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.