Royals on the Farm 8/2

NOTE: There will be another (shorter) RoF hiatus this weekend as I enjoy a couple days off from work and away from the computer. I might try to catch up this time, tho, since I'm back on Sunday. Links on The Pipeline lead to all the team sites so feel free to check those out in the meantime if you just can't live without a daily minor league update.

I'm also glad to hear today of the signing of Royals 1st overall pick Luke Hochevar to a 4-year major league deal. Soren Petro said on 810 this morning that he thinks Hochevar may be a September call-up in '07 and hit the rotation to start '08. I figure if they've got him signed to a major league deal the timeline may be quicker than that. I wouldn't be surprised if he challenges for a rotation spot to start '07. Of course, it all depends on how he takes to the minors, but if he's the real deal like it's been reported, I don't think the start of '07 is too much to expect. Anyway, it's a good day when the #1 guy gets signed and the speculation can stop.

AAA - Omaha: Portland 9, O-Royals 4

2B Keppinger 2-5, K -- .415, pretty good when a 2-5 day lowers your BA
DH Sweeney 1-4, K, RS -- .250, rehab continues
LF Bell 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI (22), RS -- .215
SS Prieto 2-4, 2B, RBI (13), RS -- .214
RF Allen 0-4 -- .315, slumping
1B Cortez 1-4, BB -- .248
CF K. Robinson 1-3, HBP, RBI (33) -- .312

Middleton 7 IP, 6 ER, 11 H, BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- L, 0-6, 6.81 ERA, not taking to AAA
Loux 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, BB, E (1) -- 6.39 ERA

*** A 5-run Portland 6th broke a 1-1 tie and the Beavers took the opener in Omaha. The Royals started the 2nd with 3 consecutive singles as Rick Bell's brought Mike Sweeney home to make it 1-0. Kyle Middleton allowed the tying run in the 4th and Portland broke it open in the 6th on a 2-run homer and a 3-run homer for a 6-1 lead. Double plays in the 5th and 6th squashed the Royals offense but Bell tripled with 1 out in the 7th and scored on a ground out by C Jared Price to make it 6-2. Another double play in the 8th killed another Omaha chance and Portland padded the lead with 3 in the 9th off Shane Loux thanks in part to a Loux throwing error. Alejandro Prieto hit an RBI double and Kerry Robinson singled home a run off recent Royal Steve Andrade in the 9th but the big rally wasn't to be. Omaha is 44-68. Andrade's ERA is 3.86 for Portland. Beavers 1B Paul McAnulty was 3-5 with his 27th double, 15th homer and 3 RBI (58) to move to .324, DH Jack Cust was 3-4 with his 18th homer and 3 RBI (54) to move to .292, LF Jon Knott was 2-4 with 2 RBI (92) to move to .281 and Pads C prospect George Kottaras was 1-4 to drop to .262.

Game 2 of the series is Thursday night. Pitchers: Beavers RH Brian Sweeney (0-0, 2.57) vs. RH Seth Etherton (1-1, 5.57). Sweeney is scheduled for an off day and C Paul Phillips will rejoin the O-Royals after Paul Bako was activated from the DL. It'll be interesting to see if Matt Tupman is sent back to Wichita or they do something else with Jared Price, who hasn't done much in Omaha.

AA - Wichita: Tulsa 5, Wranglers 2

3B Gordon 1-3, BB, 2 K -- .313, 14-game hit streak
RF Butler 1-4, RBI (79), K -- .317
LF Lubanski 1-4, 2B (28), K, RS -- .275
SS Sanchez 2-4, 2B (20), RBI (44), K, RS -- .286
CF Maier 1-4, 2B (24), K, OF assist at second -- .293
2B Murphy 2-4, K -- .236

Buckner 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 6 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA, WP -- L, 2-2, 7.30 ERA, growing pains
DeHoyos 2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 1.93 ERA
Lowery IP, 2 K -- 6.75 ERA, solid last couple appearances

