Royals on the Farm 6/26

AAA -- Omaha: Oklahoma 6, O-Royals 4

C Phillips 2-3, BB, RBI (4) -- .198
DH Brazell 2-4 -- .333
1B Lewis 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (18) -- .244
2B Aviles 1-5, RBI (36), K, E (12) -- .308
CF Maier 1-4, BB, RS -- .282

Nunez 6 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 6 K -- ND, 1.50 ERA, nice AAA '07 debut
Shiell 1 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H -- BS, 1, L, 0-3, 4.67 ERA
Giron 1/3 IP, H, WP -- 5.82 ERA

The game appeared firmly in hand entering the 8th but Omaha found a way to lose the finale with the RedHawks. The Royals left runners at the corners in the 1st but loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 2nd and got a 2-run single from Richie Lewis and an RBI single from Mike Aviles to take a 3-0 lead. Starter Leo Nunez allowed a run on 2 hits in the 3rd but a Paul Phillips RBI single in the 5th helped him hand a 4-1 lead to Jason Shiell in the 7th. Shiell started the 8th by loading the bases with 3 singles and, after a double play scored a run, gave up 3 more singles to tie the game and bring in Roberto Giron, who gave up an RBI single and run-scoring wild pitch to make it 6-4 RedHawks. Omaha went down 1-2-3 in the 9th to end it as A.J. Murray picked up his 4th save. Oklahoma RF Nelson Cruz was 2-4 with his 16th RBI to move to .371, C Chris Stewart was 2-3 to move to .405 and RP Steven Rowe got the win with an IP of a hit and K to move to 3-2 with a 7.11 ERA.

Omaha is 37-42 and 9 games out. The O-Royals start a 3-game home set with the New Orleans Zephyrs (43-35, AAA Mets) tonight. Probable starters: Zephyrs LH Dave Williams (no record) vs. Royals RH Matt Wright (4-3, 3.76). Omaha is 6-5 versus the Zephyrs. The Royals finished the 16-game road trip 5-11.

AA -- Wichita: TL South 5, TL North 4 (10)

LF Lubanski 1-4, BB
1B Stodolka 2-4, RBI, 2 K -- drove in tying run in 7th

Hochevar 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 K, HRA -- got the start, gave up 2-run jack in 2nd

I guess the reports of a make-up game with Tulsa Tuesday on the team site were false, as I found no reports of such a game being played. Whatever. The Wranglers start a 3-game home set with the Corpus Christi Hooks (2-4, AA Astros) tonight. Probable starters: Hooks lefty Josh Muecke (1-3, 5.22) vs. Wranglers righty Carlos Rosa (3-5, 5.76). The Wranglers are 3-3 versus the Hooks thus far.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Winston-Salem 2

DH McCann 2-3, BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (3), RS -- .556
C Thibault 2-4, SB (6) -- .266
3B Lisson 2-4, HBP, K -- .277
2B Maddox 2-5, 3B (2), RBI (23), RS -- .268
CF Duarte 1-5, 2 K -- .281
LF Perez 1-3, S, RS -- .312
SS McConnell 0-4, K -- .222

B. Johnson 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- ND, 4.38 ERA
Green 2 IP, H, BB, K -- 6.20 ERA
D'Amico IP, H -- W, 4-0, 3.32 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, K -- SV, 2, 3.41 ERA, taken over for de la Vara as closer?

A big 9th-inning triple was the difference in the Rocks win. Starter Blake Johnson stranded 2 Warthogs in the 1st and Brad McCann led off the 2nd with his 2nd homer for Wilmington to make it 1-0 Rocks. McCann came up again in the 3rd with 2 out and 2 on and hit an RBI single to make it 2-0 but Mario Lisson got tagged out at third to kill the rally on the play. Johnson gave up a solo homer to start the Warthogs 3rd and walked in a run in the 5th to tie the game. RP Patrick Green stranded 2 runners in the 7th for Wilmington and the Rocks loaded the bases with no outs in the 8th only to see Warthogs RP John Wesley come in and get 2 pop outs and a K to wiggle out of the threat. The Rocks had a runner at third and 2 outs in the 9th when Marc Maddox stepped up and laced an RBI triple to right to give Wilmington a 3-2 lead. Russ Haltiwanger pitched a perfect 9th for his 2nd save. Warthogs SS Robert Valido was 2-5 with his 1st homer, SB and RBI to set a .400 BA, 2B Robert Hudson was 2-5 with his 4th double to move to .310 and Wesley took the loss with 2 IP of an ER on 2 hits and 3 Ks to drop to 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

Wilmington is 5-1 and a game up on first. The Blue Rocks start a 3-game home set with the second-place Lynchburg Hillcats (4-2, A-Adv. Bucs) tonight. Probable starters: Wilmington RH Dan Cortes (0-4, 3.71) vs. Hillcats LH Derek Hankins (6-2, 4.31). Wilmington is 5-1 versus Lynchburg thus far.

