Royals on the Farm 5/4 and 5/5

AAA -- Omaha: Oklahoma 5, O-Royals 4 (Fri.)

1B Huber 2-4, 3B (1), HR (3), 2 RBI (16), K, RS -- .243
3B Aviles 2-4, RS -- .330
C Tupman 1-4, RBI (4) -- .280
SS Berroa 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .300, walk #3
LF Maier 1-4, 2B (4), K, RS -- .259
RF Padilla 0-4 -- .000, Butler's replacement

Hendrickson 3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 K, HRA, E (1) -- L, 2-2, 5.97 ERA
Hoelscher 3 2/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 4.26 ERA
Giron 1 1/3 IP, H, BB, K -- 3.00 ERA

The Redhawks jumped on Ben Hendrickson and took the series opener. Matt Tupman singled home Mitch Maier in the 2nd and the O-Royals took the early lead. The Redhawks came back with 2 runs on 3 hits in the 2nd to take a 2-1 lead and Hendrickson gave up a leadoff homer to Oklahoma LF Marlon Byrd in the 3rd to make it 3-1. Hendrickson walked in a run later in the inning to make it 4-1. Omaha woke up in the 6th as Justin Huber cranked a solo homer to center for his 3rd of the season but the Redhawks got an RBI triple off Nate Hoelscher in the 7th to get the run back. The O-Royals scored twice in the 8th on a Desi Relaford error and a Huber RBI triple but the tying run was left at third and the Royals went down in order in the 9th. Redhawks 2B Tug Hulett was 3-5 to move to .349, RF Kevin Mahar was 2-3 with his first triple and 2 RBI (2) to set a .667 BA and 3B Relaford had 2 errors (4) and was 1-3 to move to .235. SP Alfredo Simon got the win with 7 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits and a walk to move to 2-3 with a 4.71 ERA. RP Ezequiel Astacio picked up his 1st save.

Oklahoma 7, O-Royals 6 (Sat.)

3B Aviles 2-4, RBI (17), RS -- .336
LF Cortez 2-4, RBI (9), K, RS -- .289
DH Koonce 1-3, BB, 2B (6), RBI (11), RS -- .246
CF Maier 1-3, SF, RBI (13), K, RS -- .261
1B Huber 1-4, RBI (17), K -- .244
SS Berroa 1-4, RS -- .298
RF Padilla 1-4, SB (1) -- .125

Hudson 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 7 K, HRA -- ND, 5.00 ERA, not exactly a top-flight start
Buckner 2 IP, BB, 3 K -- 1.50 ERA
Ray IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 HRA -- 6.91 ERA, Kenny isn't cutting it
Standridge 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB -- BS, 1, L, 1-1, 4.91 ERA

A great Omaha rally in the top of the 9th went for naught as RP Jason Standridge couldn't hold the lead. A Fernando Cortez RBI single in the 3rd gave Omaha a 1-0 lead but SP Luke Hudson gave up a leadoff homer to RF Kevin Mahar in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. An RBI single in the 4th made it 2-1 Redhawks but Mitch Maier scored on a passed ball in the 5th to tie it at 2. Back-to-back doubles in the 6th, including one that gave Oklahoma a 3-2 lead, chased Hudson and Billy Buckner got out of the 2-on, none-out jam. Ken Ray took over for the 8th and started his day by giving up back-to-back jacks to DH Marlon Byrd and LF Jason Botts to make it 5-2 Oklahoma. Ray gave up 2 more singles before getting 3 straight outs to stifle the rally. RP Scott Feldman came in to pitch the 9th for the Redhawks with the 3-run lead but Omaha rallied. Singles by Cortez and Angel Berroa were followed by an RBI single by Mike Aviles and an RBI double by Graham Koonce to cut the lead to 5-4. Justin Huber singled home the tying run and Maier hit a sac fly to give Omaha the 6-5 lead. Standridge took the lead to the hill in the bottom of the 9th and gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning, induced a ground out then intentionally walked a batter to create a force at any base. Unfortunately, 1B Kevin West made that a moot point with a walkoff 2-run single to end the game. Omaha is 13-17 and 3 1/2 games back of first. Byrd was 4-5 for Oklahoma with 2 doubles (7), his 3rd homer and 2 RBI (11) to move to .327, West was 3-5 with 3 RBI (5) to move to .290 and Botts was 2-4 with his 7th double, 2nd homer and 15th RBI to move to .218. Feldman got both the blown save and the win for Oklahoma with an IP of 4 ER on 5 hits to move to 1-0 with a 36.00 ERA.

