Royals on the Farm 6/27

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 3, New Orleans 1

1B Brazell 1-3, BB, HR (22), 2 RBI (42), K, RS -- .333
CF Maier 1-4, RBI (35) -- .282
SS Berroa 2-3, K -- .265
2B Aviles 1-4, 3B (4), RS -- .307

Wright 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, K -- W, 5-3, 3.58 ERA
Hoelscher IP, K -- 3.66 ERA
Braun 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- SV, 6, 1.74 ERA

Craig Brazell went yard once again and three Royals pitchers held the Zephyrs in check for the most part. Mike Aviles tripled with 2 out in the 1st and Brazell followed with his 22nd homer at AAA and 29th overall to give Omaha a 2-0 lead off Zephyrs SP Dave Williams. According to team reports, the ball hit the roof over the right-field bleachers at Rosenblatt and bounced out of the park. A 1-hit shutout by Matt Wright entering the 5th evaporated as New Orleans scored a run on 2 hits to cut the lead in half. Mitch Maier gave Omaha some insurance in the 7th with an RBI single and Ryan Braun left 2 on in the 8th and another in the 9th for a 2-inning save for his 6th of the season. New Orleans RF Ben Johnson was 2-4 with his 10th RBI to move to .271 and Williams took the loss with 6 1/3 IP of 3 ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA.

Omaha is 38-42 and 8 1/2 games back. The series continues with a matinee today. Probable starters: Zephyrs RH Jose Santiago (3-3, 5.29) vs. Omaha RH Scott Elarton (1-2, 5.60, rehabbing again).

AA -- Wichita: rainout

The opener with Corpus Christi was postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today. I assume Carlos Rosa will face off with the Hooks' Josh Muecke in game 1 while game 2 will pit Wichita righty Greg Atencio (2-4, 4.04) vs. Hooks righty Felipe Paulino (3-5, 3.89). KC finally promoted OF Chris Lubanski to Omaha Wednesday. He wasn't necessarily tearing up AA, although he was hitting .295 with 9 HR and a team-leading 34 RBI, but it's time to see what he can do at the next level. KC has also signed RH Tim Bausher from the Nashua Pride in the Can-Am League. He was 4-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 36 IP at Nashua and is a former part of the Red Sox organization.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Lynchburg 14, Blue Rocks 5

C Clark 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (7), RS -- .253
RF McFall 2-3, BB, 2B (16), RBI (25), K -- .247
CF Duarte 2-4, BB, 2B (10), K, 2 RS, SB (19) -- .285
SS McConnell 2-4, SB (1) -- .258
2B Maddox 1-4, 2B (11), RBI (24), K, RS -- .268
3B Lisson 0-4, SF, RBI (39), K -- .273
DH McCann 0-5, K -- .357

Cortes 5 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K, 3 HRA -- L, 0-5, 4.44 ERA
Humen 1/3 IP, 4 ER, H, 2 BB -- 3.31 ERA
Santos 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 16.20 ERA, not good debut for AA demotee
Barnes 2 IP, ER, H, HRA -- 3.35 ERA

Lynchburg scored the last 9 runs of the game as all four Rocks hurlers got touched up in the loss. Starter Dan Cortes gave up a solo homer to Hillcats LF James Boone in the 1st but the Rocks took the lead as Marc Maddox hit an RBI double and Brian McFall hit an RBI single to make it 2-1 entering the 2nd. A sac fly tied the game for Lynchburg in the 2nd and Cortes gave up back-to-back homers to Boone (a 2-run shot) and RF Jamie Romak in the 3rd to make it 5-2 Hillcats. Mario Lisson hit a sac fly in the 3rd to trim the lead to 2 and Cody Clark hit a 2-run homer in the 4th for his 1st of the season to tie it at 5. Cortes coughed the lead back up with a run on 2 hits in the 5th and the Rocks stranded 2 runners that inning. The game fell apart for Wilmington in the 6th as David Humen walked a run in and left with the bases loaded and 1 out. Arthur Santos made his Wilmington debut and gave up a 3-run triple, an RBI double and a 2-run homer to Romak to make it 13-5 Lynchburg. RP Justin Barnes gave up a solo homer in the 9th to polish off the Hillcats victory. Boone was 4-5 for Lynchburg with 2 doubles (12), 2 HR (6), 5 RBI (33), his 7th SB and 3 RS to move to .290, Romak was 2-5 with 2 HR (5) and 3 RBI (13) to improve to .272 and SP Derek Hankins got the win with 5 IP of 5 ER on 8 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks to improve to 7-2 with a 4.66 ERA.

