Royals on the Farm 8/18

AAA -- Omaha: Albuquerque 11, O-Royals 4

RF Costa 2-5, 2B (20), RBI (11), K, SB (8) -- .332
CF Maier 1-3, BB, 2B (25), RBI (55), RS -- .280
DH Shealy 1-3, BB, HR (6), RBI (18), RS -- .255
2B Cortez 0-4, RBI (21) -- .296
3B Aviles 1-5 -- .306
1B Brazell 1-4, 2B (29), RS -- .316
LF Huber 0-4, K -- .278

Wright 5 IP, 8 ER, 10 H, 5 K, 6 HRA (!!!) -- L, 9-4, 4.11 ERA, HRA went from 15 to 21 in 1 game.....
Atencio 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 6.75 ERA, rough AAA debut

Matt Wright was putting the ball on a tee as the Isotopes went nuclear on the O-Royals. The tone was set when the first batter of the game, Isotopes SS Robert Andino, homered and Wright gave up another solo homer in the 2nd to make it 2-0 Albuquerque. The Royals loaded the bases with 1 out in the 2nd but got only 1 run on a Fernando Cortez ground out before stranding 2. Wright's struggles continued in the 3rd with a solo homer and 2-run homer that made it 5-1. A 5th homer came on a 2-run shot in the 4th to make it 7-1 and a leadoff homer in the 6th was the 6th homer of the game versus Wright, who was pulled after giving up a subsequent double. Ryan Shealy hit his 6th homer to lead off the Omaha 7th and a Shane Costa RBI ground out made it 8-3 as former Royals SP Chris George was solid for Albuquerque. Mitch Maier hit an RBI double in the 8th but Greg Atencio gave up 3 runs in the 9th, including a 2-run homer, to falter in his first Omaha appearance. Isotopes DH Val Pascucci was 3-5 with his 23rd double, 30th homer and 2 RBI (91) to move to .285 and George got the win with 6 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 5 hits, 4 walks and 2 Ks to improve to 6-10 with a 5.68 ERA.

Omaha is 65-63. The series is continuing today. Starters: Isotopes RH Ricky Nolasco (no stats yet) vs. newest Royal, LH Paul Mildren (5-7, 5.86). Wright was the first Omaha pitcher since at least 1989 to give up 6 homers in a game. The last one to give up 5 homers in a game was, hey!, Chris George, in May 2005. Wright hadn't given up more than 2 HRs in a game as a Royal. When Mildren was picked up, the Royals released RP Ken Ray.

AA -- Wichita: Wranglers 6, Frisco 5

CF Greenberg 3-4, BB, 2B (28), HR (7), 2 RBI (40), 2 RS, SB (21) -- .267
3B Nettles 2-4, 2 RBI (31) -- .272
RF Padilla 3-4, RBI (43), RS, SB (11), CS (3) -- .346
SS Falu 2-4, RBI (23), K, RS, SB (15) -- .246
LF Stodolka 2-4, K, RS -- .295
DH Valentin 0-5 -- .292

Connolly 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 6 K, WP -- 5.31 ERA
Foster IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K -- 4.50 ERA
Cedeno 1 1/3 IP -- 6.47 ERA
DeHoyos 1 2/3 IP, H, K -- W, 4-0, 1.44 ERA

Wichita came back from being down, 5-3, to take the opener with Frisco. Frisco scored a run on 3 hits off Mike Connolly in the 1st but Jorge Padilla hit a 2-out RBI single for Wichita and Jeff Nettles hit an RBI single to give Wichita a 2-1 lead. The Wranglers stranded 2 in the 3rd and Frisco added a run in the 4th to tie the game. Two Frisco doubles gave the RoughRiders a 3-2 lead in the 5th but Adam Greenberg led off the bottom of the inning with his 7th homer to retie it. John Foster relieved Connolly in the 6th and gave up a 2-out, 2-run double to make it 5-3. Irving Falu trimmed the lead to 1 with an RBI single in the Wichita 6th and the Wranglers tied the game in the 7th on a Nettles RBI ground out. Wichita rallied with 2 out in the 8th for a run on a Greenberg RBI single and Gabe DeHoyos left the tying runner at second for his 4th AA win. Frisco CF Anthony Webster was 3-4 with 2 doubles (23) and 2 RBI (37) to move to .290 and RP Brandon Puffer took the loss with an IP of an unearned run on 2 hits and a K to fall to 3-3 with a 2.89 ERA.

