Royals on the Farm 7/30

AAA: Omaha dropped the opener with Tacoma, 9-3, Saturday. The Rainiers took an early 4-0 lead before Omaha scored 3 in the 5th on an RBI force out by SS Luis Ugueto, a Tacoma wild pitch and RBI single by C Paul Phillips. Tacoma took off from there to win as Omaha made small threats but nothing big. SP Ryan Jensen went 4 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and 2 BB with a K to drop to 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA; RP Shane Nance went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.64; and RP Justin Huisman went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 3 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 4.53. RF Matt Diaz was 2-5 with a double to improve to .390; Phillips was 2-4 with a BB, double and RBI to improve to .271; 1B Justin Huber's AAA sluggishness continued as he was 0-4 to keep his BA at .000; and LF Chad Santos was 2-4 to improve to .259.

Omaha was 48-60 entering today. The Tacoma series continued tonight as J.P. Howell took the mound for Omaha.

AA: Wichita got pummeled by Arkansas, 15-3, Saturday. Arkansas had a 12-0 lead after 4 innings as Wichita scored its runs in the 7th and 8th innings on a solo homer by RF Cory Aldridge (his 18th), a Travs throwing error and an RBI single by 1B Brennan King. SP Kyle Middleton went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 10 R (9 ER) on 10 hits with 2 Ks to drop to 9-7 with a 4.51 ERA; RP Colt Griffin went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits with a K to move his ERA to 4.02; and RP Derrin Ebert went 4 IP and allowed 3 R (1 ER) on 4 hits with a K to make his ERA 5.45. IF Brett Groves was 2-5 with a double to improve to .222; LF Shane Costa was 2-5 to improve to .280; DH Josh Pressley was 0-4 to drop to .295; and Aldridge was 2-4 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .287. SS Mike Aviles made his 30th error. IF Rudy Gomez made 2 to get to 6 on the season.

Wichita was 20-17 entering today as they wrapped up the Arkansas series.

High-A: High Desert's winning streak was snapped in a 2-0 loss to Lake Elsinore Saturday. The Mavs matched the Storm with 5 hits but could make nothing of them. The difference came in 2 XBH for the Storm compared to 1 for HD. SP Patrick Green did well in his High Desert debut with a quality start -- 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, 5 Ks, 0 BB -- but got the loss to drop to 6-8 with a 3.92 ERA; and RP Greg Atencio went 1 IP and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 3 BB with a K to make his ERA 4.48. 2B Pete Maestrales was 0-4 to drop to .322; LF Billy Butler was 1-4 to drop to .345; C Jared Price was 0-2 with a BB to drop to .356; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-3 with a double to up his BA to .310; and 3B Brandon Powell was 0-3 to drop to .306.

High Desert was 19-16 entering today. The series with Lake Elsinore ended tonight.

Low-A: Burlington starter Kyle Crist went the distance and the Bees took a 9-1 win over Wisconsin Saturday. The Bees broke it open with 5 in the 2nd on a 2-run double by CF Cody Cure, an RBI double by SS Irving Falu and RBI singles from 3B Edward Lucas and DH Rusty Brown. They padded the lead with 4 in the 4th on a sac fly by C Damaso Espino and a 3-run homer by RF Brian McFall (his 9th). Crist allowed the ER on 3 hits with 6 Ks to improve to 9-2 with a 3.99 ERA. It was the first CG for Burlington this season and he took a perfect game into the 5th. Lucas was 2-4 with a BB, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .307; Brown was 3-5 with an RBI to improve to .292; and Cure was 2-3 with a BB, double and 2 RBI to improve to .300. Falu stole his 21st base.

Burlington was 21-15 and ended the series with Wisconsin today.

Rookie: One inning was all Idaho Falls was able to generate as far as offense goes in a 10-5 loss to end the series with Casper Saturday. The Rockies took a 6-0 early lead but Idaho Falls scored 5 in the 5th on a Rockies wild pitch, a 2-run single by SS Joshua Colafemina, a Rockies throwing error and an RBI ground out by CF Andrew Larsen. The Rockies pulled away in the 6th. SP Cody Harkcom got the loss with 2 IP of 6 R (5 ER) on 7 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to drop to 1-5 with a 10.44 ERA; RP Brandon Brantley went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.75; RP Adam Kalkhof went 2 1/3 IP and allowed only 1 hit with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.09; and RP Travis Trammell went an inning and allowed 1 hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 8.31. 3B Gary Perez was 1-3 with a BB to drop to .362; 1B Brady Everett was 1-4 to drop to .406; and C Kiel Thibault was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .297. Perez made his 14th error.

Idaho Falls is 0-1 to open the second half. The Chukars had today off.

The ASL Royals' game with the Angels Saturday was rained out.

The ASL Royals were still 2-1 entering today. They had today off and play the Rangers tomorrow.

Royals on the Farm 7/29

AAA: Omaha had a big 9th in an 8-6 win to take the series vs. Portland Friday. Omaha scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run homer by C Paul Phillips (his 7th) and added 2 in the 5th on an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown and RBI single by RF Aaron Guiel. Portland came back to take a 6-4 lead into the 9th. The Royals loaded the bases with 0 outs and PH Chad Santos hit an RBI force out to close the lead to 1. A Portland wild pitch scored the tying run and Brown had the big blow with a 2-run homer (his 6th) to give Omaha an 8-6 lead. RP Santiago Ramirez put the Beavers down quietly in the 9th to end it. SP Dennis Tankersley went 6 IP and allowed 3 ER on 7 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 4.91; RP Shawn Sonnier blew his 3rd save with 1 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits with a K to move his ERA to 4.88; RP Jaime Cerda got the win with 1 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with a K to make his ERA 6.89; and Ramirez got his 8th save with a hitless IP that included a walk to drop his ERA to 5.37. Brown was 2-5 with a double, HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .279; LF Matt Diaz was 2-5 with a double to improve to .390; 1B Justin Huber was 0-5 in his '05 AAA debut, so he didn't get off to a great start -- he did steal a base, tho, after reaching on a force out; and 3B Chris Truby was 3-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .266.

Omaha is 48-59 and 10 1/2 games out of first. A 4-game set at Tacoma (59-47) starts tonight. Starters: RH Ryan Jensen (1-4, 5.13) vs. Rainiers RH Felix Hernandez (9-4, 2.36).

AA: Wichita split a doubleheader with Arkansas Friday, winning the opener, 9-4, and losing game 2, 2-0. In game 1, Arkansas took the lead in the top of the 2nd and lost it in the bottom as Wichita scored 3 on an RBI force out by CF Mitch Maier and 2-run homer by DH Rudy Gomez (his 1st). They added 2 in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by 3B Brennan King (his 8th) and 1 in the 4th on a Gomez sac fly. The Wranglers kept rolling with 2 in the 5th on another King 2-run longball (his 9th) and scored their final run in the 6th on a solo homer by RF Cory Aldridge (his 17th). SP Ryan Baerlocher went the complete 7 and allowed 4 R (3 ER) on 4 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to move to 5-2 with a 2.84 ERA. LF Shane Costa went 0-4 to drop to .281; 1B Josh Pressley was 2-3 with 2 RS to improve to .301; King was 3-3 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .288; and Gomez was 2-2 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .248.

In game 2, Wichita was held to 3 hits and made 2 errors in a 2-0 blanking. SP Wes Wilkerson went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 1 UER on 2 hits with 3 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA; RP Nate Hoelscher gave up 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB without getting an out to move his ERA to 5.45; and RP Stephen Bray went 3 1/3 IP allowed only 2 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.65. Costa was 0-3 to drop to .277; Pressley was 0-3 to drop to .298; and Maier was 1-3 to improve to .244. King made his 13th error.

Wichita was 20-16 entering today as the series continued.

High-A: High Desert kept some momentum going with a 10-8 win over Lake Elsinore Friday. The Mavs had 3 innings of offense but it was enough for the win. They scored 4 in the 3rd on 2 Storm fielding errors and RBI singles by 1B Jared Price and CF Chris Lubanski; added 1 in the 4th on an RBI single by C Adam Donachie; and put it out of reach with 5 in the 5th on a Lubanski 2-run double, 2-run single by 3B Brandon Powell and Donachie RBI double. SP Cesar Herrera went 3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 5 hits and 2 BB with a K to boost his ERA to 6.93; RP Chris Coughlin got the win with 4 IP of 5 hits with 1 K to move to 3-10 with a 7.07 ERA; RP Brian Steffek went an inning and allowed 3 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 27.00; and RP Chris Demaria got his 16th save with 1 IP of 2 hits and 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.26. LF Billy Butler was 2-5 with 2 RS to improve to .346; Price was 4-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .365; Lubanski was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI to improve to .284; Powell was 2-5 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .309; and Donachie was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .282.

High Desert was 19-15 entering today. The series continued tonight.

Low-A: Burlington got shut out on 4 hits as Wisconsin won Friday, 7-0, in the series opener. SP Daniel Christensen got the loss with 5 IP of 3 ER on 7 hits with 5 Ks to drop to 2-5 with a 3.62 ERA. RP Zane Carlson went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.40; and RP Yovany Damico went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 5 hits with 3 Ks to boost his ERA to 5.17. Four different Bees had a hit each. SS Irving Falu stole his 19th and 20th bases of the season. The Bees had a runner in all but 3 innings but couldn't get anyone home.

Burlington was 20-15 entering today.

Rookie: Idaho Falls piled it on in a 12-6 win over Casper Friday. Casper took a 2-0 lead in the 1st but the Chukars tied it on an RBI triple by 2B Joshua Johnson, who then scored on a Rockies wild pitch. Idaho Falls scored 4 in the 2nd on a solo shot by RF Andrew Larsen (his 6th), a 2-run single by CF Ethien Santana and a sac fly by 3B Gary Perez. The Chukars added 3 in the 3rd on a sac fly by C Jeff Howell, a wild pitch and a steal of home by SS Joshua Colafemina. Idaho Falls made it 10 in the 4th on a Rockie fielding error and added the final 2 runs in the 6th on an RBI single by DH Brady Everett and another Rockies wild pitch. SP Bennett Cromer went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 8 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to make his ERA 5.00; RP David Henninger got the win with 5 IP of 1 hit and 1 BB with 3 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA; and RP Jacob Eckley went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.93. Perez was 3-5 with an RBI to improve to .363; 1B Jase Turner was 2-5 to improve to .267; Everett was 3-4 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .417; and Howell was 1-2 with a BB, double and RBI to improve to .364. Perez made his 13th error.

Idaho Falls was 17-21 to end the first half. The second half started today with the Casper series finale.

The ASL Royals dropped a game back of the Mariners in the league with an 11-9 loss to the M's in 12 Friday. The Mariners took a 5-0 lead before the Royals scored 6 in the 4th on a 2-run homer by SS Andres Blanco (his 2nd), an RBI single by DH Felix Peralta, an RBI single by 1B Oscar Marrero, an RBI triple by 3B Pedro Lopez and a Mariner wild pitch. The Mariners regained the lead with 4 in the 5th but the Royals came back with 2 that inning on an RBI single by RF Oscar Gonzalez and another Mariner wild pitch. The Royals tied it in the bottom of the 9th on an RBI fielder's choice by CF Joseph Dickerson and the game remained scoreless until RP Phillip Davidson faltered in the 12th. SP Rayner Oliveros went 4 IP and allowed 5 ER on 8 hits with 3 Ks to bump his ERA to 2.35; RP Matt Pena went 4 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 3.91; RP Drew Coffey went an inning and allowed 1 hit and a BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 10.80; and Davidson went 3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 5 Ks to drop to 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA. LF Jose Duarte was 0-5 with a BB to drop to .378; 2B Valentino Arce was 2-5 with a BB and 3 RS to improve to .395; Blanco was 1-5 with a HR and 2 RBI to drop to .294; Dickerson was 1-5 with a BB to drop to .331; Gonzalez was 2-5 with a BB and RBI to improve to .299; and Lopez was 2-6 with a triple and RBI to improve to .302.

The ASL Royals were 2-1 entering today. They played the Angels today and take on the Rangers Sunday.

Royals on the Farm 7/28

I'll start today's edition with a small comment on the Alex Gordon negotiations. Here's a quote from the Royals site on last night's Royals Notes...

"Third-baseman Alex Gordon, the Royals first-round draft pick, still has not signed. "It's a process; I know it sounds cheesy, but it's a process," Baird said."

