Royals on the Farm 8/27

AAA - Omaha: Oklahoma 3, O-Royals 2 (7/G1)

LF Huber 2-3, RBI (41), RS -- .291
1B Coolbaugh 2-3 -- .230
RF Costa 1-2 -- .351
CF K. Robinson 0-4, K -- .312
2B Cortez 0-3, RBI (11), K -- .258

Osborne 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB -- 6.66 ERA
Braun 1 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB -- L, 0-2, 2.35 ERA

*** The Royals tied it late but Oklahoma pulled it out in the 7th in the twinbill-shortened game. Fernando Cortez hit an RBI ground out in the 2nd to get Omaha a 1-0 lead but Donovan Osborne gave up a game-tying RBI single in the 3rd. Oklahoma got a go-ahead RBI single in the 5th but Justin Huber tied it with a 1-out RBI single in the 6th. Ryan Braun, who pitched a scoreless 6th, loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th and got a fly out for the second out but gave up a walkoff single to end the game. Omaha dropped to 51-84. RedHawks SP John Koronka went 6 IP and allowed 2 ER on 6 hits and a walk but got a no-decision in moving his ERA to 2.77. SS Joaquin Arias was 2-3 with 2 RBI (46) to move to .263 and DH Randall Simon was 1-4 with the game-winning RBI (2) to move to .312.

Oklahoma 4, O-Royals 2 (7/G2)

LF Huber 1-3 -- .292
RF Costa 0-3 -- .345
CF K. Robinson 0-3, BB -- .309
C Phillips 1-4, HR (9), RBI (36) -- .254
2B Cortez 0-3 -- .254

Van Hekken 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 3-4, 4.44 ERA
Diaz 1 1/3 IP, ER, H, HRA -- 4.31 ERA

*** Omaha scored the first 2 runs of the game but Oklahoma took it from there to sweep the Sunday doubleheader. Paul Phillips homered as the second batter of the game for his 9th of the season and a run scored on a Fernando Cortez double play ball in the 2nd to make it 2-0 Royals. The RedHawks came back for 2 runs off Andy Van Hekken in the 2nd and drove him from the game in the 5th with an RBI double to take a 3-2 lead. Jose Diaz gave up a homer in the 6th to make it 4-2. The Royals loaded the bases with 1 out in the 6th but Rick Bell grounded into a double play to end the threat and Omaha didn't threaten a rally in the 7th. Omaha dropped to 51-85. Oklahoma LF Anthony Webster was 3-3 with 2 doubles (13), his 3rd homer and 16th RBI to move to .262 and Simon was 1-3 with his 3rd double and 3rd RBI to move to .314.

The Royals started a 4-game set at the New Orleans Zephyrs (68-68, AAA Nats) Monday and Kyle Middleton got the start and the loss. In other news, Omaha OF Chad Allen hit a grand slam for Team USA in a 15-3 win over Mexico Monday. He leads the team with 2 HR and 8 RBI. Billy Butler also had an RBI in the game.

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 11, Springfield 4

3B Gordon 3-4, 2 BB, HR (29), 4 RBI (94), 2 RS, SB (22), E (15) -- .326
LF Lubanski 4-6, 3B (11), 2 HR (15), 4 RBI (69), 4 RS -- .282, huge game, double short of cycle
CF Maier 3-5, BB, 2 2B (34), HR (13), RBI (86), K -- .303
2B Murphy 3-6, RBI (37), 2 K, RS -- .243
DH D. Brown 2-5, BB, K, picked off -- .314
SS Sanchez 1-6, K, RS -- .279

Herndon 7 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 WP -- W, 11-6, 5.40 ERA
C. Smith 2 IP, H, K -- 2.88 ERA

