Royals on the Farm 8/25

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Oklahoma 2

LF Huber 0-4, 2 K -- .288
RF Costa 1-4, HR (10), RBI (25), K, RS -- .349
2B Cortez 2-4, RS -- .261
SS Prieto 2-4, K -- .222
C Phillips 2-4, 2B (11), RBI (35), E (9) -- .254
CF K. Robinson 1-5, RBI (39) -- .315

M. Wood 2 2/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, BB, E (1) -- ND, 4.76 ERA
Mahomes 5 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 1-1, 5.08 ERA
Nunez IP, H, K -- SV, 4, 1.97 ERA

*** Pat Mahomes had one of his best pitching outings of the season and Omaha came back to beat the RedHawks. Mike Wood gave up a run in the 1st but an error on a ball hit by Fernando Cortez in the 2nd allowed Omaha to tie the game. Wood gave up 3 singles for another run in the 3rd as Oklahoma regained the lead but Mahomes kept the RedHawks in check through the 8th. The score stayed 2-1 until Shane Costa tied the game with his 10th homer in the 6th. With 2 on and 2 out in the 7th, Kerry Robinson and Paul Phillips came through with RBI singles to put Omaha up, 4-2. A single and throwing error by Phillips put a runner on third with 1 out on Leo Nunez in the 9th but a pop out and ground out preserved the win for the Royals. Omaha is 51-83. Oklahoma RF Adam Hyzdu was 1-3 with 2 RBI (75) to move to .271, DH Randall Simon was 1-3 to move to .318 and CF Freddy Guzman was 2-4 with 2 RS to move to .280.

Game 4 of the set is Saturday night. Pitchers: LH Donovan Osborne (0-6, 6.99) vs. RedHawks LH John Koronka (0-1, 2.57). With Reggie Sanders on the shelf for the season, IF Jeff Keppinger was called up to the big club to take his spot on the 25-man.

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 3, Arkansas 3 (11/susp./rain)

3B Gordon 2-4, 2B (36), HR (28), 2 RBI (90), K, RS -- .322
LF Lubanski 1-3, BB, HR (13), RBI (65), 2 RS, SB (10) -- .279
CF Maier 0-3, BB, K -- .300
DH D. Brown 1-4, 2B (21) -- .311
SS Sanchez 0-4, K -- .281

Song 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, HRA -- ND, 5.68 ERA
Musser 4 1/3 IP, H, BB, 4 K -- 5.20 ERA

*** The game was in extras when rain shut it down and, according to the Wichita Eagle, won't be made up, but the stats still count. Chris Lubanski led off the Wichita 1st with his 13th homer of the season and Alex Gordon cranked a 2-run homer (his 28th) in the 3rd to make it 3-0 Wranglers. Seung Song was perfect through 3 1/3 IP but gave up a single and 3-run homer with 2 out in the 4th to tie the game. Arkansas rallied again in the 6th and Neal Musser came in with 2 on and 2 out, uncorked a wild pitch and was saved by C Adam Donachie, who recovered the ball and tagged out the runner trying to score from third to end the inning. The game stayed tied at 3 until the start of the 11th, when rain forced play to end. An hour later, a bolt of lightning knocked out some of the light banks and the game was called. Wichita is 36-24 and still 5 games up on Tulsa. Travs 1B Greg Porter was 2-4 to move to .296, 3B Matt Brown was 1-4 with his 18th homer and 3 RBI (75) to move to .293 and SS Sean Rodriguez was 1-3 with his 1st AA double to move to .265.

A 4-game set at the Springfield Cardinals (22-39) starts Saturday night. Tyler Lumsden starts the opener for Wichita. A win in the series locks down the wild-card playoff spot for Wichita. The Wranglers' magic number for the second half division title is still 5.

High-A - High Desert: Lake Elsinore 8, Mavs 7

DH Stodolka 3-4, BB, 2B (32), RBI (65), 2 RS -- .296, more like it
3B E. Lucas 3-5, 3 RBI (63), RS -- .285
2B Gaffney 2-5, 2 RBI (33), RS, E (6) -- .258
1B R. Brown 2-5, RBI (55) -- .261
C Duenas 1-5, K, PB (13) -- .298
CF Valentin 1-5, 2 K -- .291

Rosa 2 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 4 H, BB, 3 K -- ND, 11.81 ERA, pitch count??? -- no injury reported
Barnes 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 4.35 ERA
Hicklen 3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, E (2) -- L, 3-9, 5.99 ERA

