Royals on the Farm 7/26

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 4, Salt Lake 2 (7/G1)

SS Aviles 2-4, HR (12), 2 RBI (57), RS -- .310
CF Gathright 2-4, 3B (4), RBI (23), RS -- .341
3B Lewis 1-3, 2B (9), RBI (28), RS -- .233
RF Maier 0-3, S, 2 K -- .300
DH Costa 0-3, BB -- .364
1B Shealy 1-4, K -- .250
LF Lubanski 0-3, K -- .171, hasn't quite got the hang of AAA yet

Hochevar 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- W, 1-1, 3.94 ERA, not the prettiest line but got the job done
Musser IP, H, 3 K -- SV, 5, 0.00 ERA (through 36 1/3 IP)

Starter Luke Hochevar kept the O-Royals close and they posted a late-inning comeback to get the top prospect his first AAA win. Hochevar left a runner at third in the 1st and Omaha did the same in the 3rd. The Bees broke through with 2 runs on 3 hits, a walk and hit batsman in the 4th but Richie Lewis doubled home a run in the 5th and Joey Gathright hit a big 2-out RBI triple to tie the game. Mike Aviles led off the 6th with his 12th homer but the Royals left the bases full. Aviles came back up in the 7th and singled home Gathright to make it 4-2. Neal Musser gave up a hit in the bottom of the 7th in the midst of striking out the side for his 5th save. Bees CF Terry Evans was 2-4 with his 30th double and 3 SB off Hochevar and C Matt Tupman to move to .315 and SP Kasey Olenberger took the loss with 6 1/3 IP of 4 ER on 8 hits, 2 walks and 3 Ks to drop to 8-5 with a 4.57 ERA.

O-Royals 7, Salt Lake 3 (7/G2)

LF Huber 3-4, 2B (6), 2 RBI (39) -- .256
C Phillips 1-4, 2B (4), 2 RBI (10) -- .224
SS Aviles 2-3, S, 2B (20), RBI (58), 2 RS -- .313, his '07 has him deserving a Sept. call
PR-LF Maier 0-0, SF, RBI (47), RS -- .300
RF Costa 2-4, 2 RS, SB (5), E (1) -- .367
CF Gathright 0-2, 2 BB, RS, picked off -- .338
1B Brazell 1-3 -- .309
DH Shealy 1-3, BB, K, RS -- .258, not hitting much better at Omaha

Lumsden 5 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- W, 7-5, 6.25 ERA, even uglier than Hochevar's line
Braun 1 1/3 IP, H, 3 K -- SV, 8, 1.20 ERA, back to mowing 'em down for Omaha

Five runs in the last 2 innings propelled the Royals to a doubleheader sweep. Starter Tyler Lumsden walked 2 but stranded them in the 1st before giving up a run on 2 hits in the 3rd. Mike Aviles continued his good day with an RBI double in the 4th and Justin Huber singled him home to make it 2-1. Lumsden gave up the tying run in the 5th on 2 hits and a wild pitch with Shane Costa chipping in his first AAA error of the season. Lumsden stranded 2 and the Royals responded with 3 runs in the 6th on a wild pitch that scored Costa and a 2-run double by Paul Phillips that made it 5-2. Ryan Braun came in with 2 on and 2 out in the 6th and gave up an RBI single before escaping the jam. Omaha bought some insurance with 2 runs in the 7th on a Maier sac fly that turned into a double play (but scored a run) and a Huber RBI ground-rule double. Braun K'd 2 in the 9th for his 8th save. Bees 2B Adam Pavkovich was 3-3 with his 27th RBI to move to .275 and RP Jason Bulger took the loss with an IP of 3 runs (2 ER) on 3 hits, a walk and 2 Ks to drop to 4-2 with a 4.24 ERA.

Omaha is 52-54. The series concludes tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Matt Wright (6-3, 3.82) vs. Salt Lake RH Ervin Santana (0-1, 1.29). Thursday's wins marked Omaha's first sweep of a road twinbill since May 2000.

