Royals on the Farm 5/8

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 7, Sacramento 6 (13)

DH Huber 3-5, BB, HR (4), 4 RBI (21), RS -- .261
1B Cortez 3-5, 2 S, 2 RS -- .313
2B Berroa 2-7, RBI (15), K, RS -- .302
CF Maier 2-6, HR (2), RBI (14), K, RS -- .258
3B Aviles 1-7, HR (2), RBI (20), RS -- .328
RF Padilla 2-4, 2 BB, SB (2) -- .250
SS Blanco 2-6, K, E (4) -- .119
*Omaha left 12 on base.

Day 3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 6 BB, 2 K -- 3.18 ERA, walkin' machine Tuesday
Shiell 3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K -- 2.11 ERA
Buckner 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K -- BS, 1, 3.38 ERA
Braun 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA
Hoelscher 2 IP, H, BB -- 3.68 ERA
Standridge IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 2-1, 3.86 ERA

The O-Royals had to scramble to get the game into extras after losing a late lead and the game finally ended in the 13th after 4 1/2 hours. Rehabbing starter Zach Day didn't have his best stuff Tuesday as a single, 3 consecutive walks and an RBI ground out helped the River Cats to 2 runs in the 1st. Two more walks and an RBI single in the 2nd made it 3-0 Sacramento. One swing of the bat got the game tied in the 4th as Fernando Cortez and Angel Berroa led off the inning with singles and Justin Huber hit his 4th homer of the season to right to tie it at 3. With 2 in scoring position and 2 out in the 5th, Huber stepped up and singled again to drive home Cortez but Berroa was thrown out at the plate on the play to cost the Royals a run. RP Jason Shiell got through the 4th and 5th OK but gave up a 2-out RBI double in the 6th to tie it at 4. Mitch Maier picked him up, however, with a leadoff homer in the Omaha 6th for his 2nd of the season to make it 5-4 O-Royals. Billy Buckner came in to pitch the 7th and loaded the bases with 1 out before getting a clutch double play to get out of the jam. He wasn't as lucky in the 8th as a single and 2 doubles brought 2 runs home for the River Cats to make it 6-5 Sacramento and earned Buckner his first blown save. Omaha got 2 in scoring position with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th before RP Santiago Casilla came in and a Berroa RBI ground out tied the game at 6. The Royals stranded the bases juiced in the 10th and 2 in the 11th as RPs Ryan Braun and Nate Hoelscher kept Sacramento off the scoreboard. RP Jason Standridge came in for the 13th and loaded the bases with 2 outs before K'ing 2B Kevin Melillo swinging to end the threat. With 2 out and none on in the Omaha 13th, Aviles stepped up and hit a walkoff homer to left off RP David Shafer for his 2nd of the season to end it. Omaha is 15-17 and 3 games back. River Cats CF Hiram Bocachica was 2-5 with 2 doubles (10) and 2 RBI (19) to move to .317, RF Jason Perry was 2-5 with a RS and the OF assist at home to move to .429 and Shafer took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of an ER on 2 hits with 3 Ks to drop to 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA. The RiverCats left 19 on base. SP Shane Komine gave up 5 ER on 10 hits and a walk with 2 K over 6 IP to move his ERA to 5.09.

Game 2 of the series is ongoing. Starters: Cats RH Colby Lewis (31, 2.45) vs. Omaha RH Matt Wright (2-2, 4.32). In a minor-league trade, Dayton Moore dealt Omaha 1B/DH Graham Koonce to Atlanta yesterday (shocker, I know) for a PTBNL. 1B Craig Brazell was called up from Wichita to take Koonce's spot.

AA -- Wichita: Tulsa 7, Wranglers 3

LF Lubanski 2-3, 2 BB, 2B (7) -- .287
RF Valentin 1-1, RBI (9) -- .250, late defensive replacement
CF Greenberg 1-5, RBI (12), RS -- .253
DH Brazell 1-5, K -- .349
1B Stodolka 0-4, 3 K -- .304
3B Gaffney 1-4, K, E (1) -- .300
* The Wranglers left 10 on base and C Damaso Espino had his first 2 errors of the season.

Hochevar 5 2/3 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K, HRA -- L, 2-4, 4.86 ERA
C. Smith 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB -- 4.50 ERA
Cedeno 2 IP, H, BB, 4 K -- 2.70 ERA, may be ready to go to Omaha

Luke Hochevar got drilled by the Drillers and Wichita didn't really threaten at any point. Hochevar gave up a leadoff homer to 1B Aaron Rifkin in the 2nd and the Drillers added 2 more runs on a walk, single, and 3 errors combined by Damaso Espino and Mike Gaffney. Wichita stranded 2 in the 4th off Tulsa starter Alan Johnson and a 2-out RBI double off Hochevar in the 5th earned the Drillers some padding. The Drillers added 2 more runs in the 6th on 3 hits and a walk to chase Hochevar for Cody Smith, who gave up a run in the 7th to make it 7-0. Johnson left after shutting down the Wranglers through 6 IP and Wichita stranded 2 in both the 7th and 8th. Tulsa RP Judd Songster came in to try and close it out in the 9th and the Wranglers awoke for 3 runs on a Tulsa error and 2-out RBI singles by Adam Greenberg and Geraldo Valentin. RP Steven Register came in and got Craig Brazell to ground out to end it. Wichita is 15-16 and 1 game back of the Drillers. Rifkin was 3-5 for Tulsa with his 5th double, 5th homer and 15th RBI to move to .290, DH Chris Frey was 3-4 with 2 RBI (6) and 2 RS to move to .257 and SS Jonathan Herrera was 1-5 with his 6th double, 14th RBI and 9th error to move to .345. Johnson got the win with 6 IP of 3 hits and a walk with 5 K to move to 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA for his first decision after getting called up from Modesto. Register picked up his 11th save.

