Royals on the Farm 7/1

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 8, Iowa 7 (12)

LF Costa 4-5, RS -- .396, this year's Diaz
CF K. Robinson 4-7, 2B (12), RBI (20), K -- .326
RF Allen 3-5, BB, HR (9), 2 RBI (49), 2 K, 2 RS -- .328
DH Bell 3-5, BB, HR (3), 2 RBI (16) -- .192
2B Gotay 2-6, HR (8), 3 RBI (36), 3 K, RS -- .255
1B Cortez 1-5, BB, K, 2 RS, E (1) -- .294
SS Blanco 0-5, BB, K -- .246, slumping
Huber turned 24, didn't play because of sore thumb
*Omaha left 13 on base

MacDougal IP, K -- 9.82 ERA, still rehabbing
Boehringer 5 IP, 5 R (1 ER), 9 H, BB, 2 K -- ND, 3.15 ERA
Booker 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 9.00 ERA
Nunez 4 IP, 3 H, 3 K -- W, 1-2, 1.23 ERA

*** An amazing late rally helped the O-Royals break a losing streak. A Fernando Cortez fielding error helped keep an Iowa 2-out rally alive in the 3rd and the I-Cubs scored 5 in the inning of Boehringer, although only 1 was earned. Chad Allen singled home a run in the Royals' half of the inning to get Omaha on the board but Iowa scored twice in the 8th off Chris Booker to pad the lead to 7-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. Ruben Gotay started the comeback with a 3-run homer in the 8th for his 8th of '06, and after Cortez walked, Rick Bell cranked a 2-run homer for his 3rd of the season to cut the lead to 7-6. Omaha was down to its last out in the bottom of the 9th when Allen homered to left center off RP Michael Wuertz for his 9th of the season to tie the game. The O-Royals got 2 on with 0 out in the 11th off RP David Aardsma but, with runners at second and third and 1 out, Mike Aviles flew out to right and lead runner Kerry Robinson got thrown out at the plate by RF Felix Pie to keep Iowa alive. Cortez and Bell singled with 1 out in the 12th and Andres Blanco was walked to load the bases. Robinson came through with a walkoff single to end the game. Omaha is 31-51. Iowa starter Rich Hill went 7 IP and allowed an ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 6 K to get a tough no-decision and drop his ERA to 1.85. 3B Casey McGehee went 4-5 with his 24th RBI to move to .276, C Geovany Soto was 3-5 with his 11th double and 20th RBI to move to .275, Pie was 2-6 to move to .250 and IF Mike Fontenot was 0-6 to drop to .316.

The teams play again Sunday evening. Pitchers: Cubs LH Ryan O'Malley (4-4, 4.50) vs. RH Denny Bautista (0-2, 6.88). IF Mike Coolbaugh is set to join the Royals after rehabbing his broken wrist in Arizona and I failed to mention that P Bobby Keppel is back in Omaha as Hudson took his place in KC.

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 6, Springfield 4

3B Gordon 3-4, BB, 2 2B (22), RBI (35), 3 RS -- .304
RF Butler 1-5, RBI (56), K -- .324
DH D. Brown 3-5, 2B (10), HR (4), 3 RBI (26) -- .269
LF Lubanski 0-4, BB, K, 2 RS -- .256
CF Maier 0-5, 2 K, OF assist at third -- .271
SS Sanchez 0-5 -- .283
C Tupman 1-2, 2 BB -- .286
2B Murphy 0-3, BB, K -- .226

Buckner 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 4 K -- ND, 6.75 ERA
C. Smith 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, K -- W, 6-0, 1.89 ERA
DeHoyos IP, BB, 3 K -- SV, 2, 0.00 ERA

*** The Wranglers also had a great comeback win Saturday as they scored 3 in the 9th to get past the Cardinals. Billy Buckner had a rough 1st as he hit two batters and gave up 2 runs, although it could have been worse as Alex Gordon turned a double play in foul territory when he nailed a runner trying to tag up and score from third. The Cardinals pushed across another run in the 3rd before Wichita trimmed the lead to 1 on a Gordon RBI double and Billy Butler RBI ground out in the 4th. The Wranglers tied it in the 6th on a wild pitch that scored Gordon. Wichita perhaps could have scored more in the inning but Dee Brown was thrown out on the play trying to go from first to third behind Gordon. Buckner gave up the lead run in the bottom of the 6th and gave way to Cody Smith, who took the game into the 9th with Wichita down, 4-3. Chris Lubanski reached on a 1-out error in the 9th and Gordon doubled him to third. After Butler struck out, the Wranglers, like the O-Royals, were down to their final out when Brown homered to right off RP Mark Worrell for a 3-run shot and his 4th of the season. Gabe DeHoyos gave up a 2-out walk in the 9th but finished the game for his 2nd save in as many chances. Wichita is 6-3 and up by a game and a half now. Springfield 1B Juan Richardson was 3-3 with his 43rd and 44th RBI to move to .304, 3B Travis Hanson was 1-4 to drop to .312 and RF Terry Evans was 2-4 with an RBI to move to .288.

The series continues Sunday evening. No announced pitchers.

