Royals on the Farm 7/30

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 9, Colorado Springs 5

1B Shealy 1-4, BB, GS (2), 4 RBI (6), RS -- .213
DH Huber 2-4, SF, 2 RBI (44), RS -- .272
SS Aviles 2-4, BB, RBI (63), RS -- .312
LF Lubanski 2-3, BB, K, 2 RS -- .203
CF Gathright 1-4, SF, RBI (25), picked off -- .341
C Tupman 1-5, 2B (13), RBI (24), K -- .294
RF Costa 0-4, BB, K, 2 RS -- .366

Hoelscher 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 K -- W, 4-1, 4.74 ERA
Ray IP, 3 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 4.11 ERA
Braun 3 IP, H, BB, 5 K -- SV, 9, 1.09 ERA

A 6-run 3rd was all Omaha needed to get the win and ensure at least a split of the series with the Sky Sox. Colorado Springs took the lead with 2 runs on 3 hits off Nate Hoelscher in the 2nd but Omaha tripled that output with 6 in the 3rd on a Joey Gathright sac fly, Ryan Shealy grand slam for his 2nd homer at Omaha and a Matt Tupman RBI double. Mike Aviles hit an RBI ground out in the 3rd to make it 7-2 and Justin Huber singled in a run in the 7th to make it 8-2. Ken Ray gave up 2 runs on 2 doubles and a walk to start the 7th and Ryan Braun came in and allowed an RBI single before escaping the inning with an 8-5 lead. Huber hit a sac fly off Denny Bautista in the 9th and Braun pitched a perfect 9th for his 9th save. Sky Sox 2B Jayson Nix was 1-4 with his 23rd double and 3 RBI (36) to move to .278 and SP Jorge De Paula took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 7 ER on 10 hits and 2 walks to drop to 8-6 with a 6.41 ERA.

Omaha is 54-56 and 12 1/2 games back. The series wraps tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Luke Hochevar (1-1, 3.94) vs. former Royals and now Sky Sox RH Bobby Keppel (6-7, 6.30).

AA -- Wichita: off day

The Wranglers start a 3-gamer at the Tulsa Drillers (15-20, AA Rockies) tonight. The team site wasn't cooperating so no info on probable starters. Wichita is 5-13 versus Tulsa.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Potomac 3

RF McFall 2-5, 2 HR (10), 3 RBI (50), 2 K, 2 RS, OF assist at home -- .256, scorching hot hitter
C Clark 4-5, 3 RS -- .255
DH Cleveland 1-4, SF, 2 RBI (3) -- .218
CF Duarte 2-4, S, RBI (28) -- .279
SS Lisson 1-5, K, SB (17) -- .261
*The Rocks stranded 11.

Penn 4 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 K -- 4.04 ERA
B. Johnson 2 1/3 IP, 2 H -- 3.96 ERA, back from DL
Humen 1 2/3 IP, 2 K -- W, 2-4, 2.91 ERA
Oliveros IP, H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 4, 3.04 ERA

Brian McFall had another big day on the day he was named the league player of the week and the Rocks gained a game on 2nd-place Potomac with the win. Starter Michael Penn allowed a run on 2 singles and a sac fly in the 2nd and, after the Rocks stranded 2 in the 3rd, allowed a run that inning on 3 hits, although McFall staved off a third run with an OF assist at the plate. Penn stranded 2 in the inning and the Rocks tied it in the 4th on a McFall solo homer for his 9th of the season and a Jeremy Cleveland sac fly. Penn couldn't hold the line as the Nats scored a run on 3 hits in the 4th and the Rocks stranded 2 in the 5th. Jose Duarte tied the game with an RBI single in the 6th and the Rocks took the lead in the 8th with a run on a Cleveland RBI single. Relievers Blake Johnson and David Humen held the Nats in check until the 9th and McFall cranked a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th for his 10th of the season and 2nd of the game. Rayner Oliveros stranded 2 in the 9th for his 4th save. Nats 1B Brett McMillan was 2-3 with his 22nd RBI to move to .216 and RP Jack Spradlin took the loss with 1/3 IP of an ER on 3 hits to drop to 3-6 with a 4.04 ERA.