The series continues today. Starters: Omaha LH Tyler Lumsden (1-3, 10.80) vs. LH Bruce Chen (0-0, 2.45). The O-Royals are 2-12 on the road. SS Andres Blanco has been activated from the DL.

AA -- Wichita: Wranglers 4, Springfield 3 (11) (Fri.)

SS Brewer 4-5, 2 RBI (7), K, RS, CS -- .304
1B Stodolka 1-3, 2 BB, HR (2), RBI (8), K, RS -- .316, doing well at AA
CF Greenberg 1-4, BB, 2B (3), RBI (10), K -- .250
LF Lubanski 1-4, BB -- .292
DH Brazell 1-5, K, RS -- .347
*The Wranglers left 11 on base.

Hughes 4 IP, ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- ND, 4.00 ERA, guess 4 is just his number
Rosa 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- 1.54 ERA
DeHoyos IP, 2 H, BB, K -- 1.32 ERA
Cedeno IP, H, BB, K -- W, 3-0, 3.18 ERA

The Wranglers forced extra innings with a late run and pulled out the game in 11. It was a see-saw game but Wichita was up first on Mike Stodolka's 2nd homer of the season -- a 2-out solo shot in the 2nd to make it 1-0 Wranglers. Back-to-back doubles off SP Dusty Hughes in the 3rd helped the Cardinals even the game and, after Hughes stranded the bases loaded in the 4th, Jace Brewer hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the frame to make it 2-1 Wichita. The lead lasted 1 batter into the 5th as Carlos Rosa replaced Hughes and gave up a leadoff homer to RF Juan Encarnacion to tie the game. An Encarnacion RBI double in the 6th gave Springfield a 3-2 lead. Wichita stranded 2 in scoring position in both the 6th and 7th but Brewer came through in the 8th with a 2-out RBI single to tie the game at 3. Both teams stranded runners in the 9th and RP Gabe DeHoyos stranded the bases loaded with a ground out in the 10th. Springfield left the lead run at third in the 11th and Wichita loaded the bases on 2 walks and a hit with 1 out in the bottom of the inning. An Adam Greenberg bases-loaded walk from RP Michael Cooper gave Wichita the 4-3 win. Wichita is 13-14 and 1 game back. Encarnacion was 3-5 for Springfield with his first 2 doubles and 2nd RBI to move to .158, DH Juan Richardson was 2-6 with his 5th double, 4th HR and 15th RBI to move to .278, and 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir was 3-5 to move to .323. Cooper took the loss with 1 1/3 IP of an ER on 2 hits, 3 BB and 2 K to move to 0-1 with a 15.19 ERA.

Wranglers 5, Tulsa 4 (Sat.)

3B Lucas 3-4, RS -- .315
1B Stodolka 2-4, 2B (8), 3 RBI (11), RS -- .325, did I say he was doing well? 10-game hit streak
CF Greenberg 1-3, BB, 2B (4), RBI (11) -- .254
2B Gaffney 1-3, HBP, RBI (1), K -- .333, debut after starting on DL
LF Lubanski 0-4, K, OF assist at home -- .280
DH Brazell 1-3, BB, 2 RS -- .347
SS Brewer 1-4, RS -- .301

Bale 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, BB -- 4.50 ERA
Cromer 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 2-2, 5.55 ERA
Santos 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- SV, 2, 5.56 ERA, not a great outing

Wichita built a lead and then almost blew it before pulling out the narrow victory. Tulsa pushed the action early as the Drillers led off the game with 2 singles and LF Chris Lubanski threw out the lead runner at home on the second hit via a Jace Brewer relay. John Bale made it through his 1 2/3 IP unscathed and Jason Cromer took over. A Mike Stodolka RBI ground out in the 2nd gave Wichita the 1-0 lead but Tulsa RF Joe Gaetti (Gary's son) led off the 4th with a homer off Cromer to tie the game and a 2-out RBI single by 2B Corey Wimberly made it 2-1 Tulsa. With 1 out in the bottom of the inning, Ed Lucas singled, Stodolka doubled him home to tie the game, and a hit and a walk loaded the bases. Mike Gaffney, in his first game back from the DL, was hit by a pitch to force home the lead run and an Adam Greenberg RBI force out made it 4-2 Wichita. The Wranglers put runners at the corners with 1 out in the 5th and a Stodolka RBI force out made it 5-2. Cromer took the lead into the 8th, when Arthur Santos took over and gave up a 2-out double and single to make it 5-3 but got out of the inning without further damage. Santos loaded the bases with 1 out in the 9th on 2 walks and a single and K'd Gaetti before walking 1B Aaron Rifkin to force home a run and make it 5-4. Luckily for Wichita, Santos got CF Chris Frey to fly out to center to end it. Wichita is 14-14 and tied with Tulsa atop the division. Four Drillers had 2-hit games, including SS Matt Macri, who was 2-5 to move to .333. SP Ching Lung Lo took the loss with 5 IP of 5 R (4 ER) on 9 hits and 4 walks to drop to 2-3 with a 6.67 ERA.

