Royals on the Farm 4/18

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 6, Nashville 2

Huber 2-4, HR (5), RBI (7) -- .359
Guiel 2-4, BB, K, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI (13) -- .273
Aviles 2-4, 2 RBI -- .161
Phillips 2-4, RS, 3 SB against -- .200
Robinson 2-5, RS, SB (5) -- .300
Gotay 0-5, CS -- .302
Allen 1-4, BB -- .315
Blanco 0-4, K -- .326

Howell 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- W, 3-0, 2.65 ERA, another pitcher giving up walks
RP Frank Brooks 1 2/3 IP, H, BB, 0 ER -- organizational debut
RP Adam Bernero 2 1/3 IP, H, K, 0 ER -- SV, 5.40 ERA

*** Guiel is starting to come around as he had 2 homers and the O-Royals won their third straight by opening the Nashville series with a victory. Huber DHed and started the scoring with a solo shot in the 2nd for his 5th of the season. Omaha added 3 in the 4th on a leadoff solo shot by Guiel and a 2-run bases loaded single by Aviles to make the score 4-0. The Sounds scraped together 2 runs off J.P. Howell in the 4th and 5th to cut the Omaha lead to 2 and Brooks and Bernero held the lead where it was until the 9th, when Guiel hit a 2-out, 2-run homer for some added insurance. Bernero sat the Sounds down in order in the 9th to take any drama out of the situation. Omaha is 9-4 and now 2 games up on Iowa and Nashville in the PCL American North. Nashville RP Jason Kershner pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, CF Tony Gwynn Jr. was 1-5 to drop to .260, 2B Jermaine Clark was 1-4 to drop to .333 and C Mike Rivera was 1-3 to drop to .355.

The Royals try to keep the streak rolling tonight. Nice to see a team in the organization on a WINNING streak. Pitchers: Omaha RH Runelvys Hernandez (1-1, 11.00 -- uh oh, can he get his ERA under 10?) vs. LH Dana Eveland (1-0, 1.50).

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 7, Springfield 5

Gordon 2-5, 2 K, RS -- .353
Butler 3-4, BB, 2 RS -- .278
Lubanski 0-4, K -- .091
Maier 3-4, 3B, HR (4), 4 RBI (13) -- .231
Kaaihue 2-4, 2 RBI, K, RS -- .250
Sevilla 2-4, K -- .278
Sanchez 0-3, 2 BB, RS -- .349

Snare 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, K -- W, 2-0, 8.53 ERA
Markray and Nunez 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H (Nunez WP)

*** Maier, Butler and Gordon went a combined 8-13 to propel the Wranglers to their third win of the season. 1B Kila Kaaihue knocked in a run in the 1st to stake Wichita to a 1-0 lead and the Wranglers added 5 in the 3rd on a 2-run single by Kaaihue after Cards SP Chris Lambert walked the bases loaded. Maier followed with a 3-run homer (#4 for him) to give the Royals a 6-0 advantage. They'd need it as Snare got lit up in the 4th. Springfield pushed a run across the plate in the 3rd and then scored 4 in the 4th on two doubles and a 3-run homer by C Iker Franco to cut the lead to 6-5. Maier's RBI triple in the 7th gave the Wranglers an extra run and Markray and Nunez got through the 8th without too much trouble. Nunez gave up a leadoff double in the 9th and, with 2 out, walked the bases loaded but got CF Reid Gorecki swinging to end the game. The Wranglers are 3-9 and 5 games back. Springfield RP Kevin Ool went 3 1/3 IP of scoreless relief to drop his ERA to 0.77 and Gorecki was 1-5 to drop to .377. 3B Rico Washington was 1-2 with 2 walks to move to .378 for the Cardinals.

The series continues tonight. Starters: Wichita's Kyle Middleton (0-1, 6.52) vs. Cards SP Stuart Pomeranz (1-0, 3.60). In other news, OF Juan Senreiso got called up to Wichita from High Desert, where he was hitting .192/.192/.423 with 3 2B, a HR and 2 RBI in 7 G/26 AB. Fifth from the bottom on the team in OPS in a hitters' league. Ripe for a call-up, but it's a small sample size, I know.

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 4, San Jose 3 (10)

Valentin 4-5, GW HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS -- .407
Rusty Brown 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 K -- .268
McFall 1-2, K, HR (3), RBI (8) -- .212
Galloway 0-3 -- .303
Lucas 1-4, BB, 2B, RS -- .233
Gaffney 1-4, K -- .417

Cota 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 7 K -- ND, 10.12 ERA

*** High Desert rallied for 2 runs in the 8th to send it to extras and Valentin finished his damage for the day with a walkoff homer in the 10th. San Jose got on the board first with a run in the 4th but the Mavs matched it that inning on McFall's solo blast to left for his 3rd of the season. McFall ran into the wall making an inning-ending catch in the 5th and left the game with a black eye and bruised arm. San Jose scored 2 off Cota in the 6th to take a 3-1 lead and the High Desert bats stayed dormant until the 8th. Lucas doubled with 2 outs off Giants RP Ben Cox and a wild pitch and Valentin single brought him home to cut the lead to 1. Gaffney singled to center and a fielding error by SJ CF Joseph Dyche allowed Valentin to score to tie the game. RP Jarod Plummer set the Giants down in order in the 9th and 10th and, with 2 out in the Mavs 10th, Valentin homered to left off RP Thomas King to win it. The Mavs are 7-5 and 1/2 a game back of first. Cota had his best start yet in giving up 3 ER over 6 innings with 7 Ks to 1 BB. San Jose SP Jesus Reina held the Mavs to 1 ER over 5 IP but walked 4. Giants DH Brian Horwitz was 2-3 with a walk to improve to .375.

The teams play game 2 of 3 tonight as LH Danny Christensen throws for High Desert vs. San Jose's RH Anthony Moreno.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 4, Fort Wayne 4 (susp./10)

*** I guess I'll do the normal treatment for this game tomorrow, as this game is set to wrap up tonight before the regularly scheduled game is played. The Bees got an RBI double from C Kiel Thibault in the 4th but Fort Wayne tied it off SP Ryan DiPietro in the 5th. 3B Mario Lisson cracked a 2-run shot in the 6th and OF Jose Duarte scored on a wild pitch in the 7th to put the Bees up, 4-1, but Fort Wayne got a run off RP Yovany Damico in the 8th and 2 off RPs Kraig Schambough and Chris Hayes in the 9th, including the tying run on a passed ball on Thibault. The Wizards got a leadoff single in the 10th before play was suspended because of rain and lightning.

In tonight's regular game, SP David Henninger (1-0, 4.82) pitches for the Bees against Fort Wayne SP Grant Varnell (1-1, 3.60).