Royals on the Farm 7/8 and 7/9

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

LF Huber 2-4, 2B (12), RBI (24), K, RS -- .262
2B Cortez 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 K, SB (1) -- .237, first RBI in organization
RF Costa 1-3, 2 BB, HR (5), RBI (11) -- .418
DH Allen 0-5 -- .330
1B Coolbaugh 2-5, HR (1), RBI, 2 RS -- .148
CF K. Robinson 1-5, RS, SB (13) -- .303
SS Blanco 1-2, BB, HBP, 2B (8), 2 RBI (19), RS, SB (3) -- .249

Baerlocher 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 4 K, WP -- ND, 4.21 ERA
MacDougal IP, 2 K -- 5.40 ERA
Loux 0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB -- L, 0-4, 7.45 ERA
Nunez 2/3 IP, H, K -- BS, 2, 1.10 ERA

*** Shane Loux and Leo Nunez blew a 2-run 9th inning lead and Omaha snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Saturday. Ryan Baerlocher struggled through the first 2 innings as he gave up a 2-out 2-run single in the first and runs on a wild pitch and RBI single in the 2nd for a 4-0 Iowa lead. Fernando Cortez cracked a 2-out 2-run single in the 3rd to cut the lead in half and the O-Royals scored 3 in the 4th to take the lead. That rally bore fruit on an RBI double by Justin Huber in his first game in a week or so after battling a sore thumb. Andres Blanco added a 2-run double to give Omaha a 5-4 lead. Shane Costa hit his 5th homer for a solo shot with 1 out in the 5th and, two batters later, Mike Coolbaugh hit his first AAA homer of '06 to make the score 7-4. Ed Yarnall gave up a run in the 7th to cut the Omaha lead to 2 and 7-5 was the score entering the Cubs' half of the 9th. Loux started the inning by giving up a walk and 3 straight singles to cut the lead to 1 before getting pulled for Nunez, who got a force out at home and K to put the Cubs down to their last out. Unfortunately for Omaha, Iowa C Geovany Soto hit a game-winning 2-run single to end the game. Omaha dropped to 34-55. Cubs 3B Casey McGehee was 3-5 with 3 RBI (32) to move to .284, DH Jeff Deardorff was 3-5 with a double and his 19th RBI to move to .250 and CF Felix Pie was 2-5 with a RS to move to .256.

Iowa 4, O-Royals 2 (Sun.)

LF Huber 1-2, BB, K -- .265, so now Coolbaugh is keeping him off 1B?
RF Costa 1-4, K, RS -- .410
DH Allen 0-4 -- .325
CF K. Robinson 2-4, CS (7), OF assist at third -- .307
3B Cortez 0-4, K -- .222
1B Coolbaugh 1-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (4), 2 K -- .161
2B Gotay 0-4, 3 K -- .250
SS Blanco 0-2, BB -- .247

Hernandez 6 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K, HRA -- L, 4-6, 4.76 ERA
MacDougal IP, H, K -- 4.70 ERA, back right after ASB?

*** Runelvys got hit in 2 separate innings and Omaha couldn't generate much offense on only 5 hits as Iowa swept the Royals into the all-star break. Runelvys gave up a single run in the 3rd and 3 in the 6th as Iowa took a 4-0 lead on the struggling Royals. Mike Coolbaugh hit a 2-run shot in the 7th to get Omaha on the scoreboard and the Royals got 2 on in the 8th but couldn't rally. Omaha is 34-56. RP Michael Wuertz, who moved to 5-0 with Saturday's win, picked up his 9th save Sunday to drop his ERA to 1.78. RF Mike Restovich was 2-4 with his 14th homer and 44th RBI to move to .299, LF Ryan Theriot was 2-4 to move to .308 and CF Pie was 1-4 to drop to .256.

Omaha's all-star break starts Monday. The O-Royals reps are (were) C Paul Phillips and RF Chad Allen. I assume Phillips won't play since he's in the bigs now.

AA - Wichita: Arkansas 5, Wranglers 4 (Sat.)

