Royals on the Farm 8/11

AAA: Omaha went ahead and lost Wednesday's suspended game with Tucson, 5-2, before coming back to win, 4-3, in the regularly scheduled game Thursday. In the suspended tilt, Omaha scored in the 1st on an RBI single by LF Matt Diaz but Tucson scored 3 off SP Ryan Jensen in the 2nd before the game was held up by rain. Chris George took the mound to finish that half-inning and the O-Royals scored another run in the 2nd on a solo homer by 2B Justin Gemoll (his 8th) to make it a 3-2 game. Tucson tacked on 2 in the 4th and the O-Royals didn't get another base runner from the 3rd until the 8th inning. Diaz came up as the tying run that inning but struck out and Omaha went down easy in the 9th. Jensen went 1 2/3 IP but got the loss with 3 ER on 4 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 1-7 with a 6.00 ERA; George went 3 1/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and a walk to move his ERA to 5.73; RP Justin Huisman went 3 IP and allowed only 2 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.39; and RP Dave Elder went 1 IP and allowed a hit with a K to keep his ERA at 0.00. Isn't it about time we cut bait with guys like George and Jensen? They're just placeholders. I know Jensen has pitched with KC this season but he's 30 and has a 6.00 ERA at AAA. Dennis Tankersley could do what Jensen has done at the MLB level this season. CF Adrian Brown was 2-4 to up his BA to .278; Diaz was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .407; 1B Justin Huber was 0-4 to drop to .227; and C Jared Price was 2-3 with 2 doubles to improve to .333. Brown also stole his 27th base.

In Thursday's game (a 7-inning one), Omaha didn't get a big inning but was consistent in scoring a run in each inning from the 4th to the 7th in a 4-3 win. The O-Royals won despite the bullpen faltering again. SP J.P. Howell gave up a run in the 1st but held the Cubs to only 3 hits until he exited after the 6th. Omaha tied it in the 4th on a bases-loaded walk by SS Luis Ugueto, took the lead in the 5th on an RBI single by Huber, and scored again in the 6th on an RBI single by Brown to take a 3-1 lead into the 7th. RP Santiago Ramirez came in to try for the save and came up short as he gave up a 2-run double to allow Tucson to tie it up. Huber stepped up, though, and saved the day with his first AAA homer, a walk-off job to end it, 4-3. Howell went 6 IP and allowed 1 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.67; and Ramirez blew his 3rd save but got the win with 1 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a walk with a K to move to 5-5 with a 5.61 ERA. Diaz was 0-4 to drop to .398; Huber had a big game with a 3-4 effort that included a double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .271; and Price was 1-2 to improve to .375.

Omaha is 57-62 and 10 games back of first. A 4-game home series with Iowa (55-60) starts tonight. Pitchers: Cubs RHP Bobby Brownlie (6-4, 4.46) vs. RHP Danny Tamayo (6-7, 5.70).

AA: Wichita could get about one hit per inning Thursday but couldn't score until the 9th in a 3-2 loss to Corpus Christi. The Hooks scored 2 early runs off SP Mike Stodolka and scored another off RP Juan Cedeno in the 8th to take a 3-0 lead. Wichita couldn't figure out Hooks SP Jason Hirsh as he pitched into the 9th. Wichita scored twice that inning on an RBI ground out by LF Billy Butler and an RBI single by RF Shane Costa but CF Mitch Maier popped out to end it. Stodolka went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits with 3 Ks to move to 4-9 with a 5.33 ERA; and Cedeno went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 7.62. SS Andres Blanco and 2B Ruben Gotay were both 0-4 to drop their BAs to .185 and .250; 1B Josh Pressley was 2-3 with a double and HBP to improve to .297; Butler was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .300; Costa was 3-4 with an RBI to improve to .267; and Maier was 0-4 to drop to .239.

Wichita is 23-23 and 3 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The series at Corpus Christi continues. Pitchers: LHP Derrin Ebert (4-3, 5.49) vs. Hooks' LHP Blake Allen (0-2, 5.57).

