Royals on the Farm 7/18

AAA - Omaha: Nashville 2, O-Royals 1

DH Allen 2-4 -- .330
2B Cortez 2-4 -- .221
LF Huber 1-4 -- .282
RF Costa 1-4, HR (8), RBI (17), K -- .387, third straight game with homer
C Tupman 0-4, PB (1) -- .231
CF K. Robinson 0-4, K -- .299
SS Blanco 0-3, 2 K -- .241

Middleton 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, BB, K -- L, 0-3, 3.38 ERA
Nunez and Braun 3 1/3 IP scoreless relief

*** Both teams had only 1 inning of scoring offense and the Sounds scored 2 to the Royals' 1 to get the win. Omaha's run happened quickly as Shane Costa hit his 8th homer for a solo blast in the 1st. Omaha got 2 in scoring position with 1 out in the 4th but failed to score and Kyle Middleton finally caved with 2 runs allowed in the 5th. The Royals didn't seriously threaten again. Omaha is 38-58. Nashville SP Jared Fernandez allowed 1 ER on 5 hits with 4 Ks over 7 IP to move to 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA, RP Alec Zumwalt went 1 1/3 IP for his 9th save to drop his ERA to 2.74, 3B Vinny Rottino was 3-4 with his 15th double to move to .288 and C Chad Moeller was 1-3 with a walk to move to .353. The Royals have played six straight 1-run games and are 4-2.

Game 3 of the series is Wednesday night. Ryan Baerlocher pitches for Omaha. Ben Sheets was set to make a rehab start for the Sounds.

AA - Wichita: Springfield 16, Wranglers 1

3B Gordon 0-4, 2 K -- .297
RF Butler 1-3, BB -- .317
LF Lubanski 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, OF assist at home -- .267
CF Maier 0-4 -- .277
DH D. Brown 1-4, 2B (13), RBI (37) -- .273
SS Sanchez 1-3, BB, SB (7) -- .286
2B Murphy 0-3, K -- .228
1B Gemoll 1-3, E (1) -- .333, season debut
C Donachie 0-3 -- .176

Song 5 IP, 8 R (7 ER), 11 H, 4 BB, K, 2 HRA -- L, 4-10, 5.76 ERA, gas can
Cedeno and Atencio got smoked, too

*** Springfield pounded out 16 runs on 19 hits and steamrolled Wichita in the series opener. Seung Song gave up 4 runs in the first 2 innings and the Cards were off and running. After giving himself a short break with a 1-2-3 3rd, Song gave up 4 more runs in the 4th and 5th to put Springfield up, 8-0. Dee Brown doubled the Wranglers' lone run home in the 6th but the Wranglers never came close to threatening the Cardinal lead. Juan Cedeno gave up 3 runs in the 7th and he and Greg Atencio gave up 5 more in the 8th. Wichita is 12-13 and now a game out of first. The Wranglers managed only 4 hits in the loss. Springfield SP Mike Parisi allowed 1 ER on 3 hits and 3 walks with 3 Ks to improve to 5-4 with a 4.20 ERA, LF Cody Haerther was 4-5 with 2 2B (18), 2 HR (8) and 6 RBI (35) to move to .255 and 1B Juan Richardson was 3-5 with his 15th double and 49th RBI to move to .301 and all but one of the Cards had multi-hit games. C Iker Franco was the exception at 0-3 but walked and scored 3 times.

The series continues Wednesday afternoon. Zack Greinke is starting and Wichita at this point has a 6-1 lead in the 3rd.

High-A - High Desert: Lancaster 4, Mavs 3

1B Stodolka 1-5, RS -- .308
CF Senreiso 4-5, 2 2B (14), RBI (46), SB (15) -- .270
LF Valentin 2-4, BB, 2B (12), RBI (41), RS -- .295
C Thibault 1-4, 2B, RBI -- .154
*The Mavs left 12 runners on base.

