Royals on the Farm 6/25

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 5, O-Royals 3

RF Allen 2-4, 2B (16), RBI (46), RS -- .342, having a great year at Omaha when healthy
3B Cortez 2-4 -- .353
1B Huber 1-4, 2B (10), RBI (20), K -- .257
LF Costa 1-4, BB, 3B, RS -- .367
CF Guiel 1-4, 2B (13), RS -- .228
2B Gotay 1-3, BB, 2 K -- .246
SS Blanco 1-3, BB, 2B, K -- .266

Hudson 4 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 4 K -- ND, 2.80 ERA
Osborne 3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 K, HRA -- L, 0-2, 3.97 ERA
Nunez IP, H -- 0.93 ERA

*** Omaha came back from an early deficit but Osborne gave up 2 in the 7th to give Iowa the winning edge. Costa led off the game with a triple and DH Chris Clapinski hit a sac fly to get Omaha a quick run in the 1st. Luke Hudson gave up single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th and Iowa took a 3-1 lead. Guiel doubled with 1 out in the 6th and Allen singled him home to cut the lead to 1 before Huber doubled Allen home to tie the game at 3. The Royals got 2 runners on with 0 out in the 7th and Clapinski sacrificed the runners to second and third. Guiel flew out to Cubs CF Felix Pie, who threw Costa out at third while Blanco came home but the out negated the go-ahead run and the game stayed tied at 3. Osborne gave up a single and 2-run homer to start the Iowa 7th and that was all she wrote for Omaha. The Royals got runners to second and third with 2 out in the 9th but Clapinski struck out to end the game. Omaha is 30-46. Cubs 1B Micah Hoffpauir was 1-3 with his 9th homer and 3 RBI to move to .258, Pie was 2-5 with a double to move to .258, DH Michael Restovich was 3-5 with a double to move to .312 and 3B Ryan Theriot was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .307.

Omaha starts a 4-game set at the Albuquerque Isotopes (40-37, AAA Marlins) Monday. Pitchers: RH Mike MacDougal (0-1, 21.60, why do they have him starting?) vs. Isotopes RH Nic Ungs (6-6, 3.93).

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 2, Frisco 1

RF Butler 0-3, BB, RS -- .323
Gordon PH in the 8th and walked
CF Maier 0-4, 2 K -- .282
DH D. Brown 2-4, 2B, RBI (19), K -- .220
SS Sanchez 0-2, BB, K, HBP, RS, SB (6) -- .285
LF Lubanski 0-2, BB, K, SB (5), CS -- .253
C Tupman 0-4, K -- .305
2B Murphy 0-3, BB -- .240

Herndon 8 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- ND, 4.93 ERA, great start
Cedeno IP, H -- W, 1-5, 5.11 ERA

*** Wichita rallied in the 9th to stay undefeated in the half. Dee Brown singled home a run in the 4th and Junior Herndon took a 1-hitter into the 6th. He gave up a leadoff single and 2 ground outs moved the runner to third before a wild pitch brought the tying run home. Butler walked with 1 out in the 9th and moved to third on a clutch double by Brown. Donnie Murphy was walked to load the bases and Tupman grounded a ball to first, where Frisco 1B Jim Fasano muffed the ball and Butler scored to give Wichita the win. Apparently there was controversy as the throw home from Fasano appeared to beat Butler for the force out, but he was called safe. Manager Frank White was ejected in the 8th for arguing balls and strikes. Wichita moved to 4-0 on the second half. Both teams managed only 3 hits. Frisco DH Adam Morrissey was 1-4 to drop to .329 and LF Jayce Tingler was 0-4 to drop to .289.

Wichita started a 3-game set with the Midland Rockhounds (1-3, AA Athletics) today and Seung Song took the hill. Unfortunately, the undefeated streak ended in convincing fashion. More on that in the next RoF report. In other news, Mike "Back Pain" Sweeney was set to begin a rehab stint in Wichita but it was put off for a few days.

High-A - High Desert: all-star break begins

*** The Cal League/Carolina League All-Star Game is Tuesday in Virginia. 1B Mike Stodolka represents the Mavericks and will also take part in the pre-game Home Run Derby. I thought P Billy Buckner was also voted in but according to the league site he isn't playing. Maybe they're saving him for a start.

Low-A - Burlington: West Michigan 7, Bees 3

1B Vega 2-3, BB, HR (8), 3 RBI (34) -- .244
DH Everett 1-3, BB -- .299, no trip to DL with shoulder injury
SS McConnell 0-2, HBP, K -- .173
CF Duarte 0-4, 2 K -- .266

Nicoll 4 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA -- L, 3-5, 2.84 ERA, rare shelling
Oliveros 4 IP, H, BB, K -- 2.45 ERA
Garcia IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K -- 3.70 ERA

*** Chris Nicoll took a rare beating and the Bees got swept by the Whitecaps. Nicoll gave up 2 hits and a run in the 2nd and then got touched up for back-to-back homers in the 4th as West Michigan extended its lead to 5-0. With 2 outs and 2 on in the bottom of the 4th, Vega cranked a 3-run homer to center for his 8th of '06 and closed the gap to 5-3. The Bees threatened with 2 on and 1 out in the 7th but couldn't get any closer and West Michigan scored 2 off Eliszer Garcia in the 9th to ice the win. Burlington dropped to 0-4. WM SP Sendy Vasquez went 6 2/3 IP and gave up the 3 unearned runs because of an error earlier in the 4th to move to 4-6 with a 3.39 ERA. RP Anthony Claggett got his 10th hold with 1 1/3 IP of hitless pitching to drop his ERA to 0.27. DH Cameron Maybin was 0-4 with his 29th RBI to drop to .295, LF Michael Hernandez was 1-5 to drop to .307, C Dusty Ryan was 2-3 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI to move to .296 and CF Justin Justice was 2-4 with his 2nd homer and 34th RBI to move to .282.

