Royals on the Farm 7/22

AAA - Omaha: Round Rock 2, O-Royals 0 (7/G1)

C Tupman 2-3, K -- .318
2B Keppinger 1-3 -- .333 in team debut, those 3 hits are the only ones for Omaha in game 1
CF K. Robinson 0-3 -- .293
RF Allen 0-2, BB, K, OF assist at home -- .325
SS Blanco 0-1, BB -- .237

Bernero 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- L, 2-3, 3.34 ERA
Osborne 4 IP, 4 H, BB, 4 K -- 6.00 ERA, actually solid over last 2 outings

*** Express ace Jason Hirsh held the Royals to 2 hits over 6 IP and Round Rock took the first of two Saturday. The only runs of the game came for Round Rock off Adam Bernero in the 3rd on a triple, walk and sacrifice fly. Omaha scattered its 3 hits and 3 walks and had 2 runners on in only 1 inning -- the 1st. Omaha dropped to 40-60. Hirsh won his 10th straight decision as he allowed 2 hits and 3 walks with 4 Ks in improving to 11-2 with a 2.08 ERA, 1B Joe McEwing was 1-1 with his 30th RBI to move to .279 and CF Jason Lane was 1-3 to move to .303.

Round Rock 3, O-Royals 1 (7/G2)

3B Aviles 2-2, BB -- .252
LF Bell 2-3 -- .208
1B Coolbaugh 2-3, 2B, RS -- .161
C Price 0-1, BB, SF, RBI (10), K, PB (9) -- .150
RF Allen 0-4, K, OF assist at home -- .321
2B Keppinger 1-4 -- .286
CF K. Robinson 0-4, K -- .288
SS Blanco 0-3, K -- .234

Van Hekken 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- L, 0-1, 5.06 ERA, ho-hum debut
Peralta and Etherton 1 2/3 IP scoreless relief

*** In the nightcap it was Express SP Wandy Rodriguez's turn to hold down Omaha as he allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks over 5 IP and Round Rock held on for a 3-1 win. Two doubles off newest Royal pitcher Andy Van Hekken in the 2nd got Round Rock 2 runs but Omaha loaded the bases in the bottom of the 2nd only to see Andres Blanco fly out to end the would-be rally. Omaha loaded the bases again in the 4th, this time with 0 out, but a pop out and 2 strikeouts -- the second again by Blanco -- ended the threat. RP Joel Peralta took over for Hekken with 2 in scoring position and 1 out in the 6th and Peralta got a fly out and walk to load the bases before allowing a run-scoring single. On the play, though, Chad Allen threw out a would-be second run at the plate to keep the Royals within striking distance at 3-0. The Royals loaded the bases for a third time with 1 out in the 6th and Jared Price broke the ice with a sac fly to make it 3-1 but Blanco again was a rally-killer with an inning-ending ground out. Jeff Keppinger got a 1-out single in the bottom of the 7th in the doubleheader-shortened contest but Allen grounded into a double play to end the game. Omaha is 40-61. Rodriguez moved to 1-0 with the win in his AAA debut for '06. C Humberto Quintero was 2-3 with his 18th double and 25th RBI to move to .296 and McEwing was 0-4 to drop to .275.

The teams were set to match back up Sunday afternoon. Pitchers: RR LH Mark McLemore (1-1, 2.05) vs. RH Kyle Middleton (0-3, 3.38).

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 12, Springfield 3

3B Gordon 2-5, 2B (26), RBI (54), K, 2 RS -- .301
RF Butler 4-5, 2B (28), RBI (74), 2 RS -- .326, raking
CF Maier 2-4, SF, 3B (6), 4 RBI (64), 2 RS, OF assist at second -- .278
C Espino 2-3, BB, SF, RBI, CS -- .252
DH D. Brown 2-5, 2B (15), RBI (42), K, RS -- .279
LF Lubanski 1-3, BB, SF, 3B (7), 2 RBI (42), K, RS -- .266
SS Sanchez 0-4, BB, 2 K -- .281
2B Murphy 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .238

Buckner 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K -- W, 1-1, 5.81 ERA, very nice start for first AA win

*** Wichita scored multiple runs in 4 innings and rolled over the Cardinals in the series' closer. The Wranglers started the scoring with 4 in the 2nd on a Mitch Maier RBI single, Damaso Espino sac fly and a Chris Lubanski RBI triple on which he also scored after the Cards' second error of the inning. Wichita added 2 runs in the 5th on an Alex Gordon RBI double and Billy Butler RBI single. There were some fireworks in the 6th when it was ruled that Donnie Murphy didn't touch first on a would-be RBI double that was nullified by the umpire. Murphy was ejected for unspecified reasons in the 7th. Billy Buckner left after 7 IP of shutout ball and the Wranglers padded their lead with a 4-run 7th in which Dee Brown hit an RBI single, Maier hit a 2-run triple and Lubanski hit a sac fly for a 10-0 lead. Wichita's final 2 runs came in the 8th on yet another Cardinals error (they made 5 in the game) and a Maier sac fly. All 3 Springfield runs came in the 9th as RP Juan Cedeno didn't get an out in going single, walk, walk, walk (run scored) before Nate Hoelscher gave up a 2-run double. It was way too little, too late for the Cards, however. Wichita is 16-13 and now up 2 games on first. Six of the Wranglers' runs were unearned. Cards CF Shaun Boyd was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI to improve to .309 and 3B Juan Richardson was 3-4 to improve to .308.

