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.