*** The Mavs made a run at a comeback in the 9th but couldn't get it done as the Storm edged closer in the wild-card race. Carlos Rosa loaded the bases with 1 out in the 1st and the Mavs defense failed him as a Michael Gaffney error scored a run, another run scored on a Tomas Duenas passed ball and an RBI single made it 3-0 LE. Ed Lucas hit a 2-out RBI single in the Mavs 1st to make it 3-1 and Gaffney atoned for his error with a 2-run 2-out single in the 3rd to tie the game. Justin Barnes came in for the 3rd and gave up runs in the 3rd and 4th to make it 5-3 Storm. With 2 out and 1 on in the 5th, Lucas singled home a run and Rusty Brown followed with an RBI single to once again tie the game. Patrick Hicklen came in to pitch the 7th and gave up a homer, single and 2-run homer to the first 3 batters he faced to make it 8-5 Storm. The Storm got 2 in scoring position with 1 out but Hicklen prevented any more damage. Three straight singles to start the bottom of the 9th cut into the lead as Mike Stodolka's single brought home a run to make it 8-6. Lucas hit a 1-out RBI single to cut the lead to 1 but Brown and Geraldo Valentin popped out to end the game. HD is 29-32 and 2 games out of first. The Mavs still have a 1 1/2 game lead on the Storm for the wild-card spot. Storm 1B Tim Brown was 3-5 with his 9th homer and 2 RBI (67) to move to .294, 3B Chase Headley was 1-4 with his 12th homer and 3 RBI (65) to move to .288 and RF Nick Crosta was 2-4 with his 20th double and 3 RS to move to .260.

Game 3 of the set is Saturday night. No announced starters.

Low-A - Burlington: Kane County 8, Bees 4

CF Duarte 2-4, RBI (36), 2 RS -- .268
1B Vega 2-4, RBI (72), 2 K -- .249
DH Everett 2-4 -- .262
RF Peralta 2-4 -- .267
2B Johnson 1-4, 2B (8), RBI (39), RS -- .254
* 3B Mario Lisson stole his 38th base

Kniginyzky 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, K, HRA, WP -- ND, 3.51 ERA
Oliveros 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, K -- BS, 1, L, 6-4, 3.07 ERA

*** The Cougars had 2 3-run rallies to come back for the win Friday night. Josh Johnson doubled home Jose Duarte in the 1st to put the Bees up early but Matt Kniginyzky gave up a solo homer in the 2nd to tie the game. Duarte singled home a run in the 5th and scored on a Cougar throwing error before Miguel Vega singled home Johnson to make it 4-1 Bees. Kniginyzky gave up a 2-out RBI single in the 5th before exiting for Rayner Oliveros in the 6th. An RBI ground out in the 7th made it 4-3 before Oliveros gave up 3 straight singles, two for RBIs, to give Kane County a 5-4 lead. Lisson was picked off at third in the 8th and Cody Harkcom gave up 3 runs in the 8th to ice it for KC. The Bees went down in order in the 9th. The Bees are 24-36. Cougars CF Chad Boyd was 3-5 with 3 RBI (37) to move to .362, 1B Steve Kleen was 3-3 with his 5th homer, 58th RBI and 4 RS to move to .286 and LF Matt Sulentic was 1-4 with a double and 3 RBI (8) to move to .231.

The series continues Saturday night. Luke Hochevar makes his 3rd start for Burlington. No report on his pitch count. In other news, IF Josh Johnson was named to the MWL post-season all-star team as he leads the league's 2B men in fielding percentage at .981. He leads the league in walks with 86 and OBP at .404. RP Kraig Schambough was also called up to High Desert after racking up 12 saves with the Bees.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Helena 3

DH Mertins 1-4, HBP, RS -- .346
CF Dickerson 2-5, RBI (32) -- .278
1B Turner 3-5, 2 2B (17), RBI (38), RS -- .245
C Morizio 2-4, BB, 2B (5), 2 RBI (6), K -- .264
LF Bigler 2-4 -- .224
SS McConnell 1-4, BB, 2B (6), RBI (27), RS, 2 E (16) -- .252
2B Gil 1-5, HR (1), RBI (12), K -- .218

Teaford 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, balk -- W, 4-0, 3.33 ERA
Godin 3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, WP -- 2.49 ERA
Casey IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, K -- 5.40 ERA

*** The Chukars cruised until Helena rallied in the 9th but IF still got its 4th straight win. The game was scoreless into the 4th when Jase Turner hit an RBI double to put IF up, 1-0. Joe Dickerson singled home a run in the 5th to make it 2-0 as Everett Teaford 2-hit the Brewers over his 5 IP. Jason Godin also held the Brewers in check through the 8th. Gilbert Gil went solo for his 1st homer in the 8th to make it 3-0 and the Chukars scored 3 in the 9th on 2-out RBI doubles from Chris McConnell and Matt Morizio (his was a 2-run double) to make it 6-0. RP Bryan Casey loaded the bases with 1 out in the Helena 9th and a McConnell error helped 2 runs score. Casey gave up an RBI double and a walk before ending it with a ground out. The Chukars are 11-14 and still 4 games out of first. IF dealt Helena SP Luis Ramirez his 1st loss in the Pioneer League as he went 5 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks to move his ERA to 1.50. RF Charles Caufield was 3-5 with his 11th double and 18th RBI to move to .278 and OF Cole Gillespie was 1-4 to drop to .340.

The series wraps up Saturday night. Josh Cribb starts.

Rookie - AZL: off day

*** The Royals are 16-8 and half a game back of the Angels. They play the 15-8 Giants Saturday night.