Royals on the Farm 5/25

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 8, New Orleans 7

LF Butler 1-5, RBI (30), K -- .328
CF Gathright 3-5, 2B (6), 2 RS, SB (13) -- .312
1B Brazell 2-4, 2 HR (13), 3 RBI (24), 2 RS, E (3) -- .397
C Tupman 2-4, K -- .327
RF Maier 1-3, SF, 2 RBI (22), RS -- .275
2B Lewis 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (8), RS -- .211
DH LaRue 1-4, 2B (1), RS -- .083
SS Aviles 1-4, K, RS -- .330

Day 5 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA -- ND, 4.04 ERA
Hoelscher 4 IP, ER, H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- W, 1-0, 4.94 ERA

It took a late comeback for Omaha to pick up its fifth straight win in yet another 1-run game against the Zephyrs. Omaha starter Zach Day gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, a walk and sac fly in the 2nd but the Royals tied it in the bottom of the 2nd on a leadoff homer by Craig Brazell and a Mitch Maier sac fly. New Orleans moved back ahead in the 4th and added 3 runs on homers by 1B Andy Tracy and DH Ricky Ledee in the 5th to make it 6-2. With 2 out and 1 on in the 6th, Brazell hit yet another homer to continue his hot streak and put his AAA total at 13. Nate Hoelscher gave up a leadoff homer to CF Ben Johnson in the 7th and New Orleans took a 7-4 lead. Joey Gathright led off the Omaha 8th with a double and tried to score on a Billy Butler grounder to short with one out but was thrown out at the plate as the Zephyrs preserved the 7-4 lead. Guillermo Mota came on to try and finish it in the 9th and Maier singled a run home with 1 out to close the gap to 7-5. Mota got the second out before giving up a game-tying 2-run homer to Richie Lewis for his 1st at AAA, and Gathright followed with a single. Joey stole second and, after Fernando Cortez drew a walk, Butler singled Gathright home to end the game. Omaha is 24-24 and 2 1/2 games back. Tracy was 3-4 with his 12th homer, 2 RBI (36) and 2 RS to move to .272, Ledee was 3-4 with his 6th homer, 26th RBI and 2 RS to move to .261 and 2B Jake Gautreau was 1-3 with his 1st double and RBI to set a .333 BA at AAA. Mota got his 1st blown save and the loss with 4 ER on 5 hits and a walk with a K over 2/3 IP to move to 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA.

The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Zephyrs RH Brian Lawrence (0-3, 7.01) vs. Omaha RH Matt Wright (2-2, 3.75).

AA -- Wichita: Midland 3, Wranglers 2 (10)

CF Greenberg 2-3, BB, S, RBI (16), SB (10), CS (4) -- .233
RF Valentin 2-3, BB, HBP, picked off twice -- .280
3B Eure 2-5, 2B (3), 2 K, RS -- .259
1B Stodolka 1-5, 2 K, RS -- .287
DH Gaffney 0-2, 2 BB, SB (1) -- .304
*Wichita left 10 on base.

Cromer 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K, E (1) -- ND, 5.26 ERA
Plummer 2 IP, ER, H, 2 K, HRA -- L, 1-3, 3.38 ERA

Wichita dropped yet another game as the losing streak continued. The RockHounds scored on 2 walks, a single and sac fly off Wranglers starter Jason Cromer in the 1st. Wichita stranded 2 in the 2nd but got on the board in the 3rd as a 2-out Midland error allowed a run to score on a Geraldo Valentin single and Adam Greenberg singled home a run to make it 2-1 Wranglers. A Cromer throwing error in the 5th allowed Midland to tie the game but neither Cromer nor Midland starter Michael Madsen gave any more ground. Wichita stranded 2 in the 6th and left the bases loaded in the 8th as the game went into extra innings. RP Jarod Plummer had pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings but the game ended abruptly in the 10th on a leadoff homer by Midland DH Casey Myers. Wichita is 21-27 and 5 games back. Myers was 1-4 with his 2nd homer and 8th RBI to move to .356, C Landon Powell was 1-3 with his 5th double to move to .211 and Madsen allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 1.75. RP Steven Sharpe got the win with a hit over 2 IP to move to 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA.