CF Maier 3-4, HR (10), 2 RBI (55), 2 RS, E (4) -- .280
LF Lubanski 0-2, 2 BB -- .262
DH Tupman 1-3, BB, 2 K -- .297
SS Sanchez 0-3, BB, RS -- .281
RF D. Brown 1-4, HR (7), 2 RBI (33) -- .267
2B Murphy 0-4 -- .220

Greinke 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 7 K -- ND, 5.49 ERA
Hoelscher 1 2/3 IP, BB, 2 K -- 3.38 ERA
Braun 1 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 2 K -- BS, 2, L, 1-6, 2.21 ERA

*** Ryan Braun gave up 3 runs in the 9th and Wichita fumbled a game over to the Travs Saturday. Dee Brown handed the Wranglers a 2-0 lead in the 1st with a 2-run homer -- his 7th. Zack Greinke gave up runs in the 2nd and 3rd to allow Arkansas to tie the game but Wichita regained the lead in the 4th on a leadoff solo shot by Mitch Maier for his 10th of the season. As Greinke and Nate Hoelscher held the Travs at 2 runs through the 8th, the Wranglers added an insurance run in the 8th on a Maier RBI single for a 4-2 lead. Braun gave up a 1-out triple and then got a strikeout for what should have been the second out but the ball got past C Damaso Espino and the batter reached first safely while the runner scored. A single and 2-run double later, the Travs had a 5-4 lead. The Wranglers went down in order in the 9th to end the game. Wichita moved to 10-6. DH Bobby Wilson was 2-4 with 2 doubles (21) and 2 RBI (32) to move to .312, RF Nathan Haynes was 2-4 with a triple to move to .281 and SS Brandon Wood was 0-3 to drop to .291.

Arkansas 9, Wranglers 7 (Sun.)

LF Lubanski 3-4, BB, 3B (5), K, 2 RS, OF assist at second -- .268
C Tupman 2-4, 2 RBI (31), RS -- .301
2B Murphy 2-4, 2B (16), HR (7), RBI (26), 2 RS -- .225
CF Maier 0-3, 2 SF, 2 RBI (57), K -- .277
SS Sanchez 1-5, 2B (15), E (17) -- .280

Musser 6 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 4-1, 3.35 ERA, yow, first snag in AA
C. Smith IP, H -- 2.25 ERA

*** It was no Alex Gordon, no Billy Butler, no....wins for the Wranglers this weekend as the team dropped both games with the main offensive producers in absentia. In Sunday's game, a late Wrangler rally wasn't to be as Arkansas finished the series with a win. Neal Musser had cruised through his first few starts as a Wrangler but ran into trouble quickly in giving up 3 runs in the 1st. Chris Lubanski led off the Wrangler 1st with a triple and scored on a Mitch Maier sac fly but the Travs scored 2 more in the 2nd. Donnie Murphy smacked his 7th homer to lead off the 2nd but Arkansas again scored 2 in the 3rd to take a 7-2 lead. For some reason, Musser was kept in the game and Wichita scored 1 in the 3rd on a second Maier sac fly to cut the lead to 4. Arkansas added its 8th run in the 5th and Wichita rallied for 2 in the 7th on sacrifice flies by Adam Keim and Damaso Espino to make the score 8-5 Travs. Arkansas got an insurance run off Juan Cedeno in the 8th and they almost needed it as Wichita scored 2 in the 8th on a Matt Tupman 2-run single. Lubanski singled with 1 out in the 9th but a comeback wasn't to be. The Wranglers dropped to 10-7 but are still up 2 games on first. Travs' C Wilson was 1-1 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI (34) to move to .315, CF Terry Evans was 2-4 with his 9th homer and 2 RBI (24) to move to .307 and Wood was 1-4 with his 31st double and 21st error to drop to .291.

A 4-game set at the Midland RockHounds (8-9, AA Athletics) starts Monday. Gordon and Butler should be back in action. In case you didn't watch, Butler was the MVP of the Futures Game Sunday as he was 2-3 with a 2-run homer in the 2nd and a single. Two years in a row for Royals farmhands as MVPs of the Futures game. Hopefully Lubanski, Maier or someone else can keep the streak going in '07. Gordon also had a good game as he was 2-3 with a single, double and 2 RBI. Butler's bat from the game is being taken to Cooperstown to be part of an exhibit, which is cool.

