Royals on the Farm 8/7

AAA: Omaha nearly blew an early 4-run lead but the O-Royals pulled it out, 7-6, over Las Vegas in the 9th. Las Vegas scored 2 in the 1st but Omaha came back with 3 on an RBI single by DH Cal Pickering and a 2-run homer by C Scott Walter (his 7th). The O-Royals scored 3 in the 2nd on an RBI double by CF Adrian Brown and a 2-run shot by LF Matt Diaz (his 10th) to take a 6-2 lead but Las Vegas came back to tie it in the 7th off RP Shawn Sonnier. The score held at 6-6 into the bottom of the 9th when Walter, Huber and Truby came through with three straight singles to end it. SP Danny Tamayo went 6 IP and allowed 5 ER on 5 hits (inc. 3 HRs) and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 5.70; Sonnier blew his 4th save with 1 IP of 1 ER on 1 hit and 2 BB with a K to make his ERA 4.81; and RP Jaime Cerda got the win with 2 IP of 0 hits and 0 BB with 4 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 5.84 ERA. Brown was 2-4 with a walk, double and RBI to improve to .278; Diaz was 3-5 with a double, HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to improve to .414; Pickering was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .253; Walter was 3-4 with a HR, 2 RBI and 2 RS to move to .277; Huber was 2-5 to improve to .212; and SS Luis Ugueto was 2-4 with a double and triple to move to .212.

Omaha is 54-61 and 9 games back of first. A 4-game set with Tucson (58-57) started tonight. Pitchers: Sidewinders SP Russ Ortiz (0-0, 0.00) vs. RH Kyle Snyder (1-2, 2.45). In other Omaha news, Sonnier, who had two blown saves in his last three appearances, was released. The Royals signed 29-year old RHP Dave Elder, who had been pitching for the Somerset Patriots in the independent Atlantic League. Elder was 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA and 6 saves. In 43.0 innings, he allowed only 24 hits and 19 walks, while chalking up 61 strikeouts and not giving up a home run. Elder was named to the 2005 Atlantic League South Division All-Star team and helped the Patriots win their division’s first half championship. The Georgia Tech product pitched in parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons in the big leagues with Cleveland.

AA: Wichita had the day off Sunday. Wichita is 22-20 and 1 1/2 games back of Arkansas. The set with San Antonio (23-20) started tonight. In other Wranglers news, RHP Ryan Baerlocher was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for August 1-7. Baerlocher threw a 3-hit complete game shutout at Tulsa Aug. 4 in an 11-0 Wichita victory. Ryan’s record now stands at 6-2 on the season with a 2.41 ERA in 10 starts. He has struck out 33 over 59.2 innings.

High-A: High Desert held off Lancaster to salvage one game of the series with a 5-3 win Sunday. Lancaster took an early 1-0 lead but High Desert tied it in the 2nd on an RBI double by LF Bernard Stephens and took the lead with 2 in the 3rd on RBI singles by Stephens and RF Alan Moye. After Lancaster trimmed the lead to 1, High Desert scored 2 in the 6th on RBI singles by 2B Pete Maestrales and SS Angel Sanchez to take a 5-2 lead. RP Chris Demaria gave up a run in the 9th but got his 19th save. SP Devon Lowery got the win with a quality start of 7 IP of 2 ER on 5 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to improve to 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA; RP Brian Steffek got his 2nd hold with a hitless IP to drop his ERA to 4.76; and Demaria allowed 1 ER on 2 hits with a K in 1 IP to move his ERA to 2.26. Maestrales was 1-5 with an RBI to drop to .316; Sanchez was 2-4 with an RBI to improve to .295; CF Chris Lubanski was 1-4 to drop to .284; 1B Kila Kaaihue was 0-4 to drop to .312; 3B Adam Keim was 2-4 with 2 RS to improve to .291; Stephens was 2-3 with a walk, double and 2 RBI to improve to .279; DH Brandon Powell was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .301; and C Adam Donachie was 3-4 to up his BA to .285.