Wilmington is 23-14 and 4 games up on first. The series goes to game 2 tonight. Probable starters: Rocks righty Julio Pimentel (7-4, 2.80) vs. Potomac right-hander Marco Estrada (1-1, 6.66). McFall was named Carolina League Player of the Week for July 23 to 29 after hitting .417 with 3 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI and slugging .677 on the week. IF Jeremy Jirschele was put on the DL with a hamstring problem.

A -- Burlington: Bees 4, Kane County 1

SS Bianchi 3-4, 2B (16), RBI (25), RS -- .220, wish we'd see more days like this
LF Dickerson 2-4, 2B (21), 2 RBI (39), K -- .301
1B Turner 1-3, BB, HR (8), RBI (21), RS -- .207
CF Robinson 1-3, BB, 2 RS, SB (24) -- .244
RF Walton 1-2, 2 BB, 2B (5) -- .315, season-high 19 game hit streak in MWL

Santiago 7 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 3-7, 3.17 ERA
Cribb 2 IP, H, K -- SV, 3, 6.32 ERA

Starter Mario Santiago pitched a good game and the Bees got the job done on offense to snap a short losing streak. Santiago gave up the Cougars' only run in the 1st on a walk and hit and then allowed only 1 hit over the next 6 innings. Jeff Bianchi and Joe Dickerson hit back-to-back doubles in the 1st to tie the game and the Bees took the lead in the 3rd with a Bianchi RBI single. Jase Turner led off the Bees 7th with his 8th homer and Dickerson cracked an RBI single to make it 4-1. Santiago retired 10 in a row before handing the ball to Josh Cribb in the 8th. Cribb retired 6 of 7 for his 3rd save. Cougars CF Jermaine Mitchell was 2-4 to move to .285 and SP Scott Deal took the loss with 6 1/3 IP of 4 ER on 7 hits, 3 walks and 4 Ks to drop to 5-9 with a 4.63 ERA.

Burlington is 18-18 and 5 games back. Game 2 is tonight. Probable starters: Bees RH Daniel Gutierrez debuts versus Kane County LH James Heuser (7-6, 4.32).

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 5, Ogden 3

3B Van De Keere 1-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (21), K, RS -- .290
1B Seratelli 2-3, 2B (9), SB (17), RS -- .345
C Balduf 1-3, RBI (9), K, SB (1) -- .321
SS Juan 0-3, SF, RBI (17) -- .203
CF Ortiz 1-3, S, 2B (4), RS -- .312
DH Robinson 1-3, 3B (1), RS -- .338

Chavez 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA, pickoff, WP -- 3.18 ERA
Secott 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 2-0, 0.96 ERA
Cassa IP, ER, H, 2 K, HRA -- SV, 1, 5.06 ERA

A 3-run 6th was the key for IF in starting the second half on the right foot. Todd Balduf singled in a run in the 2nd to get the Chukars the lead but starter Chris Chavez gave up a solo homer in the 3rd to tie the game. Manni Juan reclaimed the lead for Idaho Falls with a sac fly in the 3rd but Chavez allowed the tying run to score in the 5th on 2 walks, a single and a wild pitch. Devery Van De Keere had the big hit in the 6th with a 1-out, 2-run inside-the-park homer for his 3rd pro homer. Clint Robinson tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the inning to make it 5-2. Pat Cassa served up a solo homer in the 9th but shut the door for his 1st save. Ogden RF Travis Vetters was 2-3 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI (15) to move to .308 and starter Robert Blevins took the loss with 6 IP of 5 ER on 7 hits and 6 Ks to drop to 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA.

IF is 1-0. Game 2 is tonight and no starters have been announced on the team site.

