Royals on the Farm 8/5 and 8/6

AAA: Omaha lost to Vegas, 9-5, Friday, but bounced back to get in position for a series win Saturday with a 6-4 victory over the 51's. Friday night, Las Vegas got to SP Ryan Jensen in the 4th and ran away for the 9-5 win. The game was scoreless as neither team had a hit going into the 4th before the 51's got to Jensen for 3 runs and tagged Jensen and RP Chris George for 4 in the 5th (on a GS served up by George). Omaha scored once in the 5th on a solo shot by 3B Chris Truby (his 15th). Las Vegas matched that run in the 6th to take an 8-1 lead before Omaha scored 3 in the 6th on a 2-run longball by LF Matt Diaz (his 9th) and an RBI single by C Scott Walter. The O-Royals scored their final run in the 9th on an RBI ground out by SS Luis Ugueto. Jensen went 4 2/3 IP and was credited with 5 ER on 2 hits and 4 BB with 2 Ks to drop to 1-6 with a 5.72 ERA; George went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 4 hits (inc. 2 HRs) and 3 BB with 2 Ks to up his ERA to 5.64; RP Nate Field went 2 IP and gave up 1 ER on 2 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 7.11; and RP Santiago Ramirez pitched a perfect 9th to drop his ERA to 5.43. CF Adrian Brown was 3-5 to improve to .274; Diaz was 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI to improve to .406; and 1B Justin Huber was 2-4 with a double to improve to .200.

Saturday, four homers, including 2 by Brown, propelled the O-Royals to a 6-4 win over Vegas. The 51's scored first in the 5th before Omaha scored 4 that inning on Truby's 16th homer -- a solo shot -- a 2-run shot by Brown (his 7th) and a solo homer by RF Aaron Guiel (his 25th). Omaha added 2 in the 7th on another 2-run shot by Brown for his 8th of the season. Las Vegas scored 3 late runs but Omaha held the 51's off to win. SP J.P. Howell got his 3rd AAA win with 5 2/3 IP of 1 ER on 6 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 4.29 ERA; RP Shane Nance got his 5th hold with 2 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a walk to move his ERA to 4.60; and RP Santiago Ramirez got his 10th save with 1 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit to move his ERA to 5.49. Brown was 2-4 with a walk, 2 HR, 4 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .276; RF Matt Diaz was 2-4 to improve to .409; Walter was 2-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .263; Huber was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .179; and Ugueto was 2-3 with a walk and 2 RS to improve to .207. Ugueto stole 2 bases to get to 11 on the season.

Omaha is 53-61 and 10 games back of first. The finale with the 51's is this afternoon. Pitchers: 51's RH Mike Neu (1-1, 4.50) vs. RH Danny Tamayo (6-7, 5.61). In other Omaha news, C Paul Phillips and UT Denny Hocking got the call to KC and SP Kyle Snyder was returned to the team. Also, 23-year old C Jared Price was brought to Omaha from high-A High Desert. Price was selected by KC from the Dodgers in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft last December and was hitting .318 with eleven home runs and 32 RBI in 30 games from June 5-Aug. 4 with the Mavs. IF Rudy Gomez was also promoted to Omaha from Wichita. Gomez hit .262 with 1 homer and 14 RBI in 39 games for the Wranglers. He also made three relief appearances for Wichita, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.

AA: Wichita got smoked by Tulsa, 10-1, Friday before bouncing back for a 5-4 win Saturday. In Friday's game, Tulsa tagged SP Kyle Middleton for 8 ER over 4 innings and it was never a contest. Wichita's only run scored in the 4th on a sac fly by 1B Josh Pressley. Middleton allowed 8 ER on 9 hits and 2 BB with 2 Ks to drop to 9-8 with a 4.90 ERA as the bullpen got a workout; RP Stephen Bray went a hitless IP to drop his ERA to 2.50; RP Nate Hoelscher went 1 IP and allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with 1 K to move his ERA to 6.00; RP Wes Wilkerson went 1 IP and allowed 1 UER to drop his ERA to 3.38; and RP Juan Cedeno walked 1 and K'd 1 in 1 IP to drop his ERA to 9.00. CF Mitch Maier was 2-4 with a double to improve to .241; LF Shane Costa was 1-4 to drop to .277; and SS Andres Blanco was 0-3 to drop to .250. Pressley made 2 errors to get to 9 on the season.