High-A - High Desert: Lake Elsinore 5, Mavs 1

2B W. Perez 2-4 -- .288
LF Tomlin 2-3, 2B, RBI (14) -- .299
C Donachie 0-4, K -- .277
3B Valentin 0-3, BB, K -- .280

Plummer 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- L, 10-4, 4.96 ERA

*** The Mavs couldn't get it going and the Storm took their second in a row over HD with the 5-1 win. SP Jarod Plummer gave up a 2-run homer in the 2nd and that would end up being enough for the Storm. Back-to-back doubles by Brian McFall and James Tomlin with 1 out in the 5th got the Mavs what would be their only run and Lake Elsinore scored twice off RP Adam Rowe in the 7th and 1 off RP Justin Barnes in the 8th. The Mavericks got 2 on in the 7th but couldn't do more damage. High Desert moved to 10-6. Storm SP Josh Geer allowed only 1 ER on 5 hits and a walk over 6 IP to move to 1-3 with a 4.63 ERA. 1B Tim Brown was 3-4 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI (39) along with 3 RS to move to .271, 3B Chase Headley was 2-4 with his 44th RBI to move to .285 and LF Peter Ciofrone was 0-4 to drop to .333.

Mavericks 15, Lake Elsinore 4 (Sun.)

RF Valentin 4-5, 2B (11), SF, 2 RBI (40), 2 RS, OF assist at second -- .290
CF Senreiso 4-5, 3B (4), 3 RBI (43), 3 RS -- .256
1B Stodolka 1-5, K, RS -- .294
LF Tomlin 3-5, 2B (10), RBI (15), 2 RS -- .312
SS Falu 3-5, BB, 2B (13), 2 RBI (31), 2 RS -- .278
2B Gaffney 3-4, 2B, SF, 3 RBI (21), RS -- .292
3B E. Lucas 2-4, BB, RBI (37), 2 K, 2 RS -- .278

Gragg 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 K -- W, 5-3, 3.53 ERA

*** A 10-run 1st set the stage for the game as the Mavericks churned out 22 hits in blowing out the Storm. John Gragg III gave up a run in the top of the 1st but the Mavs got the game well in hand quickly as 10 straight batters reached base to start the game for High Desert. The first run scored on a Wilver Perez hit and Storm missed catch error and the flood gates opened as Geraldo Valentin and Tomas Duenas hit RBI singles, Juan Senreiso hit a 2-run triple, James Tomlin hit an RBI single, Mike Gaffney and Irving Falu hit RBI doubles (Falu's scored 2 runs) and Falu scored on a wild pitch to make the score 10-1. Storm SP Evan Meek lasted only 1/3 of an inning. An Ed Lucas RBI single and Gaffney sac fly made the score 12-1 in the 2nd and Senreiso singled home a run in the 3rd for a 13-2 lead. A Valentin sac fly in the 4th and Gaffney RBI single in the 5th accounted for High Desert's other 2 runs. The Mavs are 11-6. Headley was 3-5 with his 22nd double and 3 RS to move to .290 and Ciofrone was 1-4 with his 41st RBI to move to .331.

The Mavs have Monday off before starting a road trip.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 4, Southwest Michigan 3 (Sat.)

LF Santana 3-4, RBI (11), RS, picked off -- .258
CF Duarte 1-4, BB, K, RS -- .264
SS Johnson 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI (24) -- .261
DH Everett 1-4, 2B, RS -- .240
RF Jirschele 0-2, BB, SF, RBI, 2 K -- .175

Rosa 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- ND, 3.02 ERA
Garcia IP, 3 K -- W, 1-2, 4.80 ERA

*** The Bees entered the 9th down, 3-0, but rallied for the win. The Bees got 2 runners in scoring position to start the 4th but couldn't get a run home. The D-Rays broke through in the 6th with a 2-run double off Bees starter Carlos Rosa and got a solo homer in the 8th to take a 3-0 lead. With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Brady Everett doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a sac fly by Jeremy Jirschele and, after Valentino Arce walked and got to second on defensive indifference, Ethien Santana singled him home. Jose Duarte singled and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before Josh Johnson got the big hit with a walkoff 2-run double to center. Burlington moved to 6-11. D-Rays SP Jacob McGee pitched 6 scoreless innings with 3 hits and 3 walks to move his ERA to 2.52, LF James Hall was 2-4 with his 18th double, 7th homer and 3 RBI (46) to move to .281 and 3B Cesar Suarez was 0-3 to drop to .316.

Bees 3, Southwest Michigan 2 (Sun.)

