back from the DL to pitch an inning and allow 2 hits. His ERA is now 4.58. Maier was 3-6 with 2 doubles, a HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .266; C Mathew Tupman was 4-6 with 2 RS to improve to .320; Aviles was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .292; Pressley was 3-5 with a HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to move to .297; 1B Brennan King was 3-5 with a double and 2 RS to move to .267; Murphy was 1-5 with the HR and 2 RBI to move to .300; RF Wilkin Ruan was 2-4 with a BB to improve to .225; and Stocker was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .219.

Wichita is 1-0 for the second half. RH Brian Bass (6-4, 6.50) will take the mound for the Wranglers tonight. In other Wichita news, RHP Stephen Bray has been promoted from High Desert. He went 3-1 with nine saves and a 4.93 ERA out of the bullpen for the Mavericks and allowed just one earned run in 18.1 innings on the road.

High-A: LF Billy Butler took center stage for High Desert once more as he cracked two homers, including a grand slam in the 8th to help the Mavs to an 11-7 win over Bakersfield. The Mavs tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the 1st on Butler's first homer, a solo shot for his 16th of the season. After Bakersfield scored 4 in the 3rd, High Desert scored 2 that inning on a 2-run double by 2B Adam Keim. The Blaze tacked on 2 more in the 4th but High Desert came back with 4 in the frame on a solo homer by RF Alan Moye (his 8th), an RBI single by SS Angel Sanchez, an RBI single by Butler and a sac fly by 1B Kila Kaaihue. The game remained tied at 7 into the bottom of the 8th, when C Adam Donachie started off the Mavs' half by being HBP and replaced at first by PR Walter Sevilla. A fielding error and single by DH Bernard Stephens loaded the bases with 1 out and Butler hit a 1-2 pitch the opposite way for a grand slam. RP Chris Demaria put the Blaze out fairly quick in the 9th to secure the win. SP Chris Coughlin went 3 innings and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.75. RP Cesar Herrera got the win to improve to 4-3. He went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to bump his ERA to 5.95. Demaria gave up 1 hit and K'd 1 in his IP to drop his ERA to 2.95. Stephens was 3-5 with 3 RS to move to .265; Butler was 3-5 with 2 HR, 6 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .364; Kaaihue was 0-2 with a BB, HBP and RBI to drop to .323; Keim was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .302; Moye was 3-5 with a HR and RBI to get to .257; and 3B Michael Gaffney was 2-2 with a BB, double and 3 RS to improve to .291. Butler is up to 17 HRs and 56 RBI on the year.

High Desert is 2-2 and 1 game back of Rancho Cucamonga in the early going of the second half. RHP Kahi Kaanoi (4-7, 5.59) starts against Blaze LHP Brian Mattoon (2-3, 3.70) tonight.

Low-A: Burlington stumbled out of the gate in the second half as Beloit scored 5 in the 1st en route to an 8-3 win over the Bees. Burlington was down, 7-0, in the 6th before the Bees scored 1 on a solo HR by SS Irving Falu (his 1st). Burlington scored its final 2 runs in the 9th on a 2-run single by LF Kenard Springer. SP Patrick Green took the loss to drop to 3-5. He allowed 8 ER on 12 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks over 6 2/3 IP to bump his ERA to 4.71. RP Yovany Damico went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 2 hits with 1 K to drop his ERA to 4.46. RP Adam Rowe went 1 inning and K'd 1 to make his ERA sag to 5.85. 1B Edward Lucas was 1-4 to drop to .315 and Falu was 2-4 with the HR and RBI to improve to .233. He's on an 11-game hitting streak.

Burlington is 0-1 as records re-set with the break. Tonight's game features Snappers RH David Shinskie (0–5, 7.84) vs. RH Patrick Hicklen (4–2, 3.00). In other Bees news, C Derek Norman has been re–assigned to the ASL Royals in the Arizona Rookie League and OF Jared Ellis has been released. The Bees have added C Felipe Del Rosario from the roster of the Idaho Falls Chukars and OF Cody Cure, just signed as a non–drafted free agent out of Abilene Christian University.

Rookie: The night didn't go well for Idaho Falls as they dropped the continuation of their rain-suspended 6-6 tie with Casper, 8-6, and then lost to the Rockies in the regularly scheduled game, 12-11, in a seesaw affair. In the continuation of the game stopped in the 7th, P Adam Kalkhof got the loss to start 0-1. He went 2 innings and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to start with a 9.00 ERA. The only offense added by Idaho Falls was a double by C Brady Everett, who ended up 2-4 on the game with an RBI.

In the regularly scheduled game, Idaho Falls came out swinging with a run in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Blake Adkison and 3 in the 2nd on a solo homer by C Jeffery Howell (KC's 10th-rounder) and a 2-run single by Adkison. The Chukars scored again in the 3rd on a sac fly by 2B Jeremy Jirschele (30th-rounder) after a Howell triple but were scoreless until the 6th when they scored 3 on a wild pitch and a fielding error by Casper. Those runs gave them a 8-2 lead but Casper scored 3 in the 6th to close the gap to 8-5. Idaho Falls scored 1 in the 7th on a bases-loaded walk by LF Bryan Barber but Casper scored 5 that inning to take a 10-9 lead. The Chukars scored 2 in the 8th on an RBI double by 3B Gary Perez and an RBI single by Howell entered the bottom of the 9th with an 11-10 lead. Two throwing errors, one by Perez and another by Adkison, helped the Rockies score two runs for the win. SP (and 11th-rounder) Michael Penn went 4 1/3 IP in his first pro start and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to establish a 4.15 ERA. RP Eliszer Garcia went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits to make his ERA 16.20. RP Bruce McCleland went 2/3 IP and gave up 5 ER on 5 hits with 1 K to make an ugly 67.50 ERA. RP Kraig Schambough blew a save with 1/3 IP of 2 hits and 1 K. RP Jacob Eckley got the loss to drop to 0-1 and a blown save despite not giving up an earned run. He went 1 IP and allowed 2 UER on 1 hit and 1 BB. SS Christopher McConnell was 2-4 with a double and 2 RS to move to .429; Adkison was 2-5 with 3 RBI and 3 Ks to move to .400; Howell was 4-5 with a triple, HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to move to .800 -- only a double short of the cycle in his pro debut. Barber had 2 SBs to lead the charge of 6 with no CS for Idaho Falls in the game.

Idaho Falls is 1-2 and 1 game back of Casper. The teams finish their 4-game set tonight.

The ASL Royals' game with the Cubs must not have happened. Otherwise, it's not posted on the MiLB site. If it happened, I'll report on it later or tomorrow. The Royals are set to face the A's today and then the Padres tomorrow.