*** The Wranglers clinched at least a wild-card playoff berth with the blowout win over Springfield as Alex Gordon, Chris Lubanski, Mitch Maier and Donnie Murphy combined for 13 hits and 10 RBI. Gordon got it started with an RBI single in the 1st but Junior Herndon allowed a game-tying run in the bottom of the inning. Murphy singled home a run and Adam Donachie did the same to make it 3-1 Wichita in the 3rd but Herndon allowed a run that inning to cut the lead to 1. Lubanski led off the 4th with his 14th homer but the Cards tied it in their half off Herndon. The Wranglers put it away with a 5-run 5th as Maier led off the inning with his 13th homer, Lubanski hit a 2-run triple and Gordon slammed a 2-run homer for his 29th of the season and a 9-4 lead. Lubanski hit his 15th homer in the 7th and Gordon hit an RBI ground out in the 9th as Herndon and Cody Smith held the Cards in check from the 5th on. Wichita moved to 37-25 and maintained a 4-game lead over Tulsa. Springfield 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir was 3-4 with his 19th double to move to .247, CF Shaun Boyd was 2-5 with an RBI to move to .291 and LF Amaury Marti was 2-3 to move to .221.

The Wranglers beat the Cards again Monday as Devon Lowery picked up the win. In other news, Luke Hochevar may join the Wranglers for the playoffs, which begin Sept. 5 with a best-of-5 against the Tulsa Drillers.

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

1B Stodolka 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (67) -- .292
SS Falu 3-4, BB, 2B (21), 2 RS -- .293
CF Valentin 2-4, RS -- .291
LF Tomlin 2-4, 2 HR (3), 2 RBI (32) -- .291
C Duenas 1-4, BB, 2B (18), RBI (50) -- .303
RF McFall 1-4, HR (20), 2 RBI (71), 2 K -- .245

Gragg 7 IP, 4 ER, 12 H, 5 K, HRA -- ND, 4.43 ERA
Schambough 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, K, 2 HRA -- BS, 1, L, 0-1, 18.00 ERA, maybe not time for HD debut

*** Kraig Schambough made his High Desert debut a disastrous one as he blew his 1st save in his first appearance and Lake Elsinore again cut the Mavs' wild-card lead. John Gragg gave up 2 runs in the 1st and another in the 2nd to make it 3-0 Storm. Mike Stodolka singled home 2 runs in the 3rd to cut the lead to 1 but Gragg gave up a solo homer in the 6th to make it 4-2. The Mavs took command with 4 runs in the 7th as Brian McFall went yard for a 2-run shot and his 20th of the season, James Tomlin followed with a solo blast for his 2nd of the season and Tomas Duenas doubled home a run to make it 6-4 HD. Schambough came in for the 8th and gave up a single and homer to the first two batters faced to tie the game. He gave up another 2-run blast in the 9th to give LE the lead but Tomlin hit his 3rd homer to lead off the Mavs 9th and cut the lead to 8-7. The Mavs got the tying run to second but Stodolka and Duenas lined out to end the game. HD is 29-32 and still has a 1 1/2 game lead on the Cal League North wild card berth. Storm 1B Tim Brown was 3-5 with his 36th double to move to .296, 3B Chase Headley was 2-5 with his 66th RBI to move to .290 and RF Nick Crosta was 2-5 with his 6th homer (the backbreaker in the 9th) and 2 RBI (38) to move to .266.

HD started a split 4-game set with the Inland Empire 66ers (29-31, High-A M's) Monday and blew another game late to lose in 10.

Low-A - Burlington: Kane County 3, Bees 1

1B Vega 2-4, K -- .250
LF Arce 2-4 -- .252
CF Duarte 1-5, SB (31), E (4) -- .268
SS Johnson 0-3, BB, K -- .253
DH Howell 1-4, RBI (35), K -- .239

Cortes 5 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 K, WP -- ND, 6.53 ERA
Harkcom 2 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 3-2, 3.67 ERA

*** Kane County scored twice in the 9th to take the series finale Sunday. Dan Cortes gave up a 2-out RBI single in the 2nd to spot the Cougars a 1-0 lead but Jeff Howell tied the game with an RBI single in the 4th. Cortes left with 2 on and 2 out in the 6th and Cody Harkcom got into the 9th but was pulled with runners at the corners and 1 out. Chris Hayes gave up a 2-run double to the first batter he faced before getting out of the inning and the Bees went down in order in their half. The Bees moved to 25-37. Cougars RP Joey Newby allowed 3 hits with 3 K over 3 IP to move to 5-0 with a 3.30 ERA, 3B Jeff Baisley was 1-5 with the gamebreaking double (34) and 2 RBI (104) to move to .305 and SS Frank Martinez was 2-4 with his 23rd double to move to .259.

