Royals on the Farm 4/19

AAA - Omaha: Nashville 9, O-Royals 7

Huber 2-4, HR (6), RBI (8), K, 2 RS -- .372
Blanco 2-4, 2B, RBI (10), RS -- .340
Guiel 0-3, HBP, 3 K, RS -- .255, not a good day at the plate
Gotay 0-5, 3 K -- .276
Ambres 1-4, 2B -- .174
Phillips 1-4, HR (2), RBI, K -- .205, also 2 throwing E and 5 SB against, that's a mixed bag of a game
Aviles 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, RS, E (5) -- .171

Rotund Hernandez 5 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- L, 1-2, 10.67 ERA -- like the K/BB ratio
Elder 1 2/3 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 2 H, BB, 2 K -- BS

*** Omaha fell behind early but came back to take the lead only to lose it for good in the 6th. The Sounds scored 1 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd off Hernandez to take a 4-0 lead but Omaha put together a 5-run rally with 2 outs in the 4th to take the lead. DH Rick Bell reached on a fielding error by Nashville RF Nelson Cruz that allowed 2 runs to score and Aviles, Blanco and Kerry Robinson followed with consecutive RBI doubles to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. Omaha blew a chance to extend the lead after Ambres led off the 6th with a double. He was thrown out at third in an odd double play that looked to involve poor baserunning. Hernandez left the game with runners on first and third and one out in the 6th. RP Dave Elder gave up two RBI doubles, one a 2-run hit, to the first two batters he faced and, just like that, Nashville had a 7-5 lead. Nashville 2B Jermaine Clark drew a walk and, on a double steal with Tony Gwynn Jr. at second, both scored as Phillips made a throwing error and Aviles made a fielding error at third. Huber and Phillips went back-to-back with homers in the 8th to cut the Sounds' lead to 2 but that was it for Omaha's offense as Nashville came away with the W. The O-Royals are 9-5 and still a game up on the Sounds for first. Gwynn was 3-5 with 3 RBI for the Sounds to improve to .291. SS Chris Barnwell was 3-4 with 2 doubles to improve to .364.

Omaha tries to bounce back tonight at Nashville. Starters: Omaha RH Brian Bass (0-1, 6.55) vs. RH Dennis Sarfate (0-0, 5.40).

AA - Wichita: Springfield 6, Wranglers 2

Gordon 1-4, HR (3), RBI (7), K -- .345
Butler 0-4, K -- .259
Lubanski 3-4, 2B, K -- .146, finally a good game
Tupman 0-1, SF, RBI, BB -- .324
Sanchez 1-4, E (7) -- .340
Murphy 0-4, K -- .280
Maier 1-4, K, CS -- .232

Middleton 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K -- 5.17 ERA, walks, walks, walks
DePriest 1 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, HRA -- L, 0-1, 4.50 ERA

*** A 4-run 7th opened up a late tie for Springfield and the Wranglers dropped another one. Middleton and Cards SP Stuart Pomeranz battled back and forth for 4 1/2 innings before the Cardinals scored a run on a solo shot by 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir in the 5th. Gordon came back with a solo shot of his own to tie the game in the 6th but Springfield scraped out another run in the bottom of the 6th to regain the lead. Wichita once again tied the game in the top of the 7th on a Tupman sac fly but DePriest came on to pitch the Cards 7th and gave up a leadoff homer to C Iker Franco, a 2-run double to 3B Rico Washington and another run to stake Springfield to the 6-2 lead. Wichita went down in order in the 8th and 9th. The Wranglers are 3-10 and now 6 games back of Tulsa. Washington was 1-2 with 2 BB and 2 RBI to improve to .383. CF Reid Gorecki was 1-4 for Springfield to drop to .368. The Cardinals hit 6 XBH of 9 total team hits in the win. Pomeranz got a no decision and his ERA moved to 3.31.

The 5-gamer goes to its rubber match tonight in Springfield. Pitchers: Wichita's Juan Cedeno (0-1, 7.56) vs. Cards' Mike Parisi (1-0, 6.30).