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is anyone questioning that it's "a process"? Word was for weeks they were just waiting for Jeff Clement to sign to set some kind of market perspective because he and Gordon have the same agent. Now Clement is signed, so that excuse is out of the way. I'm not expecting them to turn it around from that in two or three days but it's stupid to throw out these stock quotes like, "It's a process." If you know it sounds cheesy, don't say it and sound that way. Are you just trying to buy time with fans while you're haggling with money with Gordon? With the MLB payroll as low as it is this season I'd think the money would be there to pay him now -- somewhere. I'm also not saying throw the checkbook at Gordon but get him into the organization. ASAP. Little things (or maybe not so little depending on how you look at it) like this rankle me about Baird.

AAA: Omaha's bullpen actually held a slim lead and the O-Royals won their second straight in a 3-2 win over Portland Thursday. The O-Royals took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd on a 2-run single by DH Cal Pickering and made the lead 3-1 in the 4th on an RBI single by 3B Chris Truby. That lead held into the 9th, when RP Santiago Ramirez gave up a solo shot with 2 out but allowed no further damage to get the save. SP Mike Wood did all right in his first start of the season with 3 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 6 hits and 2 BB (few too many hits but not many runs to go along with them) with 2 Ks to make his ERA 2.70. RP Chris George, now back in the bullpen, got the win with 3 2/3 IP of hitless ball that included a BB and 3 Ks to move to 7-7 with a 5.51 ERA. Ramirez's save was his 7th as he went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits to move his ERA to 5.47. LF Matt Diaz was 2-4 with a double -- he had the hits in his first two ABs to make a streak of 8 straight hits going back to Wednesday's game....not too shabby -- and improved to .389. I'd say he wants a recall to KC. His timing isn't good though, unless Long gets traded this weekend. Pickering was 3-4 with 2 RBI to move his BA to .251 -- he's been hitting well lately; and C Paul Phillips was 2-4 to improve to .267.

Omaha is 47-59 and 12 games back of first. Tonight's series finale matchup: RH Dennis Tankersley (7-6, 4.94) vs. Beavers RH Brian Whitaker (0-0, 0.00). Omaha will try to salvage a series win rather than a split.

AA: Wichita bounced back from Wednesday's doubleheader sweep to flex on Arkansas, 13-2, and regain the divisional lead. The Wranglers tied the game at 1 in the 2nd on an RBI single by 2B Brett Groves and took the lead with 3 in the 4th on a Groves HBP, a sac fly by C Mathew Tupman and RBI double by LF Shane Costa. The Wranglers added 1 in the 5th on an RBI single by 3B Brennan King before padding the lead with 4 in the 6th on back-to-back homers by 1B Josh Pressley (a 3-run jack for his 17th) and CF Mitch Maier (his 5th). Wichita scored again in the 7th on a solo shot by DH Cory Aldridge (settling back in quickly at Wichita with his 16th) and finished off the 13-run night with 3 in the 8th on an Aldridge RBI double, Groves RBI ground out and Tupman RBI single. SP Brian Bass had a great game with 8 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits and a BB with 5 Ks to improve to 10-4 with a 5.37 ERA. RP Colt Griffin pitched a near-perfect 9th to drop his ERA to 3.88. Costa was 2-4 with a BB, double and RBI to improve to .287; Pressley was 2-4 with a BB, double, HR, 3 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .298; Maier was 2-5 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .241; King was 3-5 with an RBI and 3 RS to improve to .283; and Aldridge was 3-4 with a BB, double, HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .285. SS Mike Aviles made an 0-5 night worse with his 29th error. Maybe it's time to move him away from SS. He did OK at 2B, didn't he?

Wichita is 19-15 and a game up on first. The Wranglers undergo their third twinbill in five days as they have two with Arkansas tonight. Matchups: G1 -- RH Ryan Baerlocher (4-2, 2.68) vs. Arkansas LH Willie Collazo (1-2, 3.22). G2 -- RH Wes Wilkerson (0-0, 8.10) vs. Travs SP Kasey Olenberger (5-5, 4.09).

High-A: High Desert was swept at the hands of Visalia last week and returned the favor Thursday with an 11-3 win to complete the 3-game sweep. The Mavs fell behind early, 2-0, but scored in the 3rd on an RBI ground out by SS Angel Sanchez and took the lead for good with 5 in the 5th on an RBI double by C Adam Donachie, a throwing error on a ball hit by 2B Pete Maestrales and a 3-run longball by LF Billy Butler (his 24th). High Desert scored 3 in the 7th on a Butler RBI double and 2-run single by RF Alan Moye and added 2 in the 8th on RBI singles by DH Jared Price and CF Chris Lubanski. SP Devon Lowery got the win with 5 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits and 4 BB with 6 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 2.89 ERA; RP Drew Endicott went 2 2/3 scoreless IP, giving up only 1 hit and a BB with a K to drop his ERA to 5.99; and RP Nate Moore allowed 1 ER on 2 hits in 1 IP to move his ERA to 4.62. Maestrales was 1-5 to drop to .325; Sanchez was 3-5 with a double, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .287; Butler was 3-4 with a BB, double, HR, 4 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .345; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-4 with a BB to drop to .310; Price was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .338; Lubanski was 2-4 with a BB and RBI to move to .282; Moye was 2-5 with 2 RBI to improve to .283; Donachie was 3-5 with a double, BB and 3 RS to improve to .275; and 3B Walter Sevilla was 2-3 with a walk and double to improve to .236.

High Desert is 18-15 and tied with Rancho Cucamonga atop the division. A 3-game set at Lake Elsinore (17-15) starts tonight. No starters announced yet.

Low-A: Burlington's fortunes continued to turn as the Bees lost their third straight to West Michigan, 4-2, Thursday to drop the series to the Whitecaps. The Bees scored in the top of the 1st on an RBI single by C Damaso Espino but West Michigan came back with 2 off SP Luis Cota in their half of the 1st. Burlington scored again in the 7th on a sac fly by SS Irving Falu but couldn't generate any more offense. Cota went 7 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits with 4 Ks to drop to 3-5 with a 3.59 ERA; RP Kraig Schambough went 1 IP and allowed 1 hit with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.14. 3B Edward Lucas was 0-4 to drop to .305; 1B Eddie Solis was 2-4 with a double to improve to .213; and CF Cody Cure was 1-3 with a BB to improve to .301. Falu stole 2 bases to get to 18 on the season.

Burlington is 20-14 and a game back of Quad Cities. Wisconsin (18-16) comes to town tonight to start a 4-gamer. Matchup: LH Danny Christensen (2-4, 3.49) vs. Timber Rattlers RH Ivan Blanco (2-2, 7.08).

Rookie: Idaho Falls' bullpen blew a narrow lead in a big way Thursday as Casper scored 7 in the 7th and 8th to win, 9-3. Casper scored 2 off SP Ryan DiPietro in the 1st but Idaho Falls tied it with runs in the 2nd and 3rd on RBI singles by DH Jeff Howell and 3B Gary Perez. The Chukars took the lead in the 6th on Howell's second RBI single but RPs Adam Kalkhof and Travis Trammell got touched up to falter. DiPietro went 6 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 6.12; Kalkhof blew his 1st save and got the loss with 1 IP of 2 ER on 3 hits and a BB to drop to 3-2 with a 4.58 ERA; Trammell went 1/3 IP and was credited with 5 R (4 ER) on 4 hits with a K to bump his ERA to 10.80; RP Eliszer Garcia went 2/3 IP and walked 1 with a K to drop his ERA to 4.43; and RP Matt Kniginyzky went a hitless IP and K'd 2 to drop his ERA to 2.77. SS Chris McConnell was 1-5 with a double to drop to .331; Perez was 1-3 with a BB and RBI to drop to .353; 1B Brady Everett was 1-3 with a HBP to drop to .393; and Howell had the best game with a 4-4 night with 2 RBI to improve to .359.

Idaho Falls is 16-21 and 5 games back of first. Tonight's pitching matchup: Bennett Cromer (3-0, 4.07) vs. Casper's Aneury Rodriguez (2-1, 7.39).
The ASL Royals overcame a 5-run 1st from the Giants to win, 9-7, Thursday. LF Jose Duarte led off the game with his 2nd homer of the season to start the Royals off right but the Giants torched SP Juan Abreu for 5 in the 1st thanks in part to 2 Royal errors. The Royals came back with 1 in the 2nd on a Duarte RBI single but the Giants tacked on 2 off Abreu to chase him in the 2nd. The Royals' bullpen held the Giants to 4 hits in the remainder of the game and the offense scored 4 in the 4th on a grand slam by 2B Valentino Arce (big shot for his 1st of the season) before tying it in the 6th on an RBI single by CF Joseph Dickerson. They took the lead to stay in the 8th on RBI singles by Dickerson and RF Felix Peralta. Abreu went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 7 R (4 ER) on 5 hits and 2 BB with a K to move his ERA to 7.20; RP Gilbert De la vara went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 1 hit and 4 BB with a K to drop his ERA to 3.54; RP Henry Barrera got the win with 2 1/3 IP of 2 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to move to 1-0 with a 6.18 ERA; and RP Troy Garrett got his 1st save with 2 IP of 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 5.59. Duarte was 3-6 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .403; Arce was 3-5 with the HR and 4 RBI along with 2 RS to improve to .394; Dickerson was 2-5 with 2 RBI to improve to .336; Peralta was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .323; DH Alvi Morel was 1-5 to drop to .382; and SS Carlos Avila made his first appearance of the season and went 1-5.

The ASL Royals are 2-0 and tied with the Mariners for the second-half lead. That tie won't last as the Royals play the M's tonight and then the Angels tomorrow.

Royals on the Farm 7/27

AAA: Omaha put on a hitting display led by ringmaster-and-LF Matt Diaz's 6-for-6 night in a 16-8 win over Portland Wednesday. The O-Royals scored 4 in the 1st on a 2-run shot by RF Aaron Guiel (his 24th) and two wild pitches by Beavers SP Chris Oxspring but Portland tied it in the 3rd. Omaha scored 2 in the 4th on a solo shot by C Paul Phillips (his 6th) and an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown. They added 4 in the 5th on an RBI double by 2B Justin Gemoll, another Portland wild pitch and a 2-run double by SS Luis Ugueto. A 5-run 7th on a Diaz 2-run double and a 3-run homer by DH Cal Pickering (his 14th) gave Omaha command and the O-Royals finished it in the 9th on a Diaz RBI single. SP Danny Tamayo won despite a mediocre start as he went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 6 R (5 ER) on 9 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to move to 5-7 with a 6.02 ERA. RP Shane Nance got his 4th hold with 1 1/3 IP of 1 hit and 2 BB to drop his ERA to 4.28; and RP Nate Field went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits with a K to move his ERA to 5.40. Omaha notched 20 hits in the game so everybody got their shot. Brown was 3-5 with a walk, 2 doubles, an RBI and 3 RS to improve to .281; Guiel was 2-6 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .277; Diaz was 6-6 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .386; Phillips was 3-6 with a HR, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .264; and 3B Chris Truby was 2-4 with a BB and 2 RS to improve to .259. Diaz also threw in an outfield assist. His performance was the Royals' first six-hit game since Les Norman went 6-for-6 on June 8, 1999.

Omaha is 46-59 and 13 games out of first. Tonight's matchup: RH Mike Wood (0-0, 0.00) vs. Portland RH Mike Thompson (1-0, 0.00). 1B Justin Huber has been promoted to Omaha from Wichita, where he was leading the Texas League in batting (.343) and RBI (74) and was tied for fourth in home runs (16). He also ranked first in slugging (.570) and second in on-base percentage (.432). To make room on the roster, OF Cory Aldridge was sent back to the Wranglers.

AA: Wichita dropped both ends of a twinbill with Tulsa, 6-1 and 6-4. In game 1, LF Shane Costa hit a solo shot in the 1st (his 7th) and the Wranglers could only muster 3 more hits and threw in 2 errors. SP Thad Markray got the loss with 4 2/3 IP of 6 R (5 ER) on 5 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to drop to 4-6 with a 5.29 ERA; and RP Derrin Ebert went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 2 hits and a BB to drop his ERA to 5.62. Costa was 2-3 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .280 and Huber was 0-3 to drop to .343. SS Mike Aviles made his 28th error.