Royals on the Farm 6/22

AAA: Omaha won its third one-run game in a row Wednesday with a 4-3 win over New Orleans. All 4 Omaha runs came in the 7th after the Zephyrs had built a 2-0 lead. The big blow was a 2-run shot by DH Calvin Pickering (his 8th) but LF Cory Aldridge, in his first AAA game of the season, added a 2-run double to make the difference. RPs Wes Wilkerson and Jaime Cerda finished the game. SP Denny Bautista only went 1 inning (don't know if he was supposed to go longer or not) and gave up 1 ER on 1 hit with 2 BB and 1 K. SP/RP Chris George came in and got the win with a good outing -- 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks. His ERA is now 4.82. Wilkerson got his 3rd hold with 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits to bump his ERA to 4.73. Cerda got his 1st save with a hitless 9th to drop his ERA to 11.30. 2B Justin Gemoll was 1-4 to drop to .300; SS Luis Ugueto was 1-2 with 2 BB to improve to .236 and stole his 7th base. Six O-Royals each had a hit in the game.

Omaha is 35-39 and 4 1/2 games back of Nashville. Tonight's probable starters are RH Shawn Camp (2-4, 4.46) and Zephyrs LH Ed Yarnall (4-5, 6.44).

AA: Wichita (35-35 and 8 games back of Tulsa) wrapped up its all-star break Wednesday and starts a 4-game set at Frisco (29-41) tonight. RHP Nick Masset (3-6, 6.16) goes for Frisco tonight against whoever Wichita sends out. The website doesn't specify.

High-A: High Desert gave up 4 runs in the 7th and scraped together only 3 hits in a 4-2 loss to Modesto Wednesday. The Mavs took a 1-0 lead in the 4th on an RBI single by 2B Adam Keim and held on to it into the 7th when the Nuts broke free for 4 runs. CF Chris Lubanski hit an RBI double in the 9th to make it a 2-run game but no other Mav could reach base. SP Billy Buckner picked up the loss to drop to 5-9 despite a good start. He went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.21. RP Nate Moore pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed 1 ER on a HR (a 3-run shot of which 2 were credited to Buckner). His ERA is now 4.87. LF Billy Butler was 1-3 with a BB and 2 RS to drop his BA to .358. 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-2 with 2 BB to drop his BA to .326; DH Brandon Powell was 0-4 to drop to .316; and Lubanski was 1-4 with the double, RBI and 3 Ks to drop to .257.

High Desert is 1-2 on the second half. The Mavs start a 3-game home set (the last series before the all-star break) with Bakersfield (3-0) tonight. No announced starters on the website.

Low-A: Burlington (34-36 and 5 games back) also wrapped up its all-star break Wednesday and is set for a 4-game home series against Beloit (33-37). RH Patrick Green (3–4, 4.01) will start for the Bees in tonight's series opener.

Rookie: Idaho Falls scored 3 in the 7th to tie the game with Casper at 6 before rain intervened, causing the remaining 2 1/2 innings to be played before tonight's game. The Chukars scored in the 1st on an RBI double by 3B (and 5th-round pick) Shawn Hayes and added a run in the 2nd on an RBI single by RF Felix Peguero. Casper scored 3 in the 3rd (all unearned after a two-out error by SS Christopher McConnell) to grab the lead but Idaho Falls tied it in the 4th on an RBI single by C Brady Everett. Casper again scored 3 in the 5th but the Chukars tied it in the 7th on a solo homer by CF (and 13th-rounder) Andrew Larsen (his 1st pro homer) and a 2-run shot by Peguero (a 28th-rounder -- his 2nd after hitting a granny in the season opener). The bottom of the 7th didn't happen so that's where the game resumes tonight. Sixth-round pick SP Ryan Dipietro went 2 2/3 IP and allowed the 3 UER on 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to keep a 0.00 ERA. RP Mitch Goins went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 6 hits to establish an 11.57 ERA. 25th-rounder RP Kevin Bulger had gone 1 inning and allowed 1 hit with 2 Ks before the rain came. Peguero is 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI in the game thus far to get to 7 ribbies in 1 2/3 games this season. Six other Chukars have 1 hit each in the game, led by Larsen, who is 1-1 with a BB, HR and RBI along with 2 RS. Peguero also has an outfield assist at second in the game.

Idaho Falls is still 1-0 entering tonight.

In their season opener, the ASL Royals dropped a slugfest to the Rangers, 11-10, despite a 4-run 9th. The Royals struck first in the 4th on an RBI single by CF Oscar Gonzalez and tacked on 2 in the 5th on a 2-run triple by RF Alvi Morel. The Rangers scored 2 that inning to make it a 3-2 game but the Royals came back with 2 of their own in the 6th on an RBI triple by PH-RF Joseph Dickerson (the 4th-rounder in his first pro AB) and a sac fly by 1B Willie Matos to score Dickerson and make it a 5-2 game. The lead was short-lived as the Rangers scored 4 in the 6th and 2 in the 7th to take an 8-5 advantage. The Royals scored once in the 8th on an RBI ground out by Gonzalez but the Rangers scored 3 that inning to take an 11-6 lead. Gonzalez hit a 2-run single with 1 out in the 9th to make it 11-8 and, with 2 out, Matos added a 2-run single to make it a 1-run game. Second-round pick SS Jeff Bianchi singled to keep the inning alive but 2B Joshua Johnson struck out to end the game. The game was not kind to pitchers' ERAs. Royals SP Angelo Morales did well as he went 4 IP and gave up 2 hits with 1 K to start off with a 0.00 ERA after 1 appearance. RP Drew Coffey went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on a hit and 3 BB to make his ERA 13.50 before giving way to RP Gilbert De la vara, who went 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB to make his ERA 54.00. RP Nelson Trifolio got the loss to start 0-1. He went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 10.80. RP Enrique Barrera went an inning and gave up 3 ER on 3 hits to make his ERA 27.00. 3B Valentino Arce was 2-4 in the game; DH Felix Peralta went 3-4 with a BB and 3 RS; Gonzalez was 3-5 with 4 RBI and 2 RS; Dickerson was 1-2 with a BB, triple and RBI; and Bianchi was 2-2 with a BB in his debut.

The Royals are 0-1 entering today's game with the Cubs. KC has signed all but two of its first 15 draft picks -- 3B Alex Gordon and RHP (and third-rounder) Chris Nicoll still have yet to sign from that group. So far 24 of the 50 are signed.

