Royals on the Farm 4/18

AAA -- Omaha: Round Rock 6, O-Royals 1

LF Butler 1-3, BB, K -- .314, happy 21st birthday Wed.
RF Costa 1-3, BB, 2B (2) -- .289
SS Aviles 0-4, RBI (6) -- .275
DH Gathright 1-3, BB, RS, picked off -- .217
3B Berroa 0-4, K, E (5) -- .278, still awaiting that first BB
CF Maier 0-4 -- .273
1B Huber 0-3, K -- .160

Brazelton 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K -- L, 0-3, 5.14 ERA, best start so far
Markray 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K -- 2.00 ERA
Giron IP, 2 UER, 2 H -- 2.16 ERA

Dewon Brazelton pitched OK but got zero run support and Omaha scored only 1 run for the second straight day in losing again to Round Rock. Brazelton gave up a run with 2 out in the 2nd and an RBI ground out in the 3rd made it 2-0 Express. Express SP Juan Gutierrez retired 13 straight O-Royals at one point and allowed only 3 hits and a walk over 7 IP. Thad Markray came in to pitch the 7th for Omaha and gave up 2 2-out RBI singles to make it 4-0 Round Rock. A 2-out fielding error by Angel Berroa at third kept the 9th alive for Round Rock and the Express cashed in off Roberto Giron with a 2-run double by RF Hunter Pence to make it 6-0. Express RP Mark McLemore walked the bases loaded in the 9th and a Mike Aviles force out scored a run before Mitch Maier lined out to end the game. Omaha is 5-9 and 2 1/2 games back of first. Pence was 2-5 with 2 doubles (5) and 2 RBI (10) to move to .314, DH Mark Saccomanno was 2-4 with his 5th double and an RBI (10) to move to .323, two other Express players had 2 hits, and Gutierrez got the win to move to 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA.

Game 3 is tonight in Omaha. Pitchers: Express RH Chad Reineke (1-1, 7.56) vs. RH Ben Hendrickson (1-1, 7.27).

AA -- Wichita: off day

Wichita is 6-6 and tied for first with Tulsa. A 4-game home set with Arkansas starts tonight. Billy Buckner (1-1, 6.00 ERA) takes the mound for Wichita in game 1 vs. top Angels pitching prospect righty Nick Adenhart (2-0, 0.79 ERA).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Kinston 4, Blue Rocks 0

CF Duarte 3-4 -- .167
SS Arce 1-2, HBP -- .250
2B Johnson 1-3, S, 2 K -- .171
3B Lisson 1-4, K, E (2) -- .238
RF McFall 1-4, E (1) -- .158

B. Johnson 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, HRA, E (1) -- L, 0-2, 4.40 ERA
Hardy 3 2/3 IP, UER, 3 H, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA

Three Kinston pitchers blanked Wilmington and two K-Tribe hitters did the work offensively as the Indians swept the short 2-game set. The Blue Rocks stranded 2 in the 1st and 2 in the 3rd before Kinston struck with a 2-run triple by C Chris Gimenez off SP Blake Johnson in the 4th. Johnson gave up a leadoff homer to LF John Drennen in the 6th and Rowdy Hardy was brought in soon after. A 2-out error by Mario Lisson in the 8th helped the Tribe to another run to make it 4-0. Wilmington stranded runners in the 5th, 6th and 7th as the Rocks couldn't get on a roll. Wilmington is 4-8 and 4 games back of first. Drennen was 4-4 with his 1st homer, 2nd RBI and 3 RS to move to .268, Gimenez was 2-4 with his 1st double and triple and 2 RBI (3) and SP David Huff got the win with 5 IP of 6 hits and 6 K to move to 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA.

The Rocks start a 3-game set at the Winston-Salem Warthogs (6-5, A-Adv. ChiSox) tonight. Pitchers: righty Chris Nicoll (0-0, 4.50) vs. Winston-Salem lefty Clayton Richard (1-0, 3.48, a college teammate of Wilmington P Michael Penn). The Rocks have struck out a league-high 93 times in 12 games thus far. The Warthogs feature White Sox prospects OF Aaron Cunningham (.390 BA, .982 OPS), P Kyle McCulloch (0-1, 3.60), P Justin Cassel (2-0, 0.79) and P Ray Liotta (no, not the actor, no stats yet).

A -- Burlington: Bees 6, Fort Wayne 4

3B Maddox 3-5, 2 RBI (11), RS, SB (1) -- .371
SS McConnell 3-4, BB, 2B (2), RBI (5), 3 RS, E (3) -- .257
DH Thompson 2-4, K -- .259
LF Dickerson 1-4, 2 RBI (4), K -- .303
2B Mertins 1-5, RBI (3), SB (4), E (1) -- .189
CF Dyson 1-5, 3 K, CS -- .308
C Everett 1-4, K, RS -- .227

Fisher 5 IP, 3 UER, 6 H, 3 K, WP -- ND, 1.80 ERA
Morales 2 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 3-0, 1.32 ERA
Hayes 1 1/3 IP, H -- SV, 1, 2.08 ERA

Bees' bats came alive late and Burlington evened the series with the Wizards to move into a first-place tie. Two wild pitches by FW starter Orlando Lara and an RBI single by Marc Maddox helped the Bees score first in the 1st to take a 1-0 lead. A Chris McConnell throwing error helped Ft. Wayne in the 1st as the Wizards scored 3 off SP Brent Fisher, all unearned, to take a 3-1 lead. The scoring settled down until the 5th when Burlington tied the game on a 2-out RBI double by McConnell and a Kurt Mertins RBI single. The Bees loaded the bases with 1 out in the 8th off RP Grant Varnell and Joe Dickerson came through with a 2-run single to break the tie and make it 5-3 Bees. The Wizards got a run back in the 8th off Angelo Morales but the Bees scored again in the 9th a Maddox RBI single to make it 6-4. Chris Hayes got the last 4 outs for Burlington to pick up his 1st save of the season. The Bees are 8-3 and tied with Clinton for first in the division. FW CF Cedric Hunter was 2-4 with his 1st double and 4th RBI of the season to move to .226, 3B Rayner Contreras was 1-5 with his 1st triple and 2 RS to move to .310 and Varnell took the loss with 2 ER on 3 hits and a walk over an IP to drop to 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

The series continues with game 3 tonight. Pitchers: LH Everett Teaford (1-0, 1.86) vs. Wizards RH Drew Miller (0-1, 3.60)