In game 2, events repeated themselves as Costa hit an RBI double in the 1st but Tulsa took a 6-1 lead into the 7th and final inning. Huber nailed a pitch for a 3-run homer for his 16th of the season to close the gap and Wichita brought the tying run to the plate but couldn't get it done. If he doesn't return to Wichita, he left in style. SP Patrick Hicklen's AA spot start didn't go well as he went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 6 ER on 5 hits and 5 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA. RP Barry Armitage went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1 hit and 2 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.82; and RP Juan Cedeno pitched a near perfect inning to drop his ERA to 4.91. Huber was 1-3 with a BB, HR and 3 RBI to drop to .343; seven other Wranglers had 1 hit each. Costa was 1-2 with a BB, HBP, double and RBI to improve to .283.

Wichita is 18-15 and tied with Arkansas atop the division. A 5-game showdown in Wichita starts tonight with the Travs.

High-A: High Desert took Visalia's best shot Wednesday and came away with a 7-6 win. The Mavs tied it at 2 in the 2nd on RBI singles by C Adam Donachie and 2B Pete Maestrales and took the lead in the 4th on a sac fly by SS Angel Sanchez. Visalia took a 6-3 lead in the 7th but High Desert tied it that inning on an RBI double by DH Billy Butler and 2-run triple by CF Chris Lubanski. They took the lead for good in the 8th on an RBI force out by Sanchez and RP Chris Demaria closed the door. SP Billy Buckner went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 8 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 4.77; RP Greg Atencio got the win with 1 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits and a BB with a K to move to 8-2 with a 4.40 ERA; and Demaria picked up his 15th save with 1 IP of 1 hit and 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.30. Maestrales was 4-4 with a BB, double, triple, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .327; Butler was 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .340; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .313; Lubanski was 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBI to improve to .280; LF Bernard Stephens was 2-4 to improve to .281; and 3B Brandon Powell was 1-4 with a double and 2 RS to drop to .307. RF Alan Moye stole his 19th base.

High Desert is 17-15 and a 1/2 game back of Lake Elsinore. The series with Visalia wrapped up tonight.

Low-A: Burlington held a tenuous lead into the 9th but couldn't finish it off in a 2-1 loss to West Michigan Wednesday. The Bees scored 1 in the 1st on an RBI single by C Damaso Espino but both teams' pitchers locked down to hold the score at 1-0 into the 9th. RP Chad Blackwell came on for Burlington and got 2 outs before giving up the tying and winning runs on consecutive hits. SP Gabe DeHoyos went 5 great innings in his 2nd start as he allowed only 2 hits and 2 BB with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.37. RP Yovany Damico got his 2nd hold with 2 IP of 2 hits and a BB to drop his ERA to 4.72; RP Adam Rowe got his 1st hold with 1/3 IP of 1 BB to drop his ERA to 5.44; and Blackwell got his 2nd blown save along with the loss with 1 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to drop to 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA. SS Irving Falu was 2-4 to move to .250 and 3B Edward Lucas was 2-4 to improve to .309. Lucas also stole his 21st base.

Burlington is 20-12 and tied with Quad Cities atop the division. They ended the West Michigan series tonight.

Rookie: Idaho Falls took a 6-3 win over Ogden to salvage the series finale Wednesday. The Chukars tied the game at 1 in the 2nd on a solo homer by 1B Brady Everett (his 4th) and later tied it at 2 in the 6th on an RBI double by DH Felix Peguero. They took the lead with 3 in the 7th on a 3-run triple by 3B Gary Perez and added an 8th-inning run on an Ogden wild pitch. SP Rusty Begnaud went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 2 UER on 7 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.72; and RP Jacob Eckley got the win with 2 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with a K to move to 3-1 with a 3.71 ERA. SS Chris McConnell was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .336; Perez was 2-4 with a triple and 3 RBI to improve to .353; Peguero was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .243; Everett was 2-4 with a double, HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .396; and LF Antonio Sabatini was 3-4 with a double to move to .298. Perez made 2 errors to get to 12 on the season.

Idaho Falls is 16-20 and 4 1/2 games back of first. A home series with Casper (19-17) started tonight.

The ASL Royals came back from an early deficit to take a 13-12 win over the Angels. The Angels led, 4-0, into the 5th before the Royals scored 3 on a 3-run homer by LF Jose Duarte (his 1st). The Angels took an 11-3 lead into the bottom of the 6th and the Royals tied it on an RBI single by DH Felix Peralta, a 2-run single by C Ross Boudreaux, an RBI single by 2B Valentino Arce, a HBP by SS Andres Blanco and 3-run single by CF Joseph Dickerson. They took the lead for good with 2 in the 8th on RBI singles by Arce and PH Alvi Morel. SP Angelo Morales went 4 2/3 IP and allowed 4 R (3 ER) on 5 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 4.34; RP John Sokoll pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed 7 ER on 5 hits and 2 BB with a K to move his ERA to 12.27; RP Nelson Trifolio got the win with 3 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 5.25 ERA; and RP Phillip Davidson got his 1st save with 2/3 IP that included 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.00. Duarte was 4-5 with a HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .394; Arce was 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .379; Blanco was 0-3 with a HBP and an RBI to drop to .333 (not on the shelf after all); Peralta was 2-5 with a triple and RBI to improve to .319; and Boudreaux was 2-4 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .296. Dickerson was 1-2 with 2 BB, a HBP and 3 RBI to improve to .333.

The ASL Royals are 1-0 on the second half. They played the Giants today.

Royals on the Farm 7/26

AAA: Omaha's woes continued in a 9-4 loss to Portland Tuesday. The O-Royals got on the board first in the 1st on an RBI single by DH Cal Pickering but the Beavers got to SP J.P. Howell in the 4th for 6 runs on 7 straight hits, including a homer. They notched 3 more in the 5th off RP Justin Huisman to increase their stranglehold. Omaha scored 3 in the 7th on RBI singles by CF Adrian Brown, RF Aaron Guiel and Pickering but didn't threaten any further. Howell got the loss with 4 IP of 6 ER on 9 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to drop to 1-1 with an 8.68 ERA at Omaha. Huisman went 3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 6 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to bump his ERA to 4.47 and RP Jaime Cerda gave up 1 hit and a BB with 2 Ks in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 6.82. Guiel was 2-4 with a BB, double and RBI to improve to .276; LF Matt Diaz was 1-4 with a double to drop to .355; Pickering was 2-4 with 2 RBI to up his BA to .243; and SS Denny Hocking was 2-4 with a double to move to .273.

Omaha is 45-59 and 14 games out of first in the cellar of the division. Tonight's game 2 starters: RH Danny Tamayo (4-7, 5.92) vs. Beavers RH Chris Oxspring (7-5. 4.25).

AA: Wichita's game with Tulsa was rained out Tuesday. It'll be made up as part of a doubleheader tonight starting at 5:05 pm. This will be the third doubleheader in five days for the Wranglers.

Wichita is 18-13 and 1 1/2 games up on first. No starters for either game listed on either team site. In other Wrangler news, SS Mike Aviles was named Topps Player of the Month for June in the Texas League. Aviles hit .348 with 20 RBIs and three home runs in the month. It was his second Topps award. He also won for August 2003 in the Arizona League. Through Monday night, Aviles was hitting .294 for Wichita with 66 RBIs, 11 homers and 27 doubles.

High-A: High Desert snapped a skid with a 15-6 win over Visalia Tuesday in the series opener. The Mavs scored in all but the 8th and 9th -- and they didn't bat in the 9th. Visalia took a 1-0 lead in the 1st but it was all High Desert from then until the 6th. The Mavs tied the game in the bottom of the 1st on a solo shot by LF Billy Butler (his 23rd); added another run in both the 2nd and 3rd on an RBI ground out by DH Bernard Stephens and RBI single by CF Chris Lubanski; scored 3 in the 4th on RBI singles by SS Angel Sanchez, Butler and 1B Kila Kaaihue; piled on 4 in the 5th on a fielding error on a ball hit by 3B Brandon Powell, an RBI single by 2B Pete Maestrales, a Sanchez RBI double and Butler sac fly; added 1 more in the 6th on a Stephens RBI single; and finished their prolific night off with 4 in the 7th on a Kaaihue bases-loaded walk, Lubanski RBI single, and a 2-run single by Powell. SP John Gragg III had a quality start with 7 IP of 3 ER on 8 hits and a BB with a K to move to 9-3 with a 4.21 ERA. RP Stephen Chamberlain went the final 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB to move his ERA to 8.13. Four Mavs had at least a 3-hit night, led by Butler, who broke out of his recent funk with a 4-5 night that included a HR and 3 RBI to move his BA to .339. Maestrales was 3-5 with a BB, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .319; Sanchez was 3-6 with a double, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .286; Kaaihue was 1-4 with 2 BB and 2 RBI to drop to .316; Lubanski was 3-5 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .277; RF Alan Moye was 2-4 with a BB and 2 doubles and 2 RS to improve to .282; and Powell was 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .308. Butler's RBI moved him to 81 on the season with Lubanski not far behind at 76. Moye stole his 18th base in the win.

High Desert is 16-15 and 1 1/2 games back of Lake Elsinore. Tonight's starters: RHP Billy Buckner (4-4, 5.54 at High Desert) vs. Visalia RHP Andrew Sonnanstine (1-0, 3.21).

Low-A: Burlington's 11-game winning streak hit a major speedbump Tuesday as West Michigan blanked the Bees, 8-0. The Bees only mustered 5 hits and made 2 errors in the game. SP Justin Sherman took the loss with 6 IP of 4 ER on 6 hits with 6 Ks to drop to 3-4 with a 2.76 ERA; RP Adam Rowe allowed 2 ER on 2 hits over 1 IP to move his ERA to 5.48; and RP Zane Carlson allowed 2 R (1 ER) on a hit and BB over 1 IP to move his ERA to 10.80. 3B Edward Lucas was 0-4 to drop to .306; RF Brian McFall was 2-3 with a BB to improve to .232; and CF Cody Cure was 0-3 to drop to .300.

Burlington is 20-12 and 1/2 a game up on first. Tonight's pitchers: RH Gabe DeHoyos (4-1, 1.48) makes his second career start for the Bees vs. Whitecaps RH Jari Jurrjens (7-5, 3.33).

Rookie: Idaho Falls got knocked down early and didn't get up in an 8-5 loss to Ogden Tuesday. Ogden jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 3 innings before Idaho Falls finally got on the scoreboard in the 5th on an RBI triple by 2B Joshua Johnson (just moved up from the ASL) and an RBI ground out by CF Ethien Santana. After Ogden expanded its lead to 8-2, the Chukars scored 2 in the 8th on a 2-run single by LF Felix Peguero (also just up from the ASL) and added a run in the 9th on a fielding error on a ball hit by Johnson. SP Brandon Brantley got the loss with 2 IP of 4 ER on 4 hits with 2 BB and a K to drop to 0-2 with a 6.26 ERA. RP Mario Santiago went 3 IP and allowed 1 UER on 1 hit and 2 BB to lower his ERA to 6.43; RP David Henninger went 3 innings and gave up 3 ER on 7 hits and 2 BB with 1 K to make his ERA 3.38; and RP Travis Trammell went a perfect inning to keep his ERA at 0.00. SS Chris McConnell was 1-4 with a HBP to drop to .343; 3B Gary Perez was 1-3 with a double and HBP to drop to .348; and C Jeff Howell was 1-3 with 2 RS and a walk to make his BA .333.

Idaho Falls is 15-20 and 5 games back of Ogden. The series wraps up tonight.

The Arizona Summer League Royals had Tuesday off as the ASL first half ended. The Royals are back to 0-0 as the Giants took the first half crown. The second half starts today as the Royals take on the Angels and then face the Giants Thursday.

Royals on the Farm 7/25

AAA: Omaha finished the series with Nashville....poorly as Ryan Jensen got beaten around in a 7-1 loss Monday. Nashville scored 5 in the 1st 2 innings although 3 of the runs were unearned because of a 2-out passed ball third strike that allowed the Sounds batter to reach in the 2nd. Omaha's only run came in the 7th on an RBI double by C Paul Phillips. Jensen went 3 IP and allowed 5 R (2 ER) on 4 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to drop to 1-4 with a 5.13 ERA. RP Shawn Sonnier allowed 2 ER on 4 hits with 5 Ks over 4 IP to move his ERA to 4.45; IF Luis Ugueto pitched an inning for some reason and walked 1 with 1 K to establish a 0.00 ERA; and RP Santiago Ramirez went an inning and allowed 1 hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.51. RF Aaron Guiel was 2-4 to improve to .273 and LF Matt Diaz was 2-4 with a double to move to .359.

