Royals on the Farm 6/20

AAA - Omaha: off day

*** A 5-game set with the Iowa Cubs starts tonight. No announced starter for Omaha yet. J.P. Howell was supposed to start but with his trade to TB, that's not gonna happen. No word yet on if trade pickup IF Fernando Cortez is joining the team today. Omaha is 28-43.

AA - Wichita: TL South 1, TL North 0

3B Gordon 0-4, 4 K -- downer
LF Butler 1-4, 3 K -- ditto, did have one of team's 4 hits
OF Maier 0-3, SB
C Tupman 1-1, 2B, BB, PB -- nice showing, team's only XBH but passed ball helped South score only run

Song IP, H, K
Braun IP, 3 K! -- great inning of work, 14 pitches, 13 strikes

*** Corpus Christi CF Josh Anderson had the game's only RBI and each team only had 4 hits. The all-star break continues Wednesday before the Wranglers start the second-half with a 4-game home set with Frisco Thursday. In other team news, the Wichita Eagle reported Springdale, Ark., may be wooing the Wranglers with a sales tax for a new stadium on an upcoming election ballot. The stadium would be built by 2008. If the city of Wichita wants to keep the team, they'd have to pay $10 million if the owners (Bob and Mindy Rich) decide to break the lease. The Wranglers are last in the league in attendance. Really, if they can't draw fans this year with most of if not all the organizational studs in town, when can they?

High-A - High Desert: Inland Empire 16, Mavs 10

2B Perez 4-4, BB, RBI (18), 3 RS -- .294
1B Stodolka 0-3, BB, SF, RBI (35), 2 K, E (10) -- .284
RF McFall 2-4, BB, HR (11), 4 RBI (40), K, E (5) -- .244
DH R. Brown 2-4, 3 RBI (35), K, HBP, RS -- .290
LF Valentin 0-2, 3 BB, RS -- .300
C Donachie 0-4, BB, RBI (18), RS -- .270

Cota 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 0 K -- L, 3-7, 7.34 ERA, disgusting
4 other pitchers got creamed like Charlie Brown, too

*** So much for the first-half title. Five Mav pitchers threw batting practice for 9 innings and Inland Empire cashed in with all but 2 of their runs in the first 5 innings. Cota got the first 2 outs in the 1st but then went single, walk, single (run), walk, walk (run in), single (2 runs), pulled. Maybe a little early to pull him but I guess the manager had seen enough. A 3-run IE homer in the 2nd made the score 7-0 but the Mavs got on the board in the 3rd on an RBI single by Wilver Perez. IE scored twice more in the 3rd and 3 more times in the 4th to make the score 12-1. Brown singled home 2 runs in the 5th to cut the lead to 9 but IE got them back in the bottom of the inning thanks in part to errors by Stodolka and McFall. The Mavs broke through in the 7th as they loaded the bases with 1 out and Donachie drew a walk to bring a run home. McFall came up next and smoked a grand slam to left to cut the lead to 14-8. Two runs in the 8th on a Stodolka sac fly and Brown RBI single cut the lead to 4 but the Mavs could get no closer. The 66ers scored two more in the 8th to make the final 16-10. High Desert is 0-2 after finishing the first half at 39-31. 66ers 2B Yung-Chi Chen was 4-6 with his 16th double and 43rd, 44th and 45th RBI to improve to .335, 3B Matt Tuiasosopo was 1-4 with his 34th RBI to drop to .306, RF Mike Wilson was 2-4 with his 9th homer and 36th, 37th and 38th RBI to move to .315 and CF Brent Johnson was 3-6 with 3 RBI to move to .292. Two other players had multi-hit games.

The teams finish the set tonight and John Gragg III starts for HD.

Low-A - Burlington: MWL East 7, MWL West 1

2B Johnson 0-2, K

Nicoll 2/3 IP, 2 K
de la Vara 1/3 IP, K, WP
Kniginyzky DNP

*** The Bees' West compatriots got blitzed by the East. Reds prospect Jay Bruce was MVP with a 2-run homer, a double and single. Burlington finished the first half 35-32 and has Wednesday off before getting back into action against East first-half champ West Michigan Thursday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 10, Casper 8 (10)

CF Dickerson 3-5, 3B, 2 RS
LF Morel 3-6, 3 RBI, 2 K, 2 RS
2B Maddox 2-6, 2 2B, RBI, K, RS
3B Hayes 0-5, 2 K, E

Cordier 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 11 K!!!, E -- ND, great opening start, missed '05 with injuries
Casey 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, balk -- BS, 1
Eckley 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K, WP -- W, 1-0

*** The Chukars took a 6-3 lead and an Erik Cordier win into the 9th but struggled to pull the win out in 10. The Chukars threatened early but couldn't get a run until they scored 2 in the 5th on an RBI single by Alvi Morel and RBI double by Marc Maddox. SS Eduardo Nunez tripled home a run for IF in the 6th and 2 runs in the 7th on a wild play make the score 5-0. Morel singled to lead off the 7th and Maddox reached and scored on one play as the Rockies made 3 throwing errors. Cordier left with a 2-hitter after 6 IP and '06 draftee RP Burke Baldwin came in for his pro debut. He gave up a leadoff homer (he'll never forget his first batter faced) and a Shawn Hayes error kept the inning going before Baldwin left with 2 out and runners on second and third. Another '06 draftee, RP Dan Best, came in and gave up a 2-run double to the first batter he faced before getting out of the inning with a 5-3 Chukar lead. Joe Dickerson led off the Idaho Falls 8th with a triple and scored on a Nunez DP ball to make the score 6-3 and that was the score when RP Bryan Casey, an '05 draft-and-follow signee, came in with 1 on and 0 out in the 9th. Casey's pro debut was also somewhat unpleasant as he went walk, balk, walk, RBI single, RBI force out, RBI single, pulled and the game was tied at 6. RP Jacob Eckley came in and got a force out at home and then a K to end the inning and keep the Chukars alive. Two walks and a Dickerson single loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th but 2 strikeouts put Idaho Falls in danger of squandering the great scoring chance. C Ross Boudreaux came through with an RBI single and a wild pitch brought another run home before Morel singled 2 more runs home for a 10-6 Chukar lead. Eckley put 1 runner on but got 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th before Casper rallied with an RBI single and RBI triple to cut the lead to 2. Eckley induced a ground out to end the threat. IF is 1-0. Casper CF Maruis Loupadiere was 2-3 with an RBI and 3 RS, 3B Hector Gomez was 2-5 with 2 RBI and DH Kevin Clark was 1-4 with a homer.

The teams continue their series tonight in Casper. No announced starters.

Rookie - AZL: season starts Thursday

The organization's other rookie-level team gets busy Thursday as they start the season against the Rangers.