Royals on the Farm 8/4

AAA: Omaha jumped on former Twins big shot SP Scott Erickson for 5 runs en route to a 6-3 win in the opener vs. Las Vegas Thursday. The O-Royals scored in the 1st on an RBI single by LF Matt Diaz and added 4 in the 3rd on another Diaz RBI single and a 3-run longball by DH Calvin Pickering (his 15th). Omaha added its final run in the 7th on a sac fly by SS Denny Hocking and led, 6-1. RP Justin Huisman gave up 2 runs in the 9th but closed it out. SP Dennis Tankersley went 4 IP and allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 5 BB with a K to drop his ERA to 4.80; RP Jaime Cerda got the win with 3 hitless IP of 1 BB and 2 Ks to move to 2-1 with a 6.17 ERA; and Huisman went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits with a BB and K to move his ERA to 4.67. CF Adrian Brown was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .270; Hocking was 2-2 with a walk, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .287; Diaz was 2-4 with 2 RBI to improve to .404; Pickering was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .250; 1B Justin Huber was 0-4 to drop to .143; and RF Aaron Guiel was 1-4 to drop to .272.

Omaha is 52-60 and 8 1/2 games back of first. Game 2 with the 51's is tonight. Pitchers: 51's LH Eric Stults (1-3, 5.71) vs. RH Ryan Jensen (1-5, 5.40).

AA: Wichita's newest Wrangler announced his presence with authority and the team went on to an 11-0 victory over Tulsa Thursday. SP Ryan Baerlocher also had another great start with a complete game 3-hitter for the Wranglers. Wichita exploded onto the scoreboard with 4 in the 2nd on a grand slam by SS Andres Blanco in his first Wichita AB (his 1st, obviously) and added 6 in the 4th on a 2-run triple by CF Mel Stocker, a 2-run longball by DH Josh Pressley (his 18th) and RBI singles by C Mathew Tupman and 1B Rudy Gomez. The 11th run was tacked on in the 5th on a solo homer by LF Shane Costa (his 8th). Baerlocher took a no-hitter into the 5th and went the full 9 IP with 3 hits and 3 BB allowed and 5 Ks to move to 6-2 with a 2.41 ERA. Six Wranglers had at least 2 hits. Stocker was 2-4 with a BB, triple and 2 RBI to improve to .245; Costa was 2-5 with a double, HR and RBI to up his BA to .277; Pressley was 2-5 with a double, HR and 2 RBI to improve to .289; Tupman was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .279; Gomez was 3-5 with a double, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .266; and Blanco was 2-5 with the GS, 4 RBI and 2 RS to set a .400 BA. Stocker stole his 16th base. 3B Brennan King left the game in the 2nd with a leg injury -- no report on the site to its severity.

Wichita is 21-19 and 1 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The Tulsa series continues tonight. Pitchers: SP Kyle Middleton (9-7, 4.51) vs. Drillers SP Ubaldo Jimenez (1-3, 5.82). RP Colt Griffin was DL'ed to open a roster spot for Blanco. No report on Griffin's injury at the team site either.

High-A: High Desert took a big series with Rancho Cucamonga thanks in part to a 5-run 1st and a great start from SP Patrick Green Thursday in an 8-3 win. High Desert jumped out of the gates in the 1st on a bases-loaded walk by 1B Kila Kaaihue, an RBI force out by RF Bernard Stephens and a 3-run homer by CF Alan Moye (his 17th). The Mavs tacked on a run in the 3rd on a solo shot by Kaaihue (his 14th) and scored in the 8th and 9th on an RBI force out by Moye and a Kaaihue RBI single. Green went 8 IP and allowed 2 UER (thanks to a WP and an error by 3B Brandon Powell) on 3 hits and 2 BB with 5 Ks to move to 7-8 with a 3.65 ERA; RP Chris Coughlin finished it with 1 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 7.11. DH Pete Maestrales was 1-3 with 2 BB and 2 RS to improve to .324; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-5 with a double to up his BA to .295; LF Billy Butler was 1-4 with a walk and double to drop to .348; Kaaihue was 2-3 with 2 BB, a HR and 3 RBI to improve to .315; C Jared Price was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .318; Powell was 0-4 to drop to .305; and Moye was 1-4 with a HR and 4 RBI to drop to .286. Moye also threw in his 20th SB.