High-A: Maybe that Inland Empire hex wasn't over for High Desert as the Mavs dropped 3 out of 4 to the 66ers, culminating Thursday in a 10-3 loss. The 66ers put up 8 runs in the first 3 innings off pitchers Billy Buckner and Chris Coughlin before the Mavs even got on the board. They did in the 3rd on a solo homer by SS Angel Sanchez (his 1st) but it was 10-1 before they scored again in the 6th on an RBI single by DH Brandon Powell. High Desert added a run in the 8th on a solo homer by 3B Adam Keim (his 19th and first after his return from the DL with a wrist injury). Buckner went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 8 R (5 ER) on 7 hits and 4 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 8-13 with a 4.77 ERA at the A level; Coughlin went 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 6 hits and a walk with a K to move his ERA to 7.70; RP Stephen Chamberlain went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 7.79; and RP Kahi Kaanoi came off the DL to go 1 IP and allow 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.91. 2B Pete Maestrales was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .315; Sanchez was 2-5 with a HR and RBI to improve to .300; CF Chris Lubanski was 1-5 to drop to .284; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-4 to drop to .313; Keim was 2-4 with a double, HR and RBI to improve to .290; and Powell was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .300.

High Desert is 25-22 and up 1 1/2 games on Rancho Cucamonga. They finished the season 7-14 against Inland Empire. A 3-game set at Lake Elsinore (18-27) starts tonight. No announced pitchers.

Low-A: Burlington's late season swoon continued as the Bees dropped their 7th straight in an 8-3 loss to Southwest Michigan. The Bees got on the board in the 1st on a sac fly by RF Brian McFall but the D-Rays broke through in the 5th with 7 runs off SP Patrick Hicklen. Burlington added 2 runs in the 8th on a 2-run double by C Damaso Espino but that was it. Hicklen went 5 IP and allowed 7 R (5 ER) on 9 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to drop to 6-5 with a 3.81 ERA; RP Adam Rowe went 2 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with a K to move his ERA to 5.43; RP Zane Carlson went a hitless IP and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 5.73; and RP Yovany Damico went 1 IP and allowed 1 hit with a K to move his ERA to 4.68. 3B Edward Lucas was 1-4 with 2 RS to drop to .305 and Espino was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .279. Lucas made his 21st error.

Burlington is 23-24 and 5 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees continue the set with Southwest Michigan tonight. Pitchers: Southwest Michigan's James Houser Jr. (6-7, 4.29) vs. Luis Cota (3-6, 4.01).

Rookie: Idaho Falls put out a good effort from start to finish in a 7-5 win over Missoula Thursday. The Chukars scored 3 in the 1st on an RBI single by DH Kiel Thibault and a 2-run double by 3B Brenan Herrera. They added a run in the 4th on a sac fly by SS Chris McConnell and runs in the 6th and 7th on an RBI bunt force out by 2B Joshua Colafemina and solo homer by Thibault (his 4th). Their final run scored in the 9th on a Herrera RBI single. SP Mario Santiago went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 1 UER on 3 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 9.92; RP David Henninger got the win with 3 1/3 IP of 3 ER on 4 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move to 4-1 with a 4.14 ERA; and RP Matt Kniginyzky got his 4th save with 2 IP of 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.60. McConnell was 1-3 with an RBI to drop to .364; 1B Brady Everett was 1-4 with a triple and walk to drop to .376; Thibault was 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .326; C Jeff Howell was 0-3 with 2 walks to drop to .376; and Herrera was 4-5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .318. Colafemina swiped three bases to get to 7 on the season.

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

The ASL Royals beat the Giants, 4-1, Thursday to gain a game on the division leaders. The Royals scored 2 in the 4th on a 2-run single by 2B Carlos Avila and added runs in the 5th and 7th on RBI singles by RF Oscar Gonzalez and CF Joseph Dickerson. SP Paul Raglione had a good start with 5 IP of 1 UER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 6 Ks to move to 2-2 with a 5.86 ERA; RP Brent Fisher got his 1st save with 4 IP of 2 hits with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.92. 3B Valentino Arce was 1-4 to drop to .353; Dickerson was 2-2 with 2 walks and an RBI to improve to .324; DH Alvi Morel was 1-3 with a walk to drop to .353; and Avila was 2-3 with 2 RBI to improve to .267. Bianchi didn't play again -- wonder if his back flared up.

The Royals are 5-5 and 2 games back of first with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the A's tonight and the Pads tomorrow.