Singles, singles, singles

Another day, another lockdown outing by a ChiSox pitcher against KC, this time a second consecutive 5-run loss at the hands of Mark Buehrle, who went 8 and gave up 5 hits with 1 BB and 6 Ks. Meanwhile, J.P. Howell went 5 and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits with 4 walks and 2 Ks. Bell's first sweep as KC manager. For the second straight game, no extra base hits. O-fers abounded up and down the lineup today as 4 Royals got hits (Teahen had 2, Brown, Graffanino and Buck got the others -- Brown was promptly picked off at first). McEwing led off and struck out 3 times. So the guy KC brings in in the spring as a bandaid 3B ends up leading off a game by late June? I can't say I was expecting that when he was signed off the scrap heap. Crazy Carl Everett's 3-run tater in the 5th sealed the deal, even tho with KC in Derek Bell "Operation Shutdown" mode it wasn't like they'd threaten Buehrle. On a good note, Bayliss got his second straight appearance with 0 hits and got a DP ball from Joe Crede to bail Graffanino out off an error. Not much, if anything, else good to report. In Huber's first start (as DH), he goes 0-3. Shane Costa also PH'd and was 0-1 to slip below .300. Not that those are good things.

Well, as The Nuge once sang, "This is just what the doctor ordered," only he wasn't talking about the Colorado Rockies. But that is what KC needs, a trip to the thin air of Coors Field and some games against retread pitchers. Game 1 lets KC at Byung-Hyun Kim, who hasn't been any good since 2002 and (from a Red Sox fan's POV) sucked it up for Boston for the most part -- some good appearances in 2003 aside. I see a 9-4 KC win on Friday after the nice head-clearing off-day. It's been a tough week to be a Royals fan, so maybe this will get things back on track. Andre David has his plate full with getting the crack back in the bats. Coors Field should help that along.

Royals on the Farm 6/21

AAA: Four Omaha relievers no-hit New Orleans over 5 1/3 IP and the O-Royals got a 3-2 win over the Zephyrs. Omaha scored once in the 1st on an RBI double by C Paul Phillips after a leadoff triple by CF Adrian Brown. The Zephyrs scored 2 in the second to take the lead but Omaha fought back with 2 in the 4th on an RBI double by 3B Chris Truby and a sac fly by SS Luis Ugueto. From then on it was the bullpen's game as Omaha held on to win. SP Kyle Snyder in his second rehab start went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits to move his ERA to 1.93. RP Shane Nance got the win to move to 1-2. He went 2 1/3 IP and walked 3 with 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.12. RP Danny Tamayo, usually a starter, got his 1st hold with 1 IP that included 1 BB. His ERA is 5.15. RP Matt Ford got his 2nd hold with 1/3 IP and walked 2. His ERA is 3.86. RP Santiago Ramirez got his 3rd save with 1 2/3 IP that included 2 Ks. His ERA sagged to 6.57. Phillips was 2-4 with the double and RBI to move to .269 on the season. 2B Justin Gemoll was 0-4 to drop to .300.

Omaha is 34-39 and 5 games back of Nashville. RH Denny Bautista (0-0, 0.00) makes his first rehab start tonight vs. LH Joey Eischen (0-0, 0.00). In other O-Royals news, OF Cory Aldridge was called up to Omaha from Wichita. Aldridge was a Texas League All-Star. In 67 games for Wichita, he hit .279 with a league-leading 15 home runs and 50 RBI, which was tied for third most in AA. (Hey, we're using AAA!)

AA: In the Texas League All-Star Game, Wichita's representative team, the East, fell to the West, 5-0, as Midland's Andre Ethier (A's hot prospect) was MVP after robbing a homer. He also won the home run derby. As for Wichita's representatives, SS Mike Aviles was 1-2 with a K, LF Cory Aldridge was 1-4 with 2 Ks, 1B Josh Pressley was 0-1, and P Kyle Middleton pitched a hitless inning, as did P Shawn Sonnier. The game featured 15 singles and 0 XBH.

High-A: High Desert SP Dusty Hughes gave up 3 runs in the 5th and the Mavs went on to a 5-2 loss to Modesto. CF Chris Lubanski drove in the first run of the game on a sac fly in the 2nd but Modesto tied it in the bottom of the inning. High Desert scored its second run in the 5th on an RBI single by C Adam Donachie but the 3 runs allowed by Hughes that inning sealed the Mavs' fate. Hughes went 6 innings and allowed 4 R (2 ER) on 7 hits and 1 BB with 8 Ks to move his ERA to 5.79. RP Drew Endicott went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.44. RP Chris Demaria went 2/3 IP and allowed nothing to get his ERA to 3.03. LF Billy Butler was 1-4 to drop to .358; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-3 with a BB and double to move to .328; and 3B Brandon Powell was 0-3 to drop to .323. SS Angel Sanchez committed his 15th error. Colorado 1st-rounder SS Troy Tulowitzki made his pro debut in the game for the Nuts and went 0-4.

High Desert is 1-1. Modesto's Ubaldo Jimenez (4-3, 4.27) goes to the mound against the Mavs’ Billy Buckner (2-1, 5.40) in tonight's series finale.

Low-A: In the Midwest League All-Star Game, Burlington's players on the West team were on the losing side of a 4-2 game as Burlington SP Luis Cota got the loss. In his 1 inning of work in the 2nd, Cota gave up 3 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 1 K. 1B Rusty Brown was 1-2 in the game. South Bend CF Jereme Milons was the MVP with 3 RBI for the East. OF Geraldo Valentin and RP Yovany Damico didn't play in the game.

Rookie: Idaho Falls started the season off right with an 18-4 win over Casper in the season opener. The Chukars scored 1 in the 1st on an RBI single by 1B Blake Adkison and added 2 in the 3rd on a 2-run homer by Adkison. Casper scored twice that inning to close the gap to 3-2 but Idaho Falls scored 7 in the 4th on an RBI single by SS Christopher McConnell, a fielding error on a ball hit by Adkison, another fielding error on a ball hit by 3B Shawn Hayes, a 2-run double by 2B Gary Perez, an RBI ground out by DH Jase Turner and an RBI single by CF Andrew Larsen. The onslaught continued with 5 in the 6th on an RBI single by LF Antonio Sabatini and a grand slam by RF Felix Peguero. The Chukars tacked on 2 in the 7th on solo homers by Adkison (second of the game) and Turner. The final run came in the 8th on an RBI single by McConnell. SP Rusty Begnaud got the win to start 1-0. He went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits with 3 Ks to establish a 6.35 ERA. RP David Henninger got his 1st save with 3 1/3 IP of 3 BB and 3 Ks to start off with a 0.00 ERA. Peguero was 2-5 with the HR and 4 RBI; McConnell was 3-5 with a BB and 2 RBI; Adkison was 3-6 with 2 HR and 5 RBI; Perez was 4-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI; Larsen was 3-5 with an RBI; and Sabatini was 3-4 with an RBI.

