Royals on the Farm 8/13

AAA: An offensive outburst in the 8th helped Omaha to a 7-5 win over Iowa and assure at least a split for the O-Royals in the 4-game set. Omaha found itself down, 4-0, after a 3-run Iowa 6th but Omaha got on the board that inning with a run on an RBI single by DH Chad Santos. A leadoff double by LF Matt Diaz in the 8th got the big rally started as 1B Justin Huber walked, 2B Justin Gemoll singled home Diaz, Santos doubled home Huber and a sac fly by 3B Chris Truby drove Gemoll home and made the score 4-4. C Jared Price struck out but SS Luis Ugueto and CF Adrian Brown walked to keep the inning alive and load the bases. RF Aaron Guiel came through with a 3-run double to give Omaha a 7-4 lead and Diaz K'd to end the inning. RP Santiago Ramirez gave up a run in the 9th but allowed nothing further. SP Kyle Snyder went 6 IP and allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 3.50; RP Jaime Cerda got the win with 2 IP of 2 hits with 2 Ks to move to 4-1 with a 5.54 ERA; and Ramirez got his 12th save with an IP of 1 UER (thanks to a Price passed ball) on 2 hits with a K to drop his ERA to 5.52. Guiel was 2-5 with the double and 3 RBI to improve to .271; Diaz was 2-5 with a double and 2 RS to improve to .388; Huber was 1-2 with 2 walks to improve to .264; Gemoll was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .280; Santos was 3-4 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .257; and Price was 0-4 to drop to .188.

Omaha is 59-62 and 9 games back of first. The series with Iowa continues today. Pitchers: Cubs RH Sergio Mitre (4-4, 4.14) vs. RH Dennis Tankersley (8-6, 4.60).

AA: Wichita lost a battle of 2-run innings in a 6-4 series ending loss to Corpus Christi Saturday. Wichita tied the game with 2 runs in the 4th on a 2-run shot by 1B Josh Pressley (his 19th). The Hooks got 2 more off SP Brian Bass in the 5th and tacked on 2 in the 8th to take a 6-2 lead. Wichita got 2 runs in the 9th on a Corpus Christi fielding error and an RBI single by SS Andres Blanco and the lead run came to the plate but C Mathew Tupman lined out to end it. Bass got the loss with 5 2/3 IP of 4 ER on 8 hits and 2 walks with 6 Ks to drop to 10-7 with a 5.55 ERA; RP Nate Hoelscher went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks to move his ERA to 6.00; and RP Stephen Bray went 1/3 IP and allowed 1 hit with 1 K to drop his ERA to 3.74. Blanco was 1-5 with the RBI to drop to .189; 2B Ruben Gotay was 0-5 to drop to .160; Pressley was 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to drop to .297; LF Billy Butler was 1-4 to drop to .286; RF Shane Costa was 2-4 to improve to .271; and CF Mitch Maier was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .236.

Wichita is 24-24 and 2 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The Wranglers have the day off today.

High-A: High Desert took another game from Lake Elsinore with a 3-1 win Saturday. Three Mavs pitchers held the Storm to 4 hits led by SP Cesar Herrera, who went 7 IP. High Desert took the lead in the 3rd on an RBI single by LF Mel Stocker and added runs in the 5th and 6th on RBI singles by DH Pete Maestrales and 2B Adam Keim. Herrera gave up a leadoff homer in the 7th before giving way to RP Greg Atencio in the 8th. Herrera got the win with 3 hits and 2 walks allowed and 5 Ks over 7 IP to improve to 6-6 with a 6.58 ERA; Atencio got his 2nd hold with a hitless IP of a walk with a K to drop his ERA to 4.64; and RP Brian Steffek got his 1st save with an IP of 1 hit and 1 walk to drop his ERA to 3.52. Maestrales was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .317; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-4 to improve to .300; CF Chris Lubanski was 1-4 to drop to .285; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .311; and 3B Brandon Powell was 1-3 with a walk and double with 2 RS to improve to .301.