Saturday, each team got 1 inning's worth of offense as Wichita came out on top, 5-4. The game was scoreless into the 5th when Wichita broke free for 5 runs on a 2-run single by Pressley and a 3-run homer by RF Cory Aldridge (his 19th). Five Wrangler pitchers held Tulsa scoreless into the 9th before the Drillers rallied for 4 runs. Tulsa left the bases loaded to end it. SP Mike Stodolka went 3 IP and allowed 3 hits and 2 BB with 0 ER and 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.42 before a rain delay hit; RP Barry Armitage went 2 IP and allowed 2 hits and 2 BB with a K to get the win and improve to 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA; Bray went 2 IP and allowed 1 hit and 1 BB with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.25; Hoelscher went 2/3 IP and allowed 1 hit with a K to drop his ERA to 5.91; Wilkerson went 1/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 3 walks with a K to move his ERA to 6.48; and RP Derrin Ebert got his 1st save with 1 IP of 1 ER on 2 hits and 2 walks with a K to move his ERA to 5.49. Maier was 2-5 with a double to improve to .244; Costa was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .272; 3B Mike Aviles was 2-5 to improve to .284; Pressley was 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBI to improve to .289; DH Billy Butler made his first Wichita appearance and went 1-4 with a 2nd-inning single to establish a .250 BA; 2B Brett Groves was 3-4 to improve to .236; and Blanco was 1-3 with a walk to improve to .273.

Wichita is 22-20 and 1 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The Wranglers have tonight off before starting a 3-game set at San Antonio Monday. In other Wranglers news, OF Billy Butler was promoted to Wichita from High Desert (finally) after hitting .348 with 25 home runs and 91 RBI in 92 games with the Mavs ; RHP Jonah Bayliss was recalled to Kansas City and OF Mel Stocker was sent to High Desert. Stodolka was also activated from the disabled list for his start. IF Ruben Gotay and RHP Leo Nunez have been optioned to Wichita from KC as well.

High-A: High Desert got obliterated by Lancaster in the series opener Friday, 16-2, and then lost again to the JetHawks Saturday, 6-3. Lancaster jumped out to a 7-0 lead Friday before High Desert scored its runs in the 4th on an RBI single by RF Bernard Stephens and an RBI double by 3B Brandon Powell. SP John Gragg III didn't get out of the 1st as he went 1/3 IP and allowed 5 R (3 ER thanks to 2 Powell errors) on 4 hits and 2 BB to drop to 10-4 with a 4.11 ERA; RP Drew Endicott allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and a walk with a K over 3 2/3 IP to move his ERA to 5.85; RP Chris Coughlin went 1 1/3 IP and allowed 6 ER on 4 hits and 2 BB with a K to move his ERA to 7.79; RP Nate Moore went 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and a walk to bump his ERA to 5.18; RP Brian Steffek went 2 IP and allowed 2 hits with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.79; and RP Chris Demaria went an inning and allowed 2 hits to drop his ERA to 2.15. 2B Pete Maestrales was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .321; LF Billy Butler was 1-3 with a walk and double in his final HD game of the season to drop to .348; DH Kila Kaaihue was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .312; Stephens was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .279; and Powell was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .304 -- his 2 errors moved his season total to 9.

Saturday, the Mavs took an early 1-0 lead before the JetHawks finally got to SP Billy Buckner in the 6th and took the 6-3 win. Kaaihue hit an RBI single in the 1st and the game remained 1-0 HD into the 6th before Buckner gave up a leadoff homer to tie it and helped contribute to the 2nd Lancaster run on a throwing error. Lancaster added 4 runs in the 7th to take a 6-1 lead before High Desert scored 2 in the 9th on RBI singles by CF Mel Stocker and Kaaihue. Buckner went 6 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 3 hits and 4 BB with 2 Ks to drop to 8-12 with a 4.52 ERA; RP Greg Atencio went 2 IP and allowed 4 R (3 ER) on 4 hits and 2 walks with a K to move his ERA to 4.86; and RP Nate Moore went 1 IP and allowed 1 hit and 1 walk to drop his ERA to 5.10. Maestrales was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .318; SS Angel Sanchez was 2-5 to improve to .293; Kaaihue was 3-5 with 2 RBI to improve to .316; RF Alan Moye was 2-5 to improve to .287; and Powell was 1-4 with a double to drop to .304. Kaaihue made his 15th error.

High Desert is 23-19 and up a game on Rancho Cucamonga. The Lancaster series ends tonight.

Low-A: Burlington lost to Lansing, 12-4, Friday before faltering late Saturday to drop a game to Quad Cities, 6-5, in 10 innings. The Bees took a 2-0 lead over Lansing in the 1st Friday on a sac fly by C Damaso Espino and a solo homer by DH Rusty Brown (his 15th). Another Burlington run in the 6th on 3B Edward Lucas' 1st homer tied the game at 3 but Lansing added 4 in the 7th and 5 in the 8th to get all the lead the Lugnuts needed. The Bees scored their final run in the 8th on a solo homer by 1B Eddie Solis (his 7th). SP Justin Sherman went 5 IP and allowed 7 ER on 7 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to drop to 3-6 with a 3.75 ERA; RP Zane Carlson went 2 IP and allowed 5 ER on 6 hits to bump his ERA to 7.56; and RP Yovany Damico went an inning and allowed 2 hits with a K to drop his ERA to 4.96. Lucas was 3-3 with a HR and RBI to improve to .318; RF Geraldo Valentin was 2-4 to up his BA to .247; and SS Gary Perez was 0-4 to drop to .267. 2B Irving Falu made his 14th error.