Idaho Falls is 1-0. The 4-game set with Casper continues tonight.

The ASL Royals start the season today against the ASL Rangers before taking on the Cubs tomorrow and the A's Friday.

Nickeled and Dimed

The Royals, as the title says, got nickeled and dimed to death tonight as the White Sox hit 10 singles to score 5 runs and Jon Garland held the Royals to 4 measly hits -- 3 singles and a solo homer by Terrence Long in the 9th. Greinke pitched well even though he was credited with 5 ER over 5 1/3 IP. 8 Ks, 1 BB so he was obviously locating OK. Also no XBH. Garland won his 12th game of a season for the fourth time in his career -- all four 12th wins against KC. Weird. Also RP Jonah Bayliss gets called up for KC (again, why do we even have AAA? It's like the recycle bin on my computer. We just put our castoffs there until we either dump them or try to salvage them. So much for it being for development.) -- anyway, Bayliss gets called up and there's nothing like easing him in to game action. He comes in for the 7th to face Iguchi, Frank Thomas and Konerko -- and sets them down in order, including his first MLB K on Thomas with a knee buckling slider. Iguchi creamed a pitch Bayliss left in over the plate but Long ran it down just short of the track in left. From Bayliss' reaction I think he thought it was gone. I thought it was for a second.

With 4 hits it's hard to find an offensive standout for the game since only 4 guys got hits. Emil Brown, Teahen, Long and Alberto Castillo. Scott Podsednik almost out-hit KC on his own with 3 hits. Another good pitcher shuts KC down. It gets no better in tomorrow's getaway game with Buehrle taking the hill. KC needs another above-his-head start from J.P. Howell. That's a tall order with the White Sox O, tho. Bayliss, Jimmy Gobble and Justin Huber (who flew out in his first MLB AB in the 9th) have joined the team while Mr. DL Mike Sweeney, Affeldt (Mr. DL Jr.) and Burgos all hit the infirmary. Burgos has a "strained right rotator cuff" so we'll see how long he's out. So much for the trade bait of Sweeney and Affeldt, too. Ken Harvey was also moved to the 60-day DL so we won't be seeing him play for KC, Omaha or anyone else likely soon. No big loss there. Maybe Allard could have finagled some kind of prospect out of some other team for him, though. He IS an all-star, after all.

Lots of people are pointing to the resiliency of the Royals team lately, which I as much as anyone have liked to see. But after a certain point, when guys are getting hurt and the losses keep piling up, when does the team get tired of fighting back and just get beat down over and over again? When do the young players decide they'll do anything to get out of KC and play for a winning organization? Sooner or later, to be winners, this team is going to have to be able to beat good teams and good pitchers, not bottom feeders. Clemens, Oswalt and now Garland have shut this team down. The NY and LA sweeps were promising but it's hard to see this team keeping that up over the long haul. Oh well. Nebraska got knocked out of the CWS today so let's get Alex Gordon signed and in the minors and look for another answer. Billy Butler is back and in LF at High Desert. The days of winning, even in the wake of what has been a good June, still seem so far away.

Royals on the Farm 6/20

AAA: Omaha and Round Rock traded offensive innings late but the O-Royals came out on top, 5-4, in the final game of the series. Omaha scored 3 in the 6th on a solo HR by SS Luis Ugueto (#4 on the season) and RBI singles by C Paul Phillips and DH Calvin Pickering. Round Rock scored twice in the 7th to make it close but Omaha added 2 runs in the 8th on a 2-run shot by Pickering (his 7th). He's actually been hitting decently lately. That's his 7th HR of the season. RP Santiago Ramirez gave up 2 in the 9th but finished the game for the 5-4 victory. SP Dennis Tankersley had another good outing to move to 5-5. He went 5 IP and allowed 6 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.41. RP Jaime Cerda got his 1st hold at AAA with 1 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 3 hits to move his ERA to 12.15. RP Wes Wilkerson got his 2nd hold with 1 2/3 IP of 4 hits to drop his ERA to 4.57. Ramirez picked up his 2nd save with 1 IP of 2 UER (errors by 1B Chad Santos and 2B Justin Gemoll helped that cause) on 1 hit and a BB to move his ERA to 6.87. Phillips was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .265; Gemoll was 1-3 with a BB to move to .306; Pickering was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .214; and Santos made 2 errors to move to 6 on the season.

Omaha is 33-39 and 5 games back of first. Omaha starts a 4-game set at New Orleans tonight as RH Kyle Snyder (0-0, 0.87) goes for his second rehab start, this time against Zephyrs LH Matt White (1-2, 3.86).

AA: Wichita is on the all-star break until Thursday. I'll report on the TL All-Star game tomorrow.

High-A: High Desert piled it on early and the pitchers took it from there for an 8-5 win over Modesto Monday. Billy Butler made his return to the lineup, now in LF as expected, and hit a 2-run double in the 1st. CF Chris Lubanski drove him home with a single for a 3-0 Mavs lead. SS Angel Sanchez singled home a run in the 2nd and 2B Adam Keim hit a 2-run double to increase the lead to 6-2. C Adam Donachie added the final 2 runs on a homer in the 3rd (his 3rd) and the Mavs' pitchers spread out 3 more runs allowed for an 8-5 win. SP John Gragg III got the win to move to 6-2. He went 6 IP and gave up 3 R (1 ER) on 6 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.73. RP Stephen Chamberlain went 2 innings and gave up 2 ER on 4 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 6.00. RP Stephen Bray got his 9th save with 1 IP that included 0 hits, 0 BB and 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.93. Sanchez was 3-6 with an RBI and 2 RS to up his BA to .277; Butler was 3-5 with a BB, double, 2 RBI and 2 RS to come off the DL in style and move to .361; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-4 with a BB to drop to .328; Keim was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .302; Lubanski was 3-5 with an RBI to move to .260 (I think his average has gone from something like .210 to .260 in the last two weeks); 3B Brandon Powell was 0-4 with a BB to move to .328; and Donachie was 2-4 with a BB, HR and 2 RBI to move to .265. High Desert left 13 on base in the win.

High Desert is 1-0 for the second half. Modesto LHP Aaron Marsden (3-5, 5.11 ERA) goes against LHP Dusty Hughes (4-6, 6.05 ERA) tonight.

Low-A: Burlington is on its all-star break. I'll report on the MWL All-Star game tomorrow.

Rookie: Idaho Falls starts its season tonight against Casper. The ASL Royals start their season tomorrow.

Ahhhhh, Lima time....