Christensen CG, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 2 HRA -- L, 1-6, 5.51 ERA

*** Just as fast as the Mavs got it tied at 3, the JetHawks pushed the lead run across and held on to win. Juan Senreiso doubled Mike Stodolka home in the 1st and Kiel Thibault drove Geraldo Valentin home in the 2nd with an RBI ground out and the Mavs were up, 2-0. Danny Christensen gave up a homer and sac fly in the 2nd to allow Lancaster to tie it and, after the Mavs left the bases loaded in the 5th, Christensen gave up a go-ahead run in the 6th. Valentin tied it again with an RBI single in the 7th but Christensen gave up another solo homer in the bottom of the inning to give Lancaster the lead for good. Senreiso singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error in the 9th but Valentin grounded out to end the game. High Desert is 14-11 and 1 1/2 games back of first. Lancaster CF Chris Rahl was 0-4 to drop to .332 and 1B Cesar Nicolas was 1-2 with 2 walks, his 8th homer and 46th RBI to move to .295.

The series continues Wednesday night as Patrick Green makes his season debut in the organization after missing the first part of the season with a sore shoulder. He pitched well for Burlington in '05 and was 3-4 with a 4.33 ERA for High Desert in '05.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 4, Fort Wayne 2

CF Duarte 2-4, BB, 3B (4), RBI (26), RS, SB (19), OF assist at home -- .266
RF Arroyo 2-4, K, SB (8) -- .257
LF Santana 2-4, RS, K, SB (17) -- .243
2B Johnson 1-3, BB, HR (2), RBI (29) -- .264
3B Lisson 1-3, 2B (24), RBI (47), RS -- .251
1B Everett 1-4, 2 K -- .248

Santiago 5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- W, 2-2, 4.43 ERA
Hayes 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- SV, 5, 2.27 ERA

*** Fort Wayne scored twice in the 2nd but Mario Santiago and 2 relievers shut it down from there and the Bees came back to split the 4-game set with the Wizards. A 2-run single got Fort Wayne on the board in the 2nd and the Wizards' efforts to pad that lead were stymied when Jose Duarte threw the lead runner out at the plate via relay man Josh Johnson on a would-be RBI double to end the inning. Mario Lisson hit an RBI double and C Jeff Howell added an RBI single in the 4th to tie the game and the Bees moved ahead with a run in the 6th on a Josh Johnson solo homer for his 2nd of the season. As Santiago and RP Cody Harkcom continued to keep the Wizards in check, Duarte tripled home a run in the 9th and Chris Hayes got through the 9th for his 5th save. The Bees are 11-15 and 6 games back of first. FW LF William Venable was 1-4 with his 26th double to drop to .320 and C Jose Lobaton was 1-2 with 2 RBI to move to .222.

Burlington has Wednesday off before returning for a homestand Thursday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 13, Billings 1 (7/Tue. G1)

2B Mertins 2-4, BB, 2B (3), RBI (9), K, 2 RS, SB (6), E (4) -- .450
1B Castillo 0-1, 2 BB, SF, RBI (22) -- .405
SS McConnell 2-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI (5), 2 RS -- .500
C Morizio 2-3, BB, RBI, 2 RS -- .379
LF Morel 1-4, BB, RBI (15), 2 K, 2 RS -- .299
DH Turner 1-3, SF, 2 RBI (13), K -- .183
CF Bigler 1-4, RS -- .250

Teaford 5 IP, UER, 3 H, 3 K -- W, 3-0, 2.42 ERA
Casey 2 IP, 2 K -- 6.23 ERA

*** The Chukars scored 13 runs on only 11 hits in taking the first of two Tuesday with Billings. Two wild pitches and a passed ball in the first allowed Shawn Hayes to score the first run of the game but the Mustangs tied it thanks in part to a Kurt Mertins error in the 1st. The Chukars took the lead for good with a 4-run 3rd as Jase Turner started the scoring with a sac fly followed by a Mertins RBI single, a Matt Morizio RBI single and a Billings error. Chris McConnell tripled another run home in the 4th and the Chukars scored 6 in the 5th on a wild pitch, bases-loaded walks to Alvi Morel, McConnell and Brenan Herrera, a Luis Castillo sac fly and a Turner RBI single. PH Todd Balduf singled home a run in the 7th and Bryan Casey cruised through 2 IP of relief to end the doubleheader-truncated game. Idaho Falls moved to 16-11. Needless to say, Mustangs SP Dane Mason and reliever Josh Roenicke didn't have the best of days with 4 wild pitches and 8 walks between them. Only 1 of Mason's 6 runs against was earned, tho, as the Mustangs made 5 errors. They only had 3 hits on offense as CF Drew Stubbs was 0-3 to drop to .239 and 2B Billy Rojo was 1-3 to drop to .337.

