Royals on the Farm 8/10

AAA: Omaha's game with Tucson was suspended in the 2nd with the Sidewinders leading, 3-1, off SP Ryan Jensen. It will be completed tonight as part of a doubleheader with the regular game going 7 innings. Chris George (7-7, 5.74) will take the mound to start the resumed game vs. Tucson's Edger Gonzalez (8-4, 4.86).

Omaha is 56-61 and 9 1/2 games back of first. The Tucson series concludes tonight. Pitchers: Sidewinders LH Bill Murphy (6-5, 4.25) vs. LH J.P. Howell (3-1, 4.29).

AA: A night after nearly losing a 5-run 8th inning lead, Wichita did blow a late 5-run lead Wednesday in a 7-5 loss to San Antonio. The Wranglers scored 2 in the 3rd on RBI singles by 2B Ruben Gotay and 1B Josh Pressley, added another run in the 5th on a solo homer by Gotay (his 1st) and 2 in the 7th on a 2-run shot by 3B Mike Aviles (his 12th) to take a 5-0 lead. SP Kyle Middleton and RP Stephen Bray gave up 2 runs in the 7th and Bray and Wilkerson combined to give up 5 runs on 5 hits, a walk, an error by Aviles (surprise) and a passed ball by C John Draper. Wichita got the lead run to the plate in the top of the 9th but Aviles grounded into a double play to end it. Middleton went 6 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 8 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 4.81; RP Nate Hoelscher went 1/3 IP to drop his ERA to 5.86 and get his 8th hold; Bray got his 3rd hold with 2/3 IP of 1 ER on a hit and walk to move his ERA to 3.80; and Wilkerson blew his 1st save and got the loss with 2/3 IP of 4 R (1 ER) on 4 hits and a walk with a K to move to 0-2 with an ERA of 6.52. SS Andres Blanco was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .217; Gotay was 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .333; Aviles was 2-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and his 33rd error to move his BA to .289; Pressley was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .294; LF Billy Butler was 0-4 to drop to .375; RF Shane Costa was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .259; and CF Mitch Maier was 2-4 to improve to .243.

Wichita is 23-22 and 2 1/2 games back of Arkansas. A 3-game series at Corpus Christi (25-22) starts tonight. Pitchers: LHP Mike Stodolka (4-8, 5.42) vs. Hooks’ RHP Jason Hirsh (10-8, 3.39).

High-A: In a rare low-scoring Cal League game, High Desert dropped its second straight to Inland Empire, 3-2, Wednesday. The 66ers scored 3 early runs off SP John Gragg III and IE starter Brandon Moorhead held the Mavs hitless into the 6th before giving up 2 in the 8th on a 2-run double by LF Bernard Stephens. The Mavs didn't get another hitter to first. Gragg got the loss with 6 IP of 3 ER on 6 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to drop to 10-5 with a 4.13 ERA; RP Greg Atencio went 2 IP and allowed 1 hit and a walk with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.71; and RP Chris Demaria pitched a hitless inning with a K to drop his ERA to 2.23. The Mavs ended up with 6 hits in the game. SS Angel Sanchez was 1-4 to keep at .299; CF Chris Lubanski was 0-4 to drop to .285; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-4 to drop to .317; C Adam Donachie was 2-3 to improve to .291; and Brandon Powell was 1-1 as a PH to improve to .301.

High Desert is 25-21 and still up 2 1/2 games on Rancho Cucamonga. The set with Inland Empire ends tonight. No announced pitchers.

Low-A: Burlington had a slim early lead Wednesday versus Quad Cities but couldn't hold it in a 9-5 loss. The Swing scored 2 in the first off SP Justin Sherman but the Bees got them back in the 2nd on a 2-run double by 1B Eddie Solis and took the lead in the 3rd on an RBI groundout by 3B Edward Lucas. The lead didn't last long as Quad Cities scored 3 in the 3rd and 2 in the 6th to take a 7-3 lead. Burlington scored 2 in the 7th on a Solis solo homer (his 8th) and a QC fielding error. The Swing regained their 4-run lead with 2 in the 7th and the 9-5 score held as the final. Sherman got the loss with 6 IP of 7 R (5 ER) on 12 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 3-7 with a 4.09 ERA -- might be time to take him back to the 'pen; RP Gabe DeHoyos went 2/3 IP and allowed 2 UER on a hit with a K to drop his ERA to 1.60; and RP Chad Blackwell went 1 1/3 hitless IP with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.32. Lucas was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .305; Solis was 2-3 with a HBP, double, HR and 3 RBI to improve to .215; and 2B Gary Perez was 0-4 to drop to .160. The Bees made 4 errors on the night as Perez made his 8th (he's quickly becoming the Mike Aviles of Burlington), 2 by SS Irving Falu upped his season total to 16 and Solis made his 7th. Falu also stole his 25th base. CF Geraldo Valentin had 2 outfield assists in the loss.

Burlington is 23-23 and 5 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees start a 4-game home set with Southwest Michigan (25-21) tonight. Pitchers: Southwest Michigan's Matt Larson (3-3, 3.78) vs. Patrick Hicklen (6-4, 3.58).

Rookie: Idaho Falls won its fourth straight Wednesday in a shootout 12-9 win over the Missoula Osprey (they must be big on the obscure bird mascots in the Pioneer League). Idaho Falls took a 4-1 lead in the 3rd on an RBI triple by SS Chris McConnell, an RBI single by LF Antonio Sabatini and a 2-run homer by 1B Jase Turner (his 7th) and 2 in the 5th on a 2-run single by Sabatini made it a 6-2 lead. Missoula closed the gap with 2 in the 5th but Idaho Falls came back with 4 in the 6th on back-to-back jacks by DH Brady Everett (his 5th) and C Kiel Thibault (his 3rd), a wild pitch and a McConnell sac fly. The Chukars took a 10-6 lead into the 9th and added 2 on bases-loaded walks by 3B Joshua Colafemina and CF Ethien Santana. RP Travis Trammell gave up 3 in the 9th but was able to get out of the inning and the game. SP Bennett Cromer got the win with 5 IP of 4 ER on 7 hits with 3 Ks to move to 5-0 with an ERA of 4.50; RP Adam Kalkhof went 3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 3.77; and Trammell allowed 3 ER on 4 hits with 2 Ks over 1 IP to move his ERA to 9.82. McConnell was 2-3 with 2 walks, a triple, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .364; Sabatini was 2-5 with 3 RBI to improve to .278; Everett was 3-5 with a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .382; and Thibault was 2-4 with a walk, HR and RBI to improve to .309.

Idaho Falls is 5-6 and 2 games out of first. The Chukars' series with Missoula continues tonight.

The ASL Royals had the day off Wednesday. The Royals are 4-5 and 3 games back of first with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the league-leading Giants tonight and the A's tomorrow.