The one seemingly winnable game for Kansas City vs. the White Sox went by the wayside tonight as Jose Lima pitched like he has most of the year and the Royals came back only to lose a slugfest, 11-8. Lima gave up a Konerko 3-run shot in the 1st and 7 runs in 4 innings. KC scored 3 in the 5th on a balk and a Stairs double and tied the game in the 6th on back-to-back jacks by Buck and Gotay. Of course, Ryan Jensen and Leo Nunez promptly gave up 3 in the bottom of that inning and the Sox bullpen came in and shut the Royals down for the win. Another hard-fought loss. Graffanino and Gotay had 2 hits each, Teahen had 3 RBI and only DeJesus had an 0-fer tonight. Emil Brown only got 1 hit but walked and scored twice. Jimmy Gobble pitched a scoreless 8th in his season debut.

I wonder how much longer Lima's one good start will buy him. The Royals aren't getting much from him in starts like this. Tomorrow it's Greinke v. Garland. We'll see which Zack shows up. Could be a pitchers' duel, could be a rout. I'll say CWS 6, KC 2. I wonder when Huber will get his first PT. Might be harsh throwing him in against Garland or Buehrle. He's gotta face them sometime, tho.

Royals on the Farm 6/19

AAA: Omaha struggled to score runs off Round Rock P Taylor Buchholz and dropped a 3-1 game to the Express. The O-Royals were down, 2-0, entering the 4th when C Scott Walter cracked a solo homer for his 4th of the season to close the gap to 2-1. Round Rock tacked on another run while the Royals only managed 4 more hits in the loss. SP Danny Tamayo fell to 3-5 with 5 2/3 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 8 hits and 2 BB with 6 Ks as his ERA moved to 5.21. RP Shane Nance, fresh off the FA wire, went 1 1/3 IP and walked 2 with 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.42. RP Matt Ford went an inning and allowed 1 BB to drop his ERA to 4.50. CF Adrian Brown was 3-4 in the loss to improve his BA to .273. Three other Omaha players had 1 hit each. Brown also stole his 23rd base.

Omaha is 32-39 and 6 games back of first. Tonight's game features RH Dennis Tankersley (2-7, 6.63) vs. Round Rock RH Fernando Nieve (0-0, 0.00) in his first AAA start. In other news, LHP Shane Nance, signed as a free agent Sunday, was 0-2 with a 3.63 ERA and 2 saves in 22 relief outings with Tucson this season. P Jimmy Gobble has been called up to KC. Tankersley will take his place in the rotation. A four-game set at New Orleans (33-37) starts Tuesday.

AA: In the last game of the first half, Wichita got a great start from Ryan Baerlocher and took a 3-0 win over Arkansas. The Wranglers were being no-hit going into the bottom of the 5th when DH Mathew Tupman singled to send C John Draper (who had walked) to third and CF Mel Stocker followed with a sac fly. Wichita added 2 in the 8th on a 2-run homer by LF Cory Aldridge (his 15th). The teams combined for only 10 hits. Baerlocher went 6 innings and allowed 3 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.20 and move to 1-0 on the season. RP Colt Griffin got his 4th hold (and looked to have his stuff together for the first time in a few appearances) as he went an inning and allowed a hit to drop his ERA to 4.25. RP Barry Armitage also got his 4th hold with 1 IP that included 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.83. RP Jonah Bayliss got his 6th save with an inning of 1 BB and 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.66. Aldridge was 2-4 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to better his average to .279; Tupman was 2-3 to move to .309.

Wichita is 35-35 and 8 games back of first. The TL is on its all-star break. A 4-game set at 29-41 Frisco starts Thursday. In other news, with Justin Huber getting the call to KC, 1B Josh Pressley will take Huber's place on the East Division All-Star squad. Pressley will be a starting first basemen in the Texas League All-Star Game on Tuesday at 7:00 pm in Frisco, Texas.

High-A: High Desert ran into Bakersfield SP Thomas Diamond (now 8-0 with a 1.99 ERA), who shut the Mavs down on 1 hit with 14 Ks and 0 BB in a complete game 9-0 win. High Desert's only hit came in the 3rd on a single by C Jared Price. He was 1-3 to move to .292. Diamond also faced the minimum as Price was picked off first after singling. SP Kahi Kaanoi got the loss to drop to 4-7. He went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 7 R (6 ER) on 8 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 5.59. RP Chris Demaria pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to bump his ERA to 3.09. 2B Adam Keim, 1B Kila Kaaihue and 3B Brandon Powell were all 0-3 to drop to .299, .333 and .335, respectively. The game took 1 hour and 48 minutes.

High Desert finished 36-34 in the first half. The records reset to 0-0 as High Desert starts a 3-game set at Modesto tonight. Nuts SP Juan Morillo (2-3, 3.16) goes to the mound on Monday against Mavs SP John Gragg III (5-2, 3.91).

L0w-A: Burlington used a 6-run 1st to finally get a win over Kane County, 10-8. The Bees got 9 of their first 10 batters on base. LF Pete Maestrales led off the game with a double and, with 1 out and the bases loaded, Kane County 3B Myron Leslie made a throwing error on a ball hit by RF Brian McFall that allowed 2 to score. CF Kenard Springer followed with an RBI single, as did DH Derek Norman. 2B Irving Falu walked to load the bases again and C Robert Grana singled home another run. A wild pitch scored Norman for the 6th run. The Cougars closed the deficit to 6-5 entering the 6th when Burlington scored another run on an RBI double by Grana. Three runs in the 7th for the Bees on an RBI single by Springer, a sac fly by Falu and an RBI single by Grana made the score 10-6 and the Burlington defense held together to take the 10-8 win. SP Greg Atencio got the win to move to 4-2 with 5 IP of 5 ER on 9 hits with 4 Ks to bump his ERA to 3.99. RP Gabe DeHoyos got his 1st hold with 2 2/3 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 6 hits and a BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 1.85. RP Adam Rowe went 1/3 IP and gave up a hit as his ERA dropped to 6.03 and RP Chad Blackwell got his 3rd save with an IP that included 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.43. Maestrales was 1-3 with a double and 2 BB to improve to .298; SS Edward Lucas was 1-3 with 2 BB to move to .316; Springer was 2-5 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .206; Norman was 3-4 with a BB, RBI and 3 RS to move to .271; and Grana was 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI to move to .165. Maestrales stole 2 bases to get to 8 for the season. Lucas made his 17th error.

Burlington is 34-36 and 5 games out of first. The Bees are on their all-star break until Thursday.

