Royals on the Farm 5/5

AAA - Omaha: Round Rock 4, O-Royals 3

2B Gotay 2-4 -- .274
SS Blanco 0-3 -- .307
DH Price 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI (5), K -- .200
RF Allen 1-4, 2B, RBI (24), E (1) -- .311
CF Ambres 1-3, RS, E (2), OF assist at home -- .163
3B Aviles 1-3, E (9) -- .265

Yarnall 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 7 H, 0 BB, 3 K -- ND, 3.38 ERA
Baerlocher 3 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-1, 3.60 ERA

*** A 6th inning run gave the Express a late lead they held on to for the series opening win. Consecutive doubles by C Paul Phillips and Allen in the 1st gave Omaha a quick 1-0 lead but Yarnall gave up 3 straight singles to start Round Rock's half of the inning and allow the Express to tie it. Express 3B Joe McEwing doubled home a run in the 3rd and Aviles' 9th error in the 4th helped Round Rock score again to take a 3-1 lead. Price hammered a 2-run homer for his 2nd of 2006 in the 5th to tie the game once more but a 2-out double by Round Rock RF Brian Gordon in the 6th scored the go-ahead run. The O-Royals went down in order in the 7th, 8th and 9th to end the game. Omaha is 14-13 and 5 games back of first. Express RP Justin Huisman pitched an inning of perfect relief to drop his ERA to 9.31. McEwing was 2-4 to move to .270, CF Charlton Jimerson was 4-4 with a double to move to .302 and DH Alan Zinter was 1-4 to drop to .326.

The teams continue the series tonight. Pitchers: Omaha RH Kyle Snyder (0-1, 3.43) vs. RH Roberto Giron (2-2, 6.38). In other news, 3B Mark Teahen is on his way to Omaha but according to the site probably won't play until Sunday. Guiel got the call to KC. According to Omaha's site, SP Joe Mays has been asked to accept an option to Omaha. Mays, who is 0-4 with a 10.27 ERA, has 3 days to decide.

AA - Wichita: Midland 5, Wranglers 2

3B Gordon 0-4, RBI (14), CS, picked off, E (3) -- .318
RF Butler 1-4, 2 K -- .307
LF Lubanski 2-3, BB, 2 RS -- .290, inching closer to .300
CF Maier 1-4, 2B (6), K -- .291
SS Sanchez 1-4, 2 K, picked off -- .250
DH D. Brown 1-4, RBI -- .133
C Tupman 0-3, BB, K -- .338

Cedeno 4 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 4 H, 5 BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- L, 0-3, 5.40 ERA, WALKS!

*** A 3-run 4th put Midland ahead and the RockHounds didn't let up to get another win over the Wranglers. Dee Brown hit an RBI ground out in the 1st to put Wichita up early and the Wranglers had 2 on with 0 out in the 3rd but Sanchez struck out on a foul bunt, Gordon hit into a force out and then was picked off. Cedeno struggled through the first 2 innings but kept Midland scoreless into the 4th when a Gordon error allowed the RockHounds' first run to score and C Kurt Suzuki singled home 2 runs with the bases loaded and 2 out to give Midland a 3-1 lead. RP John Gragg III gave up another run in the 5th but Wichita got the run back in the 6th on an RBI ground out by Gordon. Gragg gave up another run in the 6th to give Midland a 5-2 lead and the only offense Wichita generated thereafter was a 2-out double in the 9th by Maier. Wichita is 8-20. Midland SP Benjamin Fritz allowed only 1 ER over 6 IP in moving to 1-2 with a 3.82 ERA. Midland SS Ronnie Merrill Jr. was 2-3 to move to .266, CF Jason Perry was 1-3 with a triple to drop to .402 and Suzuki was 1-4 to drop to .325. The RockHounds won despite leaving 12 runners on base.

The teams finish the series tonight. Pitchers: Wichita SP Ryan Snare (2-1, 6.94) vs. Midland SP Ray Aguilar (2-1, 4.01).

High-A - High Desert: Modesto 4, Mavs 1

DH Stodolka 0-2, 2 BB, 2 E (3) -- .310
1B R. Brown 1-4, 2B (7), K -- .302
LF Valentin 0-4, K -- .301
CF Senreiso 1-3, HR (3), RBI (5) -- .222
3B Lucas 0-3, K -- .281

Christensen 5 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- L, 0-2, 3.71 ERA

*** The Mavs managed only 1 hit and made 3 errors in the loss to Modesto. The Nuts got on the board first with a solo homer in the 4th and, as High Desert was 1-hit through the 5th but got two fruitless hits in the 6th, Modesto added a run in the 7th for a 2-0 lead. Senreiso hit a solo homer in the 7th to break up the shutout but his was the last Mav hit. High Desert is 16-12 and tied for the division lead with Inland Empire. Modesto SP Ching-Lung Lo went 7 IP and gave up only an ER on 4 hits and a walk to move to 3-0 with a 4.50 ERA. Two relievers went 2 IP of hitless relief for the Nuts. Nuts C Neil Wilson was 3-4 to improve to .328, 3B Anthony Granato was 2-5 to move to .444, 2B Corey Wimberly was 2-4 to move to .346 and CF Matthew Miller was 2-5 to move to .330.

The series continues tonight. Pitchers: RH Patrick Hicklen goes for the Mavs vs. Modesto RH Humberto Cardenas.

Low-A - Burlington: West Michigan 3, Bees 2

CF Duarte 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI -- .211
1B Vega 2-4, RBI (11), RS, K -- .181
SS McConnell 0-3, 2 K -- .169
C Thibault 0-3, BB -- .256

Henninger 4 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K -- L, 1-2, 4.50 ERA
De la vara and Schambough 3 2/3 IP scoreless relief

*** The Bees' struggles continued as the Whitecaps took the early lead and held on for the win. West Michigan DH Cameron Maybin singled home a run in the 1st but Burlington tied the game in the 5th on an RBI double by Duarte, who was thrown out at third on the play in a baserunning mistake that would prove costly. West Michigan struck back with 2 in the 5th to regain the lead and the Bees got 2 runners on in the 7th but could make nothing of it. The Bees' bullpen held the score at 3-1 into the 9th, when PH Carlos Arroyo hit a 1-out triple that was followed by an RBI single by Vega to cut the lead to 3-2. Duarte flied out and PH John Lowen struck out to end the game. Burlington is 9-19 and in the midst of an 8-game losing streak. Whitecaps SP Ramon Garcia allowed only 1 ER with 9 K over 6 IP to improve to 5-1 with a 1.46 ERA. RP Orlando Perdomo picked up his 10th save despite giving up a run in the 9th to bump his ERA to 2.08. Maybin was 1-3 with his 18th RBI to move to .333.

Game 3 of the series is going on now and things are looking good for the Bees through 6 1/2. SPs were Bees RH Carlos Rosa (1-3, 3.04) and WM LH Erick Averill.