Burlington took a 5-0 lead into the 8th Saturday but came away with a 6-5 loss in 10 after the bullpen squandered the lead. The Bees scored 4 in the 3rd on a Quad Cities error, a 2-run double by Brown and RBI single by RF Brian McFall. They tacked on a run in the 6th on a Falu RBI ground out and SP Patrick Hicklen left in the 7th with a 5-0 lead. The Swing tied it in the 8th and the game went into extras before the Swing got a walkoff single in the 10th. Hicklen went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 7 hits and 2 BB with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.58; RP Kraig Schambough allowed 5 R (3 ER) on 4 hits over 2/3 IP to bump his ERA to 5.25; and RP Chad Blackwell blew his 3rd save and got the loss with 2 IP of 1 UER on 3 hits and a walk with a K to drop to 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA. Lucas was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .317 and Perez was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .222. McFall and Falu each stole 2 bases to get to 15 and 24 on the season, respectively, and Lucas also stole his 24th base. Lucas also made his 20th error. Perez had 3 errors to get to 5 on the season.

Burlington is 23-20 and 2 games back of Quad Cities. The 2-gamer with Quad Cities ends today.

Rookie: Idaho Falls got its first win of the second half Friday over Orem, 10-0, but took another loss to the Owlz Saturday in a 12-6 game. Friday, the Chukars got on the board early and often as they scored 3 in the 1st on an RBI single by LF Antonio Sabatini and a 2-run double by C Jeff Howell. They added 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run double by SS Chris McConnell and scored 4 in the 3rd on a 2-run double by 2B Joshua Johnson, an RBI single by RF Byron Barber and an RBI double by CF Ethien Santana. The final run scored in the 7th on an RBI single by McConnell. SP Bennett Cromer got the win with 6 IP of 2 hits with 5 Ks to improve to 4-0 with a 4.09 ERA. RP Cody Harkcom got his 1st save with 3 IP of 2 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 9.32. Santana was 4-5 with a double and RBI to improve to .319; McConnell was 2-3 with a walk, double and 3 RBI to improve to .345; Howell was 2-4 with a walk, double and 2 RBI to improve to .383; Johnson was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .242; 3B Brenan Herrera was 2-5 with a double to improve to .250; and Barber was 2-4 with a double, HBP, RBI and 3 RS to improve to .306.

Saturday, the Chukars gave up 4 to Orem in the 1st and the Owlz never trailed. Idaho Falls scored 2 in the 2nd on a solo homer by 1B Jase Turner (his 6th) and a Johnson RBI ground out. Orem expanded its lead to 8-2 in the 3rd but Idaho Falls scored 2 that inning on a Owlz throwing error and wild pitch. The Chukars scored again in the 5th and 9th on a bases-loaded HBP by DH Kiel Thibault and another Orem error. SP Mario Santiago got the loss with 2 1/3 IP of 7 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop to 0-3 with a 12.79 ERA; RP Jacob Eckley went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 1 ER on 4 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.71; RP Brandon Brantley went 1 1/3 IP and gave up 4 ER on 2 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 7.89; and RP Adam Kalkhof went 2 2/3 IP and allowed 2 hits with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.51. McConnell was 1-3 with 2 BB to stay at .345; Turner was 2-2 with 3 BB, a HR, RBI and 2 RS to improve to .295; Everett was 1-4 with a walk and double to drop to .360; and Santana was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .317. Idaho Falls left 12 on base.

Idaho Falls is 1-6 and 4 games out of first. A 3-game set with Ogden (5-2) starts tonight.

The ASL Royals have another phantom game as both the Aug. 2 Cubs game and Saturday's Mariners game have yet to be posted at MiLB.com. The Royals lost to the Padres, 6-0, Thursday as they mustered only 5 hits. SP Rayner Oliveros went 6 IP and allowed 3 hits with 4 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.08; RP Troy Garrett went 1/3 IP and allowed 4 ER on 4 hits to drop to 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA; RP Tim Rice went 1 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and 3 BB with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 10.50; and RP Gilbert De la vara went 1 IP and allowed 1 hit with a K to drop his ERA to 3.38. LF Jose Duarte was 1-4 with a walk to drop to .365; 3B Valentino Arce was 1-3 with a HBP to drop to .379; SS Jeff Bianchi was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .420; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-2 with 2 walks to improve to .321; and PH Alvi Morel was 1-1 to improve to .384.

The ASL Royals are 2-4 with the Cubs and M's scores unposted. They play the Rangers tonight and the Cubs tomorrow.