Royals on the Farm 8/19 and 8/20

AAA: Omaha finished off a 4-game road sweep of New Orleans Friday with an 8-3 homer-laden win but promptly came back home to start another 4-game set with the Zephyrs Saturday and got pounded, 9-1. Friday, Omaha jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the 8-3 victory. The O-Royals scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run single by SS Andres Blanco and tacked on 2 in the 4th on a 2-run shot by 3B Chris Truby (his 18th). Omaha scored runs in the 5th and 6th on a solo homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 29th) and a solo longball by 1B Justin Huber (his 3rd) and finished the Zephyrs off with 2 in the 7th on solo shots by CF Adrian Brown (his 9th) and DH Calvin Pickering (his 18th). SP Dennis Tankersley went the distance and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits with 3 Ks to move to 9-6 with a 4.31 ERA. Every Royal had a hit in the win. LF Matt Diaz was 2-5 to improve to .379; Huber was 1-4 with a HR and RBI to lower his BA to .263; C Jared Price was 3-4 to up his average to .244; and Blanco was 1-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .206. Tankersley's complete game was Omaha's first of the season.

Guess who took the mound for Omaha in today's big loss to the Zephyrs? That's right, Ryan "Kiss of Death" Jensen continued his streak of nine straight losses as he gave up 6 runs in 6 IP and Omaha didn't score until the 9th on a Blanco RBI single. Jensen's 6 runs allowed were given up on 9 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to drop to 1-9 with a 6.60 ERA; RP Chris George went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 2 hits and 5 walks with a K to move his ERA to 5.81; and RP Nate Field went 1/3 IP to drop his ERA to 6.61. Diaz was 1-3 with a walk to drop to .379; 2B Justin Gemoll was 2-4 to improve to .272; Huber was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .278; and Blanco was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .222. Huber made his 1st error at AAA in the loss.

Omaha is 64-64 and 6 games back of first with 18 games left in the season. The home series with New Orleans continues tomorrow. Pitchers: Zephyrs RH Kip Bouknight (2-0, 3.18) vs. LH J.P. Howell (3-1, 4.94).

AA: Wichita pulled within a 1/2-game of Arkansas for the division lead with an 8-2 win over Corpus Christi Friday but fell back to 1 1/2 games out Saturday after a 7-2 loss to the Hooks. Friday, a 6-run 3rd gave Wichita what it needed to get the win. The Wranglers trailed, 1-0, going into the 3rd when they broke out for 6 on a single by CF Wilkin Ruan that scored C Mathew Tupman after a CC throwing error, RBI singles by DH Mitch Maier, 1B Josh Pressley, RF Cory Aldridge and LF Billy Butler, and a Tupman sac fly. Wichita added another run in the 4th on an Aldridge RBI single and scored the final run in the 8th on an RBI single by 2B Ruben Gotay. SP Brian Bass got the win with 7 IP of 2 ER on 7 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to improve to 11-7 with a 5.41 ERA and RP Chris Demaria pitched 2 innings and allowed 1 hit and a walk with 4 Ks to keep his ERA at 0.00. Maier was 2-4 with a walk, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .245; Gotay was 2-4 with a walk and RBI to improve to .267; Pressley was 2-5 with a double and RBI to up his BA to .307; Aldridge was 2-5 with 2 RBI to improve to .272; Butler was 1-3 with a walk and an RBI to improve to .306; and Ruan was 2-4 with 2 RS to improve to .248. Pressley made his 10th error.

Saturday, Corpus Christi turned the tables on Wichita for a 7-2 win. The Hooks scored 6 in the first 3 innings off SP Wes Wilkerson and the Wranglers didn't recover. Wichita got on the board in the 3rd on an RBI force out by SS Mike Aviles and tallied the 2nd run in the 6th on an RBI single by 1B Brennan King. Wilkerson took the loss with 2 IP of 6 R (4 ER) on 8 hits to drop to 0-3 with a 7.42 ERA; RP Juan Cedeno went 4 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits and K'd 4 to drop his ERA to 8.15; and RP Stephen Bray went 3 IP and allowed only 2 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.20. Gotay was 1-4 to drop to .265; Aviles was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .287 and made 2 errors to make his season total 38; Pressley was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .307; Butler was 1-4 to drop to .302; King was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .288; and Maier was 2-4 to improve to .249.