High Desert is 24-19 and up 2 games on Rancho Cucamonga. A 4-game home set with Inland Empire (19-23) started tonight. No announced pitchers on either team site.

Low-A: Burlington dropped another game with an 8-1 loss to Quad Cities Sunday. The Bees only had 5 hits in the game and scored their run in the 7th on an RBI triple by CF Cody Cure. SP Luis Cota got the loss with 6 1/3 IP of 8 ER on 7 hits and 4 BB with 5 Ks to drop to 3-6 with a 4.01 ERA; and RP Yovany Damico went 1 2/3 IP and allowed only 3 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.83. 3B Edward Lucas was 0-3 with a walk to drop to .314.

Burlington is 23-21 and 3 games back of Quad Cities. The Bees had today off before starting 2 more with Quad Cities.

Rookie: Idaho Falls went extra innings to beat Ogden, 7-6, in 12 innings Sunday. Idaho Falls scored in the 1st on an RBI single by LF Antonio Sabatini and took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd on a wild pitch. Ogden took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 7th and Idaho Falls scored 1 that inning on a bases-loaded walk by Sabatini and tied it in the 8th on an RBI single by RF Felix Peguero and an RBI double by 1B Brady Everett. RP Travis Trammell gave up a run in the 9th to put Idaho Falls down, 6-5, but the Chukars scrapped out extras on a 2-out RBI single by 2B Joshua Johnson. Everett ended it in the 12th with a 1-out RBI single. SP Rusty Begnaud went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 3 ER on 5 hits and 3 BB with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 5.47; RP Eliszer Garcia went 2 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 2 hits and 3 BB with a K to move his ERA to 3.86; Trammell allowed 1 ER on 1 hit and 2 BB with a K in 1 IP to move his ERA to 7.11; and RP Matt Kniginyzky got the win with 3 1/3 IP of 2 hits with 4 Ks to move to 1-3 with a 3.50 ERA. SS Chris McConnell was 4-6 to improve to .356; Everett was 3-5 with 2 BB, a double and 2 RBI to improve to .375; and C Jeff Howell was 2-5 to improve to .384. Idaho Falls left 17 on base.

Idaho Falls is 2-6 and 4 games out of first. The series vs. Ogden continues tonight.

All but one of the ASL Royals' phantom games has been reported as the Aug. 2 Cubs game remains a mystery. The Royals lost to the Mariners Saturday, 5-2. The Royals scored their runs on a 7th-inning 2-run single by SS Jeff Bianchi. Bianchi was 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBI to drop to .418; CF Joseph Dickerson was 1-4 to drop to .319; 2B Pedro Lopez was 3-4 to improve to .309; and 3B Valentino Arce was 0-4 with a walk to drop to .363. SP Brent Fisher got the loss to drop to 4-2 with a 3.25 ERA.

The Royals beat the Rangers Sunday, 5-4, as a 3-run 8th did the trick. The Royals scored in the 1st on an RBI ground out by Arce and again in the 6th on an Arce RBI double but the Rangers took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th. DH Felix Peralta turned the tables with a 3-run homer in the 8th (his 3rd) and RP Gilbert De la vara finished it. SP Angelo Morales went 5 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 4 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to move to 3.80; RP John Sokoll went 2 IP and allowed 2 R (1 ER) on 2 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 10.61; and De la vara got the win with 2 hitless IP with 5 Ks to move to 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA. Bianchi was 1-4 with a triple and 2 RS to drop to .411; Arce was 1-3 with a walk, double and 2 RBI to move to .362; Dickerson was 0-4 with 4 Ks to drop to .309; and OF Alvi Morel was 1-3 to drop to .382.

The ASL Royals are 3-5 and 3 1/2 games back of first. They play the Cubs tonight and the Brewers tomorrow.