*** A flurry of scoring early was followed by late goose eggs for both sides as Tulsa took game 1. Angel Sanchez doubled with 1 out in the Wichita 1st and Billy Butler singled him home to make it 1-0. Billy Buckner gave up a solo homer and 2-run shot in the 2nd to give Tulsa a 3-1 lead before Chris Lubanski led off the 3rd with a double and scored on a Sanchez single. Two 2 out walks by Buckner in the 4th loaded the bases for Tulsa 1B Joe Koshansky, who singled home 2 runs to make it 5-2. Mitch Maier led off the Wichita 9th with a double but the Wranglers made nothing of it. The Wranglers are 21-18 and 2 1/2 games up on the Drillers. Rockies SP prospect Juan Morillo went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 9 Ks to move to 8-7 with a 4.84 ERA, Koshansky was 1-1 with 3 walks and 2 RBI (93) to move to .301 and RF Seth Smith was 1-4 with his 13th homer and 2 RBI (55) to move to .297. Rockies' top prospect 3B Ian Stewart was 1-4 with his 34th double to drop to .281.

Zack Greinke takes the hill for Wichita in game 2 Thursday night as the Wranglers try to snap a 3-game losing streak.

High-A - High Desert: San Jose 8, Mavs 4

1B Stodolka 1-4, RBI (56), K -- .302
DH McFall 1-4, HR (14), 3 RBI (56) -- .237
LF Tomlin 1-4, K -- .291
RF Valentin 0-3, BB, K, RS, OF assist at home -- .290

Cota 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 9 K!, HRA -- ND, 6.81 ERA, nice start other than homer
de la Vara IP, 6 R (1 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, K, HRA, E (2) -- BS, 2, L, 0-3, 3.07 ERA, not nice outing

*** The Mavs fought back from a 2-0 deficit to take a late lead only to see the wheels fall off in the 8th as San Jose moved to 7-1 against HD this season. Luis Cota gave up a double and homer in the 3rd to make it 2-0 Giants but, other than a walk and single later in the inning, was perfect through 7 IP. Unfortunately, the Mavs weren't faring much better off Giants SP Gregorio Martinez until the 7th when 2-out walks by Tomas Duenas and Geraldo Valentin were followed by a 3-run homer by Brian McFall for his team-leading 14th of the season. Mike Stodolka hit an RBI single in the 8th to make it 4-2 entering the SJ 8th. Gilbert de la Vara gave up a leadoff solo homer and helped the Giants with an error fielding a sac bunt. After the would-be third out, he gave up 2 RBI singles, a walk and a 2-run double to make it 9-4. Valentin threw a would-be 10th run out at the plate via relay man Wilver Perez to end the inning on the double. The Mavs went down 1-2-3 in the 9th. The Mavericks are 18-20 and a game back of first. Giants 3B Simon Klink was 2-4 with his 17th double, 9th homer and 3 RBI (31) to move to .244, LF Carlos Sosa was 1-4 with 2 RBI (39) to move to .324 and CF Alex Requena was 0-3 to drop to .318.

The series ends with a Thursday matinee. No announced starters.

Low-A - Burlington: Bees 10, Clinton 9

2B Johnson 2-3, 2 BB, RBI (33), 2 RS, E (7) -- .254
SS O. Pena 2-4, 2B, HR (2), 3 RBI (6), 2 RS -- .151
LF Santana 2-3, BB, 2B, 3B, K, 2 RS, E (2) -- .241
CF Duarte 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (32), 2 RS, SB (26), E (3) -- .277
3B Lisson 1-4, BB, 2B (25), RBI (53), 2 SB (34) -- .254
1B Vega 0-3, BB, SF, RBI (57) -- .244

Cordier 5 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 7 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA, 2 WP, pickoff -- ND, 2.62 ERA, will see better days
Henninger IP, ER, H, 2 BB -- BS, 1, 5.91 ERA
Garcia 2 IP, BB, 3 K -- W, 2-2, 4.42 ERA
Schambough IP, UER, 2 H -- SV, 10, 3.00 ERA