Royals 7, Astros 1

Well, like I figured, the Royals got to Brandon Backe and salvaged one game of the Houston series with a 7-1 win. Runelvys Hernandez had another great start as he gave up only 1 run and 1 hit over 7 IP with 3 BB and 6 Ks. He's looking recovered from TJ surgery, definitely. Burgos came in and left almost as soon as he entered with "tightness" in his shoulder. Also, unfortunately, Mike Sweeney's wrist isn't healing like they thought it would, of course. What? Sweeney's hurt and is probably going to go on the DL? NO. So two setbacks on Sunday.

On the good side, Emil Brown hit a 3-run shot to continue his good play, Long had 2 hits and Gotay had 3. Berroa also drew another walk, even tho he went 1-4. I'll take a .400 OBP per game, tho. Alberto Castillo was the only Royal with an 0-fer Sunday. Costa was 1-3 to stay strong at .333 with a BB to boot.

Next up is the White Sox at the Cell in Chicago. Big series. It'd be nice to see KC take 2 of 3, although it'll be tough with Garland in game 2 and Buehrle in game 3. Game 1 is Jose Lima v. Brandon McCarthy. Will Lima be the last-game Lima or the one from the first bunch of starts? I'm predicting a 7-5 White Sox win Monday.

Royals on the Farm 6/18

AAA: Omaha turned the offense on in the 4th and didn't look back in a 12-5 win over Round Rock. After entering the inning down 3-0, LF Aaron Guiel homered (his 12th) to lead off the 4th and the O-Royals tacked on 4 more on an RBI double by DH Cal Pickering, a double-play ball by 1B Chad Santos that scored Pickering and a 2-run homer by RF Jaime Jones (his 3rd). Omaha added 2 in the 6th on a 2-run shot by Santos (his 11th) and 5 in the 9th on an RBI double by C Paul Phillips, a sac fly by 2B Justin Gemoll, an RBI single by SS Luis Ugueto and a 2-run double by Jones. Relievers gave up 2 in the 9th but it wasn't enough for Round Rock to escape the 12-5 loss. SP Shawn Camp improved to 2-4 with 5 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 4 hits with 6 Ks to move his ERA to 4.46. RP Jaime Cerda went 2 innings and allowed 1 hit and 1 BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 12.00. RP Justin Huisman went an inning and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 3 hits to bump his ERA to 3.91. RP Wes Wilkerson went an inning and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 4.74. Gemoll was 1-2 with 2 BB and an RBI to increase his BA to .306; Pickering was 2-4 with a BB, double, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .212; 3B Chris Truby was 2-4 with a BB and 2 RS to improve to .283; Ugueto was 2-3 with 2 BB and an RBI to move to .235; and Jones was 2-5 with a double, HR and 4 RBI to improve to .252. Ugueto stole 2 bases to get to 6 on the season. He also committed to 2 errors to move to 7 on the season.

Omaha was 32-38 entering today. RH Danny Tamayo (3-4, 5.38) took on Express RH Taylor Buchholz (5-0, 4.13) in today's game.

AA: Wichita was down, 3-0, entering the bottom of the 5th but put together 5 runs in the next two innings to take a 5-4 win over Arkansas. The Wranglers scored 3 in the 5th to tie the game as DH Rudy Gomez hit an RBI single and CF Mel Stocker followed with a 2-run triple. A 2-run homer by 3B Brennan King in the 6th (his 5th of the season) gave Wichita the lead after Arkansas scored 1 in the top of the 6th and three relievers finished the game for the win. SP Kyle Middleton got a no-decision as he went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 10 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.59. RP Thad Markray got the win to move to 3-2 as he went 2 1/3 IP and K'd 1 but gave up 0 hits and 0 BB to drop his ERA to 4.65. RP Nate Hoelscher got his 5th hold with 1/3 IP of scoreless baseball to drop his ERA to 6.52. RP Shawn Sonnier got his 5th save with 2/3 IP that included 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.18. RF Wilkin Ruan was 2-4 to improve to .224; C Mathew Tupman was 0-2 with a BB to drop to .303; and 1B Josh Pressley was 0-3 to drop to .294. Justin Huber didn't play in that game or today's game. Hmmm, called up to Omaha or KC?

Wichita entered today 34-35. RHP Ryan Baerlocher (0-0, 3.48) took the mound against Arkansas LHP Tim Bittner (1-6, 7.19).

High-A: High Desert split a doubleheader with Bakersfield Saturday. In game 1, Bakersfield pitchers held the Mavs in check as High Desert lost, 4-1. The Mavs' lone run came in the 4th on a homer by DH Brandon Powell (his 11th). SP Chris Coughlin dropped to 0-7 as he went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and 3 BB with 1 K to bump his ERA to 6.00. RP Nate Moore went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 1 hit and 1 BB with 1 K to drop his ERA to 4.85. 3B Adam Keim was 0-2 with a BB in the 7-inning game to drop to .304; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-3 to drop to .337; Powell was 1-3 with a HR and RBI to move to .341. Kaaihue committed his 10th error in the loss.

In game 2, High Desert pitchers Cesar Herrera and Ryan Braun combined for a 4-hitter to shut out Bakersfield, 5-0. CF Chris Lubanski was a wrecking crew with a 2-run homer in the 4th and a solo homer in the 6th for his 15th and 16th of the season. LF Bernard Stephens hit a solo homer to move to 9 on the season and C Adam Donachie hit an RBI double in the win. Herrera improved to 3-3 with 6 2/3 IP of 4 hits and 3 BB with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 6.16. Braun pitched the final 1/3 of an inning with 1 K to drop his ERA to 4.15. Keim was 2-3 to improve to .304; Kaaihue was 1-1 with 2 BB to stay at .337; Powell was 0-3 to drop to .341; Lubanski was 2-3 with 2 HR and 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .256; Stephens was 2-3 with a double, HR, RBI and 2 RS to move to .266. Lubanski upped his RBI total to 52.

High Desert was 36-33 entering today's finale with Bakersfield.

Low-A: Burlington was shut down by Kane County once more in a 2-1 loss. The Bees scored their only run in the 9th on a bases-loaded walk to CF Kenard Springer but PH Damaso Espino struck out to end the game. SP Justin Sherman dropped to 0-1 with 7 IP of 1 ER on 5 hits and 1 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.65. RP Chad Blackwell went 1 inning and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 2.51. Burlington only had 5 hits. 1B Edward Lucas was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .316. LF Pete Maestrales was 0-4 to drop to .297.

Burlington was 33-36 entering today. RH Greg Atencio (3–2, 3.24) took on Kane County RH Jared Trout (2–2, 3.38) in today's series finale to end the first half.

