Royals on the Farm 8/25

AAA: Omaha blew another chance to gain ground on Nashville as they lost to Oklahoma despite scoring 11 runs and getting help from 5 errors from Oklahoma. The reason? Who do you think? Ryan Jensen. This time (in his 10th straight loss) he allowed 10!!!! R (9 ER) in 4 IP and the O-Royals lost, 13-11. #1, what is the organization thinking sending him out in the middle of a division race and, #2, what is Mike Jirschele (Omaha's manager) thinking leaving him out there after giving up 5 in the 1st inning and, before a 3-run double, 2 in the 3rd? Omaha scored 3 in the 1st on an RBI single by RF Matt Diaz and a 2-run homer by DH Calvin Pickering (his 21st) but was down 10-3 in the 4th thanks to Jensen's pitching prowess. The Royals scored 5 in the 4th on a grand slam by Diaz (his 14th), who made a fielding error in the 3rd to lead to Jensen's unearned run, and an RBI ground out by CF Adrian Brown to cut the lead to 10-8. Oklahoma scored 2 in the 6th that Omaha matched in the bottom of the frame on two Oklahoma errors on a steal of second by Brown and an RBI force out by Pickering. Both teams tripled with 1 out in the 7th but neither could get the runner home and Pickering hit an RBI single in the 8th to close the gap to 12-11. 3B Chris Truby, who had tripled in the 7th, grounded out with the bases loaded in the 8th to end the inning. Oklahoma got a solo homer from 2B Ian Kinsler in the 9th to get a little insurance but it made little difference as Omaha went down in order in the 9th. Jensen allowed his 10 R on 12 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks over 4 IP to drop to 1-10 with a 7.29 ERA; RP Shane Nance went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits with 2 walks to move his ERA to 4.66; RP Nate Field went 2 IP and allowed only 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.59; and RP Santiago Ramirez gave up 1 ER on 1 hit with a K in 1 IP to up his ERA to 5.46. SS Andres Blanco was 2-3 with 2 walks and 2 RS to improve to .253; Diaz was 2-4 with a HBP, HR, 5 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .374; Pickering was 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .258; 1B Justin Huber was 0-2 with 2 walks and a HBP to drop to .277; and Truby was 2-4 with a walk and triple to improve to .239.

Omaha is 66-67 and 4 games out of first behind Nashville with 11 games left (I had miscounted before) in the season. The home set with Oklahoma continues tonight. Pitchers: RedHawks LH Derek Lee (4-2, 4.56) vs. LH Chris George (7-7, 5.81). With Aaron Guiel getting the call (over Diaz) to KC, OF Jaime Jones was activated from the DL to take his spot.

AA: Wichita's playoff hopes are fading as the Wranglers lost an early lead yet rallied back to tie the game, only to lose, 5-4, to Arkansas Thursday on an error in the 7th. Wichita scored 2 in the 1st on an RBI double by 3B Mike Aviles and an RBI single by LF Cory Aldridge but SP Brian Bass gave up a solo homer in each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings to give Arkansas the lead and allowed another run in the 5th to make the score 4-2 Travs. Wichita tied it up with 2 in the 6th on a 2-run homer by Aldridge (his 23rd) and Bass gave up a 2-out double in the 7th. Travs 2B Howie Kendrick hit a ball to Aviles at third which Aviles fumbled somehow and the runner at second scored to give Arkansas a 5-4 lead. Aviles giveth at the plate but taketh away with the glove. Aldridge led off the 9th with a double and DH Billy Butler followed with a single but Aldridge was cut down at the plate and C Mathew Tupman followed with a double play ball to finish the game. Bass took the loss with 7 IP of 5 R (4 ER) on 10 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop to 11-8 with a 5.40 ERA; RP Nate Hoelscher went 2/3 IP and allowed a hit to drop his ERA to 5.40; and RP Chris Demaria went 1/3 IP with a K to keep his ERA at 0.00. CF Mitch Maier and 2B Ruben Gotay were both 0-4 to drop to .241 and .231; 1B Josh Pressley was 1-3 with a walk and 2 RS to improve to .315; Aldridge was 3-4 with a double, HR and 3 RBI to improve to .273; and Butler was 3-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .310. Aviles' error was #40 on the season.