High Desert is 23-17 and up 2 games on Rancho Cucamonga. A 3-game home set with Lancaster (17-24) starts tonight. No announced pitchers on either team site.

Low-A:Burlington got blown off the field Thursday in a 16-2 loss to Lansing. The Lugnuts scored 7 off Bees' SP Kyle Crist and Burlington couldn't recover. The Bees actually took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on an RBI single by 3B Edward Lucas but by the time they scored again in the 8th it was a 16-1 game. The 8th-inning run came on an RBI single by RF Brian McFall. Crist got the loss in his worst start of the season as he allowed 7 ER on 8 hits and 3 BB over 2 2/3 IP to drop to 9-3 with a 4.73 ERA; RP Adam Rowe went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 8 R (3 ER thanks to 2 errors) on 7 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 5.56; and position player Eddie Solis made a relief appearance and gave up 1 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB over 1 2/3 IP to establish an ERA of 5.40. 2B Irving Falu was 2-5 with a double to improve to .257; Lucas was 2-5 with an RBI to improve to .311; and SS Gary Perez was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .364. Lucas stole his 22nd and 23rd bases.

Burlington is 23-18 and a game back of Quad Cities. The series with the Lugnuts comes to an end tonight. Pitchers: SP Justin Sherman (3-5, 2.95) vs. Lansing SP Daniel Core (4-7, 7.47).

Rookie: Idaho Falls dropped its fourth straight game and SP Chris Nicoll's pro debut with a 9th-inning collapse in a 4-2 loss to Orem Thursday. The Chukars took a 2-0 lead on a 6th-inning RBI single by LF Antonio Sabatini and a 7th-inning solo homer by C Kiel Thibault (his 2nd pro shot). The lead held into the 9th before the Owlz got to RP Matt Kniginzyzky and took the lead. The Chukars went down quietly in the 9th to end it. Nicoll (Royals 3rd-rounder) only went 2 IP in his first pro appearance but allowed 0 hits and 1 BB with 3 Ks to keep a 0.00 ERA; RP Phillip Davidson went 5 IP and allowed 2 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.58; Kniginyzky blew his 3rd save and took the loss with 1 1/3 IP of 4 R (3 ER) on 5 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 0-3 with a 4.30 ERA; and RP Eliszer Garcia went 2/3 hitless IP and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 3.81. SS Chris McConnell was 1-4 to drop to .340; 1B Jase Turner was 2-3 with a HBP to improve to .283; DH Jeff Howell was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .377; Sabatini was 2-4 with a triple and RBI to improve to .277; and Thibault was 1-3 with a walk, HR and RBI to improve to .290. 3B Joshua Colafemina made his 9th error.

Idaho Falls is 0-5 and 5 games out of first. The series vs. Orem resumes tonight.

One of the ASL Royals' phantom games has been reported but the Aug. 2 Cubs game and Thursday's Padres game have yet to be posted. The Royals lost to the A's Wednesday, 10-2. A sac fly by SS Jeff Bianchi cut the early A's lead to 2-1 in the 3rd and the Royals tied it in the 4th on a solo longball by RF Oscar Gonzalez (his 3rd). The A's pulled away with 4 later that inning and the Royals couldn't generate any more runs. SP Juan Abreu got the L with 3 IP of 5 ER on 4 hits and 4 BB with a K to drop to 2-3 with a 7.91 ERA; RP Matt Pena went 2 IP and allowed 3 R (2 ER) on 4 hits and a walk with a K to move his ERA to 4.32; RP Drew Coffey went 2 IP and allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and 2 BB with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 10.38; and RP Nelson Trifolio went a hitless IP and walked 1 and K'd 1 to drop his ERA to 4.85. LF Jose Duarte was 2-5 to improve to .370; 2B Valentino Arce was 1-4 with a double to drop to .381; Bianchi was 0-3 with an RBI to drop to .435; CF Joseph Dickerson was 0-4 to drop to .318; Gonzalez was 3-4 with a HR and RBI to improve to .315; DH Alvi Morel was 1-4 to drop to .375; and 3B Pedro Lopez was 2-4 with a double to improve to .304. Lopez also made 2 errors to get to 10 on the season.

The ASL Royals are 2-4 according to their MiLB site, so they must have lost one of the phantom games with the Cubs and Pads. They have tonight off and play the Mariners tomorrow.