Royals on the Farm 5/2

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 4, O-Royals 0

CF Guiel 1-3, 2B, BB, OF assist at third -- .247, team's only hit
2B Gotay 0-4, 2 K -- .253
SS Blanco 0-3 -- .321
LF Ambres 0-2, BB, SB -- .175
3B Aviles 0-3, K, E (8) -- .250

Bass 5 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 8 H, 3 BB, K, WP -- L, 1-3, 3.96 ERA
Baerlocher 2 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, K -- season debut

*** Guiel's 2-out double in the 1st was Omaha's only hit in the game as Huber got the call to KC and wasn't available, not that he necessarily would have made a huge difference in the game. Omaha actually had 6 base runners after the 1st but no hits meant nobody crossed the plate. Albuquerque scratched out 2 runs in the 2nd off Bass thanks in part to a fielding error by Aviles and added runs in the 4th and 6th. That was all Isotopes SP Renyel Pinto and former Japanese league closer RP Eddie Gaillard would need in shutting the O-Royals down. Omaha is 13-11 and 3 1/2 games back of first. Pinto moved to 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and will likely be in Florida before long. LF Chris Ashby was 1-3 to drop to .345, 3B Mike Kinkade was 1-2 to move to .316, 1B Jason Wood was 0-5 to drop to .306 and RF Mark Little was 1-3 to up his BA to .309.

SP Danny Tamayo (2-1, 1.69 ERA) takes the mound for Omaha Wednesday against Albuquerque.

AA - Wichita: Frisco 7, Wranglers 0

3B Gordon 1-2, 2 BB, SB (6), E (2) -- .327
RF Butler 1-4, K, E (3) -- .301
LF Lubanski 1-5 -- .266
CF Maier 1-4, K -- .286, RBIs slowing down
C Tupman 2-4, 2 K -- .344, hitting well
DH D. Brown 0-3, BB -- .059
SS Sanchez 0-4, 3 K -- .244, triple sombrero

Herndon 6 2/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 8 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HRA, pickoff -- L, 2-2, 4.85 ERA
DePriest 1 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, BB, 0 K -- 4.66 ERA

*** The organization's top three teams combined for 1 run Tuesday as Wichita got blanked by the Rough Riders. Frisco got a 2-run homer from 1B Jim Fasano off Herndon in the 1st and Wichita didn't get a hit until the 4th. Fasano homered again in the 6th to make the score 4-0 Frisco and Wichita got runners to second and third with 2 out in the bottom of the inning but Brown grounded out to end the threat. The Wranglers got another runner to third in the 7th with 0 out and couldn't get Butler home. Frisco poured on 3 more runs in the 8th and the Wranglers got 2 runners on in both the 8th and 9th but got nothing to show for it. Wichita is 7-18 and now in a 5-game skid. Rangers pitching prospect Thomas Diamond, who had some good outings against High Desert in '05, gave up only 3 hits over 6 IP in moving to 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA. Fasano was 3-5 with his first 2 '06 homers to improve to .500, 3B Travis Metcalf was 3-4 to move to .215 and RF Luke Grayson was 1-4 to drop to .303.

The teams are wrapping up the series as I write and the game was tied at 1 in the 1st. Pitchers: Frisco RH Armando Galarraga (0-3, 6.32 ERA) vs. Wichita RH Kyle Middleton (0-2, 4.00). In other Wichita news, reliever Barry Armitage was activated from the DL and 2B Donnie Murphy was put on the seven-day DL with an unspecified injury.

High-A - High Desert: Mavericks 6, Bakersfield 4

C Donachie 3-3, BB, RBI, 2 RS -- .283, picking it up on offense
3B Lucas 3-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (13), 2 RS, CS -- .270
2B Perez 3-4, 2B, K, E (6) -- .261
CF Melgarejo 3-5, RBI, RS, SB (6) -- .310
1B Stodolka 0-3, BB, RS -- .324
LF Valentin 0-4 -- .319
DH Galloway 0-3, BB -- .307

Buckner 6 IP, ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K, pickoff -- W, 4-0, 2.94 ERA, having great 2006 thus far
Moore IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K! -- SV, 3, 1.32 ERA