Chukars 5, Billings 4 (7/G2)

DH Castillo 1-3 -- .407
CF Dickerson 2-3, HR (3), 3 RBI (14), SB (5) -- .325
2B Maddox 3-4, 2B (8), 2 RS, SB (3) -- .275
LF Morel 1-3, BB, 3B, RBI (15), K, CS -- .302
PH Mertins 0-0, SF, RBI (9) -- .446

Godin 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- ND, 2.70 ERA
Abreu 2 2/3 IP, ER, H, 4 K, HRA -- W, 2-0, 4.97 ERA

*** The nightcap was more competitive but the result was the same as the Chukars held off Billings to sweep the twinbill. Joe Dickerson started IF off with an RBI single in the 1st but Jason Godin gave up the tying run in the 2nd. Dickerson came back up in the 3rd and slammed a 2-run homer to left for a 3-1 Chukar lead. Billings got a 2-run shot from SS Chris Valaika in the 5th to tie the game and chase Godin for Juan Abreu. Kurt Mertins put IF back up in the 6th with a pinch-hit sac fly and Alvi Morel followed with an RBI triple to make it 5-3 going into the 7th and final inning. Abreu gave up a leadoff homer to PH Billy Rojo but set the next 3 in a row down to end it. The Chukars are 17-11 and in first by a game. Stubbs was 1-4 to move to .247 and RF Chris Heisey was 2-3 to move to .405. Valaika's homer was his 3rd as he was 1-4 with 2 RBI (19) to move to .299.

Game 4 of the 5-game set is Wednesday night and Dan Gutierrez takes the mound for the Chukars.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 10, Rangers 8

1B S. Lucas 3-3, HBP, HR (1), 5 RBI (28), 3 RS, SB (7) -- .351
RF Van Stratten 3-5, 2 2B, RBI (12), 3 RS, SB (7) -- .257
CF D. Robinson 2-5, 2B, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .214
3B A. Perez 2-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI (11), RS, 2 SB (8), E (2) -- .300
LF Dyson 0-2, SF, RBI (5) -- .424

Raglione 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K, WP -- ND, 4.34 ERA
A. Martinez 1 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K, balk -- BS, 2, W, 1-1, 7.20 ERA
Chavez 2/3 IP, H, K -- SV, 1, 4.91 ERA

*** The Royals scored in only 3 innings but got the win. The Rangers scored 1 in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th off Paul Raglione to take the lead but the Royals struck back with 4 in the 4th on a 2-run homer by Scott Lucas for his 1st of the season, an RBI triple by Alwin Perez and a sac fly by Jarrod Dyson. Raglione got out of a jam unscathed in the 5th and the Royals made it count as they scored 3 that inning on RBI singles by Nick Van Stratten, Lucas and Perez. The Rangers came back to tie it with a 4-run 7th off RP Henry Barrera and Angel Martinez. The Royals took the lead for good in their half of the 7th with 3 runs on a 2-run single by Lucas and a sac bunt by LF Eric Dickson to make it 10-7. Martinez gave up a run in the 9th before giving way to RP Chris Chavez, who got the final 2 outs to end the game. The Royals improved to 14-7 and a game out of first. Rangers LF Victor Barrios was 4-5 with a triple and 2 RBI to move to .354 and SS Andres James was 3-6 with 4 RBI to move to .232.

The Royals were set to play the Cubs Wednesday. In other news, IF Jeff Bianchi is facing the prospect of shoulder surgery as he recently felt a tweak. At least he's only 19. If he needs to go under the knife, get it fixed so he can get back in action -- I assume next season. That's depressing news and what I'd been dreading.