Wichita is 22-31 and 6 games back. Game 2 is this afternoon. Probable starters: Wichita righty Jason Shiell (no AA stats yet) vs. Frisco righty Kendy Batista (ditto).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 10, Lynchburg 9

LF Cleveland 3-4, BB, 2B (6), 3 RBI (9), RS -- .243
2B J. Johnson 2-4, BB, 3B (2), 4 RBI (24) -- .249
RF McFall 3-5, K, 2 RS -- .279
1B McCann 1-4, SF, 2B (11), 2 RBI (24), K, RS -- .232
C Thibault 2-5, RBI (31), RS -- .259
3B Maddox 2-5, K, 2 RS -- .256
DH Jirschele 2-4, BB, 2B (2), K, RS -- .290

Cortes 5 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- 3.63 ERA
D'Amico 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K -- 5.23 ERA
Humen IP, 3 ER, 3 H, K -- BS, 2, 3.46 ERA
Chambliss IP, K -- W, 5-2, 4.46 ERA

Wilmington blew an 8-4 lead but came back in dramatic fashion in the 9th. The Blue Rocks got out to a good start with a 4-run 1st on a Kiel Thibault RBI single, a Brad McCann sac fly and a 2-run double by Jeremy Cleveland. SP Dan Cortes had a rough 2nd with a 2-out rally of 4 hits and a Chris McConnell error that tied the game. Wilmington scored 4 runs in the 5th on a McCann RBI double, and the Rocks loaded the bases to chase SP Jose Diaz. RP Kyle Pearson came in and gave up a 3-run triple to Josh Johnson to make it 8-4 Rocks. Yovany D'Amico came in for the 6th and gave up 2 runs in the 7th on 3 hits and a walk. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 7th and David Humen blew the lead with a 3-run Hillcat 8th on 3 hits and a hit batsman to make it 9-8 Lynchburg. The Rocks put 2 on with 1 out in the 9th and Cleveland tied the game with an RBI single. With 2 out and 2 on, Johnson hit a walkoff single to end it. Lynchburg SS Angel Gonzalez was 3-5 with 3 doubles (7) and 3 RBI (16) to move to .250 and Pearson took the loss with 4 IP of 2 ER on 7 hits and 6 Ks to fall to 0-2 with a 3.48 ERA.

Wilmington is 34-20 and 6 games up on first. Today's game has been suspended in the 3rd and will be resumed as part of a doubleheader Aug. 24 in Lynchburg. Rowdy Hardy had a no-no going in the 3rd when the rain hit.

A -- Burlington: Bees 4, Quad Cities 2

DH Castillo 2-4, 2B (8), 2 RBI (12) -- .286
CF Robinson 2-4, HR (1), RBI (23), 3 RS, SB (31) -- .251
RF Walton 2-3, BB, 2 2B (10) -- .279
LF Dickerson 0-3, BB, RBI (43), K, RS, SB (26) -- .292
SS Bianchi 1-4, E (12) -- .240

Gutierrez 5 IP, ER, 5 H, 8 K -- W, 1-1, 5.28 ERA, first pro win in 13 pro starts
A. Morales 2 IP, H, BB -- 0.73 ERA
Hartsock 2 IP, UER, 2 H, 4 K -- SV, 5, 2.63 ERA

The Bees held off the Swing to take the first of 2. Derrick Robinson led off the Bees 1st with his 1st homer of the season but SP Dan Gutierrez gave up the tying run on 2 hits in the 3rd. Luis Castillo hit an RBI ground out in the 3rd but the Bees stranded 2. Gutierrez stranded 2 in the 4th and the Bees added 2 runs in the 5th on a Joe Dickerson RBI fielder's choice and a Castillo RBI single that made it 4-1. Quad Cities loaded the bases with a Mike Thompson error and 2 singles and RP Aaron Hartsock gave up an RBI ground out before getting a game-ending K. Swing LF Jose Ramirez was 2-4 with his 9th RBI and 2 SB (4) to move to .189 and SP Elvis Hernandez took the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 4 ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks to drop to 6-8 with a 4.05 ERA.

Burlington is 27-26 and 7 games back. The series is wrapping this afternoon with Blake Wood getting the start for the Bees.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 7, Great Falls 4

DH Seratelli 3-4, 3B (5), 3 RBI (36), K, RS -- .337
CF Ortiz 1-5, 2 RBI (17), K -- .306
C Balduf 1-3, BB, 2B (1), RBI (13), K, RS, E (3) -- .278
SS Juan 1-4, RBI (21), K, RS -- .187
2B Evangelho 2-4, 2B (4), RS -- .301
1B Robinson 0-2, HBP, BB, K, RS -- .325

Leonard 4 1/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K, HRA, picked off two -- 4.85 ERA
Roach 1 2/3 IP, 3 K -- W, 2-0, 4.09 ERA
J. Hughes 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K -- SV, 2, 4.18 ERA