The Bees started a 4-game set at the Cedar Rapids Kernels (29-33, Low-A Angels) Monday and got a win to start the next-to-last series of the season. Mario Santiago started.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Missoula 3

CF Dickerson 2-5, HR (7), 3 RBI (35), 2 K, SB (9) -- .287
2B Mertins 0-5, K, RS -- .342
LF Morel 2-4, 2B (6), RBI (24), 2 K, RS, picked off -- .301
DH Maddox 0-4, 2 K -- .322
SS McConnell 1-2, 2 BB, RS, SB (4) -- .248
* C Todd Balduf was a treadmill as the Osprey stole 6 bases with 0 CS.

Hardy 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K -- ND, 3.17 ERA
Abreu 3 2/3 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K, E (2) -- W, 4-2, 6.45 ERA
Eckley 2/3 IP, nothing -- SV, 2, 6.64 ERA

*** Idaho Falls broke a scoreless spell to come back and beat the Osprey in Sunday's series opener. Rowdy Hardy gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, a walk and hit batsman in the 2nd to give Missoula a 3-0 lead but settled down to hand over the reins to Juan Abreu for the 5th. The Chukars broke through off RP Matt Brewer for 5 runs in the 7th as a wild pitch scored Chris McConnell, Alvi Morel hit an RBI double and Joe Dickerson cranked a 3-run homer to center for his 7th of the season. The Chukars scored on another wild pitch in the 9th for an insurance run and Jacob Eckley got the last 2 outs for his 2nd save. IF moved to 12-15. Missoula SP Jordan Norberto allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks with 8 K over 6 IP to drop his ERA to 3.04. 2B Sean Smith was 2-5 with his 16th RBI to move to .234 and RF Gerardo Parra was 1-4 with 3 SB (20) to drop to .325.

The series with Missoula continued Monday and the Chukars got another win. Tyler Chambliss picked up the W.

Rookie - AZL: Angels 8, Royals 4

3B Taylor 0-3, K -- .264
RF Van Stratten 2-5, K -- .286
1B S. Lucas 2-2, BB, RS -- .278
DH Dyson 0-5, 2 K -- .263
SS Juan 1-5, HR (3), RBI (23), K -- .265
OF Francis 1-3, BB, K, RS, OF assist at third -- .295
PH Dickson 1-1, HBP, 2 RBI (9) -- .148
C Doscher 0-2, K, E (5) -- .261
CF D. Robinson 0-2 -- .235

Arias 1 2/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 4 H, 5 BB, K, WP -- L, 4-5, 3.59 ERA
Lopez 3 IP, 5 K -- 4.99 ERA

*** Henry Arias got lit up early and the Royals' playoff hopes took a crippling blow as the Angels retained hold of first. Arias gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk in the 1st and 3 more runs in the 2nd on 4 walks and two errors. Scott Lucas scored on an error in the 2nd to get the Royals on the scoreboard but Angel Martinez gave up a run in the 3rd to make it 7-1. Martinez gave up a homer in the 5th but the Royals got the run back on Manny Juan's 3rd homer of the season in their half of the inning. Lucas was thrown out at home in the 6th but Eric Dickson came through with a 2-run single in the 8th to cut the lead to 8-4. The Royals went down on a double play in the 9th to end the game. The Royals moved to 17-9 and need help to make the AZL title game. Angels SP Dustin Miller went 5 IP and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move to 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA. RF Norberto Ortiz was 2-3 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI (31) to move to .288 and LF Chris Lewis was 2-4 with 2 RBI (23) to move to .297.

The Royals took out the Brewers Monday as Brent Fisher picked up the W. They finish the regular season Tuesday vs. the Mariners. They're a game back of the Angels along with the Padres and split the season series 3-3 with both teams, so I don't know how a tiebreaker would shake out.