Royals on the Farm 5/6

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 9, Oklahoma 1

SS Berroa 2-5, 3 RBI (14), K -- .303
3B Aviles 2-5, 2 RBI (19), RS -- .339
LF Cortez 2-4, BB, 2B (4), 3 RS -- .298
2B Lewis 2-4, 2B (3), K, 2 RS -- .226
C Phillips 2-4, K, RS, PB (3) -- .140
1B Koonce 1-5, HR (4), 3 RBI (14), K, RS -- .243
RF Padilla 1-4, HR (1), RBI (1), K, RS -- .167
DH Huber 1-5 -- .241
CF Maier 0-3, 2 K -- .254, ejected in 5th for arguing balls and strikes

Lumsden 6 IP, UER, 6 H, BB, 4 K -- W, 2-3, 8.14 ERA, like that line much better than his others
Braun IP, BB, K -- 0.00 ERA, Omaha debut in '07
Giron 2 IP, H, BB, K, WP -- 2.65 ERA

Omaha turned on the offense over the middle innings and got a nice start from Tyler Lumsden in his return to the rotation. Angel Berroa started the scoring with an RBI double in the 3rd and a Mike Aviles RBI ground out made it 2-0 Omaha. Jorge Padilla got his first AAA homer of '07 in the 4th with a solo shot that made it 3-0. Lumsden had faced the minimum over 3 IP but a Paul Phillips passed ball in the 4th helped lead to an RBI single to make it 3-1. Oklahoma starter Bruce Chen was pulled for RP Steven Rowe with 2 on and 1 out in the 5th and Aviles started Rowe's night with an RBI single followed by a Graham Koonce 3-run homer for his 4th of the season. Mitch Maier ended the inning with a strikeout looking and ended up getting tossed by the home plate umpire. A 2-run Berroa single in the 6th made it 9-1 and Ryan Braun and Roberto Giron took the ball from the 7th on and held the Redhawks to a hit and 2 walks to nail down the victory. Omaha moved to 14-17 and 4 games back. RF Kevin Mahar was 2-4 with 2 K for Oklahoma to move to .455, CF Freddy Guzman was 2-4 with 2 doubles (6) and a RS to move to .236 and LF Marlon Byrd was 1-4 with his 12th RBI to move to .324. Chen took the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 5 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to move to 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.

Today's game was rained out and will be made up in June. The O-Royals return home Tuesday to start a series with Sacramento.

AA -- Wichita: rainout

Sunday's game was rained out and was planned to be made up as part of a twinbill today. Scott Elarton was set to make a rehab start in game 1 and Danny Christensen was supposed to start game 2. The Wranglers have won game 1. Game 2 is ongoing. John Bale reportedly re-injured his shoulder in his rehab start and will now be out until after the all-star break. More great news for the bullpen.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Potomac 1

2B Maddox 3-4, 2 RBI (5), K, E (2) -- .300, finding his Carolina League legs
RF Larsen 2-4, RBI (2), K, CS -- .231
LF Bigler 2-4, 2B (2), RS -- .173
CF Duarte 0-3, BB, K -- .274
3B Lisson 0-4, K -- .266

Pimentel 7 IP, UER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 2-0, 1.82 ERA, thank you, Elmer Dessens
Oliveros 2 IP, H, K -- SV, 1, 1.37 ERA

The Blue Rocks scored 2 late runs to nail down the sweep of the Nats. Two Wilmington errors helped lead to a Potomac run off SP Julio Pimentel in the 2nd. The Rocks didn't threaten until the 6th when, with 2 on and 1 out, Marc Maddox singled home Josh Johnson to tie the game at 1. Maddox singled home the go-ahead run in the 8th and Andrew Larsen hit a 2-out RBI single in the 9th to make it 3-1 Rocks. Rayner Oliveros relieved Pimentel in the 8th and picked up his 1st save. Wilmington moved to 12-17 with the sweep of Potomac. Nats 3B Brandon Powell was 3-4 with his 6th double and 6th error to move to .333, DH Marvin Lowrance was 2-4 to move to .289 and RP Jack Spradlin took the loss with 1 1/3 IP of an ER on a hit and 2 Ks to drop to 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA. RP Anthony Pearson blew his 2nd save.

The sweep sent Wilmington home to start a 4-game set vs. the Lynchburg Hillcats (, A Pirates) today. Starters were Rocks right-hander Daniel Cortes (0-2, 7.11) and Hillcats righty (and Topeka native) Blair Johnson (1-1, 5.40). The Rocks took their 4th straight win. Lynchburg features Pirates prospects P Todd Redmond (2-2, 3.46) and IF Shelby Ford (.234 BA, .666 OPS).

A -- Burlington: West Michigan 5, Bees 3

SS Bianchi 3-5, 2B (1), RBI (2), K, RS -- .333
3B Mertins 2-4, K, RS -- .222
RF Morel 2-4, K, RS -- .224
1B S. Lucas 1-4, 3B (1), 2 RBI (9), 2 K -- .200
CF Robinson 1-4, BB -- .273
2B McConnell 1-4, BB, 2B (6), E (5) -- .255
LF Dickerson 1-5 -- .295
* The Bees left 11 on base.

Santiago 7 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- L, 1-2, 2.62 ERA
Campbell IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K -- 2.78 ERA

A late Bees rally wasn't enough as they dropped the third straight to West Michigan. The Bees stranded 2 in the 1st and 4th and the Whitecaps struck first in the bottom of the 4th on a 2-out rally of 2 singles, a walk and wild pitch by SP Mario Santiago for 2 runs. Santiago gave up another run in the 5th to make it 3-0 Whitecaps and the Bees couldn't get to West Michigan SP Duane Below. The Whitecaps took the 3-run lead into the 8th when, with 2 on and 2 out, Scott Lucas came through with a 2-run triple to cut the lead to 1. Matt Campbell relieved Santiago for the 8th and gave the Whitecaps their 2 runs back on 3 hits to make it 5-2. Jeff Bianchi hit an RBI single with 2 out in the top of the 9th and Mike Thompson doubled to put the tying run in scoring position but Joe Dickerson popped out to end the game. Burlington dropped to 12-16. Whitecaps C James Skelton was 2-4 with his 2nd double and 5th RBI to move to .333, LF Deik Scram was 2-3 with his 4th double and 6th RBI to move to .344 and CF Gorkys Hernandez was 2-4 with his 11th SB to move to .312. Below got the win with 6 shutout IP of 6 hits and a walk with 6 Ks to move to 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA. RP Brett Jensen picked up his 5th save.

The series wrapped up today and West Michigan got the sweep. Starters were Bees RH Harold Mozingo (2-2, 3.24) and Whitecaps LH Chris Cody (2-2, 1.13).