Royals on the Farm 6/21

AAA -- Omaha: New Orleans 9, O-Royals 5

RF Padilla 4-4, 3B (1), 2 RS, 2 SB (7) -- .293
1B Brazell 2-4, HR (18), RBI (34), K, RS -- .316
CF Maier 2-5, RBI (32), K -- .285
3B Wathan 1-4, RBI (3), K -- .235
SS Berroa 0-3, SF, RBI (18), 2 K -- .244
2B Aviles 0-4, K, E (11) -- .308
C Tupman 0-0, 2 BB, 2 S, RS -- .297

Shiell 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, BB, K -- 4.05 ERA
Giron 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- L, 0-4, 6.00 ERA
Ray 2/3 IP, ER, H, K, HRA -- 4.54 ERA

An 8th inning collapse earned New Orleans the win to even the series at 1 game each. Jorge Padilla scored the first run of the game in the 2nd on a steal of third and a throwing error by Zephyrs C Mike DiFelice. New Orleans loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd and a sac fly tied the game. Craig Brazell put Omaha back ahead with his 18th homer of the season at AAA to lead off the 4th (and set a new career high with 25 in a season), Angel Berroa hit a sac fly and Derek Wathan singled home a run to make it 4-1 O-Royals. The Zephyrs matched that in the bottom of the 4th on 4 hits and a Mike Aviles error to re-tie it at 4. Padilla tripled with 2 out in the 8th and tried to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. RP Roberto Giron gave up 2 runs in the 8th on 2 hits and 2 walks before getting pulled with 2 on and 1 out. Ken Ray came in and gave up a 3-run homer to the first batter he faced -- DH Jake Gautreau -- and the Zephyrs took a 9-4 lead. Mitch Maier singled home a run with 2 out in the 9th but a rally didn't spark. Omaha is 34-39 and 9 games out. Former O-Royal and current Zephyr LF Chip Ambres was 3-4 with 2 RS to move to .290, DiFelice was 2-3 with his 3rd error, 5th double and 3 RBI (27) to move to .282 and RP Tim McNab got the win with 3 IP of an ER on 3 hits, a walk and K to improve to 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

The series concludes tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Matt Wright (3-3, 4.19) vs. NO RH Mike Pelfrey (2-1, 2.87). RSTN has announced it will televise the O-Royals games on July 12 (versus Iowa) and August 2 (versus the Las Vegas 51's).

AA -- Wichita: Wranglers 9, Arkansas 2

1B Kaaihue 3-4, 2B (1), HR (1), 3 RBI (3), K, 2 RS -- .438, triple short of cycle
LF Lubanski 2-5, 2B (13), RBI (32), RS -- .304
CF Greenberg 2-5, 2B (16), HR (4), 3 RBI (24), K, 2 RS -- .250
DH Stodolka 2-4, 2 RS -- .263
RF Joseph 1-4, 2 RBI (17), RS -- .226
2B Valentin 0-4 -- .293
C Howell 1-1 -- 1.000, AA debut

Atencio 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- W, 2-4, 4.04 ERA
Hughes 3 IP, H, 2 BB, K -- SV, 1, 3.73 ERA

Two big homers helped Wichita break an 8-game slide. A Travs error helped Kila Kaaihue score the first run of the game in the 2nd and Adam Greenberg smoked a 2-out, 3-run homer to right for his 4th of the season to make it 4-0 Wranglers. SP Greg Atencio stranded a few runners over the first 4 innings and Wichita put some more distance behind them with 4 runs in the 5th on a Chris Lubanski RBI single and a 2-out, 3-run homer by Kaaihue for his 1st at AA. Atencio allowed a 2-run homer by DH Matt Pali in the 6th but handed an 8-2 lead to Dusty Hughes in the 7th. Onil Joseph drove in an insurance run in the 8th and Hughes stranded 1 in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th innings to pick up his 1st save of the season. Wichita is 1-2 and a game back. Travs C Bobby Wilson was 2-4 to move to .279, LF Aaron Peel was 2-4 to move to .271 and SP Nick Green took the loss with 5 IP of 8 runs (5 ER) on 9 hits and 2 Ks to drop to 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA.

Game 2 is tonight. Probable starters: Wichita lefty Mike Connolly (3-3, 4.84) vs. Arkansas righty Miguel Gonzalez (3-2, 3.62). C Adam Donachie was put on the DL, which was what led to Jeff Howell's promotion.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 8, Frederick 1 (1-hitter!)