Game 2 of the 4-gamer with the Tulsa Drillers (14-14, AA Rockies) is today. Scott Elarton makes a rehab start for the Wranglers. The Drillers feature Rockies' prospects P Greg Reynolds (2-1, 1.91 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, the pick right behind Hochevar, set to face off against Luke Tuesday), P Franklin Morales (0-2, 3.67, top organizational pitching prospect), IF Jonathan Herrera (.339 BA, .770 OPS) and P Juan Morillo (0-1, 3.48).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 10, Potomac 7 (Fri.)

C Clark 3-4, SF, RBI (4), K, 2 RS -- .270
3B Lisson 3-5, 2B (6), 3 RBI (10), 2 RS, SB (3) -- .267
1B Vega 2-4, SF, 2B (3), 2 RBI (7), K, RS -- .222
CF Duarte 2-5, 2B (4), 2 RBI (9), K, RS, SB (6), OF assist at third -- .280
RF McFall 2-5, 2 RBI (9), K, CS -- .228
LF Bigler 2-3, BB, K, 2 CS -- .162
2B Johnson 1-4, BB, 3 RS, E (5) -- .203

B. Johnson 7 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 8 K, HRA -- ND, 3.45 ERA
Haltiwanger 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- BS, 1, W, 1-2, 7.71 ERA

A big Wilmington 9th salvaged the win Friday in the opener vs. Potomac. The Blue Rocks got off to a hot start with 3 in the 1st on a Mario Lisson RBI double, Miguel Vega sac fly and Brian McFall RBI single off Nats SP Craig Stammen. Potomac fought back with 2 in the 1st off SP Blake Johnson on a 2-out, 2-run single by DH Matt Rogelstad. A Jose Duarte RBI ground out in the 2nd made it 4-2 Blue Rocks but Potomac got the run back in the 3rd to cut it to 4-3. Duarte came through with a 2-out RBI single in the 4th to pad the lead back to 2 and the lead stayed 5-3 into the 6th when Johnson allowed a run to cut it back to 1 at 5-4. Lisson hit a 2-out RBI single in the 7th but Potomac held pace with a solo homer by SS Ian Desmond off Johnson in the bottom of the inning. RP Russ Haltiwanger came in for Wilmington in the 8th and gave up a 2-out RBI single to tie the game. Potomac sent RP David Trahan out for the 9th and the Rocks took advantage by scoring 4 runs on RBI singles by Lisson, Vega and McFall and a sac fly by Cody Clark to make it 10-6 Wilmington. The Nats contributed 2 defensive miscues in the inning as well. Haltiwanger loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th and a 2-out error by Josh Johnson scored a run but Haltiwanger stopped the bleeding there with a swinging K to end it. Four Nats had 2-hit games, led by LF Marvin Lowrance's 3-5 day that included his 10th double and 2 RS to move to .289. RF Dee Brown (not that Dee Brown) was 2-4 with 2 doubles (9) and 2 RS to move to .368 and Trahan took the loss with an IP of 4 R (2 ER) on 3 hits and a walk to drop to 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA.

Blue Rocks 4, Potomac 2 (Sat.)

3B Lisson 2-4, SF, 2 RBI (12), 2 K -- .278
2B Maddox 2-4, BB, RBI (3), CS -- .188
CF Duarte 1-3, 2 BB, 2B (5), 2 RS -- .282
SS Arce 1-3, BB, RS -- .257

Nicoll 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K -- ND, 4.33 ERA
D'Amico 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, Wilmington debut

Two late runs got the Rocks another win over Potomac. The first 2 Wilmington batters walked and Mario Lisson singled home a run to make it 1-0 Rocks in the 1st. The Rocks got another run on a wild pitch in the 2nd and Potomac pushed across a run on a sac fly off SP Chris Nicoll in the 4th to cut it to 2-1. Nicoll gave up a 1-out RBI double in the 5th to tie it but got out of the inning without further damage. Wilmington got runners to second and third with 1 out in the 7th before Marc Maddox singled home a run and Lisson hit a sac fly to make it 4-2. RP Yovany D'Amico stranded 2 in the 7th but had no other trouble in getting the win. Wilmington is 11-17 and 4 games back. DH Brandon Powell was 1-3 for Potomac with his 5th SB, 5th double and 11th RBI to move to .312, C Robert Sandora was 1-3 to move to .455 and RF Dee Brown (again, not Dermal) was 0-4 to drop to .354. RP Gene Yost took the loss with an ER on a hit over 1 1/3 IP to drop to 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

The series finale is today. Starters: Rocks right-hander Julio Pimentel (1-0, 2.28) and Nats right-hander Carlos Martinez (1-2, 5.31). D'Amico was brought up after SP Patrick Green was put on the DL with a pulled hamstring.

