Royals on the Farm 5/18

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 2, New Orleans 1

1B Butler 1-3, BB, S, 2B (5), K -- .344
C Tupman 2-3, BB, 2 RBI (8) -- .284
LF Maier 2-4, K -- .277
3B Aviles 2-5, K, RS, CS -- .318
2B Cortez 2-5, 2B (5), CS -- .310
RF Padilla 1-2, BB, S, 2B (1), K, RS -- .244
SS Blanco 1-4 -- .162
CF Gathright 0-5, K -- .287
DH Brazell 1-5, K -- .297
*Omaha left 10 on base.

Shiell 5 1/3 IP, ER, 7 H, 2 BB, K, HRA, WP -- ND, 2.32 ERA
Hoelscher 1 1/3 IP, H, BB, K -- 5.48 ERA
Buckner 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- W, 4-0, 1.84 ERA
Braun IP, K -- SV, 3, 0.00 ERA

Friday's game was somewhat of an exercise in frustration for Omaha until 2 late runs got the O-Royals a narrow victory to even the series with the Zephyrs. Omaha stranded the bases loaded off Zephyrs starter Mike Pelfrey in the 2nd and New Orleans got on the board in the bottom of the frame with a solo shot by C Mike DiFelice to take a 1-0 lead. Omaha loaded the bases on Pelfrey with 1 out in the 4th but, again, couldn't finish the job as the Zephyrs clung to the 1-0 lead. The O-Royals finally broke through in the 6th as Matt Tupman hit a 2-out RBI single to chase Pelfrey. Omaha starter Jason Shiell left with 2 on and 1 out in the 6th after a good start and the Royals pen would go 3 2/3 IP of 2-hit scoreless relief. Omaha stranded their first two batters in the 7th but finally cashed in in the 8th as Jorge Padilla hit a 1-out double and scored on a Tupman single to give the Royals a 2-1 lead. Omaha manager Mike Jirschele was ejected by the home plate umpire after the half-inning and relievers Billy Buckner and Ryan Braun finished off the Zephyrs. Omaha is 19-22 and 4 games back. Zephyrs SS Anderson Hernandez was 3-5 with 2 doubles (10) and his 5th SB to move to .239, RF Jesus Feliciano was 3-4 with 2 SB (2) to move to .277 and DiFelice was 1-3 with his 4th homer and 13th RBI to move to .305. RP Willie Collazo took the loss with 2 1/3 IP of an ER on 5 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to drop to 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

The series continues with game 3 tonight. Probable starters: Omaha's Zach Day (1-0, 3.04) vs. Zephyrs pitcher Philip Humber (3-4, 4.30).

AA -- Wichita: Wranglers 8, Arkansas 6

SS Brewer 2-3, S, 2B (10), HR (2), 2 RBI (10), 2 RS -- .275
3B Lucas 2-4, 3B (1), RBI (17), 2 RS, SB (2) -- .294
RF Joseph 2-4, 2B (4), CS (8) -- .232
LF Lubanski 1-3, SF, 3B (3), RBI (22), RS, E (3) -- .304
1B Gaffney 1-4, RBI (6) -- .345
CF Greenberg 1-4, RBI (15), K, RS -- .230
DH Valentin 1-3, SF, RBI (12) -- .254
C Donachie 1-4, 2B (2), RBI (11), K, RS -- .188, picked off a runner at second

Hochevar 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- ND, 5.44 ERA, another unremarkable start
Atencio 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, K -- BS, 1, 3.48 ERA
DeHoyos 2 1/3 IP, H, K -- W, 2-0, 0.98 ERA, 0.71 WHIP in 18 1/3 IP (!)
Dotel IP, K -- SV, 1, 4.50 ERA

A back-and-forth game went Wichita's way in the end as Luke Hochevar got touched up again but Gabe DeHoyos was lockdown again and Octavio Dotel picked up his 1st save of the season. Wichita struck first in the 2nd as Jace Brewer hit a 2-run homer to left off Travs SP Nick Green for his 2nd of the season. Hochevar coughed up the lead in the 3rd with 3 runs allowed on 3 hits, a hit batsman and a Chris Lubanski fielding error. A 2-out, 2-run triple off Hochevar in the 5th by Travs DH Greg Porter made it 5-2 Arkansas. The Wranglers bailed their pitcher out, though, with 4 in the 5th on an RBI double by Adam Donachie, RBI singles by Adam Greenberg and Mike Gaffney and a sac fly by Lubanski to take a 6-5 lead. Greg Atencio came out to pitch the 6th and gave up a leadoff triple to RF Matt Pali, who scored on a hit by SS Ryan Leahy to tie the game and notch Atencio's 1st blown save of the season. Atencio and DeHoyos escaped the inning without further damage. Wichita surged ahead in the 8th as Lubanski led off with a triple, scored on an Ed Lucas triple and then Geraldo Valentin drove Lucas home with a sac fly to make it 8-6 Wranglers. Dotel pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 9th to secure the win and his first save. Wichita is 20-22 and 2 1/2 games back. Leahy was 3-4 for Arkansas with his 1st RBI to move to .182, LF Curtis Pride was 2-5 with his 2nd double, 2 RBI (12) and a RS to move to .228 and Porter was 1-4 with his 3rd triple and 2 RBI (16) to move to .246. RP Aaron Pullin allowed 2 ER on 3 hits over an IP to take the loss and drop to 0-1 with a 3.93 ERA.