Wilmington is 5-2 and now tied with Lynchburg for first. The series continues tonight with first place on the line. Probable starters: Wilmington ace southpaw Rowdy Hardy (9-1, 1.41) vs. Lynchburg righty Serguey Linares (1-3, 5.25).

A -- Burlington: Bees 9, Kane County 3

DH Everett 2-4, BB, 2B (14), 3 RBI (23), 2 K, SB (3) -- .291
LF Dickerson 2-4, BB, 3B (1), 2 RBI (27), 2 RS, OF assist at home -- .285
3B Thompson 1-5, 2 RBI (41), K -- .239
SS Bianchi 1-4, BB, RBI (16), K, RS -- .240
CF Robinson 1-4, BB, HBP, 2B (8), RBI (11), K, 3 RS, SB (17) -- .264
RF Peralta 1-3, BB, 2B (1), K, 2 RS -- .346

DiPietro 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K, 3 HRA -- W, 4-4, 4.68 ERA
Hartsock 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- SV, 2, 2.68 ERA

The Bees broke open a tie game in the 7th then poured on the insurance runs in the 9th to earn at least a split of the series with the Cougars. Joe Dickerson hit a 1-out triple in the 1st and scored on a Jeff Bianchi single to make it 1-0 Bees. Starter Ryan DiPietro gave up a solo homer to tie it in the 2nd but the Bees scored 2 in the 3rd on a 2-out, bases-loaded 2-run single by Mike Thompson. Kane County tried to cut into the lead in the 4th but Dickerson killed the rally by throwing out a runner at the plate via relay man Bianchi to end the inning. DiPietro didn't hold the lead, tho, as he gave up 2 solo homers in the 6th to tie it. Derrick Robinson came through with a 2-out RBI double in the 7th and scored on a Dickerson single, although Dickerson was nailed trying to get to second on the play. RP Aaron Hartsock left the bases full in the 8th and Dickerson got a 9th-inning rally started with a bases-loaded walk before Brady Everett hit a 2-out 3-run double to make it 9-3 Bees. Cougars 1B Haas Pratt was 2-4 with 2 HR (8) and 2 RBI (21) to move to .216, DH Greg Dowling was 2-4 with his 7th homer and 44th RBI to move to .275 and RP Inoel Deaza took the loss with 2 IP of 4 ER on 4 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks to drop to 0-6 with a 6.38 ERA.

Burlington is 5-2 and a 1/2-game up on first. The series comes to a close tonight. Probable starters: Bees RH Harold Mozingo (6-6, 4.44) vs. KC LH James Heuser (6-2, 2.90). P Jason Godin was returned to Burlington from Wilmington after struggling somewhat at the A-Advanced level.

Rookie -- Burlington: Johnson City 3, B-Royals 2

LF A. Perez 3-4, RBI (1) -- .235
DH Martin 0-3, BB, K -- .276
3B Jimenez 1-4, 3B (1), RS, E (4) -- .250
RF Lane 0-2, 2 BB, K, 2 SB (4), CS (2) -- .320
CF Tucker 0-4, 2 K -- .306
1B Amyx 0-3, BB, K -- .290

Bradley 3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 1-1, 3.86 ERA
Augustine 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA, nice outing

Three early runs was all the Cardinals needed in taking down the Royals. Starter Anthony Bradley gave up a walk, hit a batter and then gave up a 3-run homer to 1B Charlie Pelt to start the game, then combined with Joe Augustine to allow only 3 more hits and 3 walks the entire game. The Royals left 2 in scoring position in the 3rd but got an RBI single from Alwin Perez in the 5th to get on the board. Antonio Jimenez led off the 6th with a triple and scored on a Johnson City error to cut the lead to 1. The Royals loaded the bases with 1 out that inning but couldn't capitalize. The Cardinals made 2 errors in the 9th but, again, the Royals failed to capitalize. Pelt was 1-4 with his 1st homer and 3 RBI (9) to drop to .406 and SP Jose Arredondo got the win with 5 IP of an UER on 3 hits and 5 Ks to move to 1-1 with a 5.68 ERA. RP Pete Parise picked up his 2nd save. The Cardinals survived 5 errors.