Wichita is 29-30 and 3 1/2 games back of Arkansas. Pitchers for the finale with Arkansas: Travs RHP Kasey Olenberger (8-7, 3.94) vs. RHP Ryan Baerlocher (7-4, 2.58). Eleven games remain on Wichita's schedule. In other Wranglers news, IF Irving Falu was called up from Burlington.

High-A: High Desert hold on the division lead slipped a little Thursday as Rancho Cucamonga took a 4-2 win over the Mavs. High Desert took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd on an RBI double by RF Alan Moye and an RBI ground out by DH Brandon Powell but the Quakes tied it in the 3rd off SP Patrick Green and took the lead in the 5th. The Quakes tacked on a run in the 7th off RP Greg Atencio and High Desert couldn't get another rally generated to lose by the 4-2 count. Green took the loss with 6 IP of 3 R (2 ER) on 8 hits with 4 Ks to drop to 9-10 with a 3.82 ERA and Atencio went 2 IP and allowed an ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.44. 3B Pete Maestrales was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .322; SS Angel Sanchez was 0-4 to drop to .301; CF Chris Lubanski was 0-4 to drop to .290; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 1-4 with a double to drop to .311; and Moye was 2-4 with a double and RBI to improve to .292. Maestrales made his 15th error in the loss.

High Desert is 35-25 and up 3 games on Lancaster. The Mavs' "Magic Number" is 8 for both the second-half division title and the wild card with 10 games to play. They start a crucial 3-game set at Lancaster (32-28) tonight. No announced starters.

Low-A: Burlington dropped its 6th straight game with a 4-2 loss to Cedar Rapids Thursday after rallying to tie the game midway through. The Kernels took a 2-0 lead with runs in the 5th and 6th but Burlington tied it with 2 in the 6th on an RBI double by 3B Edward Lucas and a bases-loaded HBP by RF Brian McFall. RP Zane Carlson gave up a run in the 8th to give Cedar Rapids the lead again and gave up another run in the 9th for a 2-run cushion for the Kernels. The Bees didn't threaten again. SP Danny Christensen went 5 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 2 BB with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.55; RP Rusty Begnaud went an inning and allowed an ER on 2 hits to move his ERA to 5.40; and Carlson took the loss with 3 IP of 2 R (1 ER) on 2 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 2-1 with a 4.58 ERA. Lucas was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .286; 2B Gary Perez was 1-4 to improve to .239; and CF Cody Cure was 2-3 to improve to .266. Lucas made his 25th error and C Damaso Espino made his 13th.

Burlington is 28-31 and 4 1/2 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees continue the set with Cedar Rapids tonight and have 11 games left on the schedule. Pitchers: RH Justin Sherman (3-8, 4.62) vs. Kernels RH Karl Gelinas (8-8, 4.15).

Rookie: Idaho Falls had Thursday off.

Idaho Falls is 10-14 and 2 games out of first with 14 games left on the schedule. The Chukars start a 3-game series at Orem (10-14) tonight. In other Chukars news, SS Chris McConnell and CF Ethien Santana have been named 2005 Pioneer League All-Stars in a vote of the league’s managers. McConnell was elected as the league’s shortstop, while Santana was elected as one of the three outfielders. C Kiel Thibault and IF Gary Perez also earned honorable mention.

The ASL Royals had Thursday off.

The Royals are 11-11 and 4 1/2 games back of first with two games unreported on MiLB's site. They play the Giants tonight and the Angels tomorrow. Four games remain in the ASL schedule so the Royals are eliminated from the second-half title chase.