1B Jirschele 1-1, BB, HBP, 2B, RBI, RS, CS -- .179
DH Howell 1-4, RBI (23), K -- .254
LF Santana 0-3, RBI, SB (16) -- .254
CF Duarte 0-3, BB -- .261
2B Johnson 0-3, BB, K, RS, SB (12) -- .257
C Everett 1-2, BB, K, RS, picked off -- .244
SS McConnell 1-3, CS -- .177

Oliveros 6 2/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 K -- W, 5-3, 3.02 ERA
Schambough 2 1/3 IP, ER, H, 3 BB, K -- SV, 8, 1.84 ERA, old school save

*** Burlington scored its runs in the first 2 innings and then relied on Rayner Oliveros and Kraig Schambough to hold the line from the mound as the Bees won their 3rd straight. Jeff Howell hit an RBI single in the 1st and Jeremy Jirschele hit an RBI double in the 2nd before Ethien Santana drove home the lead run with an RBI ground out. Oliveros had a 2-hitter through 6 IP but gave up a 2-out RBI single in the 7th before getting pulled for Schambough. Schambough gave up a run in the 8th but closed the game out for his 8th save. The Bees are 7-11 and 4 games back of first. D-Rays 3B Cesar Suarez was 1-4 to drop to .314.

The Bees go for the 4-game sweep Monday night. Chris Nicoll gets the start.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 2, Ogden 0 (Sat.)

DH Mertins 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .519
3B Herrera 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI (13), 2 K -- .293
LF Morel 1-3, K, RS, SB (4) -- .314
1B Castillo 0-4, 2 K -- .367
2B Maddox 0-4, 2 K -- .233
C Lance 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, K, 2 SB (2) -- .176
CF Bigler 0-2, BB, 2 K -- .321

Hardy 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 10 K!!! -- ND, 0.82 ERA
Best 2 IP, 3 H -- W, 3-0, 2.45 ERA
Eckley 2/3 IP, K -- SV, 1, 7.88 ERA

*** The Chukars got more great pitching from Rowdy Hardy and Dan Best to get another win over Ogden. Idaho Falls had chances but didn't score until the 7th when Brenan Herrera hit a 2-out, 2-run double. The Chukars had only 3 hits compared to 5 for Ogden but 3 Raptor errors and 6 walks helped. Idaho Falls is 13-6 and 2 games up on first. Ogden SP Chales Dasni allowed only 1 hit and 3 walks with 12 Ks over 6 IP to drop his ERA to 6.50. SS Juan Rivera was 2-4 to move to .318 and DH Josh Bell was 0-4 to drop to .323.

off day Sunday

The Chukars get back into action with a 3-game set at the Billings Mustangs (12-6, Rookie Reds) starting Monday.

Rookie - AZL: Saturday's game postponed

Royals 8, Mariners 3 (Sun.)

DH Peralta 2-3, BB, HR (3), RBI (15), 2 RS -- .341
C Doscher 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI, CS -- .333
2B T. Wilson 0-4, 2 K -- .133
CF D. Robinson 1-5, 2B, RS, picked off -- .186
1B S. Lucas 1-3, BB, 3B (6), RBI (21), 2 RS -- .358
3B Taylor 1-3, 2B (4), SF, 3 RBI (8), RS -- .441
RF Van Stratten 1-4, 3B, RS -- .217
LF Francis 0-2, BB, K -- .167

Fisher 5 2/3 IP, ER, 0 H, BB, 5 K -- W, 1-0, 2.11 ERA
Raglione 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K -- SV, 1, 4.74 ERA

*** Three rallies helped the Royals get another win. Felix Peralta hit a solo homer to start the scoring in the 4th and, after Scott Lucas tripled, Jason Taylor hit a sac fly to put the Royals up, 2-0. Brent Fisher gave up a run in the 5th but the Royals scored 4 in the 6th on a Mariner throwing error, a 2-run double by Taylor and an RBI single by Nick Doscher. The Mariners cut into the lead with 2 7th inning runs but the Royals polished off the win with 2 in the 8th on an Eric Dickson RBI single and an RBI double by Doscher. The Royals moved to 10-4.
Five Mariners had 1 hit each. 1B Gerardo Avila was 0-4 with 4 K to drop to .393 and C Erwin Jacobo was 1-3 with an RBI to move to .300.

The Royals played the Angels Monday morning.