3B Maddox 4-4, BB, RBI (21), 2 RS, SB (5) -- .270
SS McConnell 3-4, 3B (1), HR (1), 3 RBI (3), K, 2 RS -- .286, double short of cycle
DH Jirschele 2-3, 2 RS -- .667, Wilmington debut
2B Johnson 1-5, 3B (1), 2 RBI (13) -- .210
LF Perez 1-3, BB, 2B (11), RBI (22), K, SB (10) -- .310
PH McCann 1-1, HR (1), RBI (1), RS -- 1.000, first organizational at-bat after trade with Marlins, Brian's older bro

B. Johnson 6 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K -- W, 4-6, 4.43 ERA
Oliveros, Humen and Green 3 IP (Humen UER and a walk)

The organization got its second day in a row with a 1-hitter as Blake Johnson and 3 relievers combined to shut down the Keys. Wilver Perez doubled home Marc Maddox in the 1st and Chris McConnell blasted his 1st Advanced A homer in the 2nd for a 2-run shot to make it 3-0 Blue Rocks. Johnson gave up the only Frederick hit of the game in the 4th and a McConnell RBI triple and Maddox RBI single in the bottom of the 4th made it 5-0. Josh Johnson added a 2-run triple in the 6th and Wilmington had a 7-0 lead. An error by Miguel Vega helped the Keys score a run in the 8th off RP David Humen but newest organizational pickup 1B Brad McCann hit a pinch-hit solo homer in his first Rocks AB to make it 8-1 in the bottom of the frame. Wilmington is 1-0. RF Arturo Rivas had the Keys' only hit in going 1-3 with his 15th RBI to move to .321 and Frederick SP David Hernandez took the loss with 5 2/3 IP of 7 ER on 8 hits, 2 walks and 5 Ks to drop to 4-5 with a 4.88 ERA.

Game 2 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Rocks righty Dan Cortes (0-4, 3.86) and Keys southpaw Carlos Perez (5-5, 4.71). McCann was acquired in a trade with the Royals sending Florida the proverbial "player to be named later" in return. He was hitting .246 with 6 HR and 21 RBI with Jupiter in the Florida State League and had played briefly at AA at one point this season. He had 42 Ks and 2 walks at Jupiter, so he's got some Berroa in him. Interestingly, the story on the Wilmington newspaper website has a picture of the crowd after Josh Johnson accidentally threw his bat and it misses a 2-year-old's head by about 6 inches, it looks like. It's a good picture. You've also got to read the comments on the story.

http://tinyurl.com/2gm2am

A -- Burlington: Bees 4, Cedar Rapids 0 (suspended in 4th)

Mario Santiago had a no-hitter going through 4 before the rain washed the game out and it will be picked up where the teams left off tonight before the regular game, which will be made a 7-inning contest. Joe Dickerson hit an RBI single, Jase Turner hit a solo homer for his 6th of the season, Dickerson added a sac fly and a Kernels error allowed the Bees to score their 4th run. Chris Hayes will be pitching when play resumes tonight.

The series continues with the game-and-a-half. Pitchers in the regular Friday game are set to be Bees RH Harold Mozingo (6-5, 4.04) and CR RH Jeremy Haynes (2-3, 3.86).

Rookie -- Burlington: B-Royals 6, Greeneville 5

RF Tucker 2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (5), RS -- .333
3B Jimenez 2-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 2 RBI (3), K, RS, E (2) -- .417
LF Severino 2-4, 2B (1), RBI (1), K, RS -- .400
2B Molina 0-4, RBI (1), 2 K -- .250
CF Norris 1-4, BB, RS -- .250
SS Martin 1-5, 2B (2) -- .357
1B Amyx 0-2, BB, HBP, K, RS -- .273
DH Lane 1-3, BB, 3B (1), RS -- .200

Paukovits 3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 K -- ND, 6.00 ERA
Bernat 3 IP, ER, H, BB, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 3.00 ERA
Gjeldum 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 9.00 ERA
Woods IP, nothing -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA

