Royals on the Farm 8/21

AAA: Omaha got the best start of J.P. Howell's pro career and RF Aaron Guiel provided the big hit in a 1-0 O-Royals win Sunday. Howell gave up an infield single in the 4th and that was it as far as hits go. He was pulled in the 7th for unexplained reasons (I assume pitch count???) and three relievers combined to allow only 1 more hit by New Orleans. Guiel hit his 30th homer to lead off the 8th and RP Santiago Ramirez set the Zephyrs down quietly in the 9th to end it. Howell went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 1 hit and 2 walks with 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.06 (too bad he got a ND); RP Shane Nance went 2/3 IP and allowed 1 hit and a K to drop his ERA to 4.15; RP Justin Huisman got the win with 2/3 hitless IP that included a K to move to 6-1 with a 4.06 ERA; and Ramirez chalked up his 14th save with a hitless 9th in which he walked 1 to drop his ERA to 5.40. Guiel was 2-3 with a walk, HR and RBI to improve to .276; LF Matt Diaz was 1-4 to drop to .377; 1B Justin Huber was 1-2 with a walk to improve to .284; and SS Andres Blanco was 0-2 with a walk to drop to .216. C Tommy Duenas played his first game for Omaha Sunday and was 1-3 -- no word yet on the circumstances of his signing.

Omaha is 65-64 and 5 games back of first with 17 games left in the season. The home series with New Orleans continues tonight. Pitchers: New Orleans RH Chad Durbin (3-5, 5.98) vs. RH Danny Tamayo (8-7, 5.40).

AA: Wichita SP Ryan Baerlocher gave up bookend runs on 4 hits to Corpus Christi Sunday and the Wranglers could only push 1 across the plate in a 2-1 loss. The Hooks manufactured a run in the 1st to take the lead and Wichita had only 1 baserunner for the game going into the 5th, when the Wranglers got a runner to third but couldn't get him home. In the 6th, 2B Ruben Gotay walked and 1B Josh Pressley doubled him home to tie the game at 1. Baerlocher gave up an RBI double in the 9th to put the Hooks back on top, 2-1, and Wichita got two on with 0 out in the bottom of the 9th before a fly out by SS Mike Aviles advanced a runner to third with 1 out. 3B Brennan King struck out swinging and LF Billy Butler flied out to end it. Baerlocher took the loss with 8 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 8 Ks to drop to 7-4 with a 2.58 ERA and RP Leo Nunez got the final out for Wichita to drop his ERA to 0.90. CF Mitch Maier was 0-4 to drop to .245; Gotay was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .250; Pressley was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .309 but made 2 errors to make his season total 12; King was 2-4 with a double to improve to .290; and Butler was 0-4 to drop to .281.

Wichita is 28-28 and 2 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The Wranglers have today off before starting a 4-game showdown with the Travelers Tuesday. Fourteen games remain on Wichita's schedule.

High-A: High Desert dug itself out of an early 11-2 hole Sunday vs. Rancho Cucamonga but couldn't get over the top in a 12-11 loss. The Quakes scored 2 in the 1st off Mavs SP John Gragg III but High Desert matched it in the bottom of the inning on a 2-run double by CF Chris Lubanski. Rancho Cucamonga pounded out 5 more runs in the 2nd off Gragg and 4 in the 3rd off RP Drew Endicott to take an 11-2 lead but the Mavs came back with 2 in the 3rd on an RBI ground out by Lubanski and a Quakes throwing error. The Mavs scored in the 4th on another Lubanski RBI double and added 4 in the 5th on a 3-run double by 3B Michael Gaffney and an RBI double by LF Pete Maestrales to make the score 11-9. Two runs in the 6th on an RBI double by 2B Adam Keim and a sac fly by newest Mav C Brady Everett (fresh from Idaho Falls) tied the score at 11. RP Greg Atencio gave up a solo homer in the 8th to give the Quakes a 12-11 lead and Lubanski struck out to end the game with 2 on. Gragg went 2 IP and allowed 7 ER on 10 hits with a K to bump his ERA to 4.51; Endicott went 2 IP and allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and 2 BB to move his ERA to 6.00; RP Stephen Chamberlain pitched an inning and allowed 1 hit and 2 walks to drop his ERA to 7.45; Atencio went 3 IP and gave up 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to drop to 8-3 with a 4.44 ERA; and RP Brian Steffek went an inning and allowed 2 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.22. Maestrales was 3-5 with a walk, double, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .321; SS Angel Sanchez was 5-5 with a walk, double and 2 RS to improve to .302; Lubanski was 3-6 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI to improve to .294 (his RBI total is now 97); 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-5 with a double and walk to drop to .311; and Everett was 0-3 with a walk and RBI to establish an .000 BA.