The series goes to game 2 tonight. Probable starters: TBA for Wichita and righty Andy Shipman (2-2, 3.09) for Midland.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 12, Myrtle Beach 2

2B Maddox 3-4, BB, RBI (14), 3 RS -- .338
1B Vega 2-4, BB, 2B (5), 4 RBI (16), K, RS -- .202
C Thibault 2-4, BB, 2B (7), 3 RBI (12), RS -- .250
DH Kaaihue 2-6, RBI (28), RS -- .260
SS Arce 2-4, BB, 2B (9), RBI (9), RS -- .263
RF McFall 1-4, BB, RBI (15) -- .250
CF Duarte 0-3, 2 BB, K, 3 RS, SB (10) -- .275
3B Lisson 1-5, BB, RBI (24), 2 K, 2 RS -- .295

B. Johnson 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- W, 3-4, 4.06 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, K -- 4.05 ERA
Barnes IP, H, K, WP -- 2.81 ERA

The Blue Rocks jumped all over Pelicans starter J.C. Cuevas and cruised to the win. Wilmington scored 2 in the 1st on a Marc Maddox RBI single and a 2-out RBI single by Miguel Vega to take the early lead. Myrtle Beach scored a run off SP Blake Johnson in the 1st but he got out of the inning without further damage. The Blue Rocks loaded the bases to chase Cuevas with none out in the 2nd and RP Beau Jones walked Mario Lisson to force in a run, induced a 1-out RBI ground out by Brian McFall and gave up a bases-clearing double to Kiel Thibault to make it 7-1 Blue Rocks. Wilmington loaded the bases to start the 3rd as well and that chased Jones for RP Sergio Valenzuela, who gave up a Kaaihue RBI single and a bases-clearing double by Vega to make it 11-1 Rocks. The Pelicans scored off Johnson in the 3rd but that would be all they could muster as Johnson and 2 relievers would allow only 2 hits after that. A Valentino Arce RBI force out in the 8th padded Wilmington's lead to 12-2 and that's how it ended. Wilmington is 24-22 and 1 1/2 games up on first. Pelicans CF Jordan Schafer was 1-3 with his 4th triple and 7th RBI to move to .279, SS Elvis Andrus was 0-3 with his 12th RBI to move to .222 and Cuevas took the loss with 5 ER on 4 hits and 4 walks with a K over an IP to drop to 0-7 with a 6.39 ERA.

The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Wilmington righty Chris Nicoll (2-3, 5.85) versus Carolina League wins leader and Pelicans right-hander Moises Hernandez (6-2, 3.42).

A -- Burlington: Clinton 4, Bees 2

C Howell 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (4), K, RS, E (1) -- .250
2B McConnell 1-3, HBP, 2B (7), 2 K, SB (8) -- .220
LF Dickerson 1-4, K -- .266
SS Bianchi 0-4, RS -- .243

Cribb 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- L, 1-3, 4.81 ERA
Godin 3 2/3 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 1.84 ERA

Burlington outhit the LumberKings but couldn't outscore them as Clinton took the series opener. Starter Josh Cribb loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd and a sac fly and 2-run double made it 3-0 Clinton. Two Clinton errors led to a run on a Jeff Howell force out in the 4th as the lead was cut to 3-1. Back-to-back doubles to start the 6th notched another run for Clinton to make it 4-1. Howell cranked his 1st homer of the season in the 9th but the Bees couldn't rally. Burlington is 19-26. Clinton DH Chad Tracy was 2-4 with 2 doubles (17) and 3 RBI (37) to move to .299, 3B John Whittleman was 1-2 with 2 walks, his 16th double and 12th error to move to .372 and Clinton starter Michael Ballard got the win with an UER on 4 hits and a walk with 2 Ks over 6 IP to move to 6-3 with a 4.06 ERA. RP Brennan Garr notched his 2nd save.

The teams match back up tonight. Probable starters: Bees LH Ryan DiPietro (1-1, 4.55) vs. Rangers' prospect LH Kasey Kiker (0-0, 0.00).