Omaha is 45-58 and 13 games out of first. The O-Royals start a 4-game set at Portland (50-52) tonight. Omaha sends LHP J.P. Howell (1-0, 5.06) to the mound for a start to open the series with the Beavers.

AA: Wichita split a twinbill with Tulsa Monday as the Wranglers took the first game, 10-6, on a dramatic ending, but lost the nightcap to Tulsa, 5-3 in 8 innings. In game 1, Wichita started the scoring in the 4th on a solo shot by 1B Justin Huber (his 15th) and Tulsa tied it in the 5th. The Wranglers got 2 in the 5th on a 2-run double by RF Mel Stocker and added a run in the 6th on an RBI triple by SS Mike Aviles. A 4-run 6th helped Tulsa get to a 6-4 lead entering the bottom of the 7th in the truncated game but the first three Wranglers of the inning reached base. LF Shane Costa came through with a 2-run double to tie it and Huber was intentionally walked to load the bases again. DH Josh Pressley grounded into a force out to bring up CF Mitch Maier, who lived the dream with a walkoff grand slam (his 4th HR) to end it. SP Kyle Middleton went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 6 R (2 ER thanks to his own fielding error) on 10 hits (yikes, 3 HRs) and 2 BB with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 3.98; and RP Derrin Ebert got the win with 2/3 IP of 0 hits and 0 BB with 1 K to move to 4-3 with a 5.79 ERA. Stocker was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .250; Costa was 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI to drop to .280; Huber was 2-3 with a BB, HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .350; and Maier was 1-4 with the GS and 4 RBI to improve to .247.

In game 2, an 8-inning game was actually an extra-inning affair in a 5-3 Drillers win. The Drillers scored 1 in the 3rd to take a 1-0 lead but Wichita scored 2 that inning on an RBI ground out by 2B Rudy Gomez and a Stocker RBI single. Tulsa took the lead with 2 in the 4th but Wichita tied it with the equalizer later that inning on a solo homer by Pressley (his 16th). The game remained tied into the 8th when Tulsa rallied for 2 runs off RP Juan Cedeno. Wichita got a leadoff double from Gomez in the bottom of the inning but couldn't make the magic happen twice in one night to take the L. SP Wes Wilkerson, down from Omaha, went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits with 4 Ks to make his ERA 8.10; RP Colt Griffin went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 1 hit with 4 Ks as his stuff was working to drop his ERA to 3.96; RP Nate Hoelscher went 2 1/3 hitless IP with 2 BB and 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.22; and Cedeno got his first AA loss of the season with 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB to make his ERA 6.75. Costa was 0-4 to drop to .274; Huber was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .347; Pressley was 2-3 with a HR and RBI to improve to .297; Maier was 0-2 with a BB to drop to .245; and 3B Brennan King was 2-2 with a BB and double to up his BA to .278.

Wichita is 18-13 and 2 games up on first. The series with Tulsa continues tonight with no starters announced. In other Wrangler news, Justin Huber was named the Texas League Player of the Week for July 18-24, following Donnie Murphy's selection for the prior week. Huber went 10-25 (.400) in six games against Springfield and Tulsa and hit 3 home runs, a triple and a double while driving in 8 runs and scoring 5. The 23-year-old currently leads the Texas League and ranks 7th among all minor leaguers with his .347 batting average. He leads the league in runs batted in (71) and slugging (.568), while ranking second in on-base percentage (.434) and 4th in runs scored (67) and hits (114).

High-A: High Desert had Monday off and starts a three-game home set with Visalia (10-20) tonight. High Desert is 15-15 and 1 1/2 games back of first. Tonight's starters: Oaks RHP T.A. Fulmer (1-4, 6.64) vs. LHP John Gragg III (8-3, 4.24).

Low-A: Burlington rode the arm of Patrick Green to the team's 11th straight win in a 5-1 victory over West Michigan Monday. The Bees scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run shot by 2B Eddie Solis (his 6th) and added runs in the 3rd and 4th on an RBI single by 1B Rusty Brown and an RBI force out by LF Darwinson Salazar. The Bees scored their final run in the 8th on an RBI single by RF Brian McFall. Green shut the Whitecaps down as he went 7 IP and allowed 1 ER on 6 hits and a BB wtih 5 Ks to move to 6-7 with a 4.09 ERA. RP Kraig Schambough went 1 IP and allowed only 1 hit to drop his ERA to 6.00; and RP Chad Blackwell went an inning and allowed 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.27. 3B Edward Lucas was 2-3 with a BB and 2 RS to improve to .311; Brown was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .294; Solis was 2-4 with the HR and 2 RBI to improve to .206; and CF Cody Cure was 0-4 to drop to .310. McFall stole 2 bases to get to 12 on the season and DH Kenard Springer swiped his 15th base. SS Geraldo Valentin made his 12th error.

Burlington is 20-11 and now has both the best second-half record in the league and a 1 game lead in the division over Quad Cities. Tonight's starters: RH Justin Sherman (3-3, 2.30) vs. Whitecaps RH Dallas Trahen (5-8, 3.27). In other Bees news, Green was promoted to High Desert after the game to fill in for an injured Dusty Hughes; C Robert Grana has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to Friday, July 21st, with a broken bone in his right wrist and will be lost for the season; and RHP Patrick Hicklen was loaned to Double-A Wichita in the Texas League, where he is scheduled to make one spot start and return to the Bees on Friday.

Rookie: Idaho Falls lost to Ogden, 8-3, Monday to drop the 7th of their last 8 games. Idaho Falls tied the game at 2 in the 3rd with a 2-run triple by 2B Gary Perez. The Chukars' final run came in the 8th with Ogden up, 8-2, on a Perez sac fly. SP Cody Harkcom went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks to drop to 1-4 with a 9.39 ERA. RP Eliszer Garcia went 3 2/3 IP and gave up 0 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.57; and RP Kevin Bulger gave up 3 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 1 K over 2 IP to move his ERA to 12.96. SS Chris McConnell was 1-4 to drop to .346; Perez was 2-3 with a double, triple and 3 RBI to up his BA to .349; and C Kiel Thibault was 1-4 with a double to drop to .328.

Idaho Falls is 15-19 and 4 games back of Ogden. The series with the Raptors continues tonight.

The ASL Royals took down the Brewers, 7-3, Monday. The Royals scored 3 in the 3rd on an RBI triple by CF Joseph Dickerson, a wild pitch and an RBI single by 1B Willie Matos and tacked on 2 in the 4th on an RBI single by RF Oscar Gonzalez and a Brewer throwing error on a ball hit by LF Alvi Morel. The Royals scored again in the 6th on a Morel RBI single and again in the 9th on an RBI single by DH Jose Duarte. Starting DH Andres Blanco left the game in the 6th with a leg injury, so he's on the shelf....again. SP Brent Fisher got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits with 5 Ks to move to 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA. RP Paul Raglione got his 1st save with 4 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to make his ERA 6.38. 2B Valentino Arce was 4-6 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .377; Blanco was 1-3 before leaving to lower his BA to .444; Dickerson was 3-5 with a BB, double, triple and RBI to improve to .330; Gonzalez was 2-4 with a BB and RBI to improve to .299; Morel was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .387; and Matos was 2-5 with an RBI to up his BA to .205. The Royals left 15 on base. Gonzalez stole 2 bases to get to 10 on the season.

The ASL Royals are 19-9 and 2 games back of the Giants. They have the day off today before facing the Angels tomorrow.

Royals on the Farm 7/24

AAA: Omaha got down thanks to a grand slam by Nashville DH Prince Fielder in the 1st and didn't get back as the Sounds took a 12-3 win over Omaha Sunday. Omaha scored 1 in the 1st on an RBI force out by C Scott Walter and added another run in the 2nd on an RBI single by LF Matt Diaz. The final run scored in the 9th on an RBI single by DH Cal Pickering. SP Chris George was all but Charlie-Browned (you know, heels over head in midair with his socks and shoes flying off after a liner through the middle) as he got rocked for 9 ER on 9 hits (3 longballs) and 4 BB with 2 Ks over 6 IP to drop to 6-7 with a 5.68 ERA. RP Jaime Cerda went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 1 hit with 2 BB and 3 Ks to move his ERA to 7.06. RP Nate Field came back off the DL in time to give up 2 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB with 1 K over 2/3 IP to move his ERA to 4.50. He's back in top form, I see. RP Justin Huisman pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 4.23. Diaz was 3-5 with an RBI to improve to .354; 2B Justin Gemoll was 2-5 with a double to up his BA to .292; and 3B Chris Truby was 3-4 with a double to improve to .259. RF Cory Aldridge's trip downhill (or would it be uphill?) continued as he was 0-4 with 3 Ks to drop to .195.

Omaha was 45-57 entering today and already lost to the Sounds in today's game, 7-1. A report on that will be forthcoming tomorrow. Shawn Camp started today's loss. In other O-Royals news, OF Aaron Guiel was named the Pacific Coast League’s Batter of the Week. He became the first O-Royals player in 2005 to receive either the Batter or Pitcher of the Week award. In seven games against Round Rock and Nashville, Guiel hit 5 home runs and had 10 RBI. He amassed a .407 average for the week, going 11-for-27 with 2 doubles and 9 RS.

AA: Wichita fought back after losing a lead to defeat Tulsa, 4-2, in the series opener. The Wranglers scored in the 3rd on a sac fly by LF Shane Costa but Tulsa took a 2-1 lead with 2 in the 6th. Wichita regained the lead later that inning on a sac fly by DH Josh Pressley after a triple by 1B Justin Huber, and an RBI triple by CF Mitch Maier. The Wranglers got some insurance in the 8th on a solo shot by Pressley (his 15th). SP Ryan Baerlocher went 7 IP and allowed 2 ER on 7 hits and a walk with 6 Ks for another quality start. He is 4-2 with a 2.68 ERA. RP Stephen Bray got his 2nd hold with 1 IP of 2 hits and a BB with 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.29. RP Barry Armitage got his 7th save with 1 hitless IP that included 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.96. RF Mel Stocker was 2-4 with a triple to improve to .246; Costa was 2-3 with an RBI to improve to .281; Huber was 1-4 with a triple to drop to .347; and SS Mike Aviles was 2-3 with a BB to improve to .296. Stocker stole his 14th base.

Wichita is 17-12 and 1 1/2 games up on first. Tulsa and Wichita have a doubleheader tonight. Game 1 starters: RH Kyle Middleton (9-6, 4.04) vs. Tulsa RH Enmanuel Ulloa (4-3, 3.09). No game 2 starters announced.

High-A: High Desert got pounded by San Jose in the series finale, 13-3. The Mavs took a short-lived 2-0 lead in the 1st on a double play ball by C Jared Price that scored a run and an RBI single by 1B Kila Kaaihue. Their final run scored in the 3rd on a Price solo homer (his 9th) but by then it was 6-3 and San Jose took off from there. SP Cesar Herrera picked up the loss with 3 2/3 IP of 8 R (6 ER) on 9 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to drop to 4-6 with a 6.64 ERA. RP Chris Coughlin went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits with 5 Ks to bump his ERA to 7.56 and RP Stephen Chamberlain went 1 hitless IP and walked 1 with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 7.94. Both of those guys have been a liability lately for the Mavs. High Desert got only 2 hits in the loss and committed as many errors -- both by SS Angel Sanchez for 24 on the season. DH Pete Maestrales was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .315; LF Billy Butler was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .332; 3B Brandon Powell was 0-2 to drop to .307; Price was 1-4 with a HR and RBI to drop to .333; Kaaihue was 1-3 with a BB and RBI to improve to .317; and IF Michael Gaffney was 0-3 to drop to .301.

High Desert is 15-15 and 1 1/2 games out of first. They have today off after losing 5 of 6 to San Jose and Visalia.

