Royals on the Farm 7/9

AAA: Omaha looks to end the first half on a good note today after defeating Oklahoma, 8-3, Saturday and getting in position for a sweep of the RedHawks. Omaha scored in the 1st on a double-play ball by C Paul Phillips and the teams alternated scoring rallies early. Oklahoma scored 2 in the 2nd off SP Brian Anderson in his second rehab start but Omaha came back with 3 in the 3rd on a solo homer by CF Adrian Brown (his 5th) and a 2-run single by DH Cal Pickering. Oklahoma scored to make it a 4-3 game in the 4th but after that RP Shawn Camp shut the RedHawks down on 4 hits. Omaha scored 1 in the 5th on an RBI single by 1B Chad Santos and 3 in the 6th on an RBI single by RF Aaron Guiel and a 2-run homer by Phillips (his 4th). Anderson went 4 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 3 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to make his ERA 6.23. Camp got the win with 4 2/3 IP of 4 hits and 2 Ks to improve to 3-6 with a 4.36 ERA. Brown was 3-4 with a BB, double, HR and RBI along with 2 RS to improve to .278. He's Omaha's lone all-star representative in the game Wednesday. Guiel was 2-4 with a BB, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .262; Phillips was 2-4 with a BB, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .273; and Pickering was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .233. SS Luis Ugueto made his 11th error and Brown had an outfield assist.

Omaha is 41-49 and 9 games back of Nashville. Today's series finale pitching matchup as the all-star break approaches this week: Oklahoma LH Derek Lee (0-1, 6.06) vs. RH Danny Tamayo (4-6, 5.79). In other O-Royals news, IF Alejandro Prieto reportedly suffered a torn ACL on the Royals recent trip to Memphis and will undergo season-ending surgery. Prieto was hitting .281 with 2 homers and 23 RBI in 46 games with Omaha since being reacquired by KC in a trade with the Phillies. Manager Mike Jirschele is also on George Brett's USA coaching squad in today's Futures Game. 1B Justin Huber of Wichita is on the World team. It's at 3 p.m. CST on ESPN2 and is usually a good watch since it has all the hot prospects in it.

AA: Wichita scored 4 runs in each end of a Saturday doubleheader with Arkansas. The problem? Arkansas scored 5 and 12 runs in the twinbill to sweep the set and walk away with a series win. In game 1, Wichita scored 1 in the 1st on a leadoff homer by SS Donnie Murphy (his 6th). Arkansas came back with all of its 5 runs in the 1st and 2nd to take a healthy lead that Wichita couldn't overcome in the 7-inning contest. The Wranglers got runners on with no results in the 2nd and 3rd and finally scored again in the 5th on an RBI ground out by 2B Mike Aviles. They pushed across 2 in the 6th on RBI singles by DH Rudy Gomez and Murphy but left the bases loaded and went down meekly in the 7th to end it. SP Mike Stodolka got the loss with 4 IP of 5 ER on 9 hits and 4 BB with 2 Ks to fall to 3-8 with a 5.90 ERA. RP Derrin Ebert pitched 2 hitless innings to drop his ERA to 5.76. Murphy was 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .295; C Mathew Tupman was 1-3 to improve to .307; and Gomez was 2-3 with an RBI to improve to .222. RF Brett Groves had an outfield assist and 3B Brennan King made his 11th error.

In game 2, Arkansas poured it on for a 12-4 win. Wichita scored all of its runs in the 2nd on a 2-run double by C John Draper and RBI singles from DH Gomez and CF Mitch Maier to take a 4-2 lead but Arkansas quickly turned that around with 10 in the 3rd and 4th and Wichita couldn't scrape out another run. SP Barry Armitage made a rare start and got the loss with 3 IP of 5 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB to drop to 2-3 with a 4.26 ERA. RP Stephen Bray had an outing to forget as a Murphy throwing error helped him give up 7 R (only 1 ER) over 2/3 IP on 5 hits and 2 BB with 1 K to make his ERA 1.59. RP Nate Hoelscher pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed only 2 hits to drop his ERA to 5.35. Murphy was 1-3 in game 2 to up his BA to .296 and King was 2-3 to improve to .262. Aviles made his 24th error in the loss, Murphy's was his 5th.

Wichita is 8-8 and in first by 1/2 a game. The Wranglers have today off before starting a 4-game home set with Midland (8-7) Monday.