Three 2-run innings combined to boost the Royals to the win. Antonio Jimenez hit a 2-run homer in the 1st to give the Royals a 2-0 lead with his 1st blast of the season. Starter Bryan Paukovits allowed a run on 2 hits in the 2nd and the tying run on 2 hits in the 3rd. RP David Bernat came on for the 4th and allowed the go-ahead run on a double and walk to make it 3-2 Astros. Jake Lane led off the 4th with his 1st career triple and scored on a Neder Severino double before Severino scored on a Yeldrys Molina ground out to make it 4-3 Royals. Wilson Tucker hit a 2-out, 2-run homer in the 5th for his 2nd in as many days as Burlington took a 6-3 lead. The Royals left the bases loaded in the inning, however, and the lead almost fell apart in the 7th as RP Ted Gjeldum allowed a 2-run single but stranded 2 in scoring position after a Jimenez error. Gjeldum allowed a leadoff single in the 8th but got out of the inning and Ryan Woods pitched a perfect 9th for his 1st save. Burlington is 2-1 and a game back. Astros LF Axel Gonzalez was 2-5 with his 1st double and 2 RBI (3) to move to .556, 3B Ebert Rosario was 2-5 with his 2nd double and 7th RBI to move to .417 and starter Fernando Abad took the loss with 4 2/3 IP of 6 ER on 5 hits, 3 walks and 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 11.57 ERA.

The 2-gamer wraps up tonight. Righty Joe Augustine is expected to start for the Royals. According to the Burlington (NC) Times News, OF David Lough has a slight hamstring injury and is expected to be out about a week.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 8, Casper 2

SS Seratelli 2-4, BB, 2B (1), 3B (1), 2 RBI (3), 2 RS, SB (2) -- .583, off to great start, NDFA signed out of tryout camp
DH Van De Keere 1-4, BB, 2B (1), 2 RBI (3), 2 RS -- .357
3B Juan 2-5, 2B (2), K, 2 RS -- .188
1B Robinson 2-5, 2B (1), RBI (4), K, RS, E (1) -- .313
CF Van Stratten 2-5, 3B (1), RBI (4), K -- .333
2B Evangelho 1-3, BB, 3B (1), K, RS, E (1) -- .333, season debut

Chavez 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, WP -- ND, 4.50 ERA
Secott 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, win in pro debut
Swaggerty 3 IP, H, 6 K -- SV, 1, 9.00 ERA, nice bounce back from opening day outing

The Chukars jumped ahead and didn't look back in sweeping the Rockies. Manni Juan led off the game with a single, scored on an Anthony Seratelli double and then Seratelli scored on a Devery Van De Keere double. Van De Keere scored on a Rockies error and IF had a 3-0 lead. Starter Chris Chavez gave up a run on 2 hits in the 1st but IF got it back in the 2nd on a Zach Evangelho triple and passed ball that scored the second baseman to make it 4-1. Casper pushed across another run in the 3rd off Chavez but the Chukars all but put it away with 4 in the 4th on a Seratelli RBI triple, a Casper error that scored Seratelli, a Clint Robinson RBI single and Nick Van Stratten RBI triple that made it 8-1. The bullpen took it from there in holding the Rockies in check to secure the victory. Idaho Falls is 3-0 and has a 1-game lead. Casper RF Scott Robinson was 2-4 with his 2nd SB and 2 RS to move to .333 and starter Jose Campos took the loss with 4 IP of 8 runs (4 ER) on 10 hits, a walk and 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.

Idaho Falls opens Melaleuca Field with the first of a 3-game set tonight vs. the Orem Owlz (2-1, Rookie Halos). Orem's roster features Angels prospects RHP Young-Il Jung (no stats yet), RHP Vladimir Veras (1-0, 0.00 in 6 IP), and '07 draftees OF Trevor Pippin (.222 in 2 games, 4th rounder), RHP Ryan Brasier (no stats yet, 6th rounder) and 10th rounder RHP Milan Dinga (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 2/3 IP). Ten other later-round '07 draftees are on the roster as well.

Rookie -- AZL: The Royals were set to start the season today versus the Rangers. At least a partial roster is up on the team site and it includes 3rd round LHP Danny Duffy (who I hadn't seen had signed yet), 4th round RHP Mitch Hodge, 7th round OF Hilton Richardson, 8th round RHP Casey Feickert, 12th round C Sean McCauley, 14th round RHP Matt Mitchell, 17th round LHP Ivor Hodgson, 20th round RHP Mike Lehmann and 26th round RHP Nat Lovell.