Royals on the Farm 9/15 -- it's all over

AA - Wichita: Corpus Christi 8, Wranglers 7 (14) (Hooks take TLCS, 3-1)

3B Gordon 1-5, BB, HBP, 2B, K, RS -- .258, so-so playoffs
RF Butler 2-6, BB, 2B, 2 RS -- .360, hit well, but not much run production before Friday
DH D. Brown 2-5, BB, HR (2), 3 RBI (8), K -- .438, one of highlights of TL playoffs
SS Sanchez 2-6, 2 K, 2 RS -- .294
LF Lubanski 2-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI (4) -- .200
CF Maier 1-6, BB, 2B, K, RS -- .200, both he and Lubanski had disappointing TLCS
C Espino 1-6, 2 RBI -- .250
2B Murphy 1-6 -- .333

Lumsden 2/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 2 H, 3 BB, K, E (1) -- ND, 6.23 ERA
Lowery 3 1/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
C. Smith 2 IP, ER, H, 2 K -- 3.60 ERA
DeHoyos 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 BB, K -- BS, 1, 2.45 ERA
Song 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- L, 0-1, 2.84 ERA

*** If Friday was going to be Wichita's last game, it was a doozy as the Wranglers lost a lead late in normal innings, blew another lead in the 10th and finally succumbed in the 14th as Seung Song was pitching his sixth inning of relief. Things were looking good in the 1st as Angel Sanchez led off with a single and Alex Gordon walked to set up a 1-out 3-run homer by Dee Brown as Wichita got to Hooks SP Troy Patton. Unfortunately, Tyler Lumsden didn't fare much better for Wichita, as two 1-out walks and a single loaded the bases and Lumsden walked in a run, got the second out and then gave up a 2-run double to tie the game. A Lumsden throwing error scored an unearned run and Frank White had a short hook in pulling Lumsden for Devon Lowery, who got the third out. The Wranglers fought back in the 3rd as they loaded the bases with 1 out and Damaso Espino singled home 2 runs to make it 5-4 Wichita. A Chris Lubanski RBI single in the 6th added some space to the lead and chased Patton but Wichita stranded 2 in the inning. Neal Musser allowed a Hooks run in the 7th to cut the lead back to 1 and Gabe DeHoyos got the final out of the inning before allowing the tying run in the 8th on 2 walks and 2 hit batsmen. Billy Butler led off the Wichita 10th with a double and a Brown sac bunt moved him to third before Lubanski hit a 2-out RBI single to make it 7-6 Wranglers. Seung Song pitched the 9th and a 2-on, 0-out Wichita rally ended abruptly in the 9th when Alex Gordon hit into a triple play. Song gave up a leadoff double in the 10th and the run scored on a ground out to tie it again. The Wranglers loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 11th but Mitch Maier flew out to end the threat. Neither team threatened until the 14th when Song gave up a 1-out walk and single to put 2 on and a walkoff single by Hooks SS Wade Robinson ended Wichita's season. Hooks P Josh Miller pitched 3 innings of no-hit relief to pick up the win, Robinson was 3-3 with his only playoff RBI as the series-winner and CF Josh Anderson was 2-6 with 2 RBI to move to .281.

Wichita finished at 43-26 on the second half and 77-62 overall. Zack Greinke is getting the call to KC but so far, no news on anyone else. As for a stat rehash, Gordon's exploits have been well-documented and he'll either start 2007 at KC or Omaha, as will Billy Butler. Gordon's OPS wound up over 1.000 at 1.016, Butler's was only .887 as he only got on-base at a .388 clip. Chris Lubanski was next at .844 as he tied Gordon for the team lead in walks at 72 but also K'd 112 times (one behind Gordon's 113). Dee Brown had an .836 OPS over 95 games and Mitch Maier finished with an .830 OPS. I'd say he and Lubanski have a chance to start next year at Wichita, but there's not much blocking them at Omaha. Donnie Murphy finished with a .737 OPS over 94 games and Angel Sanchez finished with a .692 OPS over 133 games. As for pitchers, the lowest ERA for anyone with more than 90 IP was Greinke's 4.34. Several relievers, including DeHoyos, Cody Smith and Ryan Braun, had nice seasons.

Here's a link to Wichita's stats

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=585