The B-Royals are 6-3 and tied for 1st. The series ends tonight. No announced starters on the team site.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 8, Casper 0

CF Ortiz 4-5, 2B (1), RBI (1), K, RS -- .556, 4-hit game in 2nd outing...I'll take that
DH Gonzalez 4-5, 2B (3), RBI (5), RS -- .342
1B Robinson 2-5, 2B (2), RBI (10), K, RS -- .356
RF Van Stratten 2-4, BB, 2B (1), 3B (2), RBI (5), 2 RS -- .238
LF Morel 2-4, RBI (1), RS, SB (2) -- .227
C Eigsti 1-5, 2B (1), RBI (2), K, RS -- .333
SS Seratelli 0-4, BB, K, E (7) -- .342
3B Van De Keere 1-4, BB, K, RS -- .333
*IF left 13 on base.

Peterson 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 5 K -- 0.00 ERA, nice start, too bad didn't qualify for W
Baldwin 4 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- W, 1-0, 1.93 ERA
Jensen IP, K -- 0.00 ERA

Three Chukar pitchers combined on a 7-hit shutout of the Rockies as Idaho Falls continued its dominance of Casper with another sweep. Adrian Ortiz led off the IF 1st with a single and scored on an O.D. Gonzalez single as both players went 4-5 on the night. Alvi Morel and Ortiz had RBI singles in the 2nd and the Chukars scored 3 in the 3rd on a Nick Van Stratten RBI triple, Ryan Eigsti RBI double and Mike Bionde double play ball that scored Eigsti to make it 6-0. Clint Robinson hit an RBI double in the 4th and a Rockies error scored the final run in the 6th. The Rockies stranded 2 in 2 innings but never could put together a rally. Rockies 2B Derek Kinzler was 2-3 to move to .353, RF Bo Bowman was 2-4 to move to .273 and SP Parker Frazier took the loss with 2 2/3 IP of 6 ER on 10 hits, a walk and K to drop to 0-1 with a 19.06 ERA.

Idaho Falls is 8-1 and 3 games up on first. A 3-game set at the Orem Owlz (5-4, Rookie Angels) starts tonight. The Chukars went 2-1 versus Orem in a 3-game set last weekend. No announced starters on the team site.

Rookie -- AZL: Mariners 3, Royals 2

3B F. Cruz 2-4, RBI (2) -- .214
RF Jacobo 2-4, 2 K -- .250
1B D. Cruz 2-4, K, RS -- .385
C S. Perez 1-3, 2B (1), RBI (2), K, RS, picked off runner -- .154, 2/4 SB against
CF Richardson 0-4, 3 K, CS -- .125
DH Wood 0-4 -- .471
2B Donovan 1-3, HBP -- .421

Hodge 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
Feickert 2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 K -- 40.50 ERA
Vasquez 2 IP, 3 K -- 2.25 ERA
Van Slyke IP, ER, H -- L, 0-1, 3.86 ERA

An 8th-inning run made the difference for the M's. Both teams stranded 2 in the 3rd and, as both starters were pulled to start the 4th, the Royals got an RBI double from Salvador Perez and a Fernando Cruz RBI single to make it 2-0 Royals. The Mariners bounced back with 2 off RP Casey Feickert in the 4th on a 2-out rally of 2 RBI singles. RP Eric Van Slyke came in for the Royals to start the 8th and gave up a single and sac fly to give the Mariners the edge and the Royals went down in order in the 9th. Mariners LF Dan Carroll was 2-3 with his 3rd SB and scored the winning run to move to .556 and RP Jacob Wild got the win with 1/3 IP to move to 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. RP Travis Mortimore got his 1st save.

The Royals are 1-4 and 3 games back. They were set to play the Rangers today.