A -- Burlington: West Michigan 9, Bees 4 (Fri.)

CF Robinson 2-4, BB, 2B (1), 2 K, SB (3) -- .269
1B Turner 2-4, K, RS -- .133
3B Thompson 1-4, HR (5), 2 RBI (14), 2 K, RS -- .239
LF Morel 0-4, RBI (5), K -- .208
DH Bianchi 0-3, BB, RS -- .143
SS McConnell 0-4, HBP, K -- .255

DiPietro 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K -- ND, 4.08 ERA
Fisher 2 1/3 IP, 8 ER, 12 H, BB, K, HRA -- BS, 1, L, 0-3, 6.33 ERA, something's wrong
Chambliss 2/3 IP -- 0.77 ERA

A late collapse cost the Bees the opener versus the Whitecaps. With runners at the corners and none out in the Whitecap 1st, SP Ryan DiPietro struck out a batter but West Michigan CF Gorkys Hernandez stole home on a delayed double steal to give the 'Caps a 1-0 lead. The game stayed 1-0 into the 5th when an Alvi Morel RBI ground out and run on a wild pitch made it 2-1 Bees. Mike Thompson stepped up with 1 on and 1 out in the 6th and cranked his 5th homer to left to make it 4-1. RP Brent Fisher, who had been nearly unhittable in stints at Idaho Falls and Burlington (more at IF than Burlington) last season, came in for the 6th and instantly got into trouble. Five hits and a sac fly in the 6th pushed 2 runs across to cut it to 4-3 and 4 hits and a walk with 2 out in the 7th scored 3 runs for West Michigan off Fisher to give the Whitecaps a 6-4 lead. For some reason, Fisher was left in to start the 8th and gave up a 3-run homer to 1B Ryan Strieby to give the Whitecaps a 9-4 lead. The Bees stranded 2 in the 9th. Strieby was 3-4 with his 3rd homer, 3 RBI (15) and 3 RS to move to .312, 3B Santo De Leon was 3-5 with 2 RS to move to .300 and RF Jeramy Laster was 1-2 with 3 RBI (10) to move to .224. RP Josh Rainwater got the win with 3 IP of 3-hit and 1-walk relief to move to 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

West Michigan 5, Bees 1 (Sat.)

SS Bianchi 1-3, BB, RS -- .200
1B S. Lucas 0-2, SF, RBI (7) -- .196
CF Robinson 1-3, BB, SB (4) -- .276
LF Dickerson 0-3, BB, E (2) -- .301

Teaford 7 1/3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- L, 1-3, 4.82 ERA
Hayes 2/3 IP -- 3.27 ERA

The Bees couldn't get to WM SP Angel Castro and dropped a second straight to the Whitecaps. After Bees 3B Mike Thompson led off the Whitecaps 1st with his 3rd fielding error to allow the leadoff batter to reach, SP Everett Teaford gave up an RBI triple and sac fly to quickly give the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead. The Whitecaps scratched out 2 more in the 3rd on 3 hits off Teaford to make it 4-0. Burlington broke through in the 4th with a Scott Lucas sac fly that scored Jeff Bianchi to cut the lead to 4-1. The Bees stranded 2 in the inning and then 11 Bees in a row were retired into the 9th as Teaford gave up an insurance run on a wild pitch in the 8th. The Bees stranded Bianchi in the 9th to fall short of a comeback. Burlington is 12-16 and 5 games back of first. DH Deik Scram was 3-4 for the 'Caps with his 3rd double, 2 triples (2), his 5th RBI and 3 RS to move to .328, Strieby was 2-2 with 2 RBI (17) to move to .327 and CF Gorkys Hernandez was 0-4 to drop to .303. Castro got the win with an ER on 5 hits and 2 walks over 7 IP with 2 K to move to 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA.

Game 3 is today. Starters: Bees RH Mario Santiago (1-1, 2.30) vs. LH Duane Below (1-1, 3.24). With D'Amico getting called up to Wilmington, his roster spot is being held open for the time being. OF Jarrod Dyson was also sent to extended ST after coming back from bereavement leave.