Royals on the Farm 6/3 & 6/4

AAA: Friday, Omaha scored 5 in the 1st but it was all New Orleans from there as the Zephyrs killed O-Royals pitching to the tune of a 15-9 win. After a leadoff single by CF Adrian Brown, he was driven home on a double by LF Denny Hocking. Hocking was knocked home on an RBI single by DH Ken Harvey and, three batters later, 3B Chris Truby socked a 3-run HR (his 4th) to start pitcher Ryan Baerlocher with a 5-0 lead. Three walks to start the 3rd chased Baerlocher in favor of RP Jaime Cerda and the wheels fell off. Cerda walked in a run to start a 6-run rally and the Zephyrs scored 5 more in the 4th off Cerda and RP Santiago Ramirez. Omaha got 2 runs in the 6th on a 2-run shot by SS Alejandro Prieto (his 2nd) and another 2 in the 7th on an RBI double by 2B Justin Gemoll and a fielding error that allowed Gemoll to score later in the inning. Baerlocher went 2 IP and was credited with 3 ER on 2 hits and 5 BB with 3 Ks to raise his ERA to 6.00. Cerda fell to 0-1 as he went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 8 ER on 6 hits and 4 BB with 1 K to skyrocket his ERA to 21.21. What's happened to him? He's had some horrible outings lately. I wonder if he's got physical problems, other than a pitching talent deficiency. Ramirez went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 8 hits with 2 Ks to raise his ERA to 5.81. RP Shawn Camp went 1 IP and allowed only 1 hit with 1 K to lower his ERA to 5.57. It's pretty good when he's your best pitcher in the game, statistically, this season. Shows how ugly it was. Brown was 2-5 to improve to .265, Hocking was 2-4 with a BB, double and RBI to improve to .292, Harvey was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .362 and Gemoll was 2-5 with a double, 2 RS and an RBI to move to .321. Prieto was 2-4 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .272.

Saturday, the O-Royals bounced back against division leader Nashville to pull out a 5-4 win in the teams' series opener. Omaha started the scoring with 2 in the 3rd on a 2-run double by RF Aaron Guiel but Nashville got a run in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 1. Omaha scored 2 in the 5th on an RBI single by CF Adrian Brown and a sac fly by Guiel but Nashville scored 2 in the 6th to cut the lead back to 1. The score remained 4-3 entering the 9th when Omaha got an insurance run on an RBI single by SS Alejandro Prieto. RP Wes Wilkerson gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th but got a game ending double play off the bat of 1B Prince Fielder. SP Jimmy Gobble had an OK start to improve to 2-6. He went 5 1/3 IP and allowed 3 R (1 ER) on 7 hits and 3 BB with 7 Ks. His ERA is still not good at 6.75. Wilkerson got his 3rd save with 3 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.14. Prieto was 2-4 with a BB and RBI to improve to .279 and Guiel was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .276. Harvey was 0-4 to drop to .345 while C Scott Walter was 0-4 to drop to .312. Gemoll was 2-4 to improve to .325. Guiel had an outfield assist in the game as he threw Fielder out at the plate.

Omaha is 24-33 and 6 games back of Nashville. The two teams continue their series today as RH Dennis Tankersley (2-5, 6.38) takes on Sounds LH Jeff Housman (2-4, 5.57).

AA: Friday's Wichita-San Antonio tilt was rained out so the teams had a doubleheader Saturday. In game 1, the Wranglers came back from an early 4-run deficit to win with 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th to send the game to extras and a run in the bottom of the 8th for a 7-6 win. SP Derrin Ebert gave up 4 runs in the first 2 innings to put Wichita in the hole but the Wranglers scored 2 in the 4th on RBI singles by C Mathew Tupman and 2B Brett Groves. The Missions got the lead back to 3 but Wichita scored 1 in the 5th on an RBI single by DH Josh Pressley. The teams countered runs again in the 6th as Wichita got a run on a throwing error and the game went into the bottom of the 7th with San Antonio holding a 6-4 lead. Pressley and SS Mike Aviles struck out to start the inning but Tupman kept the Wranglers alive with a single. 3B Brennan King walked and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. Groves came through with a 2-run single to tie the game and send it to "extras" -- the 8th. RP Shawn Sonnier put the Missions away relatively quietly in the 8th and Wichita CF Mitch Maier capitalized with a leadoff single and went to second on a walk to 1B Justin Huber. RF Cory Aldridge then drove Maier in with a single to end the game. Ebert went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 6 R (3 ER) on 10 hits and a BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 5.01. Sonnier went 2 1/3 IP and allowed only 1 hit with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.16. Maier was 3-5 in his AA debut to establish a .600 BA. Huber was 1-3 with a double and 3 BBs to move his BA to .330. Aldridge was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to. 296 and Pressley was 1-4 with an RBI to move to .301. Tupman was 3-4 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .275 and Groves was 4-4 with 3 RBI to lift his BA to .253. The Wranglers left 11 on base and committed 4 errors in the win.

In game 2, Wichita's bats were stilled as SA starter Jon Huber held the Wranglers to 2 hits in a 5-0 Missions win. SP Brian Bass lost to fall to 5-4 as he went 5 IP and allowed 5 ER on 8 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to up his ERA to 5.80. RP Jonah Bayliss went 2 innings and gave up 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.75. Huber only faced 2 more than the minimum. Maier was 1-3 to move to .500 and DH Justin Huber was 0-3 with 3 Ks to fall to .325. Pressley was 0-2 with a BB to drop to .297 and Aldridge was 0-3 to drop to .293. Aviles was 1-2 to improve to .278.

