Royals on the Farm 7/12

AAA: Omaha is on the all-star break and gets back into action tomorrow. The O-Royals are 41-50.

AA: An 8-run 5th put the game away for Wichita Tuesday in a 12-3 rain-shortened win over Midland. Midland scored 2 in the 1st off SP Brian Bass thanks to errors by SS Mike Aviles and 1B Josh Pressley but Wichita got 1 back in the inning on an RBI ground out by Aviles. The game remained locked at 2-1 into the bottom of the 5th when Wichita began its monster rally with a leadoff walk by C John Draper. CF Mitch Maier hit an RBI single followed by a 3-run shot by 2B Donnie Murphy (his 7th), an RBI double by Pressley, an RBI single by 3B Brennan King and a 2-run shot by RF Brett Groves (his 1st). The Wranglers poured on 3 more in the 6th on an RBI double by Aviles and a 2-run shot by Pressley (his 10th). Midland had scored a run with 1 out in the 7th when the game was delayed and later called. Bass went 6 IP and allowed 2 UER on 5 hits and 3 BB with 1 K to improve to 8-4 with a 5.35 ERA. RP Trae McGill went 1/3 of an inning and had allowed the ER on 1 hit and a BB when thunder struck. He has a 4.84 ERA. Maier was 3-4 with an RBI and 3 RS to improve to .275; Murphy was 1-4 with the HR and 3 RBI to sag to .295; Aviles was 2-4 with a double, triple, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .291; Pressley was 2-3 with a BB, double, HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .285; and Groves was 2-3 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .229. Aviles made his 25th error in the field.

Wichita is 10-8 and held on to a 1-game edge in the division. Justin Huber didn't play again Tuesday. I figured because of the Futures game he'd miss Monday but would be back in the lineup Tuesday. That fact may have no meaning or may have more meaning for the organization -- he could be moving up or will simply be moving back into the lineup later this week. Tonight's pitching matchup: RH Ryan Baerlocher (2-1, 2.59) vs. Midland LHP Dallas Braden (7-3, 3.08).

High-A: When you note Rancho Cucamonga RF Aaron Peel and 2B Howie Kendrick went yard back-to-back to open the game off High Desert pitcher Devon Lowery, you may figure it wasn't High Desert's night....and it wasn't as the Mavs lost, 5-3. High Desert tied the game with runs in the 1st and 2nd on an RBI double by LF Billy Butler and a solo homer by DH Bernard Stephens (his 10th) but Rancho Cucamonga took the lead for good in the 6th. The Mavs' final run came in the 8th on a solo shot by CF Chris Lubanski (his 20th). Lowery went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB to move his ERA to 2.57. RP Chris Coughlin continued to be snakebit as he picked up the loss with 2 IP of 3 ER on 4 hits and a BB with a K to drop to 1-9 with a 7.33 ERA. RP Nate Moore went 2 innings and allowed only 1 hit to drop his ERA to 4.75. 2B Pete Maestrales was 1-4 with a BB to drop to .321; Butler was 1-4 with a double, RBI and 3 Ks to drop to .358; Stephens was 3-4 with 2 doubles, a homer and RBI to improve to .268; 3B Brandon Powell was 1-4 with a double to drop to .306; and 1B Michael Gaffney was 1-2 with a BB to move to .317.

High Desert is 10-9 and 1 game back of Lake Elsinore. Tonight's series finale pitching matchup: Quakes RHP Rafael Rodriguez (3-1, 6.26) v. RHP Cesar Herrera (4-4, 5.90).

Low-A: Burlington had Tuesday off and is set to take on Peoria (7-12) in a 3-game home set starting tonight. SP Daniel Christensen (1-3, 3.71) starts for the Bees.

Rookie: Three field goals by Idaho Falls in the 3rd quarter....er, inning, made the difference as the Chukars held off the Billings offensive attack for a 17-14 win Tuesday. Following the example of their organizational big brothers in Wichita, the Chukars committed 2 errors in the 1st and gave up a touchdown to Billings with 7 unearned runs giving the Mustangs a 7-0 lead. Idaho Falls came back with 2 in the 1st on RBI singles by 2B Gary Perez and RF Andrew Larsen and, after Billings scored 2 in the 3rd to take a 9-2 lead, the Chukars put up 9 that frame on a 2-run homer by 1B Blake Adkison, an RBI double by LF Antonio Sabatini, RBI singles by C Jeff Howell and 3B Jeremy Jirschele, a bases loaded walk by Perez, a wild pitch and a 2-run single by Larsen for an 11-9 lead. The Chukars scored in the 4th on a sac fly by SS Chris McConnell before scoring 3 in the 5th on RBI singles by Howell and McConnell and another wild pitch to make the score 15-10. The Chukars' final 2 runs came in the 7th on RBI singles by CF Ethien Santana and Perez. The Mustangs scored 3 in the 9th to make it closer but Idaho Falls got out of it with the win. SP Rusty Begnaud only lasted 2/3 of an inning as he gave up 7 UER on 6 hits and a BB to make his ERA 4.84. RP Mitch Goins went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 8.31. RP Adam Kalkhof got the win with 2 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits with 3 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA. RP David Henninger allowed 1 ER on 3 hits with 3 Ks over 3 IP to make his ERA 1.77 and RP Jacob Eckley went 1 inning and allowed 3 UER on 3 hits with 1 K to make his ERA 3.00. Santana was 3-4 with 2 BB, an RBI and 3 RS to improve to .391; McConnell was 2-5 with 2 RBI to move to .375; Perez was 2-3 with 2 BB, a HBP, 3 RBI and 3 RS to move to .254; Larsen was 4-6 with a double, 2 RS and 3 RBI to improve to .279; Howell was 3-6 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 RS to up his BA to .342; and DH Brady Everett was 2-5 with a BB, double and 4 RS (he was the only player without an RBI somehow) to improve to .357. The Chukars still left 12 on base.

Idaho Falls is 10-11 and 3 games back of first.

The ASL Royals kept to their winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers Tuesday. The Royals scored in the 1st on a sac fly by SS Jeff Bianchi and again in the 4th on an RBI double by CF Joseph Dickerson. Their final 2 runs came in the 7th on a 2-run triple by 3B Pedro Lopez before the Rangers scored 2 that inning. That was the Rangers' only threat as the Royals went on to win. SP Phillip Davidson got the win with 5 2/3 IP of shutout ball on 3 hits and 3 BB with 6 Ks to improve to 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA. RP Gilbert De la vara got his 2nd save with 3 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 5.54. Lopez was 2-5 with a triple and 2 RBI to improve to .391; Bianchi was 2-2 with a HBP and RBI to improve to .500 (30-for-60) in his fledgling career; Dickerson was 1-3 with a double, BB and RBI to move to .354; and DH Alvi Morel was 0-3 to drop to .389.

The ASL Royals are 12-5 and 1 game back of the Giants. They play the Cubs today and the A's tomorrow.