The Wranglers start a 5-game set at the Springfield Cardinals (13-15, AA Redbirds) tonight. Probable starters: Wrangler righty Carlos Rosa (0-0, 1.54) vs. Springfield lefty Jaime Garcia (1-1, 3.04). Wichita is 4-3 versus Springfield so far.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Lynchburg 1

CF Duarte 2-3, BB, K, 2 RS, SB (7) -- .274
RF McFall 2-4, 2B (6), 3B (2), K, 2 RS -- .221
DH Kaaihue 1-3, SF, 2 RBI (13) -- .191, closing in on Mendoza line
2B Maddox 1-3, S, 2B (1), RBI (6), K, RS -- .308
3B Lisson 0-3, SF, RBI (13), K -- .257
C Thibault 1-2, HBP, RBI (7) -- .237
LF Bigler 1-2, SF, RBI (8) -- .200
SS Arce 1-3, RS -- .259, 9-game hit streak

Hardy 7 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K -- W, 2-0, 0.89 ERA
Humen 2 IP, 2 BB, K -- 2.57 ERA

Wilmington kept the offense rolling and Rowdy Hardy took care of the rest as the Blue Rocks won their fifth straight game. Marc Maddox doubled home Jose Duarte in the 1st and scored on a Kila Kaaihue sac fly to get the Rocks an early 2-0 lead. A Mario Lisson sac fly and Kaaihue RBI single in the 3rd pushed home 2 more runs to make it 4-0. The Hillcats got their only run off Hardy on 2 hits and a walk in the 4th but Wilmington got the run back in the bottom of the frame on a Brian McFall triple and Brett Bigler sac fly. Hardy retired 8 straight after giving up the run and Kiel Thibault singled home a run in the 6th to make it 6-1. Hardy loaded the bases with 1 out in the 7th but got a pop out and ground out to kill the threat. RP David Humen came in for the 8th and walked 2 in the 9th but Lynchburg didn't seriously threaten. Wilmington is 14-17 and 3 1/2 games back. Hillcats 3B Tripper Johnson III was 2-4 with his 8th RBI to move to .320 and 1B Jason Delaney was 1-3 with a walk to move to .319. SP Todd Redmond took the loss for Lynchburg with 6 IP of 6 ER on 8 hits with a K to drop to 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA.

Game three of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Rocks righty Blake Johnson (1-2, 3.45) vs. Lynchburg lefty Kyle Bloom (2-2, 4.10). I think I jinxed OF Andrew Larsen, as according to the team site he was shagging balls in BP Tuesday and dislocated his ankle. He's out indefinitely. Tough break for somebody who fought back from three wrist surgeries to get back in the lineup. IF Josh Johnson was put on the temporary inactive list (no reason given) and C Todd Balduf has been activated from the DL.

A -- Burlington: Clinton 9, Bees 2

1B Thompson 2-4, HR (6), RBI (15), K, RS -- .229
C Everett 2-4, 2B (7), RBI (4) -- .269
RF Gonzalez 2-4, 2 K, SB (4) -- .215
CF Robinson 1-4, 2 K -- .244
SS McConnell 0-4, 2 K -- .236
LF Dickerson 0-4 -- .274
3B Mertins 1-2, BB, HBP, RS, SB (7) -- .228

Godin 4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, H, 3 BB, 5 K, WP -- L, 0-1, 2.87 ERA, not a bad start
Cribb 2 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, K, HRA, WP -- 5.31 ERA
Hayes IP, 3 ER, 5 H -- 5.25 ERA, not good bullpen work Tuesday

A big 5th got Clinton the win in the series opener as Burlington dropped its 5th straight. SP Jason Godin stranded the bases loaded in the 1st but settled down in retiring 10 straight LumberKings. The Bees stranded 2 in the 3rd but broke through in the 4th on a leadoff solo homer by Mike Thompson for his 6th of the season. Godin was pulled for Josh Cribb with 2 on and 1 out in the 5th and Cribb's inning went single, RBI walk, 2-run double, pop out, run scoring wild pitch, RBI triple and fly out to give Clinton a 5-1 lead. Brady Everett hit a 2-out RBI double in the 6th but Cribb gave up a 1-out solo shot to DH Wally Backman II in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-2. Cribb loaded the bases later in the inning but got out of the jam. Chris Hayes came in to pitch the 8th and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and a sac fly to give Clinton all the insurance it needed. The Bees went down in order in the 9th. Burlington dropped to 12-18 and 7 games back. CF Craig Gentry was 3-4 with 2 RS and 2 SB (12) for the LumberKings to move to .250, C Chad Tracy was 2-4 with his 11th double and 3 RBI (24) to move to .283 and Backman was 2-3 with his 1st homer, 3rd RBI and 2 RS to move to .278. RP Tim Gudex picked up the win for Clinton with 3 2/3 IP of an ER on 3 hits and a walk with 7 K to move to 2-2 with a 3.72 ERA.

Game 2 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Bees LH Brent Fisher (0-3, 6.33) and Clinton LH Mike Ballard (3-2, 5.55).