Wichita is 28-28 and 6 games back of Tulsa. Wichita lefty Mike Stodolka (1-5, 5.74) vies against San Antonio left-hander Bobby Livingston (5-3, 2.90) in tonight's series finale.

High-A: Friday, a 4-run 4th gave Modesto what it needed in a 9-5 win over High Desert. Modesto took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd but the Mavs tied the game with a 2-run single by CF Chris Lubanski in the bottom of the inning. The Mavs scored again in the 3rd on an RBI single by 3B Adam Keim and a double-play ball by 1B Kila Kaaihue that scored SS Angel Sanchez. The Nuts had the rally in the 4th to take a 6-4 lead but High Desert got a run in the 4th on an RBI single by C Adam Donachie to cut the lead to 1. That was it for the Mavs offense. SP John Gragg III dropped to 3-2 as he went 5 IP and allowed 6 R (5 ER) on 11 hits with 3 Ks to hike his ERA to 4.04. RP Nate Moore pitched 3 innings and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks. His ERA is 5.35. RP Chris Demaria pitched the 9th and gave up 1 UER on 2 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 3.14. Kaaihue was 1-4 to drop to .361 and DH Brandon Powell was 0-4 to drop to .311. Lubanski was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .224.

Saturday, an 8-run 2nd put the game away as the Mavs flexed their hitting muscles in a 15-5 win. High Desert scored 1 in the 1st on an RBI single by Kaaihue and got a 2-run homer by DH Brandon Powell (his 5th) in the 2nd. A wild pitch allowed 2B Walter Sevilla to score and a throwing error allowed RF Alan Moye to come across. Keim then hit a 2-run shot (his 11th) and Kaaihue followed with a solo roundtripper (his 9th) for a 8-0 lead. Lubanski finished the 2nd inning scoring with a solo shot for his 9th of the season. The Mavs added 3 in the 3rd on a 2-run single by Keim and an RBI groundout by LF Bernard Stephens and tallied 2 in the 4th on a Sevilla RBI groundout and an RBI double from Sanchez. The final Mav run came in the 8th on an RBI double by Moye. SP Dusty Hughes got a W to move to 4-5 as he went 5 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 5.56. RP Drew Endicott went 3 innings and gave up 1 ER on 3 hits with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.40. RP Stephen Bray went an inning and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 4.73. Moye was 3-6 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .262 and Keim was 4-6 with a double, HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .303. Kaaihue was 2-5 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .362 and Lubanski was 2-5 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .228. Donachie was 2-4 with a BB and 2 RS to improve to .254 and Powell was 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .323. Sevilla was 3-5 with 2 doubles, an RBI and 4 RS to improve to .237. The Mavs slapped 20 hits and left 10 on base in the rout.

High Desert is 27-28 and 3 1/2 games back of Lake Elsinore. HEY! The Mavs site is back up and updated. Apparently the problems involved getting a new site ready, which will be launched in the near future. Tonight's game is the series finale as SP Cesar Herrera (1-3, 7.68) goes against Nuts SP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-1, 3.80).

Low-A: In Friday's series finale with Beloit, the Snappers got 6 runs and Burlington was held to 3 hits in a 6-1 loss. The Bees' lone run came in the 4th on an RBI double by 1B Rusty Brown. SP Luis Cota didn't get much run support as he dropped to 2-3. He allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 8 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 2.04. RP Greg Atencio pitched the final 4 innings and gave up 3 R (1 ER) on 3 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to bump his ERA to 4.03. LF Edward Lucas was 1-4 to drop to .319 and Brown was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .296. Lucas committed his 13th error in the loss.

Saturday, a football game broke out as Dayton beat the Bees, 14-7, in the teams' series opener. Burlington scored in the first on an RBI single by C Damaso Espino and tied the game in the 3rd on another Espino RBI single. Two runs in the 4th on a 2-run double by CF Jared Ellis gave the Bees the lead but Dayton scored 5 in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for good. Burlington scored 2 in the 5th on a bases-loaded walk by 3B Eddie Solis and a passed ball that allowed DH Brian McFall to score. The Bees got their final run in the 8th on Espino's third RBI single. SP Patrick Green dropped to 3-4 as he went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 7 R (3 ER) on 8 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to hike his ERA to 4.01. RP Adam Rowe went 1 2/3 IP and gave up 5 ER on 8 hits and a BB to balloon his ERA to 6.38. RP Yovany Damico went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB to move to 2.93 and RP Rusty Begnaud went an inning of perfect pitching to drop his ERA to 7.45. Lucas was 3-5 with 2 RS to improve to .327 and Espino was 3-4 with a BB and 3 RBI to move to .253. Brown was 2-5 with a double to improve to .299 and Ellis was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI to move to .250. The Bees left 13 on base and Lucas stole 2 bases for 14 on the season.

Burlington is 26-30 and 6 games back of Wisconsin. RH Patrick Hicklen (3–1, 2.66) took on Dayton RH Ramon Ramirez (0–1, 3.08) in today's game.