The Bees started fresh in a 3-game set with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-3, Low-A Angels) Monday and broke the losing streak. David Henninger got the start for Burlington. In other news, a couple of moves took place. OF Antonio Sabatini was released by the organization after hitting .143 in 42 games. He was a 14th-round pick in 2005. I wonder why they gave up on him, other than the BA. Lord knows other players in the KC minors suck but they aren't cutting guys. Maybe he asked for it. C Kiel Thibault was also moved up to Wichita to add catching depth as Damaso Espino was injured Sunday. Why not Donachie? Thibault is hitting a whopping .218 at Burlington. Maybe because of defense? Thibault has no errors and has thrown out 35 percent of would-be base stealers.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Ogden 5 (10)

1B Castillo 3-4, BB, 2 2B (3), 2 RBI (6), RS -- .526
LF Morel 3-6, 2 RBI (10), K, RS -- .333
RF Bigler 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 RS -- .353
CF Dickerson 0-3, 2 BB -- .333
2B Maddox 0-5, K -- .308
DH Hayes 0-4, 4 K -- .150, yikes

Cordier 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, balk, WP -- ND, 3.27 ERA, 4 hits, 2 walks in 1st
Hartsock 4 IP, ER, H, 3 BB, 4 K -- 1.17 ERA
Best IP, H -- W, 2-0, 2.57 ERA

*** The Chukars survived a rough 1st from Cordier to score all their runs from the 7th on and win in extras. Cordier's 1st went like this: walk, K, RBI double, wild pitch, walk, RBI single, balk run home, single, RBI single, ground out, ground out. He allowed only 2 hits after the bad 1st and the score remained 4-0 Ogden into the bottom of the 7th, when Idaho Falls rallied for 2 runs with 2 outs. It started when Bigler reached on a missed catch error and C Ross Boudreaux drew a walk. Alvi Morel singled Bigler home and SS Gilbert Gil followed with a single before Boudreaux came home on a wild pitch. Shawn Hayes struck out to end the rally for 1 of his 4 Ks on the day. A 2-out Bigler single in the 8th brought another run home and the Chukars cut the lead to 4-3. A passed ball helped lead to an Ogden insurance run in the top of the 9th off RP Aaron Hartsock but the Chukars wouldn't go away. They got runners to second and third with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th and Luis Castillo hit a clutch double to tie the game. The game went into the bottom of the 10th when Bigler played the role of sparkplug again with a 1-out double. Boudreaux was hit by a pitch before Morel singled Bigler home for the winning run. Idaho Falls is 4-2. Ogden wasted a decent start from Jesus Castillo, who allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks over 5 IP. 3B Josh Bell was 2-3 with 2 doubles to move to .455 and 2B Michael Rivera was 2-3 to move to .400.

The teams finished the series Monday. Jason Godin debuted for IF and the Chukars won, 1-0. More on that in the next RoF.

Rookie - AZL: Padres 7, Royals 6 (10)

SS Bianchi 2-3, BB, 2B, RS, CS -- .375
3B Coolbaugh 2-4, BB, K -- .357
1B S. Lucas 2-5, RBI (7), SB (1) -- .444
2B A. Perez 2-4, BB, RBI, K, 3 RS, SB (1), CS -- .286
C Doscher 2-5, RBI, 2 K, SB (1), PB (2) -- .222
CF D. Robinson 1-6, 3 K -- .182
RF Van Stratten 1-5, 3B, K, RS -- .118
DH Francis 0-2, RBI -- .125
DH Peralta 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI (7), K, RS -- .333
LF Dyson 1-3 -- .286

Santiago 4 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA
A. Martinez 2 1/3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 0-1, 7.71 ERA
McClintock IP, 2 H -- 0.00 ERA

*** A wild 10th inning left the Padres with a 7-6 extra-inning win. Nicholas Francis hit an RBI ground out in the 2nd to drive home Alwin Perez, who had singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error, and the Royals had a 1-0 lead. Royals starter Mario Santiago left after holding the Pads silent for 4 IP and RP Miguel Morales got through the 6th without damage. The Royals added a run in the 6th on a Scott Lucas RBI single and the score was 2-0. The Pads rallied for 2 runs with 2 out in the 7th to tie the game and, after Lucas grounded out with 2 out and the bases loaded in the 7th, the Pads moved ahead with a run off Martinez in the 8th. Nick Doscher came through with a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game and it went to the 10th tied at 3. Angel Martinez gave up a bases-loaded 3-run double in the top of the 10th and McClintock gave up another run charged to Martinez and the Pads took a 7-3 lead. Nick Van Stratten led off the bottom of the 10th with a triple and Perez singled him home before Felix Peralta smacked a 2-run homer to left for his 2nd homer to cut the lead to 1 with 0 out. The Royals couldn't get the tying run on base, tho. The Royals are 2-2. Pads CF Luis Durango was 4-6 with an RBI to move to .538, 1B Jeremy Hunt was 3-4 with 2 RS to move to .462, RF Kyler Burke was 3-5 with a triple to move to .417 and LF Sam Carter was 2-5 with a double and 4 RBI to move to .250.

The team had Monday off and plays the Mariners Tuesday.