A -- Burlington: Bees 2, Kane County 1 (10)

C Howell 2-4, K, picked off runner -- .243
RF Walton 2-4, K -- .188
LF Dickerson 1-4, RBI (25), K, CS (7) -- .282
SS Bianchi 0-3, HBP, RS, SB (6), CS (1) -- .240
CF Robinson 0-5, K -- .264
DH Castillo 1-3, BB, 2B (1) -- .125

Santiago 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- ND, 2.49 ERA, nice start
Hayes 3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- BS, 4, W, 3-3, 4.10 ERA

RP Chris Hayes spoiled Mario Santiago's shutout start but the Bees won in 10. Santiago got in and out of a minor jam in the 3rd and a Joe Dickerson RBI single in the 4th gave Burlington a 1-0 lead. Santiago stranded 2 in the 5th and the Bees left 2 in scoring position in the 7th as the 1-0 lead held. Hayes came in for the 8th and got 2 outs before a double and RBI single tied the game. Luis Castillo hit a leadoff double in the 10th and a 1-out wild pitch scored pinch runner Felix Peralta to give the Bees a 2-1 lead. Hayes walked the leadoff guy in the 10th but C Jeff Howell picked him off and Hayes got a K and fly out for the win. Four Cougars had 1 hit each, including CF Mike Massaro, who was 1-4 with his 15th RBI to drop to .292. RP John Herrera took the loss with an IP of an ER on a hit and K to drop to 2-8 with a 5.14 ERA. Starter Andrew Bailey allowed an UER on 5 hits and a walk with 6 Ks over 6 1/3 IP to drop his ERA to 3.45.

Burlington is 4-2 and a 1/2 game in front in the MWL West. Game 3 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Bees LH Ryan DiPietro (3-4, 4.70) vs. Kane County RH Henry Rodriguez (3-4, 2.95).

Rookie -- Burlington: B-Royals 5, Bristol 4

LF Lane 3-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 3 RBI (5), RS -- .348, opportune time for first pro homer
SS Martin 2-4, 2B (4), 2 RS -- .308
1B Amyx 2-4, 2B (2) -- .321
CF Tucker 1-4, RS, E (1) -- .344
RF Severino 0-3, SF, RBI (3) -- .136

Bernat 4 IP, ER, 5 H, K -- ND, 2.57 ERA
Paukovits 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 8.44 ERA
Hastry 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, debut
Woods IP, H, BB -- SV, 3, 0.00 ERA

Some key contributions from some '07 draftees in the 9th got the B-Royals another victory. The Royals scored on 2 doubles in the 1st as Jake Lane doubled home Kyle Martin to make it 1-0 Burlington. A single and Wilson Tucker error to lead off the 3rd helped the Sox tie the game off David Bernat before Burlington took the lead with 2 in the 6th on a 2-run single by Lane. RP Bryan Paukovits didn't hold the lead, tho, as Bristol scored 3 in the 6th on 2 hits, a walk, a sac fly, a wild pitch and an error by 3B Antonio Jimenez to grab a 4-3 lead. That was the score entering the 9th when Lane hit a 1-out solo homer for his first pro longball to tie the game and, after Tucker singled and Brett Amyx doubled, Neder Severino hit a sac fly to score Tucker for the eventual winning run. RP Ryan Woods stranded 2 in scoring position in the 9th for his 3rd save. Bristol RF Jose Martinez was 4-5 to move to .394, DH Jordan Cheatham was 2-5 with his 1st double and 4th RBI to move to .333 and RP Nathan Jones took the loss with 1 1/3 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) on 3 hits and 3 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

The B-Royals are 6-2 and tied for first. A 2-game set at the Johnson City Cardinals (2-6) starts tonight. No announced starters on the team site. The Cards' roster includes prospect OF Jon Edwards (.233 BA, .770 OPS in 8 games), Albert's cousin OF Wil Pujols (no stats yet) and '07 draftees 10th round OF Beau Riportella (.364 BA, .826 OPS in 8 games) and 11 other later-round picks.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 2, Casper 1

3B Van De Keere 2-4, 2B (3), 2 RBI (7) -- .344, walkoff Monday, both RBI Tuesday, not bad for 48th rounder
DH Ortiz 1-4, K -- .250, pro debut
2B Seratelli 1-3, BB, K, 2 RS, 2 SB (4), 2 E (6) -- .382
1B Robinson 0-4, K -- .350
CF Van Stratten 1-3, BB, CS -- .211
2B Evangelho 0-2, HBP -- .353
*C Todd Balduf had a pickoff and the Rockies were 0-4 on SB

Secott 3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, WP, pickoff -- ND, 1.80 ERA
Swaggerty 3 IP, 4 H, BB, 5 K -- W, 1-0, 4.50 ERA
Chavez 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, BB, K -- 2.84 ERA
Roach 2/3 IP, K -- SV, 2, 0.00 ERA

The Chukars' pitching staff and defense got the job done as they stifled the Rockies in a 2-1 win. A Devery Van De Keere force out scored Anthony Seratelli in the 1st to give IF a 1-0 lead. Two walks, a wild pitch and a single off SP Dane Secott tied the game for Casper in the 3rd but the Chukars regained the lead that inning on a Van De Keere RBI double that once again scored Seratelli. RP Ben Swaggerty came on for the 4th and stranded runners at the corners and then stranded 2 in the 6th as a thwarted steal from Todd Balduf helped maintain the 2-1 lead. IF left the bases full in the 6th and RP Jason Roach came in with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 9th and got a K and fly out to end the rally and pick up his 2nd save. Casper 2B Zack Murry was 3-3 but was caught stealing twice in moving to .350 and SP Jose Campos took the loss with 6 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks to drop to 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA. Three wild pitches didn't help his cause.

Idaho Falls is 7-1 and 2 games up on first. The series comes to a close tonight. Probable starters: Casper's Parker Frazier (0-0, 18.00) vs. IF's Zach Peterson (1-0, 0.00).

Rookie -- AZL: off day

The Royals got back into action today versus the Mariners and took a narrow loss.