Royals take punch #2

So much for bouncing back from the Clemens game Friday night. Roy Oswalt came in Saturday and mowed the Royals down for 7 2/3 IP before giving up on a run on a Terrence Long RBI single and the 'Stros ended up with a 6-2 win. Long and Emil Brown both had 2-hit games to make up 4 of the Royals' 9 hits. DeJesus left with elbow tightness so we'll see how that pans out. Stairs had his second straight 0-fer and Buck joined that group tonight. Three extra-base hits for KC tonight, up from 1 Friday. Carrasco didn't have a horrible start even tho he picked up the L. 3 ER over 7 IP. Affeldt came in with another stellar performance, even though 3 errors killed the Royals defensively. When it rains it pours either way with this team -- good or bad. Affeldt allowed 3 runs (1 earned) in an inning to move the score from 3-0 and in reach to 6-0 and not looking good in the 8th. The offense has gotten some hits but isn't scoring many runs in the series -- of course Oswalt and Clemens had something to do with that.

The Royals get a chance to resist the sweep against Brandon Backe tomorrow afternoon. Backe has a 4.88 ERA so isn't bulletproof. Runelvys needs to keep his streak of good starts going. I'm predicting a score of Royals 5, Astros 3.

Royals on the Farm 6/17

AAA: Omaha saved the best for last as a 7-run 9th helped the O-Royals put away an 11-4 win over Round Rock. Omaha scored 1 in the 2nd on an RBI single by SS Luis Ugueto but Round Rock scored 2 in the 4th to take the lead. Omaha tied it in the 6th on an RBI single by 3B Chris Truby and took the lead with 2 in the 7th on a 2-run shot by CF Adrian Brown (his 4th). Round Rock closed it to 4-3 entering the 9th when Omaha went off. Brown hit a leadoff double and 2B Justin Gemoll hit a 3-run homer after LF Aaron Guiel was intentionally walked. It was Gemoll's 6th. After a single by DH Cal Pickering, Truby hit a 2-run homer (his 7th), 1B Chad Santos followed with his 10th homer and Ugueto made it back-to-back-to-back with his 3rd homer. RP Santiago Ramirez gave up a homer in the 9th but put the game away without further ado. SP Chris George improved to 5-4 with 6 IP of 2 ER on 5 hits and 3 BB with 8 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.12. RP Matt Ford made his first Omaha appearance and got his 1st hold with 1 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits to establish a 9.00 ERA. Ramirez got his 1st save by going 2 IP and allowing 1 ER on 1 hit with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 7.07. Brown was 4-6 with a double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .271; C Paul Phillips was 2-4 to up his BA to .262; Pickering was 2-3 with 2 BB and a double to move to .202; Gemoll was 1-5 with the HR and 3 RBI to drop to .304; Truby was 2-4 with a BB, HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .276; Santos was 3-5 with a double, HR and RBI to increase his BA to .258; and Ugueto was 2-4 with a BB, HR and 2 RBI to move to .226.

Omaha is 31-38 and 5 games out of first. Tonight's pitching matchup is RH Shawn Camp (1-4, 4.60) vs. Round Rock RH Chris Fussell (1-5, 6.15).

AA: Wichita fell prey to Arkansas C Mike Napoli, who was 3-4 with 2 HR and 8 RBI in an 8-4 Wrangler loss. Arkansas took a 3-0 lead in the 1st on Napoli's first homer but Wichita scored a run that inning on a solo homer by C Mathew Tupman (his 1st). The Travelers stretched the lead to 5-1 before Wichita scored in the 4th on an RBI single by RF Wilkin Ruan. Napoli's second homer was another 3-run shot in the 5th to make it an 8-2 game before Wichita scored runs in the 5th and 6th on an RBI single by SS Mike Aviles and an RBI single by Tupman. SP Mike Stodolka took the loss to drop to 1-7 with 6 IP of 8 ER on 9 hits and 2 BB with 5 Ks to bump his ERA to 6.22. RP Barry Armitage went 2 innings and allowed 1 hit and 2 BB to drop his ERA to 3.91. RP Nate Hoelscher pitched a perfect inning to drop his ERA to 6.59. Tupman was 3-3 with 2 BB, a HR and 2 RBI to improve his BA to .306; 1B Justin Huber was 1-5 to drop to .332; Aviles was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .294; 2B Brett Groves was 2-2 with 2 BB to improve to .239; and Ruan was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .216. Ruan also had an assist at third in the loss.

Wichita is 33-35 and 9 games out of first. RHP Kyle Middleton (7-4, 3.41) goes for the Wranglers against Travs LHP Joe Saunders (5-3, 4.03) tonight.

High-A: The High Desert Mavericks broke out the bats again Friday in a 10-5 win over Bakersfield. The Mavs started with 4 runs in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by 2B Adam Keim (his 15th), an RBI triple by 3B Brandon Powell and an RBI single by CF Chris Lubanski. Two more runs were added in the 4th on an RBI triple by SS Angel Sanchez and a passed ball that scored Sanchez. Another scored in the 5th on a solo homer by Lubanski (his 14th), who is having an awesome June. Four Bakersfield runs in the 6th made it a 7-5 game but the Mavs scored in the 6th on an RBI single by Sanchez and added 2 in the 7th on an RBI double by 1B Kila Kaaihue and an RBI single by DH Bernard Stephens. SP Billy Buckner went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 5 R (2 ER) on 6 hits and 5 BB with 6 Ks to improve to 5-8 with a 4.21 ERA. RP Drew Endicott got his 1st save with 3 1/3 IP of 2 hits to drop his ERA to 4.37. Sanchez was 3-5 with a triple, 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .276; Keim was 2-4 with a double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .301; Kaaihue was 2-3 with a BB, double and RBI to move to .339; Powell was 2-4 with a triple, RBI and 2 RS to move to .347; Lubanski was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to move to .250; and Stephens was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .262. Lubanski added his 6th SB.

High Desert is 35-32 and 4 games back of first. The Mavs were set for a doubleheader with Bakersfield today. Again, no announced starters.

Low-A: Burlington was shut down in a 10-0 loss to Kane County as the Bees managed only 8 hits. Burlington only got a runner to third once. SP Kyle Crist dropped to 4-1 with 3 IP of 8 ER on 9 hits and 4 BB with 1 K to bump his ERA to 5.06. RP Yovany Damico gave up 2 ER on 5 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.63. RP Adam Rowe went 1 inning and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 6.10. 2B Pete Maestrales was 3-4 with a BB to improve to .303 and 1B Edward Lucas was 0-5 to drop to .320 but reached on a force out and stole his 18th base. Burlington left 11 on base.

Burlington is 33-35 and 5 games out of first. RH Justin Sherman (0–0, 1.93) takes on Kane County RH Tony Evans (1–0, 2.70) in today's game.