The first-half champion Tulsa Drillers (12-16, AA Rockies) come to town for 4 games starting Sunday afternoon. Seung Song starts Sunday.

High-A - High Desert: Stockton 8, Mavs 4

SS Falu 3-5, 2 RS -- .275
1B Stodolka 0-4, K -- .301
2B W. Perez 2-5, RS -- .277
DH Duenas 2-4, RBI (26), K -- .274
LF Tomlin 1-4 -- .290
C Thibault 1-3, BB, RS, E (1) -- .150

Cota 7 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 9 H, 2 BB, 9 K!, balk -- L, 4-9, 7.16 ERA
de la Vara 2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, WP -- 4.00 ERA

*** All but 2 of the Ports' runs were scored from the 6th on as the Mavs coughed up the game. Irving Falu led off the Mavs 1st with a single and scored on a Wilver Perez single after a Stockton error. Tomas Duenas drove Perez home later in the inning and the Mavs took a 2-0 lead. Luis Cota gave up a 2-run double in the 2nd to tie the game but HD regained the lead in the 5th on two more Ports errors to make it 4-2. Cota got touched up for another run in the 6th and gave up 2 in the 7th, although 1 gets credited to a dumb play by Kiel Thibault. Cota walked in a run on a full-count pitch on which the runner at first took off for second. Thibault ignored the walk call to fire the ball into centerfield, which allowed the go-ahead run to score. RP Gilbert de la Vara gave up another run in the 8th and 2 runs in the 9th to ice the game for Stockton. High Desert is 14-14. Ports 1B Tommy Everidge was 4-5 with 2 doubles (22), an RBI (54) and 2 RS to move to .253, 3B Brian Snyder was 3-4 with an RBI and RS to move to .323 and 2B Eduardo Cornejo was 2-4 with a double and 2 RS to move to .403.

The series concludes Sunday as the Mavs try to avoid a sweep. Danny Christensen starts for HD.

Low-A - Burlington: Wisconsin 5, Bees 3

3B Lisson 3-5, RS, 2 SB (29) -- .256
LF Arce 2-4, K, CS, OF assist at home -- .225
SS Johnson 0-5, K -- .258
DH Everett 1-3, HR (5), RBI (17) -- .256
RF Arroyo 1-4, RBI (24), SB (9) -- .252

Nicoll 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, HRA, 3 hit batsmen -- ND, 2.63 ERA
Damico 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, BB -- L, 1-5, 3.17 ERA
Harkcom 2 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, 3.77 ERA

*** The Bee bullpen faltered as Wisconsin got the comeback victory. Carlos Arroyo got Burlington started with an RBI ground out in the 2nd but Wisconsin tied it with a leadoff homer off Chris Nicoll in the 4th. The go-ahead run was coming home on a 2-out single but Valentino Arce threw out the runner at the plate to keep the game tied. Brady Everett made the out count as he led off the Bees 4th with a solo homer for his 5th of the season and a 2-1 lead. The Bees loaded the bases with 1 out but couldn't capitalize. They loaded the bases again in the 5th, this time with no outs, and scored once on an Everett double play ball but that was it for the rally. Nicoll left the 3-1 lead to RP Yovany Damico to start the 7th and things went bad. Damico gave up a 1-out RBI single before giving way to Cody Harkcom with runners at the corners and Harkcom gave up a sac fly and 2 RBI base hits to give the Rattlers a 5-3 lead. The Bees' last hurrah came in the 7th as Mario Lisson got to third with 2 out but didn't score. The Bees are 12-17 and 6 games back of first. The Rattlers got 5 innings of hitless relief from 4 RPs. Wisconsin SS Chris Minaker was 1-3 with his 1st homer and 2 RBI to move to .333 and 2B Robert Hudson was 2-3 with a RS to move to .289.

