Royals on the Farm 7/27

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 7, Las Vegas 5

3B Keppinger 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI (6), 2 RS -- .357
2B Cortez 2-5, 3B, RBI (5), 2 RS, E (5) -- .248
RF Allen 0-5, RBI (67) -- .325
C Tupman 1-3, BB -- .231
CF K. Robinson 1-4, HR (2), RBI (29), K, 2 RS -- .295, doing OK out of 9th spot

Van Hekken 6 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- W, 1-1, 5.25 ERA, 111 pitch outing
Etherton 2 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 4 K, HRA -- 4.73 ERA

*** Two innings was all the Omaha offense needed to give Andy Van Hekken the run support for his first win as a Royal. Van Hekken gave up a run in the 2nd but Omaha scored thrice in the 3rd on a leadoff homer by Kerry Robinson (his 2nd), a Jeff Keppinger RBI double after Fernando Cortez tripled, and a double by 1B Mike Coolbaugh that brought Keppinger home. Van Hekken allowed another run in the 3rd but Omaha padded the lead with a 4-run 4th as Cortez hit an RBI single, Keppinger had an RBI fielder's choice, Cortez scored on an error and LF Rick Bell drew a bases loaded walk to make it 7-2. That stayed the score until the bottom of the 7th when Van Hekken and Seth Etherton gave up 3 hits for 2 runs in a 2-out rally. Etherton gave up a solo homer in the 8th to cut the lead to 7-5 and the 51s got the would-be winning run to the plate with 1 out in the 9th before Etherton struck out 51s CF Matt Kemp looking and Etherton picked off a runner at second to end the game. Omaha is 43-63 and officially has only the third-worst record in the PCL now! (I like to call that mock enthusiasm.) Vegas got 5 2/3 IP of hitless relief from 4 pitchers after starter Harold Eckert got rocked. LF Jeff Duncan was 4-5 with a double to move to .297, Kemp was 2-5 with a triple and 2 RBI to improve to .354, and DH Andy LaRoche (brother of the Braves' Adam) was 1-4 with a double to drop to .318. 3B Eric Riggs was also 2-4 with his 8th homer and 2 RBI (32) to move to .329.

The teams wrap up the 4-game set Friday night as Omaha goes for 3 of 4. Pitchers: RH Kyle Middleton (0-4, 6.39) vs. 51s RH D.J. Houlton (6-9, 6.08). In other news, the Royals signed P Esteban Yan and assigned him to Omaha while P Andy Sisco was sent down to make room for Odalis Perez.

AA - Wichita: off day

*** Wichita is 18-15 and 2 1/2 games up on first. The Wranglers start a 5-game set with the currently second-place Arkansas Travelers (16-18, AA Angels) in Arkansas tonight. Billy Buckner starts for the Wranglers in the opener as Mike Sweeney and Paul Bako start rehab stints. I think Sweeney is slated for 3 days of rehab in AA before heading to Omaha. P Tyler Lumsden is set to make his first start as a Royals farmhand in game 2 of a scheduled Saturday twinbill.

High-A - High Desert: Mavs 10, Modesto 5

1B R. Brown 3-4, BB, HR (9), RBI (43), 3 RS, E (7) -- .271
LF Tomlin 2-5, 2B (15), 3 RBI (21), RS -- .310
3B E. Lucas 2-4, BB, K, 3 RS, SB (12) -- .289
SS Falu 2-5, 2 RBI (34), RS -- .278
2B Gaffney 2-3, 2 BB -- .276
RF Valentin 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (45) -- .295

Gragg III 6 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 7 K -- W, 7-4, 3.35 ERA

*** The Mavericks supported starter John Gragg with 10 runs on 15 hits and took the series finale with Modesto. Rusty Brown got HD started with a solo homer (his 9th) to lead off the 2nd and C Kiel Thibault hit an RBI ground out later in the inning to make it 2-0. Gragg walked a run home in the 3rd but the Mavs scored 5 in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by DH Tomas Duenas, an RBI single by James Tomlin, an RBI force out by Irving Falu and a 2-run single by Geraldo Valentin that ended the inning when Michael Gaffney was thrown out at third. The Nuts cut the lead to 7-4 with a run in the 5th and 2 in the 7th off Gragg and RP Justin Barnes. James Tomlin got the Mavs some insurance with a 2-run double in the bottom of the 7th and Falu singled him home 2 batters later to make it 10-4. Barnes gave up a run in the 8th but got through the 9th quickly. HD is 17-15 and 1 1/2 games back of first place. Nuts 2B Corey Wimberly was 3-4 with his 34th SB and 2 RS to move to .323, CF Chris Frey was 3-5 to move to .278 and LF Justin Nelson was 1-4 with his 21st double and 3 RBI (58) to move to .233.

The Mavs move on to a 4-game set at the Inland Empire 66ers (15-17, High-A Mariners) starting Friday night. No announced starters.