Blanked

Well, if there's one thing to say about the Royals' 7-0 loss tonight, it's that there's no shame in getting a win streak snapped by Roger Clemens. He's over 40 but he can still pitch better than 98 percent of the league. Getting the benefit of a bigger strike zone from umps also helps but he's still getting the job done. The Royals matched the 'Stros hit for hit but only had one extra base hit compared to 5 for Houston, including 2 homers. J.P. Howell struggled somewhat but went as long as Clemens and only gave up 1 more hit with the same # of walks and 3 less Ks. His downfall came in allowing 2 RBI doubles and 1 HR. Not a horrible start, tho. On the offensive front, McEwing, DeJesus and Long had 2-hit games, Berroa drew his 1 walk for 10 games, Teahen, Gotay and Stairs had 0-fers and the Royals left 12 on base. Not much good to report from that side of the game.

Let's hope KC can get it back tomorrow vs. Roy Oswalt as D.J. Carrasco takes the hill. It'll be another challenge getting to Oswalt and Carrasco will need another solid start.

Royals on the Farm 6/16

AAA: Omaha won its second in a row as the pitching staff chipped in with a 3-hitter and the O-Royals came away with a 5-0 win. Omaha notched 3 in the 1st on an RBI single by 3B Justin Gemoll and 2-run homer by DH Cal Pickering (his 6th). The 4th run was scored in the 5th inning on an RBI single by LF Aaron Guiel and the final run was scored in the 8th on an RBI triple by SS Luis Ugueto. SP Kyle Snyder went 2 2/3 IP and allowed only 1 hit and a BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 0.87. RP Dennis Tankersley had another strong outing as he went 4 1/3 IP to get the W to move to 4-5. He allowed 1 hit with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.78. RP Jaime Cerda wasn't a gas can for a change from recent outings as he K'd 1 in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 14.40. RP Wes Wilkerson pitched the 9th and allowed 1 hit to drop his ERA to 4.85. Gemoll was 1-5 with an RBI to drop his BA to .306. Seven O-Royals each had 1 hit in the game.

Omaha is 30-38 and 5 1/2 games back of first. The O-Royals start a 4-game set at Round Rock (34-34) tonight as LH Chris George (4-4, 5.30) goes up against RH Brandon Duckworth (1-2, 5.40).

AA: Wichita withstood a 6-run inning from Arkansas to pull out a 7-6 win in the series opener. The Wranglers scored 4 in the 1st on an RBI double by 1B Justin Huber and a 3-run shot by SS Mike Aviles (his 9th) before adding a run in the 2nd on an RBI fielder's choice by Huber. The Travelers scored 6 in the 3rd, including 3 on a double by 1B and big-time Angels prospect Kendry Morales, who torched High Desert pitching recently for Rancho Cucamonga and was called up to AA earlier this week. Wichita responded with a run in the 4th on an RBI double by C Mathew Tupman to tie the game and took the lead for good in the 5th on an RBI single by RF Wilkin Ruan. After that, RP Jonah Bayliss held Arkansas in check. SP Brian Bass (6-4) got the win despite giving up 6 ER on 5 hits and 3 BB over 5 IP with 4 Ks to bump his ERA to 6.50. Bayliss got his 5th save with 4 IP of 2 hits and 0 BB with 3 Ks to lower his ERA to 2.72. Tupman went 4-5 in the game with a double and RBI to improve to .294; Huber was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .335; DH Josh Pressley was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .301; 3B Brennan King was 3-4 with 2 doubles to move to .268; and Ruan was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .208. He also stole his 10th base of the season. Aviles was 1-4 with the 3-run homer to move his BA to .291.

Wichita is 33-34 and 8 games back of first. The Travelers send RHP Kasey Olenberger (2-3, 3.19 ERA) to the mound tonight against Wichita LHP Mike Stodolka (1-6, 5.66 ERA).

High-A: High Desert IF Adam Keim lived the dream Thursday night with a 2-out grand slam to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th and the Mavs went on to defeat Visalia, 9-8, in 10 innings to sweep the series. Visalia was cruising with an 8-0 lead entering the bottom of the 6th when Mavs DH Brandon Powell cranked a 3-run line-drive homer (his 10th) to cut the lead to 8-3. The Mavs struck for 1 in the 8th on a solo shot by Keim (his 13th) to make it a 4-run game and entered the 9th down by the 8-4 tally. C Adam Donachie and 2B Walter Sevilla walked to start the inning and RF Alan Moye later walked to load the bases with 1 out. LF Bernard Stephens struck out to bring up Keim, who fouled off 6 pitches on a 1-2 count before creaming one (his 14th)from Oaks' RP Juan Salas over the LF fence to tie the game. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for High Desert again but Donachie flew out to end the inning. 2B Walter Sevilla walked to lead off the 10th and was sac bunted over to second and moved to third on two walks before 1B Kila Kaaihue singled with two out to drive Sevilla home and give the Mavs the win. SP Dusty Hughes went 4 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 9 hits and 3 BB with 6 Ks to bump his ERA to 6.05. RP Stephen Chamberlain went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 4 R (3 ER) on 6 hits and a BB with a K to move his ERA to 5.86. RP Eric Ackerman pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up 1 hit with 4 Ks before leaving in the 10th with an arm injury. His ERA dropped to 4.81. RP Nate Moore got the win to move to 1-2 with 1/3 IP with 1 K to drop his ERA to 5.05. Keim was 3-5 with a BB, 2 HR and 5 RBI along with 3 RS to improve his average to .297; Kaaihue was 1-2 with 3 BB and an RBI to move to .335; and Powell was 3-5 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .343. High Desert drew 13 walks in the game and left 11 on base.

High Desert is 34-32 and 4 games back of Lake Elsinore. The Mavs start a 4-game home set with Bakersfield (33-33) tonight. No starters were announced at the time I wrote this.

Low-A: Burlington was eliminated from the first-half playoff race as they matched Kane County in hits (4) but couldn't in runs as the Cougars took Burlington down, 4-1. The Bees' lone run came in the 6th on a sac fly by 3B Mario Lisson. SP Patrick Hicklen pitched relatively well but gave up a 3-run homer that made the difference. Over 6 1/3 IP, he allowed 4 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA. RP Adam Rowe went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 1 hit with 1 K to lower his ERA to 6.30. SS Edward Lucas was 3-4 to make up almost the entire Bee offense Thursday with a double to improve to .327. He also had 2 steals to get to 17 on the season. Is it just me or does he play a different position almost each game? OF, 2B, SS, 3B.

Burlington is 33-34 and 5 games out. The Bees send RH Kyle Crist (4–0, 3.61) up against Cougars RH Michael Rogers (3–3, 4.41) in tonight's tilt.