*** Burlington survived 3 errors and 9 Clinton runs to get the narrow victory. An error by Josh Johnson and a single scored runs for Clinton in the 1st and a passed ball on C Jeff Howell (his 13th) allowed a run to score in the 3rd to make it 3-0. The Bees got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd with 5 runs on an Omar Pena RBI double, a 2-run single by Jose Duarte and sac flies by Miguel Vega and Howell for a 5-3 lead. Bees SP Erik Cordier gave up a solo homer and 2 other runs in the 4th to give the LumberKings a 6-5 lead. The Bees posted a 3-run 2-out rally in the 4th as Ethien Santana tripled and scored on a Johnson single and another run scored on a wild pitch before Mario Lisson picked up his 53rd RBI with a double. Cordier allowed another run in the 5th and David Henninger allowed the tying run in the 6th to make it 8-8. Pena hit a 2-run homer to left in the 7th for his biggest hit as a Bee and a 10-8 lead. A Santana error kept the door open with 2 out in the 9th and Kraig Schambough allowed an RBI single and another single before ending the game with a pop out. The Bees are 16-24. Clinton CF Truan Mehl was 3-4 with 2 RBI, his 14th SB and 2 RS to move to .254, 1B Chris Kemp was 2-5 with his 1st homer and 1st RBI for Clinton to set a .400 BA and RF John Mayberry Jr. was 0-3 to drop to .254.

The series continues as Dan Cortes gets his second start for the Bees Thursday night.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Ogden 5

CF Dickerson 0-2, SF, HBP, RBI (22), CS -- .336
1B Turner 2-3, BB, 2 2B (10), RBI (19), K -- .215
LF Morel 1-4, BB, RS -- .290
2B Maddox 1-3, HBP, RBI (21), K, 2 RS -- .289
DH Morizio 0-3, BB -- .283

B. Wood 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 1-1, 7.08 ERA, first pro win
Best and Casey 3 2/3 IP scoreless relief -- Casey SV, 3

*** Blake Wood got his 1st pro win thanks to a 5-run Chukars 5th as IF broke a 4-game losing streak. C Ross Boudreaux drew a bases loaded walk in the 2nd to put IF up but Wood gave up 2 in the 3rd to give Ogden the lead. The Chukars loaded the bases to start the 5th and SS Eduardo Nunez hit an RBI single before a wild pitch scored a run, Joe Dickerson hit a sac fly, Marc Maddox singled home a run and Jase Turner doubled home a run to make it 6-2. RP Juan Abreu came in for the 6th and allowed a 2-run double and another RBI double to cut the lead to 6-5 before Dan Best came in and finished the inning. Best exited after allowing 2 singles to start the 9th and Bryan Casey, who has been somewhat shaky in pressure situations, came in and got a bases loaded double play to end the game for his 3rd save. The Chukars are 1-3. Ogden RF Carlos Santana put down his guitar to go 3-4 with an RBI to move to .421 and 1B Rick Taloa was 1-5 with his 6th double and 2 RBI (26) to move to .277.

Everett Teaford starts for the Chukars in game 2 Thursday night.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 8, Cubs 6

SS Juan 2-4, 3 RBI (16), 2 K, E (11) -- .256
OF Dyson 1-4, BB, K, RS, 2 SB (10) -- .278
CF D. Robinson 0-3, 3 K -- .207
1B S. Lucas 1-4, 3B (8), 2 RBI (37), RS, E (5) -- .331
RF Van Stratten 0-4, BB, 2 K, RS -- .268

Bass 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 7 K -- W, 1-1, 4.50, getting back into shape?
Raglione 4 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 6 H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 2, 3.25 ERA

*** The Royals put up 5 in the 1st and held on to get the win. Scott Lucas got them started with a 2-run triple and after the bases were loaded by walks, C Nick Doscher drew a walk to bring a 3rd run home and Manny Juan hit a 2-run single to make it 5-0 in the 1st. Two more scored in the 3rd on a ground out by 2B Tyrone Wilson and another Juan RBI single. Brian Bass gave up 2 runs in the 4th and Paul Raglione came in for the 6th and gave up a run to make it 7-3. 3B Alwin Perez doubled home a run in the 7th to get the Royals some insurance and Raglione gave up a run in the 8th before running into trouble in the 9th. With 1 out and 1 on, a Lucas error was followed with a bases loaded error by Wilson that allowed a run to score. An RBI ground out made it 8-6 and Raglione walked a batter to load the bases once more before inducing a ground out to end the game. The Royals are 5-1 and lead the league by a game. Cubs C Cory Vanderhook was 3-5 with an RBI and 2 RBI to move to .312 and RF Jeremy Williams was 2-5 with a double, triple and 2 RBI (15) to move to .243.

The Royals take on the 4-2 A's Thursday night.