Low-A: Burlington got its winning streak to double digits with a 4-2 win over Kane County to complete a 4-game sweep Sunday. Kane County took a 1-0 lead in the 1st and rode it into the 7th before the Bees took the lead for good on a 2-run throwing error off a sac bunt by DH Brian McFall, a sac fly by LF Kenard Springer and
an RBI double by C Felipe Del Rosario. SP Daniel Christensen went 5 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 3 BB and 4 Ks to move his ERA to 3.49; RP Kyle Crist got the win with 3 IP of 2 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move to 8-2 with a 4.45 ERA; RP Zane Carlson made his first Burlington appearance and went 2/3 IP, giving up 1 ER on 1 hit and 2 BB to get his 1st hold and establish a 13.50 ERA; and RP Gabe DeHoyos got his 3rd save with 1/3 IP to drop his ERA to 1.48. CF Cody Cure was 1-4 to drop to .325; 3B Edward Lucas was 2-4 to improve to .307; and Del Rosario was 2-3 with a double and RBI to improve to .265. Lucas stole his 20th base.

Burlington is 19-11 and tied with Quad Cities for first. The Bees travel to West Michigan (17-13) for 4 starting tonight. Pitchers: The Bees' Patrick Green (5-7, 4.30) vs. the Whitecaps' Joshua Kauten (4-1, 2.91).

Rookie: Idaho Falls collapsed late in a 6-5 loss to Great Falls Sunday. The Chukars fell behind, 3-0, in the 5th but came back with 2 in the 6th on a sac fly by 3B Gary Perez and RBI double by DH Jase Turner. Great Falls took a 4-2 lead into the 7th, when the Chukars scored 1 on a double play ball by 2B Joshua Colafemina. The game remained 4-3 White Sox into the 9th when Idaho Falls took the lead on a 2-run single by LF Antonio Sabatini. RP Matt Kniginyzky came in to try and close it out but a Perez error helped him blow it as Great Falls got a walkoff single. SP Bennett Cromer went 4 2/3 IP and allowed 3 R (1 ER) on 4 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to make his ERA 4.07; RP Adam Kalkhof went 2 1/3 IP and gave up an UER on 4 hits with 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.86; RP Travis Trammell pitched a hitless inning with 1 K to keep his ERA at 0.00; and Kniginyzky blew his 1st save and got the loss with 2 R (1 ER) on 2 hits with 2 BB in 1/3 IP to move to 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA. SS Chris McConnell was 0-3 to drop to .349; Perez was 1-3 with a double and RBI to drop to .340; Turner was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .282; Sabatini was 2-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .301; and C Kiel Thibault was 2-3 to improve to .333. Perez's error was his 10th and one of 3 Chukars errors in the game.

Idaho Falls is 15-18 and 3 games out of first. Ogden (18-15) comes to town for 3 starting tonight.

The ASL Royals demolished the Padres, 11-2, Sunday, for their second straight double-digit run game. The Royals had a 6-run 3rd as 1B Willie Matos hit an RBI single, SS Andres Blanco hit a 3-run homer for his first in the ASL, RF Oscar Gonzalez hit an RBI triple and DH Alvi Morel hit an RBI single. The Royals added 2 in the 4th on a 2-run triple by CF Joseph Dickerson and 1 in the 5th on a wild pitch. The final 2 scored in the 9th on a 2-run shot by Dickerson (his 2nd). SP Rayner Oliveros stayed perfect with 6 IP of 1 ER on 9 hits with 2 Ks to move to 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA. RP Gilbert De la vara gave up 1 hit in 1 IP with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.24 and RP Henry Barrera went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 7.53. Blanco was 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .500; Dickerson was 3-5 with 2 triples, a HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .317; Gonzalez was 2-4 with a BB, triple and RBI to improve to .291; Morel was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .386; LF Jose Duarte was 0-5 to drop to .354; and Matos was 2-4 with a BB and RBI to improve to .192.

The ASL Royals were 18-9 entering today's play. They played the Brewers today and have a day off Tuesday.

Royals take the Jays

After Kyle Snyder's debacle Saturday, Sunday's game with Toronto became the rubber match of the three-game set and the Royals fought for a 6-5 win. D.J. Carrasco gave up 4 runs over the first 3 innings but the Royals tied it up as Berroa came through with his first homer in forever (OK, a while...) and newbie OF Chip Ambres came through with his first MLB RBI to knot it at 4. "Super" Joe McEwing gave KC the lead with possibly his biggest hit of the season and Emil Brown followed with an RBI single to make it a 6-4 game. Affeldt and Burgos held it down and MacDougal gave up a run but got the save for 15 on the season. Berroa and Brown and Ambres all had 2-hit games while DeJesus had a big 0-fer for a change, as did Donnie Murphy. Castillo was 0-1 but walked twice, so he at least got on base. It's always nice to take a series from an AL East team. They seem to send out that "flyover country" vibe about the Midwest and, of course, get a bunch of the SportsCenter/Baseball Tonight air time. KC needs all the good pub it can get these days as far as sports go until the Chiefs choke it off in November or December.

So Chicago comes to town fresh off a split with the BoSox and the Royals get a big divisional test. Game 1 is Zack Greinke vs. Freddy Garcia. Zack will have to be on the absolute top of his game Monday.

Royals on the Farm 7/23

AAA: Nine late runs helped Omaha to a 14-6 win over Nashville Saturday. Omaha got off to a good start with a run in the 1st on a solo homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 23rd) but Nashville scored 2 in the 2nd off SP Dennis Tankersley to take the lead. Omaha tied it in the 2nd on an RBI single by SS Denny Hocking and, after the Sounds scored 2 in the 5th to make the score 4-2, Omaha scored 3 that inning on a bases-loaded walk by 2B Justin Gemoll and 2-run double by C Paul Phillips. Nashville tied it at 5 in the 6th but Omaha had a 4-run 7th on a grand slam by 3B Chris Truby (his 14th). Nashville made it 9-6 Omaha in the 8th but the O-Royals came back with 5 runs on an RBI double by LF Matt Diaz, a 2-run single by DH Calvin Pickering and a 2-run single by 1B Chad Santos. Tankersley went 5 innings and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 4.94. RP Shane Nance blew his 4th save but got the win with 3 IP of 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to improve to 3-4 with a 4.42 ERA. RP Santiago Ramirez went an inning and allowed 1 hit with 1 K to lower his ERA to 5.62. Everybody got a hit and only Gemoll didn't have at least a 2-hit game. Guiel was 3-4 with a BB, HR, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .271 and Diaz was 3-4 with a BB, double, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .343. CF Adrian Brown stole his 25th base.

Omaha is 45-56 and 11 games back of first. Today's pitching matchup: Sounds RH Rick Helling (8-3, 4.26) vs. LH Chris George (6-6, 5.25). When Snyder was called up yesterday, SP J.P. Howell was demoted to Omaha, but he may move back up when Runelvys' suspension is finalized.

AA: Wichita got to the Springfield bullpen for 5 in the 8th to key an 8-5 win over the Cardinals Saturday and take a 3-2 series win into a homestand. The Wranglers put up 1 in the 1st on a solo homer by DH Justin Huber (his 14th) but Springfield took the lead with 3 in the 3rd. Wichita scored again in the 6th on a Huber sac fly but Springfield took a 5-2 lead into the 8th. The Wranglers loaded the bases with 0 outs to chase 2 pitchers in the inning before Huber singled home two (although LF Shane Costa was thrown out at third) and 3B Brennan King drove home 2 with a double. SS Mike Aviles completed the rally with an RBI single and the Wranglers had a 7-5 lead. They poured on a run in the 9th on a Costa RBI single. SP Brian Bass pitched long enough to get the win with 7 IP of 5 ER on 9 hits on 2 BB with 5 Ks to move to 9-4 with a 5.58 ERA. RP Juan Cedeno got his first AA hold with 1 IP of 1 hit and 1 BB with 1 K to keep his ERA at 0.00. RP Barry Armitage got his 6th save with a hitless IP with 1 BB. His ERA is 4.02. Costa was 1-3 with 2 BB and an RBI to improve to .274; Huber was 2-4 with a HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .348; and only 2B Brett Groves went without a hit on the day. Aviles made his 27th error.

Wichita is 16-12 and 1 1/2 games up on first. Tulsa (12-17) comes to town for 5 starting this afternoon. The mound matchup in game 1: Drillers RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-2, 6.55) vs. RHP Ryan Baerlocher (3-2, 2.70).

High-A: High Desert snapped a 4-game skid with a 6-3 win over San Jose Saturday. The Mavs started the scoring with 3 in the 2nd on a 3-run homer by DH Jared Price (his 8th -- he's been the hottest hitter on the team lately) and added 2 in the 4th on an RBI double by RF Bernard Stephens and a sac fly by 3B Brandon Powell. The final run came across in the 5th on a solo shot by 1B Kila Kaaihue (his 13th). SP Devon Lowery went 5 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to move to 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA. RP Nate Moore went 3 IP and allowed 3 hits with 1 BB and 2 Ks to lower his ERA to 4.55 and RP Chris Demaria gave up 2 UER (thanks to SS Angel Sanchez's 22nd error, in part) in 1 IP with 1 hit and 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.35. 2B Pete Maestrales was 1-5 with a triple to drop to .318; LF Billy Butler was 0-4 with a BB to drop to .335; CF Chris Lubanski was 1-5 to drop to .273; Kaaihue was 2-3 with a HR, RBI, HBP and 3 RS to improve to .317; Price was 2-4 with a double, HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .338; Stephens was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .282; and Powell was 0-2 with a BB and RBI to drop to .309. Lubanski stole his 13th base.

High Desert is 15-14 and a game back of Rancho Cucamonga. The series with San Jose is wrapping up as I write with this matchup: Giants SP Jesus Reina (1-3, 4.37 ERA) vs. SP Cesar Herrera (4-5, 6.28 ERA).

Low-A: Burlington held off Kane County for a 6-5 win Saturday to move the Bees' winning streak to 9 games -- the team's longest in at least 7 seasons. The Bees started the scoring in the 2nd on an RBI single by 1B Eddie Solis and, after Kane County tied it in the 5th, the Bees regained the lead on a sac fly by SS Irving Falu. Kane County took a 4-2 lead with a 3-run 6th but Burlington got back ahead with a 4-run rally in the 6th as LF Kenard Springer hit an RBI ground out and Solis smacked a 3-run homer (his 5th). The Cougars scored in the 8th to make it a 1-run game but the Bees' bullpen held them off for the win. SP Luis Cota went 5 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 3 BB and 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.49; RP Yovany Damico blew his 3rd save but got the win with 1 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 3 hits to move to 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA; RP Kraig Schambough got his 1st A hold with 1 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to make his ERA 7.20; and RP Chad Blackwell got his 10th save with 1 1/3 IP of 2 hits to drop his ERA to 2.31. 3B Edward Lucas was 0-4 to drop to .304; C Damaso Espino was 2-3 with a BB to improve to .270; 2B Geraldo Valentin was 2-4 with a double to improve to .261; Solis was 3-4 with a double, HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .204; and CF Cody Cure was 0-3 to drop to .329. Springer's hitting streak was snapped at 17 games.

Burlington is 18-11 and tied with Quad Cities atop the division. The series finale pitching matchup with Kane County: LH Danny Christensen (2-4, 3.63) vs. Cougars RH Ryan Webb (4-9, 4.64).

Rookie: Idaho Falls snapped a 5-game skid with a 6-4 win over Great Falls Saturday. The Chukars scored 2 in the 1st on an RBI double by 3B Gary Perez and an RBI single by RF Felix Peguero and tacked on a run in the 3rd on a Perez solo blast (his 2nd). The White Sox tied the game going into the 7th before Idaho Falls scored 2 on a 2-run White Sox throwing error on a sac bunt by LF Ethien Santana. Idaho Falls added its final run in the 8th on an RBI single by CF Andrew Larsen. SP Ryan Dipietro went 5 1/3 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 5 hits and a BB with 6 Ks to make his ERA 6.84. RP Jacob Eckley blew his 3rd save but vultured the win with 1 2/3 IP of 0 ER on a hit to move to 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA; and RP Matt Kniginyzky got his 3rd save with 2 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit with 1 K to move his ERA to 2.31. SS Chris McConnell was 1-5 with a triple to drop to .357; Perez was 3-4 with a double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to bump his BA to .340; Larsen was 2-3 with a BB and RBI to improve to .310; and C Brady Everett was 0-3 with a HBP to drop to .388.