*** A quartet of 3-hit games and the pitching of Billy Buckner propelled the Mavs to a 6-4 win over the Blaze. The Blaze pushed across a run in the 1st off Buckner but he only allowed 3 more hits and a walk over 6 IP from there. Donachie hit a 2-run single in the bottom of the 1st to put the Mavs on top and a 2-run homer by Lucas in the 4th gave High Desert a 4-1 lead. The Mavs rallied for 2 in the 6th on RBI singles by SS Michael Gaffney and CF Ransel Melgarejo to gain a 5-run cushion that came in handy, as relievers Justin Barnes and Adam Rowe gave up 3 solo homers in the next 2 innings to cut the lead to 6-4. Moore set the Blaze down quietly in the 9th to secure the win. High Desert is 15-11 and still half a game up on first. Blaze C Emerson Frostad was 3-4 with his 5th homer to improve to .328, DH Phillip Hawke was 1-3 with his 1st homer of the season to move to .444 and 3B Mauro Gomez was 1-4 with his 1st homer to move to .344.

The teams get an early start in the series finale today. Pitchers: HD's Luis Cota vs. Blaze SP Eric Hurley, who was a high school teammate of Billy Butler.

Low-A - Burlington: Dayton 4, Bees 3 (game 1)

3B Lisson 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI (21), RS -- .212
C Thibault 1-3, RBI (14), K -- .273
SS McConnell 1-4, K, E (7) -- .139, rough start continues
LF Santana 1-2, BB, K, RS, SB (5) -- .293

Kniginyzky 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA -- ND, 3.16 ERA, too many walks
Damico IP, ER, H, 0 BB, K, HRA -- L, 0-3, 4.91 ERA

*** The Bees tied it up late in the first game of 2 with Dayton but blew it in the 7th as Bees pitchers gave up 3 homers. Homers in the 3rd and 4th gave Dayton a 3-0 lead but Burlington broke through in the 6th with 3 runs on a 2-run double by Lisson and Thibault RBI single to tie the game. The Bees loaded the bases with 1 out that inning but couldn't score any more runs and RP Yovany Damico gave up a solo homer in the 7th to Dayton SS Paul Janish to give the Dragons back the lead. The Bees got a runner to second with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th in the shortened doubleheader opener but again couldn't get a key hit. They dropped to 9-16 with the loss. Janish was 2-3 with his 3rd homer to up his BA to .397, DH Jay Bruce was 1-4 with his 4th homer to move to .284 and CF Brandon Szymanski was 2-3 with his 5th homer to improve to .198.

Dayton 8, Bees 2 (game 2)

DH Thibault 1-3, 2 K -- .275
SS McConnell 2-4, K, 2 RS, 2 SB (3) -- .158
CF Santana 0-2, BB, K, OF assist at third -- .279

Oliveros 2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, K, HRA -- L, 2-2, 3.47 ERA
Garcia 2 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA -- 3.65 ERA
Harkcom and Schambough 3 IP scoreless relief

*** Dayton dialed long distance 3 more times in the nightcap to finish off the 2-day, 4-game sweep. The Dragons knocked Oliveros around for 3 in the first 2 innings to take the lead while Burlington scored once in the 1st thanks to a Dayton throwing error that allowed McConnell to score. A 2-run homer in the 3rd gave Dayton a 5-1 lead but the Bees got a run back in the 3rd on a sac fly by 3B Jeremy Jirschele. Another 2-run homer in the 4th extended Dayton's lead to 7-1 and the Dragons scored again in the 5th off RP Eliszer Garcia. Burlington managed only 4 hits and only had 2 base runners from the 4th on. The Bees are 9-17 and falling farther out of the race. Dayton RP Bo Lanier allowed only 1 hit and a walk over 3 1/3 IP to get the win and move to 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA. Janish was 1-4 to drop to .388, Bruce was 1-4 to drop to .283, Szymanski hit his 6th homer and was 2-4 to move to .211 and 2B Michael DeJesus was 2-3 with his 1st homer to move to .300.

The Bees have today off, mercifully, to try and regroup after running their losing streak to 6 games. They start a 4-game set at the West Michigan Whitecaps (17-8, Low-A Tigers) Thursday. The Whitecaps' big prospect is OF Cameron Maybin, who was a top pick in the 2005 draft.