The teams finish the set Sunday afternoon. Erik Cordier makes his first home start for the Bees.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 11, Great Falls 10

DH Turner 4-5, 3 2B, RBI (14), 3 RS -- .215
2B Mertins 1-3, 2 RS, SB (7) -- .414
SS McConnell 2-6, E (2) -- .462
LF Morel 2-5, HBP, RBI (20), K, RS, OF assist at second -- .304
CF Dickerson 0-3 -- .323, left after running into OF wall in 6th
1B Maddox 1-5, BB, RBI (16), K, RS -- .281
C Boudreaux 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 K, RS, 2 E (3) -- .212
RF/CF Bigler 1-4, 2 RBI (11) -- .241
PH Hayes 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI (12) -- .250
3B Nunez 2-4, 2B, RBI -- .216
*The Chukars left 12 on base.

B. Wood 3 2/3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- ND, 7.15 ERA
Abreu 3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- 5.72 ERA
Best 2 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K, HRA -- W, 5-0, 2.35 ERA

*** An amazing comeback got the Chukars the win over the pesky White Sox. IF starter Blake Wood allowed 4 runs on 3 hits, a walk and a wild pitch in the 2nd to make it 4-0 GF but the Chukars got 1 run back that inning on a Ross Boudreaux RBI single. Wood gave the White Sox the run back in the 3rd before the Chukars struck for 2 in the 4th on a 2-run Sox throwing error to make it 5-3. Idaho Falls hit an unlucky patch in the 6th as Great Falls DH Joe Hunter hit what would be ruled a 2-run inside-the-park homer after Dickerson hit the wall and had to be helped off the field. RPs Juan Abreu and Dan Best gave up 2 runs in the 7th and Best gave up a solo homer in the 8th to make the score 10-3 Great Falls. The Chukars got runners to second and third with no outs in the 8th and scored on an RBI ground out by Brett Bigler and an RBI double by Eduardo Nunez to cut the lead to 10-5. The Chukars would load the bases again in the inning but scored no more runs in that frame. Best had a 1-2-3 9th before the Chukar comeback kicked into high gear. Jase Turner doubled home a run before Boudreaux singled him home, still with none out. Shawn Hayes followed with a 2-run pinch-hit double to cut the lead to 10-9 and Alvi Morel singled him home to tie the game. With 2 out and runners on first and second, Marc Maddox hit a walkoff single to complete the comeback. The Chukars are 19-13 and tied with Orem for first. Hunter was 2-4 for Great Falls with 2 HR (4) and 3 RBI (14) to move to .291 and 1B Vernon Carter was 4-5 with 3 doubles (12) and his 30th RBI to move to .350.

The Chukars and Sox play the rubber match Sunday afternoon. Everett Teaford gets the start. In other news, the team's site reports some bad news as Luis Castillo, one of the team's best hitters, looks to be out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 1, Giants 0 (7/G1)

LF Dyson 1-3, 2B -- .385
3B Taylor 0-2, BB, K, SB (4) -- .328
SS Juan 1-3, RBI, K, E (6) -- .227
CF D. Robinson 1-2, BB, CS -- .228
RF Van Stratten 0-3, K -- .241
1B S. Lucas 0-1, 2 HBP, SB (9), E (4) -- .349
DH Peralta 0-3, 2 K -- .297

A. Morales CG, 2 H, 4 K -- W, 4-3, 4.66 ERA, outstanding start

*** Royals starter Angelo Morales went the distance as the Royals took down the league-leading Giants. The game was a pitchers' duel as it went into the bottom of the 7th and final inning still tied at goose eggs. Two walks and a balk gave the Royals runners at second and third with 1 out and the balk resulted in the ejection of the Giants manager. Manny Juan singled to center to bring home the winning run. The Royals improved to 15-9. Giants SP Henry Sosa allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks with 6 K over 4 2/3 IP to move his ERA to 4.22. Giants 1B Rich Janeway was 1-3 to move to .333 and 3B Matt Downs was 0-2 to drop to .338.

Giants 7, Royals 3 (7/G2)

RF Van Stratten 2-3, 2B, RBI (14) -- .256
3B Taylor 1-2 -- .333
CF D. Robinson 0-4 -- .217
1B S. Lucas 0-3, K -- .337
DH Peralta 0-2, BB -- .289

Bass 3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H -- L, 0-1, 9.00 ERA

*** Brian Bass made his return to the box score after being suspended by the organization a couple months ago for undisclosed reasons. It didn't go well as he took the loss against the Giants. A throwing error helped the Giants score a run in the 1st and Bass gave up 3 runs in the 2nd to help put the Royals in an early hole. Nick Van Stratten singled home a run in the 4th to cut the lead to 4-1 but the Giants iced it with 3 runs off RP Angel Martinez in the 4th. Manny Juan drove in a run with a double-play ball in the 5th and the other Royals run scored in the 7th on a double steal. The Royals dropped to 15-10. Giants SS Sharlon Schoop was 1-3 with an RBI to move to .438 and C Matt Klimas was 0-3 to drop to .421.

The Royals took down the Athletics Sunday. More on that in the next report.