Idaho Falls is 15-17 and 2 games back of first. The series with Great Falls wraps up today.

The ASL Royals broke out of their funk in a big way Saturday with a 13-2 rout of the A's. The Royals had a 3-run 1st on an RBI single by DH Joseph Dickerson, an RBI double by RF Oscar Gonzalez and an RBI single by LF Jose Duarte and added a run in both the 3rd and 4th on a Duarte RBI single and fielding error on a ball hit by 2B Valentino Arce. The Royals added 4 in the 5th on an RBI ground out by 3B Pedro Lopez, a 2-run single by SS Joshua Johnson and an RBI single by Arce before scoring 3 in the 6th on an RBI double by C Nicholas Doscher, a Lopez RBI single and Johnson RBI double. The final run came in the 7th on a Duarte sac fly. SP Juan Abreu got the win with 6 IP of 1 UER on 3 hits with 6 Ks to move to 2-2 with a 6.28 ERA; RP John Sokoll went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 3.86; and RP Tim Rice pitched 1 inning and gave up nothing with 1 K to drop his ERA to 10.38. Everybody in the lineup hit for the Royals Saturday. Johnson was 4-4 with 2 BB, a double, 3 RBI and 2 RS to up his BA to .272; Arce was 2-6 with 2 RBI to drop to .358; Dickerson was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .303; Duarte was 4-4 with 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .383; Lopez was 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .338; and LF Alvi Morel was 1-3 with 2 BB and a double to move to .377. SS Jeff Bianchi missed another game with what's being called a minor back strain.

The ASL Royals are 17-9 and 2 games back of first. The Padres play the Royals today before the Brewers hit the schedule tomorrow.

Royals on the Farm 7/22

AAA: Omaha's downward spiral continued as a 4-run 5th helped Nashville to a series-opening 9-4 win Friday. Omaha started off the scoring in the 1st on a solo shot by RF Aaron Guiel (his 22nd) but Nashville scored 2 in the 2nd to take the lead. The O-Royals tied it in the 3rd on an RBI single by CF Adrian Brown but Nashville's 5th-inning surge put Omaha down for the count. The O-Royals scored 2 in the 6th on a 2-run double by Guiel but couldn't get any more runners across the plate. SP Danny Tamayo went 5 IP and allowed 6 ER on 6 hits and 2 BB with 6 Ks to drop to 4-7 with a 5.92 ERA. RP Shawn Sonnier went 3 IP and gave up 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 1 K to move his ERA to 4.44. RP Justin Huisman finished it with an IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB to move his ERA to 4.25. Brown was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .277; Guiel was 2-4 with a double, HR and 3 RBI to move to .266; LF Matt Diaz was 0-4 to drop to .327; 1B Chad Santos was 2-3 with a double to move to .259; and SS Denny Hocking was 2-3 with a double and 2 RS to up his BA to .269.

Omaha is 44-56 and 12 games out of first. Tonight's pitching matchup: LH Jeff Housman (4-7, 5.28) vs. RH Dennis Tankersley (7-6, 4.80).

AA: Wichita was held down by Springfield pitchers and the Cardinals took a 5-3 win over the Wranglers Friday to make Saturday's series finale the rubber match. The Wranglers took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by LF Shane Costa (his 6th) in his first game back at Wichita. Springfield took the lead at 3-2 in the 5th but Wichita tied it in the 7th on an RBI single by 2B Brett Groves. RP Colt Griffin gave up a homer in the bottom of the inning and a run in the 8th to give the Cards a 2-run lead and the Wranglers couldn't do any more damage. SP Mike Stodolka only went 3 innings and allowed 3 hits before being pulled. His ERA dropped to 5.58. RP Derrin Ebert went 3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 7 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 5.85. Griffin got the loss to drop to 1-1. He went 2 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 1 hit to make his ERA 4.09. Costa was 1-4 with the HR and 2 RBI to move his BA to .273; 1B Justin Huber was 0-4 to drop to .346; and 3B Brennan King was 2-4 to improve to .276.

Wichita is 15-12 and 1 1/2 games up on first. No announced starters for tonight's finale on either team site.

High-A: High Desert got bombarded by San Jose in a 15-4 loss Friday. San Jose was up, 13-0, before High Desert even scored as the Mavs pushed across a run in the 6th on an RBI single by SS Angel Sanchez. High Desert added 2 in the 8th on a passed ball and a sac fly by CF Chris Lubanski and scored again in the 9th on an RBI single by 3B Brandon Powell. SP Billy Buckner got run after 3 1/3 IP of 8 ER on 8 hits and 5 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 7-11 with a 4.64 ERA. RP Drew Endicott went 2 2/3 IP and gave up 5 ER on 5 hits and 2 BB to move his ERA to 6.23. RP Stephen Chamberlain went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits to make his ERA 8.08. 2B Pete Maestrales was 0-4 to drop to .319; Lubanski was 0-3 with an RBI to drop to .274; DH Billy Butler was 1-4 to drop to .340; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-4 to drop to .313; and Powell was 3-4 with an RBI and 2 RS to improve to .311. Buckner threw 4 wild pitches in his outing.

High Desert is 14-14 and 1 1/2 games back of first. Tonight's pitching matchup: Giants SP Ryan Sadowski (5-4, 4.52 ERA) vs. Devon Lowery (1-1, 3.06 ERA).

Low-A: Burlington kept its amazing run going with its 8th straight win in a 3-1 victory over Kane County Friday. The Bees scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run single by CF Cody Cure and added a run in the 3rd on a solo homer by DH Rusty Brown (his 14th). After that the pitchers took over as three Bees hurlers combined to hold the Cougars to a run on 5 hits. SP Patrick Hicklen went 7 strong innings for his 6th win. He gave up 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 6 Ks as he improved to 6-4 with a 3.84 ERA. RP Gabe DeHoyos got his 2nd hold with 1 IP of 1 hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.49. RP Chad Blackwell got his 9th save with 1 IP of 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.38. 3B Edward Lucas was 0-4 to drop to .309; Brown was 2-4 with a HR and RBI with 2 RS to improve to .293; 2B Geraldo Valentin was 2-4 to up his BA to .258; LF Kenard Springer was 2-4 to move to .241 and up his hitting streak to 17 games; and Cure was 2-2 with a BB and 2 RBI to improve to .342. Springer threw in his 14th steal in the win.

Burlington is 17-11 and tied with Quad Cities atop the Midwest League Western division. Tonight's pitching matchup: RH Luis Cota (3-4, 3.58) vs. Cougars LH Ryan Ford (9-4, 4.12). The 8-game run is the team's longest winning streak since 2002.

Rookie: Idaho Falls dropped a 13-10 game to Great Falls as the White Sox scored 11 over 2 innings to drop the Chukars to their 5th loss in a row. Idaho Falls took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on an RBI single by RF Felix Peguero but Great Falls tied it that inning. The Chukars scored 3 in the 3rd on a 3-run homer by 1B Blake Adkison (his 6th) and added 3 more in the 4th on a 3-run shot by CF Andrew Larsen (his 5th) to take a 7-1 lead. Great Falls erased that with a 7-run 5th but Idaho Falls tied it in the 6th on an Adkison RBI double. The White Sox scored 4 in the 6th to retake the lead at 12-8 and the Chukars couldn't come back. Idaho Falls scored 1 in the 8th on an Adkison RBI single and again in the 9th on an RBI ground out by 3B Joshua Colafemina. SP Rusty Begnaud went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 8 R (7 ER) on 8 hits and 1 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 6.89. RP David Henninger got the loss with 1 2/3 IP of 4 UER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to drop to 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA. RP Travis Trammell made his season debut and went 1 hitless IP with 1 K to keep his ERA at 0.00. RP Kevin Bulger went an inning and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 1 K to make his ERA 12.79. Larsen was 2-5 with a BB, HR, 3 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .299; SS Chris McConnell was 1-3 with a double and HBP to drop to .364; 2B Gary Perez was 3-4 with a BB and 2 RS to improve to .323; Adkison was 3-5 with a double, HR and 5 RBI to improve to .286; DH Brady Everett was 1-4 with a BB and double to drop to .413; and C Jeff Howell was 2-5 to up his BA to .346. Perez made 2 errors to get to 8 on the season.

Idaho Falls is 14-17 and 2 games out of first. The series with Great Falls continues tonight.

The ASL Royals dropped their 4th of 5 games as the league-leading Giants took a 5-3 win. The Royals tied it at 1 in the 3rd on a solo homer by C Ross Boudreaux (his 2nd). The Royals took the lead in the 4th on an RBI force out by 3B Pedro Lopez but the Giants tied it in the 5th. The Royals went back ahead that inning on a sac fly by CF Joseph Dickerson but the Giants tied it again in the 6th and took the lead for good in the 7th. SP Angelo Morales went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 3 Ks to make his ERA 3.86. RP Matt Pena got the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 4 R (3 ER) on 5 hits with 2 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA. RP Phillip Davidson went 2 2/3 IP went the last 2 2/3 IP and allowed only 1 hit with 2 BB and 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.05. SS Andres Blanco made an appearance as he tries to salvage an injury-plagued season. He went 1-3 to start off at .333 in the ASL; Dickerson was 0-1 with 2 BB and an RBI to drop to .298; LF Jose Duarte was 2-4 with a double to improve to .339; and Boudreaux was 2-3 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .283. Blanco also made an error in the loss. Still no sight of Jeff Bianchi.

The ASL Royals are 16-9 and 2 games back of the Giants. They took on the A's today and play the Padres tomorrow.

Getting it done

Another solid game for the Royals tonight as they beat the Blue Jays, 5-3, behind a decent game from Runelvys and a 3-run 1st. Sweeney got HBP and left the game, again, so he wasn't around for the win on his (and my) birthday tonight but Stairs and Buck had 2-hit games, DeJesus and Brown threw in RBI and the pitching staff got it done. Runelvys went 6 followed by Sisco, Affeldt and MacDougal, who got his 14th save and looked great again in the 9th. Teahen made another error in the field as his bad run at 3B continued (that's 15 errors now). The Royals only had 6 hits to 9 for Toronto but made them count for 5 runs. 0-fers abounded tonight but KC won anyway, for a change. Maybe the heat got to the Blue Jays. The air was like syrup all day.

Tomorrow night Kyle Snyder makes a start for KC after a nice run of rehab starts and a couple good ones at Omaha. The Blue Jays are sending Dave Bush out to pitch, so this is definitely winnable. No word yet on what roster move will be made to make Snyder available.

Royals on the Farm 7/21

Split

It's been an up-and-down last couple days for fans of the Royals. Last night the new guys -- Chip Ambres and Donnie Murphy -- contribute to a 5-3 win and Lima pitches decently again; the Royals beat C.C. Sabathia; Sweeney had 2 hits (as did Murphy and Ambres); and, bottom line, the Royals won. Unfortunately, tho, the trade of Graffanino made Joe McEwing (not a Pipeline favorite) the first baseman when facing lefties, since Stairs doesn't hit that well vs. the southpaws. Hopefully something changes there -- oh, and also in the fact that mastermind Buddy had him batting SECOND. He shouldn't get above seventh in the lineup. KC can't afford another hole in the lineup.

Fast forward to today, when not much goes right for KC. You could kind of tell it was one of those days when DeJesus and Long reach base to lead off the game and the Royals catch a break on a baserunning blunder by Long when no one covers first on a rundown. Two on, 0 out -- should get 1 run. Nope. Sweeney Ks, DeJesus gets thrown out in a FC rundown and Brown Ks to end it. The Royals got the first two on in the 6th and got nothing again. A frustrating day for KC batters, to say the least. Meanwhile, J.P. Howell doesn't pitch horribly but gives up 4 ER over 6 IP, Nunez has his periodical shelling for 6 ER in an inning and that's the game. How many times is Bell going to let Nunez stay out and get hammered on the mound. This is the third time I can remember he's done this. I understand letting him take his lumps but this is ridiculous. He should have the point by now. Obviously when he can't get anyone out, nothing is changing that. Long had a 3-3 game, Gotay had 2 hits and, of the starters, only Stairs had an 0-fer. But the Royals managed only 1 measly run, and that courtesy of Mario Mendoza, I mean Alberto Castillo. Ugly day.