High Desert is 33-23 and up 4 1/2 games on Lancaster and Rancho Cucamonga. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 11 for both the second-half division title and the wild card with 14 games to play. They conclude the set with Rancho Cucamonga tonight before heading to the Quakes' place for more. Pitchers: Quakes SP Bill Edwards (6-7, 4.57) vs. Billy Buckner (8-13, 4.84).

Low-A: Burlington had more errors than runs Sunday in an 8-1 loss to Southwest Michigan. Burlington didn't get a runner past second until the 8th off D-Rays pitcher James Houser and, in the meantime, the D-Rays scored 8 runs to take a commanding lead. C Felipe Del Rosario had the Bees' lone RBI on an 8th-inning single. SP Patrick Hicklen got the loss with 4 IP of 7 R (6 ER) on 9 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 6-7 with a 4.27 ERA; RP Yovany Damico went 3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.67; and RP Adam Rowe went an inning and gave up a hit with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.14. 2B Gary Perez was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .237; 1B Edward Lucas was 0-3 to drop to .290; and Del Rosario was 2-3 with an RBI to improve to .237. SS Irving Falu stole his 31st base and made his 19th error.

Burlington is 28-29 and 4 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees end the series at Southwest Michigan today and have 13 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: RH Luis Cota (5-6, 3.82) vs. SWM LH Brandon Mann (7-11, 4.33).

Rookie: Idaho Falls also had 2 errors but only 1 run Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Missoula. The game was tied at 1 in the 3rd when Idaho Falls scored on an RBI single by 3B Brenan Herrera but it was all Osprey from there. SP Bennett Cromer got the loss with 4 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 5-2 with a 5.04 ERA; RP David Henninger went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 4 R (3 ER) on 2 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to make his ERA 4.12; and RP Jacob Eckley went 1 2/3 hitless IP with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.67. C Kiel Thibault was 1-4 to drop to .343 and RF Byron Barber was 1-4 to drop to .315. Herrera made his 5th error and Henninger made his 3rd.

Idaho Falls is 8-13 and 3 games out of first with 17 games left on the schedule. The home set with Missoula continues tonight.

The ASL Royals took an 8-6 win over the Rangers Sunday. Another game with no game log. SP Brent Fisher only lasted 1/3 IP and gave up 4 ER on 2 hits and 2 walks with a K to move his ERA to 3.38; RP Paul Raglione got the win with 4 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 5 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to improve to 3-3 with a 5.65 ERA; RP John Sokoll got his 2nd hold with 2 IP of 2 hits with a K to drop his ERA to 5.82; RP Troy Garrett got his 1st hold with 1 IP of 1 UER on 1 hit and 2 walks with a K to drop his ERA to 5.40; and RP Henry Barrera got his 5th save with a hitless 9th to drop his ERA to 4.63. LF Jose Duarte was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .331; 3B Valentino Arce was 1-5 to drop to .350; CF Joseph Dickerson was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .300; RF Oscar Gonzalez was 2-4 with a triple, HR, 3 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .301; and DH Alvi Morel was 1-3 with a walk, triple and RBI to drop to .352. Morel stole his 12th base.

The Royals are 11-8 with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the Cubs tonight and the A's tomorrow. Seven games remain in the ASL schedule.