The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Wichita righty Carlos Rosa (1-1, 2.66) vs. Arkansas righty Chris Saenz (1-4, 9.12).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 10, Myrtle Beach 2

2B Maddox 4-5, 2 2B (5), RBI (9), 4 RS, SB (2) -- .333
3B Lisson 3-5, 3B (2), 2 RBI (18), K, 2 RS, SB (4) -- .287
1B Kaaihue 3-5, RBI (21), 2 RS -- .248
C Thibault 2-3, HBP, 2B (5), 2 RBI (9), SB (1) -- .237
RF McFall 1-3, BB, HBP, 2 RBI (12), K -- .239
CF Duarte 0-4, BB, RS -- .288
DH Perez 0-3, 2 BB, RS, picked off -- .325
*Wilmington left 11 on base and turned 4 DPs.

Hardy 6 IP, ER, 5 H, BB -- W, 4-0, 1.02 ERA
D'Amico IP, ER, 2 H, K -- 1.93 ERA
de la Vara IP, BB -- 0.46 ERA
Oliveros IP, K -- 1.11 ERA

The Blue Rocks churned out 5 runs in the first 2 innings and didn't look back in crushing the Pelicans. The Blue Rocks loaded the bases with 1 out in the 1st and ended up with 3 runs on a bases-loaded walk by Brian McFall and a 2-run ground rule double by Kiel Thibault to take a 3-0 lead. Mario Lisson hit an RBI single and scored on a wild pitch in the 2nd to make it 5-0. Myrtle Beach scored 1 on SP Rowdy Hardy in the 4th but the Rocks got it back in the bottom of the frame on a Kila Kaaihue RBI single. A Pelican error and a McFall RBI single scored 2 in the 6th for Wilmington and, after RP Yovany D'Amico allowed a run in the 7th, the Rocks got 2 that frame on a Marc Maddox RBI double and Lisson RBI triple to stretch their lead to 10-2. Gilbert de la Vara and Rayner Oliveros polished off the game. Wilmington is 21-20 and 1 game back of first. Pelicans 1B J.D. Roberts was 2-2 with his 12th RBI to move to .193, CF Jordan Schafer was 2-3 with his 2nd double and a RS to move to .265 and SS Elvis Andrus was 0-3 with his 11th error to drop to .233. Pelicans starter Jairo Cuevas took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of 5 ER on 5 hits and 4 walks to drop to 0-6 with a 5.35 ERA.

The series wraps tonight. Probable starters: Wilmington right-hander Blake Johnson (2-3, 2.98) and Myrtle Beach righty Moises Hernandez (5-2, 3.02).

A -- Burlington: South Bend 15, Bees 6

CF Robinson 3-5, K -- .239
3B Mertins 2-3, BB, 2B (4), 2 RBI (16), K, RS, E (4) -- .234
DH Everett 2-4, HR (2), 3 RBI (7), 2 K, RS -- .259
SS Bianchi 1-4, SF, RBI (4), K, RS, E (2) -- .229
2B McConnell 1-5 -- .231
LF Dickerson 0-1, 3 BB, K, RS, picked off -- .275

Santiago 3 1/3 IP, 7 R (3 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, K, 3 HRA -- L, 1-3, 3.10 ERA
Campbell 3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 3.98 ERA
Hayes 2 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 6.89 ERA

South Bend took an early 7-1 lead and pulled away later for a 15-6 win. Bees starter Mario Santiago had a rough go in the 2nd with 5 runs allowed on 2 hits, a walk, a Jeff Bianchi fielding error and a 3-run homer by LF Daniel Perales for a 5-0 lead. Santiago gave up a solo shot to C Justin Brashear in the 3rd and the Bees got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Bianchi sac fly. Santiago gave up the 3rd homer of the game to 2B Manuel Ferrer in the 4th and it was 7-1 Silver Hawks. Burlington got back in the game off RP Chase Christianson in the 6th with 4 runs on a 2-out RBI single by Kurt Mertins and a 3-run homer by Brady Everett for his 2nd of the season. The momentum didn't stick with the Bees as RPs Matt Campbell and Chris Hayes gave up 6 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in the 7th. Silver Hawks SS Yunesky Sanchez hit a 2-run homer off Hayes in the 8th and the rout continued. Mertins hit an RBI double in the 8th but the Bees wouldn't rally. Burlington is 16-22 and 8 games back. Sanchez was 3-5 for SB with his 1st homer, 3 RBI (9) and 2 RS to move to .305, Ferrer was 2-5 with his 1st homer, 2 RBI (9) and 2 RS to move to .264 and Brashear was 2-3 with 2 BB, his 6th double, his 3rd homer, 2 RBI (10) and 4 RS to move to .291. Silver Hawks starter Jordan Norberto got the win with 5 IP of an ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 7 Ks to move to 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA.

Game 3 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Bees RH Harold Mozingo (2-4, 3.89) and South Bend LH Eddie Romero (2-1, 2.21).