The Boo Jays come to town to start a 3-gamer tomorrow as Runelvys takes on Pete Walker. Should be a winnable game. In other Royals notes, Runelvys got a 10-game suspension for the beaning incident vs. the Tigers and has appealed. Bell got a 1-game suspension and serves that tomorrow. I wasn't expecting a 10-gamer for Runelvys as I didn't think he hit Guillen in the head on purpose. He may have thrown at Guillen but I don't think he meant to hit him in the head. His control isn't that good. Three Tigers got suspensions out of the brawl, including 6 for thug Kyle Farnsworth. Well deserved.

As I wrote this, Thad Markray gave up a 2-run shot to Robinson Cancel to put Wichita down, 4-3, in the bottom of the 5th but the Wranglers have looked good. They run the bases well and hit well. Huber has looked good thus far and Mitch Maier had a big double to give the Wranglers the lead momentarily in the 5th. Mike Aviles made another blunder at SS. Markray looks to have good stuff as he had 7 Ks through 4. Man, Frank White is looking old. He seems to have done some good work in the second half, tho. It helps to have the best hitting team in the Texas League. It's been nice to see them on FSN.

Royals on the Farm 7/20

AAA: Omaha's bullpen flunked another test Wednesday as Round Rock scored all 6 of its runs in the final 4 innings to take a 6-5 win. DH Cal Pickering homered to lead off the 2nd (his 13th) and the O-Royals had a 1-0 lead. They added 4 in the 4th on a leadoff homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 21st) and a 3-run homer by 3B Chris Truby (his 12th) to spread the lead to 5. SP Shawn Camp allowed 1 hit through 5 innings before giving up a homer in the 6th and 2 runs in the 7th but left with a 5-3 lead. RP Dennis Tankersley gave up a run in the 8th to make it a 1-run game and RP Shane Nance gave up the 2-run game winning homer to the first batter he faced in the 9th. Omaha went down with a whimper in the bottom of the 9th. Camp had a quality start with 7 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 4 hits and a BB with 7 Ks to move his ERA to 3.86. Tankersley got his 2nd hold despite giving up 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with a K over 1 1/3 IP to make his ERA 4.80. Nance blew his 3rd save and picked up the loss with 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to move to 2-4 with a 4.29 ERA. Guiel was 2-5 with a HR and RBI to move to .263 and LF Matt Diaz was 3-4 with 2 doubles to move to .358.

Omaha is 44-54 and 11 games out of first. Today's series finale matchup: Express RH Roberto Giron (3-1, 2.25) vs. RH Ryan Jensen (0-2, 5.81).

AA: Wichita took another game from Springfield with a 5-2 win Wednesday. DH Josh Pressley got the scoring started with a solo roundtripper (his 13th) in the 4th and the Wranglers added a run in the 5th on a solo homer by LF Mel Stocker (his 2nd). Wichita tacked on 2 more in the 6th on a 2-run shot by 1B Justin Huber (his 13th) to take a 4-0 lead. Springfield scored twice to get within striking distance but Wichita got some insurance in the 9th on a Stocker RBI single. SP Kyle Middleton went 6 innings and allowed 2 ER on 8 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move to 9-6 with a 4.04 ERA. RP Barry Armitage got his 6th hold with a hitless IP in which he K'd 1 to make his ERA 4.09. RP Nate Hoelscher got his 7th hold with 2/3 IP that included 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.54. RP Jonah Bayliss got his 8th save with 1 1/3 hitless IP as he walked 1. His ERA is 3.04. Stocker was 2-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .244; Huber was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .349; and Pressley was 2-3 with a BB, double, HR and RBI to up his BA to .296. Huber's RBI gave him 66 on the year.

Wichita is 15-10 and 2 1/2 games up on first. Tonight's mound matchup: RHP Thad Markray (4-4, 4.89) vs. Springfield RHP Stuart Pomeranz (1-4, 6.70). As anyone who saw last night's KC win noted, SS Donnie Murphy was called up and announced his presence with authority. OF Shane Costa was sent back to Wichita. Tonight's game is set to be broadcast on FSN starting at 6:30 p.m. Game time is 7:10 p.m. I assume it's on FSN Midwest so most dish owners should be able to pick it up.

High-A: High Desert got swept by cellar-dweller Visalia as the Oaks took a 10-9 win in 11 Wednesday. High Desert jumped out in front with 3 in the 1st as 2B Pete Maestrales hit a leadoff homer (his 13th) and RF Alan Moye later hit a 2-run double. Visalia came back and tied it in the 1st but High Desert regained the lead with 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run double by SS Angel Sanchez. Visalia trimmed the lead to 1 later that inning and took the lead with 2 in the 4th. The Mavs retied it in the 5th on an RBI force out by DH Bernard Stephens and regained the lead in the 6th on a leadoff homer by Maestrales (his 14th). It didn't last long as Visalia scored 2 that inning to take a 8-7 lead. The seesaw went up again as High Desert scored 2 in the 7th on an RBI triple by 3B Brandon Powell and RBI single by C Adam Donachie. Closer Chris Demaria came in in the 8th and set the Oaks down quietly but gave up a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie it and eventually send it to extras. RP Nate Moore gave up a walkoff single in the 11th to end it. SP Greg Atencio went 4 IP and allowed 6 ER on 7 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to make his ERA 4.37. RP Chris Coughlin went 3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 7.20. Demaria blew his 5th save with 3 IP of 1 ER on 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 2.39 and Moore got the loss with 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB to drop to 2-4 with a 4.78 ERA. Maestrales was 3-5 with a BB, double, 2 HR, 2 RBI and 3 RS to improve to .324; Sanchez was 2-4 with 2 BB, a double and 2 RBI to improve to .286; CF Chris Lubanski was 0-5 with a HBP to drop to .276; LF Billy Butler was 0-5 with a BB to drop to .341; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 2-5 with a BB to improve to .314; Moye was 3-6 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .286; Powell was 2-5 with a HBP, double, triple and RBI to improve to .305; and Donachie was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .276. The Mavs left 11 on base. Moye stole 2 bases to get to 17.

High Desert is 14-13 and 1/2 a game back of both Rancho Cucamonga and Lake Elsinore now. The Mavs have today off before starting a set at San Jose (13-14).

Low-A: Burlington had Wednesday off and starts a home series with Kane County (15-11) tonight in a second-place showdown. Burlington is 15-11 and 2 games out of first. SP Justin Sherman (2-3, 2.43) starts for the Bees.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got shut down in an 11-0 loss to Billings Wednesday. A week makes a big difference, I guess, in the Pioneer League. The Chukars took 3 of 4 from Billings then and the tables have been turned as Billings goes for the 4-game sweep tonight. Idaho Falls really only threatened in the 3rd as a runner was thrown out at home and the bases were loaded later that inning. SP Cody Harkcom went 4 IP for the loss as he allowed 5 ER on 5 hits (including 3 HRs) with 6 Ks to drop to 1-3 with a 8.69 ERA. RP Mitch Goins went an inning and allowed 3 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 1 K to make his ERA 8.72 and RP Adam Kalkhof went 3 IP and gave up 3 ER on 5 hits and a BB with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 4.41. SS Chris McConnell was 1-4 to drop to .377; four other players had a hit each; and C Kiel Thibault was 0-3 to drop to .314 while CF Ethien Santana was 0-3 with a BB to drop to .333.

Idaho Falls is 14-15 and 2 games out of first. The series with Billings mercifully concludes tonight. In other Chukars notes, RP Zane Carlson has been promoted to Burlington. Carlson had posted a 1.00 ERA with 5 saves for the Chukars in 8 games. He had 6 strikeouts to just 2 walks. Two players will join the team Thursday -- RHP Travis Trammell, who pitched for Idaho Falls last season, will join the team after recovering from an injury; and RHP Mario Santiago, who was drafted in the 16th round of this year's draft out of Baton Rouge (La.) Community College. He had pitched 2 innings for the the Royals rookie league team in Arizona.

The ASL Royals couldn't come back from an early deficit as they lost to the Brewers, 5-4, to lose their 3rd of 4 games. The Brewers jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 2 innings and the Royals finally got on the board in the 4th on an RBI single by LF Jose Duarte. They proceeded to score 1 in each of the next three innings on a 5th-inning solo homer by C Jefferson Infante (his 2nd), a 6th-inning sac fly by 1B Willie Matos and a 7th-inning solo homer by CF Joseph Dickerson (his 1st pro shot). They didn't threaten to score the tying run other than a double that followed Dickerson's homer. SS Jeff Bianchi didn't play for the second straight game after being removed for a pinch-hitter late in Monday's game against the Rangers. Since nothing in the ASL has its own site (that I know of) no more info is at the fingertips. SP Paul Raglione got the loss with 4 IP of 5 ER on 6 hits with 4 Ks to move to 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA. RP Drew Coffey went 5 IP and allowed only 4 hits with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 6.75. Dickerson was 2-5 with a HR and RBI to improve to .301; DH Felix Peralta was 2-4 with a double to up his BA to .329; Duarte was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .327; and 3B Pedro Lopez was 1-3 with a BB to drop to .354.

The ASL Royals are 16-8 and a game back of the Giants. They have a day off today before facing off with the Giants Friday.

Royals on the Farm 7/19

AAA: The Omaha Royals had their second 11-10 game in three days Tuesday but, this time, came out on top in a win over Round Rock. The O-Royals' bullpen tried hard to give it away but the offense wouldn't let them. Round Rock had a 4-0 lead in the 4th before Omaha's bats came around. The O-Royals scored 1 in the 4th on an RBI single by 2B Justin Gemoll and 3 in the 5th to tie it on an RBI double by SS Denny Hocking and a 2-run homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 19th). Round Rock took a 6-4 lead before Omaha scored 4 in the 7th on a sac fly by LF Matt Diaz, who according to the KC site has been taken off the DL, so he must have been stationed at Omaha. The acquisition of Ambres may have cost Diaz his major league spot. Anyway, going on with the 7th-inning scoring, DH Cal Pickering hit a 3-run home run (his 12th) to give Omaha an 8-6 lead. RP Santiago Ramirez served up a grand slam to the first batter he faced in the 8th and Omaha was quickly back down, 10-8. Guiel saved the day, tho, with a 3-run homer in the 8th (his 20th) to help Omaha regain the edge and Ramirez got the Express in order in the 9th. SP Chris George went 6 IP and allowed 5 R (4 ER) on 10 hits with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 5.25. RP Justin Huisman went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on a hit and BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 4.00. RP Jaime Cerda gave up 2 UER without an out on 1 BB (and a Gemoll error) to keep his ERA at 7.77. Ramirez blew his 2nd save but got the win with 1 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move to 4-5 with a 5.73 ERA. CF Adrian Brown was 3-5 with 2 RS to improve to .278; Guiel was 2-4 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, a BB and 3 RS to improve to .261; Diaz was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .341; Gemoll was 2-4 with an RBI to up his BA to .295; and Hocking was 3-4 with a double, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .262.

Omaha is 44-53 and 10 games out of first. Tonight's pitching matchup: Express RH Fernando Nieve (2-2, 3.38) vs. RH Shawn Camp (3-6, 4.01).

AA: Wichita SP Ryan Baerlocher had another good start and the offense gave him ample support in an 8-2 series-opener win over Springfield. SS Mike Aviles started off the scoring with a solo homer in the 1st (his 11th), and the Wranglers added 1 in the 2nd on a solo shot by C John Draper (his 1st) before scoring 3 in the 3rd on an Aviles RBI double and 2-run homer by 1B Justin Huber (his 12th). The last 3 Wrangler runs came in the 6th on a solo homer by 3B Brennan King (his 7th) and sac flies by RF Brett Groves and CF Mitch Maier. Baerlocher took a no-hitter into the 6th before giving up 2 runs in the 7th and getting pulled. He went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB to move to 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA. RP Stephen Bray went 1 2/3 hitless IP with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.53 and RP Colt Griffin went an inning and allowed 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.07. Aviles was 2-5 with a double, HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .292; Huber was 3-5 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .347; King was 2-4 with a BB, double, HR and RBI to improve to .277; and Draper was 2-3 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .278. Huber made his 12th error in the field.