Low-A - Burlington: Beloit 4, Bees 2

RF Arroyo 3-4, RS -- .258
CF Duarte 2-4, RBI (29), K, OF assist at third -- .274, third straight game with OF assist (20 on season)
2B Johnson 0-2, BB -- .249, set team record with 14th sac bunt

Nicoll 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- ND, 2.65 ERA
Henninger 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K -- L, 2-6, 5.87 ERA

*** Two late runs got the Snappers a split with the Bees. Chris Nicoll gave up a leadoff homer in the 2nd but the Bees got the run back in the 3rd on a Jose Duarte RBI single before taking the lead in the 4th on a Carlos Arroyo RBI single. Beloit tied it off Nicoll in the 5th and RP David Henninger worked out of a jam in the 7th before allowing the go-ahead run in the 8th on a 1-out RBI double. Another double got the Snappers an insurance run off Henninger in the 9th and the Bees didn't threaten. The Bees are 15-19. Snappers 1B Erik Lis was 2-5 with his 51st RBI to move to .315 and RF Eli Tintor was 2-3 with his 7th homer and 37th RBI to move to .283.

A 4-game set at the Lansing Lugnuts (12-22, Low-A Blue Jays) starts Friday night. Erik Cordier starts the opener for Burlington. P Daniel Cortes is set to make his organizational debut Saturday for the Bees.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 15, Chukars 5

DH Mertins 0-2, BB, RBI (11), K, RS, picked off -- .415
3B Herrera 1-4, 2B (10), 3 RBI (21), 3 K, 2 E (8) -- .260
CF Dickerson 0-4, K, RS -- .327
SS McConnell 0-2, BB, K -- .354
LF Bigler 0-3, BB, RS -- .250
2B Maddox 1-3, RBI (19), RS -- .302

B. Wood 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 K, HRA -- ND, 8.22 ERA, looking more and more like signability pick
Abreu 1/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 3 H, BB, K -- L, 2-1, 7.22 ERA, yikes

*** A 5-run 1st seemed to set the Chukars up for good things but it was ALL downhill from there as the Owlz rolled over IF. With 1 out and 2 on in the 1st, Marc Maddox singled home a run, Kurt Mertins drew a bases loaded walk 2 batters later and Brenan Herrera cleared the bases with a 3-run double to make it 5-0. Idaho Falls would only have 3 more hits. Blake Wood started and gave up 1 run in the 1st and 2 in the 2nd and was pulled after giving up a walk and single to start the 5th. Juan Abreu came in and poured gas on the fire as 6 straight Owlz reached base and Orem broke out for an 8-run inning to take an 11-5 lead. The Owlz poured on 2 runs in the 6th and 2 more in the 8th. Idaho Falls is 22-15 and in a first-place tie with Orem, so Friday's game is big for both sides. Owlz P Barret Browning came in after SP Robert Cassevah got 1 out in the 1st and pitched 4 2/3 IP of scoreless relief to get the win and move to 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA. Owlz 2B Tadd Brewer was 4-5 and a double short of the cycle with a triple, his 1st homer and 7 RBI (11) to move to .301 and RF Luis Rivera was 3-5 with 2 RBI (13) and 3 RS to move to .252.

The series continues Friday with no announced starters.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 5, Angels 3

DH Van Stratten 2-4, 2 SB (10) -- .277
3B Taylor 0-2, HBP, RS -- .295
CF D. Robinson 1-4, 3 K -- .214
LF Dyson 0-4, K, RS -- .304
1B S. Lucas 0-3, BB, 2 K, CS -- .316
SS Juan 2-3, 2B (6), HR (1), 2 RBI (13), E (9) -- .259

A. Morales 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K, HRA -- W, 5-3, 4.64 ERA
Martinez 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- SV, 2, 6.30 ERA

*** The Royals bounced back from a rough 1st to overtake the Angels and win the second-half opener. The Halos got 2 singles and a 3-run homer with 1 out in the 1st off Angelo Morales to take a 3-0 lead quickly. Two Angel errors helped the Royals get a run back in the bottom of the 1st as a throwing error on a steal attempt brought Jarrod Dyson home. Manny Juan doubled home a run in the 2nd to cut the lead to 1 but was thrown out at third for the third out of the inning on the play. I think he just did that the other day -- let's break them of that habit in rookie league before they get to the majors and start doing it like Berroa. Two more Angel errors helped the Royals tie the game in the 4th and a balk scored Jason Taylor for the lead run. Morales settled down and got through the 6th without further damage and Angel Martinez took it the rest of the way to pick up the save. Juan homered in the 7th for his 1st of the season to atone for the baserunning blunder. The Royals are 1-0. Angels SP Vladimir Veras allowed 4 runs but only 1 ER thanks to the errors to take the loss and drop to 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA. Angels SS Wilberto Ortiz was 2-4 with his 8th error to move to .362 and LF Angel Castillo was 1-4 with his 2nd homer and 3 RBI (12) in the loss.

The Royals were set to take on the Giants Friday night.