High-A - High Desert: Lake Elsinore 6, Mavs 5

1B Stodolka 0-5, 4 K -- .274
2B W. Perez 3-4, BB, 2B (12), 2 RS, CS -- .294
3B Gaffney 3-4, RBI (15), RS -- .275
DH Valentin 2-5, 2 2B (9), 3 RBI (38), K -- .289
CF Senreiso 2-4, 2 K, RS -- .240
C Donachie 1-3, K, RS -- .279
LF Tomlin 1-3, BB, RBI (9), K -- .253

Crist 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, K -- ND, 4.34 ERA
Hicklen 2 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 K, HRA, WP -- L, 0-6, 7.82 ERA
Rowe 2/3 IP, K -- 5.52 ERA

*** A late Mavs comeback was not to be as the Storm took another game from High Desert. RBI singles by James Tomlin and Michael Gaffney gave the Mavs a 2-0 lead in the 2nd and Geraldo Valentin doubled home a run in the 3rd for a 3-0 lead. Kyle Crist gave up a run in the 3rd and then got touched up for 4 in the 5th as Lake Elsinore took a 5-3 lead. With 2 out in the Mavs 7th, Valentin hit a clutch 2-run double to tie the game but Patrick Hicklen gave up an 8th inning solo shot and the Mavs squandered 2 on with 0 out in the top of the 9th. High Desert is 5-4 and 1/2 a game back of first. Storm 3B Peter Ciofrone was 1-4 with 2 RBI to move to .336, C Colt Morton was 1-3 with his 5th homer in the 8th to move to .242 and LF Josh Howard was 2-4 to move to .288.

The teams match up again Sunday night. Pitchers: LH Danny Christensen vs. Storm RH Chris Jaile.

Low-A - Burlington: Peoria 12, Bees 7

RF Arroyo 3-5, 2 RS -- .272
3B Lisson 2-4, BB, 2B (19), HR (7), RBI (41), K, 2 E (12) -- .234
C Howell 2-4, BB, 2 RBI (19), 2 PB (11) -- .246
CF Duarte 1-5, 3B (3), RBI (22), 2 K, RS -- .266
1B Vega 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (37), 3 K, RS -- .242
DH Everett 0-5, K -- .262

Henninger 2 IP, 10 R (9 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 1-5, 6.64 ERA
Garcia 3 IP, UER, H, 3 K -- 4.03 ERA
Hayes and Schambough 4 IP hitless relief

*** David Henninger got smacked around by the Chiefs with 10 runs in the first 2 innings and the Bees didn't recover. Peoria scored 5 in the 1st and Burlington came back with 2 that inning on a 2-run single by Miguel Vega. The Chiefs scored 5 more in the 2nd as Chiefs CF Yusuf Carter hit a grand slam in the inning. Jeff Howell hit an RBI single in the 3rd before a Jose Duarte RBI triple and Jeremy Jirschele sac fly cut the lead to 10-5. Eliszer Garcia gave up an unearned run in the 5th but the Bees scored twice in the 5th on a Mario Lisson solo shot for his 7th of 2006 and a Howell RBI single. The Bees threatened in the 8th but didn't come up with any runs and the Chiefs added a run on a wild pitch in the 9th to account for the final score. The Bees fell to 4-7. Peoria C Mark Reed was 2-4 with 3 RS to move to .316, Carter was 1-3 with his 3rd homer and 5 RBI to move to .212 and 1B Ryan Norwood was 0-5 to drop to .323.

The teams finished the series today and Peoria again got the best of the Bees. Starters were RH Mario Santiago and Chiefs RH Matt Weber. In other news, RP Gilbert de la Vara was called up to High Desert.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 2, Chukars 1

DH Mertins 3-3 -- .875!!!
CF Dickerson 1-4 -- .342
1B Castillo 0-2, 2 BB, K, RS -- .400
LF Bigler 0-3, BB, K -- .265
2B Maddox 0-4 -- .289

Teaford 4 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- ND, 3.86 ERA
Godin 3 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 6 K, HRA -- 0.96 ERA
Casey 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, K -- L, 0-2, 12.27 ERA

*** The Chukars couldn't hold on to a 1-0 lead as the Owlz tied the division race. Brenan Herrera doubled home a run in the 2nd but a second run on the play wasn't to be as Joe Dickerson got thrown out at the plate. The Chukars threatened again in the 3rd but didn't score and the Owlz tied the game with a solo homer off Jason Godin in the 7th. Bryan Casey gave up a leadoff double in the bottom of the 9th and a 2-out walkoff single ended the game. Idaho Falls is 8-4 and tied with Orem atop the division. Orem SP Amalio Diaz allowed 1 ER on 6 hits and a walk over 7 IP to drop his ERA to 1.29. SS Ryan Mount was 2-4 with a double and his first homer to move to .235, CF Peter Bourjos was 2-4 with a double and the walkoff RBI to move to .354 and 1B Grodon Gronkowski was 1-4 with a double to drop to .360.

Game 2 of the set is Sunday evening. No announced pitchers.

Rookie - AZL: off day

The Royals got back into action against the Giants today.