AA -- Wichita: Springfield 8, Wranglers 4

3B Nettles 2-5, HR (4), 2 RBI (15), 2 K, RS -- .217, been sporadic in hitting at Wichita
LF Padilla 2-4, BB, RBI (31), RS -- .361
2B Falu 2-4, K -- .251
C Donachie 1-3, BB, HR (6), RBI (26), RS -- .198
RF Valentin 1-3, BB, S, K -- .299
1B Stodolka 1-5, 2 K -- .290
*Wichita stranded 10.

Mattox 4 2/3 IP, 7 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA, balk -- L, 0-4, 6.11 ERA, Indy import isn't getting it done. FREE ROWDY!
Cromer 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, K, WP -- 6.03 ERA
Connolly 3 IP, H, 2 K -- 5.42 ERA

The Cardinals packaged 8 runs in 3 innings and rolled past the Wranglers and starter D.J. Mattox. Jorge Padilla gave Wichita the lead with an RBI single in the 1st but Wichita stranded 2 in the frame. Mattox gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the 3rd to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead and a walk and double off him in the 4th made it 3-1. Jeff Nettles tied the game with one swing of the bat in the Wichita 4th as his 4th homer was a 2-run shot. Two batters later, Adam Donachie cranked his 6th homer of the season to make it 4-3 Wranglers. The good times were short-lived, however, as Mattox and Jason Cromer gave up 5 runs in the 5th on 2 doubles, a walk, balk and HBP off Mattox and walk, single and wild pitch off Cromer. Wichita left a runner at third in the 6th and stranded 2 in the 7th. In the 9th, the Wranglers put 2 on with 2 outs but Nettles struck out to end the game and give Cards RP Chris Perez his 26th save. Cards RF Sean Danielson was 4-4 with his 33rd RBI and 2 SB (11) to move to .299, 3B Juan Lucena was 3-5 with 2 2B (6) and 3 RBI (21) to move to .263 and SP Eric Haberer got the win with 6 IP of 4 runs (3 ER) on 9 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks to move to 10-4 with a 3.81 ERA.

Wichita is 12-21 and 8 games back. Game 2 is tonight. Probable starters: Cards lefty Adam Daniels (4-3, 4.01) vs. Wichita righty Greg Atencio (4-5, 4.20).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Kinston 7, Blue Rocks 5 (10)

CF Bigler 3-5, 2B (10), 2 RBI (23), RS -- .233
RF McFall 2-4, BB, 2B (24), 3 RBI (47) -- .259, stays hot
C Thibault 3-4, S, 2B (14), RS -- .277
2B Maddox 2-5, RS, E (4) -- .266
3B Lisson 0-3, BB, S, E (11) -- .263
SS McConnell 1-4, BB -- .257
*The Rocks stranded 10.

Pimentel 6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, HRA, 2 WP -- 2.80 ERA
Oliveros 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- BS, 2, 3.09 ERA
D'Amico IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, HRA -- L, 4-1, 4.25 ERA

RP Rayner Oliveros blew a lead in the 8th and fell victim to the bat of Tribe C Armando Camacaro in an extra-inning loss. Starter Julio Pimentel stranded 2 in the 1st and Rocks took the lead in their half of the 2nd on a 2-out rally of a double, 2 walks and a 2-run single by Brett Bigler. Chris McConnell broke a cardinal rule and got thrown out at third on the play to end the inning, tho. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 4th and Kinston cut the lead in half in the 5th on a walk, single and 2 wild pitches. Wilmington pulled away with 3 runs in the 5th as they loaded the bases with 1 out and Brian McFall cleared them with his 24th double to make it 5-1. Pimentel gave up a 2-run homer to Camacaro in the 6th and Oliveros gave up another 2-run homer to the catcher in the 8th to tie it. Oliveros stranded 2 in the 9th and the Rocks did the same in their half. Camacaro came back up with a man on in the 10th and Yovany D'Amico served up Camacaro's 3rd homer of the game to make it 7-5. The Rocks went down in short order in the 10th. Camacaro was 3-5 with 3 HR (3) and 6 RBI (8) to move to .269 and RP Scott Roehl got the win with 2 IP of 2 hits and a walk to move to 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

Wilmington is 21-12 and 4 games up on first. The series goes to game 2 tonight. Probable starters: Rocks' Tyler Chambliss (3-1, 4.88) vs. Indians' Steve Wright (0-1, 6.75). Chambliss was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for July 15-22 with a 1-0 mark with a 1.80 ERA and two total runs over his two starts.