High-A: High Desert handed Lancaster starter A.J. Shappi his 2nd loss of the season in a 6-3 win Saturday. High Desert scored in the 3rd on an RBI single by 1B Kila Kaaihue but Lancaster came back with 2 that inning. The Mavs tied it in the 4th on an RBI single by DH Pete Maestrales and surged ahead with 3 in the 6th on a 3-run shot by Maestrales (his 10th). They added a run in the 7th on a solo homer by Kaaihue (his 12th) and held off the JetHawks for the win. SP John Gragg III went 7 innings and allowed 2 ER on 6 hits with 3 Ks to improve to 8-2 with a 3.84 ERA. RP Nate Moore allowed 1 ER on 2 hits in 1 IP to up his ERA to 4.94. RP Chris Demaria got his 11th save with 1 IP of 2 hits with 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.62. Maestrales was 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI to improve to .320; SS Angel Sanchez was 3-5 to improve to .292; LF Billy Butler was 2-5 to keep his BA at .360; Kaaihue was 4-5 with a HR and 2 RBI to move to .318; and 3B Brandon Powell was 2-4 with a BB to move to .310.

High Desert is 9-7 and a 1/2 game up on Rancho Cucamonga. Again, no named starters for today's finale with Lancaster.

Low-A: Burlington got its second consecutive good game from a starting pitcher named Patrick as Patrick Hicklen went 8 innings and the Bees got a 6-2 win. The Bees tied the game at 1 in the 4th on an RBI double by 3B Eddie Solis but Beloit went back ahead later that inning. The Bees took command with 3 in the 6th on a 2-run homer by RF Brian McFall (his 7th) and a solo shot by LF Kenard Springer (his 2nd). Burlington polished the Snappers off with 2 in the 7th on a 2-run homer by 2B Geraldo Valentin (his 3rd). Hicklen went a career-high 8 innings and allowed 2 ER on 8 hits and 2 BB with 1 K to move to 5-4 with a 4.07 ERA. RP Adam Rowe pitched 2/3 of an inning and walked 2 with 2 Ks to lower his ERA to 5.31 and RP Chad Blackwell came in for his 6th save with 1/3 IP that included a walk as his ERA dipped to 2.23. SS Irving Falu was 2-5 with a double to improve to .264; Valentin was 2-5 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to move to .259; 1B Rusty Brown was 2-4 with 2 RS to improve to .284; McFall was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to move to .242; and CF Cody Cure was 2-4 with a double to move to .273. Springer also threw in an outfield assist.

Burlington is 8-9 and 3 games back of first. Today's pitching matchup: RH Luis Cota (2-4, 3.95) vs. Beloit RH Kyle Waldrop (5-5, 4.73).

Rookie: Idaho Falls gave up the 2-game sweep to Orem in a 7-3 loss Saturday. The Chukars were down, 6-0, before scoring 2 in the 5th on a fielding error on a ball hit by CF Ethien Santana and an RBI single by DH Chris McConnell. Their final run came in the 7th on an RBI single by Santana. SP Cody Harkcom had another start to forge as he gave up 4 R (3 ER) on 5 hits and a BB over 2 innings with 1 K to drop to 0-2 with a 10.12 ERA. RP David Henninger pitched 2 innings and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 1.56. RP Eliszer Garcia pitched 3 hitless innings but gave up an ER on a walk with 3 Ks to make his ERA 2.77. RP Zane Carlson pitched a hitless inning with 1 K to keep his ERA at 0.00. Santana was 2-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .333; McConnell was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .366; and C Kiel Thibault was 1-3 with a BB and double to drop to .345.

Idaho Falls is 8-11 and 4 games back of Ogden. The Chukars have today off before a 4-game home set with Billings (11-7) starts Monday.

The ASL Royals dropped their second straight as the Mariners scored 7 in the 7th and 8th to take an 8-7 win. The Royals scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run single by C Jefferson Infante and added 4 in the 3rd on an RBI single by DH Matt Diaz, a 2-run double by RF Oscar Gonzalez and an RBI triple by LF Alvi Morel. Their final run came in the 6th on an RBI single by SS Jeff Bianchi. SP Rayner Oliveros went 5 innings and allowed 1 ER on 7 hits and a BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 1.57. RP Matt Pena went 2 IP and allowed 3 ER on 6 hits and a BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 2.13. RP Nelson Trifolio got his 1st hold with 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a BB to move his ERA to 8.53. RP Mario Santiago made his first appearance of the season and got the loss and 0 outs as he gave up 2 ER on 2 hits to make his ERA infinite. RP Troy Garrett blew his 3rd save with 1 1/3 IP of 1 hit and 1 BB with 1 K to make his ERA 4.76. Bianchi was 2-2 with 3 BB and an RBI to improve to .481; Diaz was 3-5 with an RBI to move to .556; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-5 to drop to .362; Morel was 3-5 with 2 triples and an RBI to move to .424; 3B Pedro Lopez was 1-3 with a BB to move to .368; and Infante was 2-3 with a BB, double and 2 RBI to move to .333. Bianchi is already to 20 RBI in 15 games.

The ASL Royals are 10-5 and a game back of the Giants. They play the Angels today before a day off Monday.