High Desert is 27-22 and up 1 1/2 games on Rancho Cucamonga. The set at Lake Elsinore ends tonight. No announced pitchers.

Low-A: Burlington took down Southwest Michigan in a 12-inning pitchers' duel, 2-1, Saturday. The teams combined for 12 hits -- 5 for Burlington -- and 4 errors (3 for the Bees). Burlington took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd on a sac fly by SS Irving Falu but the D-Rays tied it in the 6th. The Bees didn't threaten again until the 12th as three relievers held SWM in check. 3B Edward Lucas walked and advanced to second on a ground out before he was singled home by RF Geraldo Valentin for a 2-1 win. Newest Bee SP Dustin Dossett had a great first start with 7 IP of 1 ER on 5 hits with 6 Ks to establish a 1.29 ERA; RP Adam Rowe allowed 1 hit over 2 IP to drop his ERA to 5.25; RP Chad Blackwell pitched 2 hitless innings with a walk and 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.20; and RP Zane Carlson got the win with an IP of 1 hit and a walk with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.25. Lucas was 0-3 with 2 walks to drop to .303; LF Kenard Springer was 3-4 to improve to .235; and 2B Gary Perez was 1-4 with a double to drop to .182. Springer got his 17th steal of the season. Lucas made his 22nd and 23rd errors and Perez made his 9th.

Burlington is 25-24 and 3 1/2 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees have the finale with Southwest Michigan today. Pitchers: LH Danny Christensen (3-6, 3.95) vs. D-Rays LH Jarrad Lavergne (5-9, 4.87).

Rookie: Idaho Falls' late comeback was stymied by a 2-run Helena 7th in a 5-3 loss to the Brewers Saturday. CF Ethien Santana led off the game with a homer (his 1st) and the Chukars had a 1-0 lead. Helena tied the game in the 3rd and took the lead with 2 off RP Phillip Davidson in the 5th but Idaho Falls came back in the 7th with 2 runs on an RBI single by 2B Joshua Johnson and a bases-loaded HBP by DH Brady Everett. Davidson came back out for the 7th and, along with RP Eliszer Garcia, gave up 2 runs and the Chukars made a small threat in the 8th before going down quietly in the 9th to end it. SP Ryan DiPietro went 4 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 5.64; Davidson got the loss with 2 2/3 IP of 4 ER on 4 hits and 4 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA; and Garcia went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 0 hits and 0 walks with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.68. Everett was 2-3 with a walk, HBP and RBI to improve to .385 and C Jeff Howell was 0-4 to drop to .361. The Chukars left 11 on base.

Idaho Falls is 6-8 and 3 games out of first. The Chukars continue the set with Helena today.

The ASL Royals gave up a walkoff triple in the 9th as they dropped a 4-3 game to the Padres Saturday. The Royals took a 2-0 lead with runs in the 2nd and 3rd on a double steal in which SS Pedro Lopez scored and a sac fly by CF Joseph Dickerson. The Padres came back to take a 3-2 lead in the 4th before the Royals tied it in the 5th on a Padre fielding error that allowed LF Jose Duarte to score. The game remained knotted at 3 into the bottom of the 9th when RP Gilbert De la vara gave up a leadoff single and 1-out walkoff triple to end it. SP Juan Abreu went 4 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 6 hits with 7 Ks to move his ERA to 6.86 and De la vara got the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 6 Ks to drop to 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA. Duarte was 2-3 with a double, 2 walks and 2 RS to up his BA to .350; 3B Valentino Arce was 1-5 to drop to .342; and DH Joseph Dickerson was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .316. RF Alvi Morel was 0-2 with a walk to drop to .345; and Lopez was 2-4 with a double to improve to .302. Lopez made his 13th error.

The Royals are 6-6 and 2 1/2 games back of first with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the Brewers tonight and have tomorrow off.