Rookie -- Burlington: Kingsport 5, B-Royals 3 (day game)

RF Tucker 2-4, K, RS, E (3), OF assist at first -- .284
LF Lough 2-4, BB, 2B (5), SB (3) -- .339
1B Amyx 1-4, 2B (6), RBI (18), RS -- .247
3B Jimenez 1-4, RBI (15) -- .218
CF Norris 1-2, K, OF assist at third -- .294
DH Lane 0-1, BB, 2 HBP, RS -- .305

Bernat 4 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA -- L, 4-2, 2.32 ERA
J. Diaz 4 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- 7.47 ERA
Gjeldum IP, nothing -- 4.58 ERA

By the time the Royals generated any offense they didn't have enough to overcome a Mets lead and split the series with Kingsport. A passed ball kept the 1st inning alive for the Mets and they scored 2 runs on a double, walk and Wilson Tucker error, although Tucker recovered to nail a runner on the basepaths to end the inning. Starter David Bernat gave up a solo homer in the 2nd and the Royals left the bases loaded in the 3rd. Bernat gave up a leadoff homer in the 4th to make it 4-0 and P Jose Diaz did the same in the 5th to make it 5-0 Mets. Brett Amyx got Burlington on the board with an RBI double in the 6th before Antonio Jimenez added an RBI ground out and Amyx scored on an error to cut it to 5-3. The Royals stranded 2 in the 7th and went down in order in the 8th and 9th as RP Jose Bierd picked up his 1st save for the Mets. Kingsport SS Michael Parker was 2-3 with his 2nd homer and 8th RBI to move to .296 and P Jorge Rodriguez got the win with 3 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) on 3 hits and a walk to move to 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA.

B-Royals 6, Danville 2 (night game)

2B Molina 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI (3), K, RS -- .192
CF Lough 1-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (9), 2 K, RS -- .333
DH A. Perez 2-4, K, 2 RS -- .273
RF Tucker 1-4, K, RS -- .283
1B Lane 0-3, HBP, 2 K, E (2) -- .296

Paukovits 4 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 5 K, HRA, WP -- 4.70 ERA
Woods 4 1/3 IP, UER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 2.05 ERA
Belanger 1/3 IP, K -- 0.00 ERA

The Royals ran into Braves starter Jeff Locke again but broke up a perfecto in a big way in the 6th to get the win. Starter Bryan Paukovits allowed a solo homer in the 3rd to account for the only scoring until the 6th, when Locke walked the leadoff batter for the Royals to snap a perfect game bid but left with 1 out and 1 on for RP Jaye Chapman. The Royals wasted no time cashing in on the change as Yeldrys Molina hit a 2-run homer for his 1st of the season to grab a 2-1 lead. A Braves error later in the inning scored 2 runs to make it 4-1 Royals. David Lough added a 2-run homer in the 8th for his 2nd pro longball and the Royals took a 6-1 lead. RP Ryan Woods allowed a run in the 9th on a hit and error before Ryan Belanger got the final out to end it. Braves CF Carlos Lee was 1-3 with his 2nd homer and 11th RBI to move to .279, Locke ended up with an ER on a walk and 10 Ks over 5 IP to drop his ERA to 3.41 and Chapman blew his 1st save and took the loss with 2 IP of 3 runs (1 ER) on 3 hits and 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 1.23 ERA.

The Royals are 22-16 and 4 games back. They start a 2-game set at the Bristol Sox (15-24, White) tonight. They are 4-0 versus the Sox. No announced starters on the team site.

Rookie -- AZL: Angels 5, Royals 1

CF Richardson 1-4, RBI (11) -- .219
LF Craze 3-4, RS, SB (4) -- .282
RF Pennell 1-5, K -- .321
1B Wood 1-5 -- .352
3B F. Cruz 1-3, BB, 2 K, E (10) -- .221
* The Royals stranded 12.

Duffy 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- L, 1-1, 0.66 ERA
Lehmann 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 K, HRA -- 4.68 ERA
Jorge IP, K -- 36.00 ERA

The Royals outhit the Angels but couldn't get hits when they needed them to drop their first game of the second half. Starter Dan Duffy allowed a run in the 3rd on a walk and single and the Angels scored again in the 4th on a hit batsman, error, walk and sac fly. Mike Lehmann came in to pitch the 4th and served up a triple, RBI single and 2-run homer to make it 5-0 Angels. Hilton Richardson drove in the Royals' only run with a single in the 5th but the Royals stranded 2 that inning, watched Diego Cruz get caught stealing home to end the 6th, stranded 2 in the 8th and left the bases loaded in the 9th. Angels 1B Seth Loman was 2-4 with his 5th homer and 2 RBI (17) to move to .266 and SP Robin Molina got the win with 6 IP of an ER on 7 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks to move to 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA.

The Royals are 3-1 and tied for first. They have today off.