A -- Burlington: Quad Cities 14, Bees 6

3B Thompson 1-3, BB, HR (17), 3 RBI (49), K, RS -- .239
CF Robinson 1-3, BB, 2 RBI (18), K, SB (23) -- .247
RF Walton 2-4, 2B (4), 2 K, 2 RS -- .307
C Howell 1-3, RBI (17), K, RS, CS, PB (6) -- .246
SS Bianchi 0-4, RS -- .212
LF Dickerson 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .299

DiPietro 2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- L, 5-7, 5.09 ERA
Campbell 2 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K, HRA, WP -- 4.13 ERA
Barrera 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 5.91 ERA
Wladyka 2 IP, ER, 5 H, K -- 8.20 ERA

The Bees were efficient in stranding only 1 runner all night but the Swing pounded out 18 hits and 14 runs to easily take the opener, thanks in part to a 7-run 5th. SP Ryan DiPietro was in trouble from the get-go as a HBP, walk, wild pitch and RBI single spotted the Swing a run in the 1st. Quad Cities added 4 in the 2nd on 4 hits and a walk to make it 5-0 but Jeff Howell got the Bees on the board with an RBI single in the 3rd. Matt Campbell relieved DiPietro in the 3rd and gave up a solo homer to make it 6-1. Mike Thompson hit his 17th homer for a 3-run shot in the 4th to cut it to 6-4 but then the 5th came and Campbell and Henry Barrera got knocked around for 7 runs on 7 hits, a walk and a Campbell wild pitch. The Bees got 2 runs back in the 7th on a 2-out, 2-run single by Derrick Robinson but Robinson got tagged out at second to end the inning. RP Jim Wladyka gave up a gravy run in the 8th and the Bees didn't threaten after the 7th. Swing LF Steve Hill was 3-4 with his 8th double, 4 RBI (16) to move to .333, RF Jaime Landin was 4-4 with his 1st SB, 8th double, 7th HR and 3 RBI (30) to move to .244 and SP Shaun Garceau got the win with 5 IP of 4 runs (1 ER) on 4 hits, a walk and 7 Ks to improve to 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA.

The Bees are 17-15 and 4 games back. The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Bees RH Blake Wood (0-1, 7.20) vs. Swing RH Brandon Dickson (8-5, 3.61).

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: off day

The Chukars start a 3 game home set versus the Orem Owlz (15-20, Rookie Halos) tonight. The Chukars are 4-2 versus the Owlz. No announced starters on the team site.

Rookie -- Burlington: Danville 8, B-Royals 0 (4-hitter)

RF Tucker 1-4, 3 K -- .288
CF Norris 0-3, S, 3 K -- .268
DH Lough 0-1, BB -- .357, pulled for PH in 6th

Arias 2 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 5 H -- L, 2-2, 5.93 ERA
J. Diaz 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, HRA, WP -- 9.26 ERA
Belanger and Lopez 3 IP scoreless relief
Gjeldum IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 4.86 ERA

The Royals left Danville meekly after getting outscored, 9-0, in two games. The Braves scored 6 runs off Henry Arias and Jose Diaz over the first 3 innings and, after Danville tacked on 2 in the 8th, the Royals' best chance to score came in the 9th when they had 2 hits but left the runners in scoring position to take the shutout. Braves C Jeff Stevens was 3-3 with his 1st homer and 3 RBI (10) to move to .413 and RP Jose Ortegano got the win with 4 IP of a hit and 8 Ks to improve to 3-0 with a 0.80 ERA.

Burlington is 19-14 and 4 games back. A 2-game home set versus the Greeneville Astros (7-28) starts tonight. No announced starters on the team site. The Royals are 3-1 versus the 'Stros.

Rookie -- AZL: off day

The Royals took on the 19-9 Angels today after finishing the first half 12-16. Both teams' records have reset to 0-0.