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.