Wichita is 28-27 and 1 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The Wranglers end the Corpus Christi series today. Pitchers: Ryan Baerlocher (7-3, 2.64) vs. Hooks SP Peter Bauer (2-2, 2.81).

High-A: High Desert ran its winning streak to 8 with 14-7 and 8-3 wins over Rancho Cucamonga Friday and Saturday that dropped the Quakes back to third. Friday, the Quakes took an early 7-0 lead but the High Desert bullpen shut them down and the Mavs came back in a big way. Rancho Cucamonga scored 7 off SP Cesar Herrera to take a 7-0 lead in the 3rd before the Mavs got on the board that inning on an RBI double by SS Walter Sevilla and an RBI ground out by 1B Kila Kaaihue. The Mavs took the lead with a 7-run rally in the 5th on a solo shot by CF Chris Lubanski (his 23rd), a 3-run shot by RF Bernard Stephens (his 12th) and a 3-run homer by Sevilla (his 5th). The Mavs tacked on 5 in the 6th on back-to-back solo homers by Kaaihue (his 15th) and 2B Adam Keim (his 20th) and a 3-run double by LF Pete Maestrales. Herrera went 3 IP and allowed 7 ER on 11 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 6.98; RP Chris Coughlin had his best outing of the season with 4 hitless IP that included 2 Ks to move to 4-10 with a 7.39 ERA; and RP Nate Moore went 2 IP and allowed 1 hit with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.71. Maestrales was 2-5 with a walk, double, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .321; Sevilla was 2-5 with a walk, double, HR and 4 RBI to improve to .238; Lubanski was 1-5 with a HR and RBI to drop to .292; Kaaihue was 1-4 with a walk, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to drop to .311; Keim was 3-5 with a double, HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .290; Stephens was 3-5 with a HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .286; and 3B Brandon Powell was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .297.

Saturday, the Mavs cranked 4 more longballs to take an 8-3 win. The Mavs went into the bottom of the 2nd down, 2-0, but tied it up on a Keim 2-run blast (his 21st) and took the lead in the 3rd on a solo homer by SS Angel Sanchez (his 2nd) and an RBI double by Kaaihue. High Desert rallied for 4 in the 6th to put the game out of reach on a solo homer by Powell (his 16th) and a 3-run longball by Sanchez (his 3rd). SP Patrick Green got the win with 7 IP of 3 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 7 Ks to improve to 9-9 with a 3.86 ERA and RP Gabe DeHoyos went 2 IP and allowed 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 1.47. Maestrales was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .318; Sanchez was 2-5 with 2 HR and 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .295; Lubanski was 1-4 with a walk and triple to drop to .291; Kaaihue was 1-2 with 3 walks and an RBI to improve to .312; Keim was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .293; Stephens was 2-4 to improve to .288; and Powell was 1-4 with a HR and RBI to drop to .296.

High Desert is 33-22 and up 4 1/2 games on Lancaster. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 11 for the second-half division title and 12 for the wild card. They continue the set with Rancho Cucamonga tonight. Pitchers (courtesy rcquakes.com) : Quakes RHP Kevin Jepsen (0-0, 7.36) vs. RHP John Gragg III (11-5, 4.11).

Low-A: Burlington dropped two games to Southwest Michigan, 1-0 in a 16-inning marathon Friday and 6-3 Saturday. Friday, the teams combined for 15 hits in the 16-inning game that defined a pitchers' duel as neither team could score a run. Burlington got some runners into scoring position but couldn't get the big hit needed and got a runner to third in the top of the 16th before C Damaso Espino flied out to end the inning. The D-Rays strung together three singles off RP Chad Blackwell in the bottom of the frame to end the game. SP Daniel Christensen went 7 IP and allowed only 2 hits and 4 walks with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.64; RP Kraig Schambough nearly matched that with 6 IP of 2 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.91; Blackwell went 2 1/3 IP before giving up the game-winner. He allowed 4 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop to 7-4 with a 2.23 ERA. DH Edward Lucas came in as a pinch-hitter and was 0-2 to drop to .296; 2B Gary Perez was 1-5 with a walk and double to drop to .212; and LF Cody Cure was 2-5 with a walk and double to improve to .257. 3B Geraldo Valentin made his 13th error.