A 7-run inning earned the Chukars the win. Starter John Leonard gave up a run on 2 hits and a Todd Balduf error in the 1st and then gave up a solo homer in the 3rd to put Great Falls up, 2-0. The Sox added 2 runs in the 5th on 2 hits, a Mike Bionde error and a walk to chase Leonard for Jason Roach. RP Wascar Segura took over for Sox SP Anthony Carter in the 6th and got touched up as the Chukars loaded the bases with 1 out and Anthony Seratelli hit a 3-run triple to bring in RP Adam Bowling. The rally didn't stop as Balduf hit an RBI double, Manni Juan hit an RBI single and Adrian Ortiz hit a 2-run single to make it 7-4 IF. Joe Hughes pitched the last 3 innings for his 2nd save. Sox CF Salvador Sanchez was 3-4 with his 13th double and 3 RBI (39) to move to .354 and Bowling took the loss with 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 4 hits to fall to 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA. Carter went 5 IP and allowed 2 hits with a walk and 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.25.

IF is 12-7 and 2 games up on first. The series ends this afternoon with IF's Ben Norton (1-3, 3.32) taking on Sox SP Johnnie Lowe (3-1, 3.99). As announced yesterday, SS Mike Moustakas will start his Royals career at Idaho Falls rather than Rookie Burlington or the AZL. I figured the AZL would be his destination as that's where the other HS draftees are, but it makes sense that Idaho Falls is where he's going as the AZL season will be wrapping up around the time he's ready, and IF has the games left plus a chance for him to play in the postseason as IF took the first-half title in the division.

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

2B A. Perez 1-4, 2B (6), 2 RBI (24), K -- .288
CF Lough 3-4, 2 RS, 2 SB (6), OF assist at third -- .325
3B Santos 2-2, 2B (7), RS, E (8) -- .282
1B Lane 1-3, BB, RBI (39), 2 K, RS -- .303
LF Severino 1-4, RBI (16), K -- .245
RF Norris 0-5, 3 K -- .280

Augustine 3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K -- 2.38 ERA
Bradley 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, balk -- 2.12 ERA
Lopez 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB -- BS, 3, L, 1-2, 3.94 ERA

Yensi Lopez blew a lead in the 9th as the Royals' run for the playoffs came to a halt. The Royals scored 2 runs in the 1st on a Jake Lane RBI single and an Alwin Perez RBI double but Burlington stranded 2. Bluefield got a run back off Joe Augustine in the 1st on 2 hits and a walk and, after the Royals stranded 2 in the 3rd, the O's took the lead with 2 runs in the 4th. Augustine was pulled for Anthony Bradley with 2 on and 0 out and got 2 outs before giving up an RBI single and a run-scoring balk to make it 3-2 Orioles. That was the score entering the 8th when the Royals rallied with a game-tying single by Neder Severino and a Perez RBI fielder's choice that made it 4-3 Royals. The Royals had 2 runners thrown out at the plate in the inning as Bluefield kept the deficit at 1. Lopez loaded the bases with 1 out in the 9th and a force out tied the game before Lopez allowed a walkoff single. O's C Brendan Monaghan was 1-4 with the game-winning hit and 2 RBI (32) to move to .290 and RP Brian Parker got the win with an IP including a K to improve to 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA.

Burlington is 31-27 and now officially eliminated from the division race. The series wraps tonight with no starters announced on the team site.

Rookie -- AZL: Royals 2, Mariners 1

LF Craze 2-2, BB, RBI (19), SB (9) -- .263
SS Jose 2-4, K, CS -- .232
CF Richardson 0-3, S, K -- .224
RF Pennell 1-3, 2B (6) -- .308
1B Wood 0-3, K -- .315
3B F. Cruz 0-3, RS -- .204
C McCauley 0-1, 2 BB -- .286

Mitchell 5 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, pickoff, E (1), WP -- W, 5-1, 2.11 ERA
Farinas 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 3.64 ERA
Van Slyke IP, BB -- SV, 8, 0.44 ERA

Both teams had 6 hits but the Royals did more with them. Starter Matt Mitchell got into a couple small jams but worked out of them and the Royals scored 2 runs in the 5th on a Mariners error that scored Diego Cruz and an Ian Craze RBI single. The Royals stranded 2 and Williams Farinas came in for the 6th and gave up a solo homer to cut the lead to 2-1. Farinas and Eric Van Slyke worked around a base runner per inning to close out the narrow win. M's DH Brandon McConnell was 3-3 with 2 doubles (7), his 3rd homer and 14th RBI to move to .293 and SP John DuRocher took the loss with 6 IP of 2 UER on 6 hits, a walk and 4 Ks to fall to 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA.

The Royals are 13-6 and 1 1/2 games up on first. They play the 11-7 Angels today.