High-A - High Desert: San Jose 6, Mavs 5

Stodolka 0-4, K, RS -- .355
Valentin 0-3, HBP, E -- .367
Lucas 1-4, K, 2B, RBI, E -- .234
Galloway 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI -- .297
C Tomas Duenas 1-4, HR, RBI, K -- .182, also 2 passed balls

Christensen 5 2/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K, HRA, WP -- ND, 4.32 ERA
RP Nate Moore 2 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 1.00 ERA
DeHoyos 1 IP, 2 R (1 ER), H, BB, 2 K -- BS, L, 0-1, 1.35 ERA

*** High Desert coughed up a 5-4 9th inning lead to lose the game with the Giants. San Jose got a 2-run homer from 3B Simon Klink in the 2nd to get the early lead but High Desert got an RBI double from Lucas in the 4th and RBI single from SS Irving Falu and 2-run triple from Galloway in the 5th to take a 4-2 lead. San Jose tied the game in the 6th thanks in part to a Christensen wild pitch but Duenas jacked a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead for the Mavs at 5-4. Moore pitched the Mavs into the 9th with the lead before DeHoyos came on to try and close it out. With 1 out, a walk was followed by an RBI double by SS Marcus Sanders to tie the game and a Valentin fielding error allowed Sanders to get to third on the play. DeHoyos got the second out of the inning but a passed ball on Duenas with the next batter at the plate allowed Sanders to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. The Mavs went 1-2-3 in the 9th. High Desert is 7-6 and 1 1/2 games back of first. The bullpen had a 15 2/3 inning scoreless streak going before DeHoyos' 9th inning woes. Giants RF Brian Horwitz was 2-4 to improve to .389.

This series also goes to a rubber game tonight in Adelanto, the Mavs' home base. HD RH Patrick Hicklen pitches vs. San Jose RH Juan Serrato.

Low-A - Burlington: Fort Wayne 12, Burlington 4 (10, completion of Tuesday's game)

Lisson 1-4, HR, 2 RBI (10), BB, 2 RS, SB -- .263
Thibault 1-4, 2B, K, RBI (9), PB -- .278
Duarte 1-1, 3 BB, RS, 2 SB (4) -- .194
Santana 0-3, BB, K -- .304

DiPietro 4 2/3 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, K -- 1.47 ERA
Damico 3 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K -- 5.14 ERA
De la Vara 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 K -- 5.91 ERA
Harkcom 1/3 IP, 2 ER, H, BB, HRA (GS) -- 7.20 ERA

*** So much for that 10th inning tie when play was suspended Tuesday night. As reported yesterday, the game was tied at 4 with Fort Wayne having 1 runner on and 0 out in the 10th when play resumed Wednesday to finish the game. De la Vara gave up a walk and RBI double before getting a double play for 2 outs but then gave up 2 more walks and 2 more RBI singles before being pulled for RP Cody Harkcom, who promptly gave up a walk and then a grand slam to finish off the Wizards' damage. The Bees then sat down meekly in the 10th to end it. What a nightmare of an extra inning. The Bees dropped to 6-6. Wizards SP Steve Delabar gave up 1 ER over 5 IP to move his ERA to 2.08. Fort Wayne RF Nicholas Crosta was 4-6 with 2 doubles, the grand slam and 5 RBI to improve to .286 and 2B Seth Johnston was 3-5 with a double to improve to .312.

Bees 3, Fort Wayne 2 (Wednesday's regularly scheduled contest)

SS Chris McConnell 0-5, 2 K -- .083
Lisson 1-3, HR (2), RBI (11), BB, SB -- .268
RF Carlos Arroyo 2-3, BB, RS -- .237

Henninger 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, K, 2 WP -- 4.50 ERA
Oliveros 4 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- 0.73 ERA, in bullpen for some reason

*** A 9th-inning rally gave the Bees a win to make tonight's series finale, as in High Desert and Wichita, the deciding game of the series. Fort Wayne scored its runs in the 1st and 3rd off Henninger before the Bees even got a runner on base. A Lisson solo homer in the 4th broke the ice on the scoreboard for Burlington to cut the lead to 2-1, which remained the score into the bottom of the 9th. Arroyo led off the inning with a single and, after 2 strikeouts put the Bees down to their last out, 2B Valentino Arce reached on a throwing error by FW 3B Abraham Aguilar and then McConnell reached on a throwing error by P John Madden (not the NFL announcer, but a funny thought) that allowed Arroyo and PR Joshua Johnson to score the tying and winning runs. Burlington is 7-6 and 2 games back of first. Wizards C Brandon Gottier was 1-4 to drop to .400 and 1B Daryl Jones was 1-4 with a double and RBI to drop to .356. Fort Wayne starter Grant Varnell gave up only 1 ER on 5 H over 5 IP to lower his ERA to 3.00.

In the series finale tonight, Bees RH Carlos Rosa (1-1, 3.86) starts against RH Josh Geer (1-0, 3.60).