Wichita is 14-10 and 2 1/2 games up on first. Tonight's pitching matchup: RH Kyle Middleton (8-6, 4.09) vs. Cardinals RH Chris Lambert (1-2, 4.43). In other Wranglers news, SS Donnie Murphy (who didn't play Tuesday night) was named the Texas League Player of the Week for July 11-17. Over the week, Murphy went 12-28 (.429) with 4 home runs, 4 doubles, and 7 RBI, with 10 runs scored. He hit in all seven games as part of a current 13-game hit streak. Murphy, who has been the center of some "call up to KC" rumors lately, is hitting .394 in July, hitting in 15 of 16 games. He’s hit 7 of his 10 home runs this month and driven in 14 runs.

High-A: High Desert lost its second straight to Visalia in a 16-6 loss Tuesday. The Mavs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd on a 3-run homer by C Jared Price (his 7th) but then watched Visalia score 8 unanswered runs over the next 3 innings. The Mavs got back on the board in the 6th on an RBI single by CF Alan Moye but the Oaks came back with 5 more to take a 13-4 lead. High Desert scored in the 7th and 9th on an RBI double by DH Chris Lubanski and a solo homer by 2B Pete Maestrales (his 12th) but it was Visalia's night. SP John Gragg III got the loss with 5 IP of 8 ER on 9 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 8-3 with a 4.24 ERA. RP Stephen Chamberlain went an inning and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits and a BB to bump his ERA to 8.05. RP Drew Endicott went 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits with a K to move his ERA to 5.78. Maestrales was 1-5 with the HR and RBI to drop to .319; Lubanski was 1-5 with a double and RBI to drop to .280; LF Billy Butler was 1-5 with a double to drop to .346; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-4 to drop to .313; Moye was 3-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .282; RF Bernard Stephens was 2-4 to move to .287; Price was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .328; and 3B Brandon Powell was 1-4 to drop to .303.

High Desert is 14-12 and 1/2 a game back of first. No starters announced as of this writing on either team site for the series finale.

Low-A: Burlington won its 6th straight with an 11-5 win over Clinton Tuesday to complete a sweep. Clinton took a 3-0 lead in the 3rd but then the Bees took over. Burlington scored 6 in the 4th on RBI singles by 1B Eddie Solis and C Damaso Espino, a 2-run single by 3B Edward Lucas, an RBI double by DH Rusty Brown and a wild pitch. The Bees went on to score 1 in each the 5th and 6th on an RBI triple by CF Cody Cure and an RBI single by 2B Geraldo Valentin before scoring 3 in the 7th on an RBI ground out by SS Irving Falu and a 2-run single by Espino. SP Patrick Green went 6 IP for the win, giving up 3 ER on 7 hits with 2 Ks to move to 5-7 with a 4.30 ERA. RP Gabe DeHoyos pitched a hitless inning with 1 K to drop his ERA to 1.52. RP Kraig Schambough allowed 1 hit and 1 BB with 1 K in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 8.10 and RP Chad Blackwell gave up 2 UER on 1 IP with 1 hit with 1 BB to drop his ERA to 2.44. Lucas was 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .318; Espino was 4-5 with 3 RBI to improve to .265; Brown was 2-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI to improve to .290; and Cure was 2-4 with a BB, triple, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .324. LF Kenard Springer stole his 13th base and Espino and Valentin both made their 11th error.

Burlington is 15-11 and 2 games back of first. The Bees have today off before starting a 4-game set with Kane County (15-11). Justin Sherman (2-3, 2.43) will start for Burlington.

Rookie: Idaho Falls was in position for a win Tuesday but a 3-run Billings 8th spoiled that idea as the Mustangs won, 6-5, on only 4 hits. SS Chris McConnell homered (his 3rd) as the second batter of the game to give the Chukars a 1-0 lead and Idaho Falls made it a 2-1 game in the 4th on a McConnell RBI ground out. Billings scored 2 that inning to grab a narrow lead but the Chukars tied it in the 5th on an RBI single by DH Brady Everett and took the lead with 2 in the 6th on a wild pitch as well as an RBI single by 1B Jase Turner. In the 8th, RP Zane Carlson walked in a run on his first batter faced and gave up another run on a wild pitch as part of Billings' 3-run 8th to take the lead. The Chukars went down in order in the 9th. SP Bennett Cromer went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 4.58. RP David Henninger went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on a hit and 4 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 2.92. RP Matt Kniginyzky got his 1st hold but also the loss with 2 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on a hit and BB with 5 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 1.86 ERA. Carlson blew his 1st save with a hitless IP that included a BB to make his ERA 1.00. McConnell was 1-4 with a BB, HR and 2 RBI to drop to .382; Turner was 3-5 with an RBI to improve to .288; Everett was 3-4 with a BB and RBI to improve to .429; and LF Byron Barber was 2-3 to improve to .281.

Idaho Falls is 14-14 and 2 games back of first. The series continues tonight.

The ASL Royals got back on track with a 5-0 win over the Cubs Tuesday as pitchers Rayner Oliveros and Henry Barrera combined on a 4-hitter. The Royals scored in the 4th on a double play ball hit by DH Felix Peralta and added 3 in the 8th on a Peralta sac fly and 2-run double by RF Oscar Gonzalez. The final run scored in the 9th on an RBI single by 2B Valentino Arce. Oliveros allowed only 3 hits and 1 BB with a K over 7 IP to improve to 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Barrera pitched the final 2 innings and allowed 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 8.03. Arce was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .390; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-4 with a BB to drop to .295; LF Alvi Morel was 1-4 to drop to .388; and 3B Pedro Lopez was 2-4 to improve to .355. Jeff Bianchi didn't play.

The ASL Royals are 16-7 and tied with the Giants atop the league. They play the Brewers today and have a day off tomorrow.

Greinke on, Graffanino out

That's the start we've been waiting for from Zack Greinke. He pitched like the Zack that's been hyped as he went 7 IP and allowed only 4 hits and 1 walk with 4 Ks to hold the Indians in check. Emil Brown smoked a 2-run homer and Teahen and DeJesus had RBI to go along with their 2-hit nights. Sweeney was among the 0-fers for KC as he inches back toward the .300 mark. Burgos and MacDougal pitched well in relief. A good night for KC when all was said and done.

One of the more productive Royals also said farewell tonight as Baird traded Tony Graffanino to the Red Sox for AAA OF Chip Ambres, who was hitting .294/.401/.495 at Pawtucket with 10 HRs, 47 BB and 64 Ks along with a 19/24 mark on SBs. He's set to join the major league club in Cleveland. Also acquired was LHP Juan Cedeno, who was 2-6 with a 5.49 ERA at High-A Wilmington, the former Royals affiliate. Cedeno has 71 Ks and 37 BB in 80 IP. He's on the way to AA Wichita. I like this trade, even though Graffanino was getting it done. Ambres, 25, has been a highly touted prospect who seemed to be putting it together at Pawtucket and Cedeno is only 21. Decent pickups for a 33-year-old utility guy. It's interesting that Ambres is coming to KC. I wonder is this prefaces a Terrence Long deal???

Of course, the stopper takes the mound tomorrow as Jose Lima vies against C.C. Sabathia. I say let's focus on now and not think about tomorrow's game until it's here. That's usually best when Lima pitches.

Royals on the Farm 7/18

AAA: Pitchers Kyle Snyder and Shawn Sonnier combined to allow 3 hits and a walk as Omaha took a 5-0 win in the opener vs. Round Rock Monday. Omaha scored 2 in the 4th on a 2-run homer by C Paul Phillips (his 5th) and added 3 in the 6th on a 3-run homer by 1B Chad Santos (his 14th). Omaha ended up with only 5 hits but the 2 homers did the job. The O-Royals also drew 6 walks. Snyder retired the first 17 batters as he went 6 IP and allowed 1 hit with 7 Ks to improve to 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA. Sonnier got his 1st AAA save of the year with 3 IP of 2 hits and a BB with 5 Ks to lower his ERA to 4.63. Phillips was 2-3 with a HBP, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .267; Santos was 2-4 with a double, HR and 3 RBI to move to .259; and DH Cal Pickering was 0-1 with 3 BB and 2 RS to drop to .245.

Omaha is 43-53 and 10 games back of first. Tonight's matchup: Express RH Brandon Duckworth (4-3, 4.19) vs. LH Chris George (6-6, 5.21).

AA: Wichita had Monday off in preparation for a 5-game set at Springfield (11-12) that starts tonight. Wichita is 13-10 and 2 games up on first. SP Ryan Baerlocher (2-2, 2.67) goes for Wichita tonight.

High-A: High Desert took an early 2-0 lead but the offense stopped there as Visalia won, 8-2. A passed ball scored 2B Pete Maestrales in the 1st and 1B Jared Price hit a solo homer (his 6th) in the 2nd to give High Desert a 2-0 lead but the Mavs would only manage 5 hits and 1 BB from there. SP Cesar Herrera went 7 innings and allowed 7 ER on 10 hits and 3 BB with 3 Ks as he dropped to 4-5 with a 6.28 ERA. RP Nate Moore went 1 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits to bump his ERA to 4.66. Maestrales was 2-4 with a double to move to .321; SS Michael Gaffney was 1-4 to drop to .309; DH Billy Butler was 0-3 with a BB and 2 Ks to drop to .348; RF Alan Moye was 2-4 to up his BA to .277; and Price was 1-4 with the HR and RBI to drop to .317. 3B Brandon Powell was also 0-3 with a BB to drop to .304. Moye stole his 15th base.

High Desert is 14-11 and a 1/2 game back of Rancho Cucamonga. I appreciate the makeover for the Mavs site, but it just proves that you can paint an outhouse whatever color you want but it's still an outhouse. There isn't a whole lot of information on there and it isn't updated too often. I have to go to their opponents' site each series to get the pitching matchup, if I can get it from there. Tonight's pitching matchup courtesy of the Visalia Oaks' site: Oaks RHP Kevin Lynn (0-3, 10.02) vs. LHP John Gragg III (8-2, 3.75).

Low-A: The Burlington Bees won their 5th straight as a 5-run 2nd helped them to a 6-3 win over Clinton Monday. Three straight RBI singles by LF Kenard Springer, 1B Eddie Solis and CF Cody Cure got the Bees started and SS Irving Falu followed with an RBI ground out. A fielding error on a ball hit by C Damaso Espino allowed Cure to score and the Bees had their 5-0 lead. They tacked on a run in the 5th on a solo homer by DH Rusty Brown (his 11th) and coasted to the win as two pitchers combined on a 5-hitter. SP Daniel Christensen went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 BB with 7 Ks to improve to 2-4 with a 3.63 ERA. RP Yovany Damico got his 3rd save with 4 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit and 1 BB with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.65. Brown was 3-5 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .288; 3B Edward Lucas was 2-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .316; and Cure was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .314. Falu stole his 15th base.

Burlington is 14-11 and 3 games back of first. SP Patrick Green (4-7, 4.28) goes for Burlington tonight as the Bees go for the sweep.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got shutout by Billings, 8-0, despite getting runners on in all but the 9th inning and loading the bases three times with less than 2 out. The Chukars got 7 hits and 8 BB but 0 runs. SP Ryan Dipietro got the loss with 4 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 6 hits and a BB with a K to drop to 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA. RP Jacob Eckley went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 4.15. RP Kevin Bulger went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 1 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 13.50. CF Ethien Santana was 1-4 with a BB to drop to .354; SS Chris McConnell was 2-5 with a double to move to .387; 2B Gary Perez was 2-3 with 2 BB and a double to improve to .301; and C Brady Everett was 1-2 with a BB and HBP to improve to .395. Idaho Falls left 13 on base.

Idaho Falls is 14-13 and a game back of first-place Ogden. The series with Billings continues tonight.

The ASL Royals lost their second straight in an 8-4 loss to the Rangers Monday. The Rangers scored 5 in the first 3 innings against Royals SP Juan Abreu and never trailed. The Royals scored 3 in the 2nd on a 3-run homer by C Ross Boudreaux (his 1st) but didn't score again until the 7th on an RBI single by PH Valentino Arce. Abreu went 4 IP and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to drop to 1-2 with a 7.94 ERA. RP Gilbert De la vara went 3 IP and allowed 4 hits and a BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.50. RP Troy Garrett went 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 7.04. SS Jeff Bianchi was 0-3 to drop to .449; Arce was 1-2 with an RBI to improve to .378; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-3 with 2 BB and a double to move to .298; and RF Alvi Morel was 2-4 to improve to .400.

The ASL Royals are 15-7 and a game back of the Giants. They play the Cubs today and the Brewers tomorrow.