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.