Saturday's game was a regular 9 inning one that the Bees dropped, 6-3. Southwest Michigan took a 5-0 lead into the 5th before the Bees scored a run on a solo shot by RF Brian McFall (his 14th) and Burlington scored 2 in the 8th on a Cure RBI double and an RBI ground out by Lucas. SP Justin Sherman got the loss with 5 IP of 6 ER on 10 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 3-8 with a 4.62 ERA; and RP Rusty Begnaud went 3 IP and allowed only 2 hits to drop his ERA to 5.21. Lucas was 0-4 with an RBI to drop to .292; McFall was 2-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .235; and Perez was 2-4 to improve to .232. SS Irving Falu stole his 30th base and Espino made his 12th error.

Burlington is 28-28 and 3 1/2 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees continue the series at Southwest Michigan today. Pitchers: Patrick Hicklen (6-6, 3.96) vs. D-Rays LH James Houser (6-7, 4.36).

Rookie: Idaho Falls dropped 2 more games to Helena Friday and Saturday, 8-3 and 13-5, to drop farther back in the division. Friday, a 6-run 6th helped Helena to a 7-0 lead before Idaho Falls got on the scoreboard with RBI singles by RF Andrew Larsen and C Brady Everett. The Chukars scored their final run in the 9th on an RBI single by DH Brenan Herrera. SP Ryan DiPietro took the loss with 5 IP of 5 ER on 6 hits with 3 Ks to drop to 0-5 with a 5.98 ERA; RP Jacob Eckley went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a walk to move his ERA to 6.04; and RP Cody Harkcom went 2 IP and gave up 1 ER on 3 hits with 2 Ks to make his ERA 8.74. The Chukars had only 7 hits in the game. CF Ethien Santana was 0-2 with 3 walks to drop to .316; Herrera was 2-4 with a walk and RBI to improve to .294; SS Chris McConnell was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .347; Larsen was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .267; and Everett was 1-4 with an RBI to drop to .361. Santana stole his 12th base and 1B Jase Turner made 2 errors to get to 6 on the season.

Saturday, Idaho Falls staged a comeback to make it a close game late but the bullpen faltered in the 9th as the Chukars lost, 13-5. Helena took a 6-0 lead into the 8th when Idaho Falls scored 5 on a McConnell RBI ground out, a Turner RBI single, a passed ball, an RBI single by DH Felix Peguero and a wild pitch. RP Brandon Brantley gave up 7 ER in the 9th as Helena pulled away. SP Chris Nicoll got his first pro loss with 4 IP of 1 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 1.84 ERA; RP Travis Trammell went an inning and gave up 2 hits to drop his ERA to 9.64; RP Matt Kniginyzky didn't get an out and gave up 4 ER on 4 hits to move his ERA to 6.00; RP Eliszer Garcia went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits with 5 Ks to make his ERA 3.41; and Brantley went 1 IP and allowed 7 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to bump his ERA to 8.59. Santana was 1-4 with a HBP to drop to .314; McConnell was 0-5 with an RBI to drop to .339; Turner was 3-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .275; and C Kiel Thibault was 0-2 with a walk and HBP to drop to .346. McConnell made 2 errors to get to 15 on the season.

Idaho Falls is 8-12 and 3 games out of first. A 4-game home set with Missoula (10-9) starts tonight.

The ASL Royals held off the Angels for a 4-3 win Friday and had Saturday off. The Royals scored 2 in both the 3rd and 6th innings on a throwing error, RBI single by CF Oscar Gonzalez, RBI double by 1B Willie Matos and a wild pitch to take a 4-0 lead. RP Matt Pena gave up 3 ER in the bottom of the 6th but three other relievers kept the Angels down for the win. SP Rayner Oliveros got the win with 5 IP of 4 hits with 7 Ks to improve to 6-1 with a 2.12 ERA; Pena allowed 3 ER on 4 hits with 2 Ks over his IP to move his ERA to 5.06; RP Nelson Trifolio got his 2nd hold with 1 IP of 2 hits and a K to drop his ERA to 3.57; RP Gilbert De la vara got his 1st hold with 1 1/3 IP of 1 BB and 1 K to drop his ERA to 2.51; and RP Henry Barrera got his 4th save with 2/3 hitless IP to drop his ERA to 4.84. LF Jose Duarte was 1-5 to drop to .329; 3B Valentino Arce was 1-5 with a double to drop to .356; DH Joseph Dickerson was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .305; and RF Alvi Morel was 1-4 with a triple to drop to .353. SS Pedro Lopez made his 15th error.

The Royals are 10-8 and 3 games out of first with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the Rangers tonight and the Cubs tomorrow. Eight games remain in the ASL schedule.