Royals on the Farm 8/29

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 3, Nashville 2 (15)

SS Aviles 3-6, BB, HR (16), RBI (75), RS -- .298
CF Maier 2-7, 2B (28), HR (13), RBI (61), 2 K, 2 RS -- .281
DH Sweeney 1-6, SF, 2B, RBI, K -- .176
RF Huber 3-6 -- .280
1B Brazell 1-6, 2 K -- .312
LF Lubanski 0-5, BB, 3 K -- .200, shaking my head
*Omaha stranded 10.

Hochevar 8 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 5 K, HRA -- 5.37 ERA, nice start, but I'd like to see him go, oh, one game without giving up a homer
Giron 4 IP, 2 BB, K -- 3.80 ERA, 1.59 ERA in July and August
Markray 3 IP, 2 H, BB, K -- W, 7-7, 4.73 ERA

Luke Hochevar didn't get loads of run support but the Royals got some nice pitching in the game and won it in 15. Omaha stranded 2 in the 5th as Sounds SP Zach Jackson left the game with a hand or wrist injury. Hochevar took a 2-hitter through 5 IP and the Royals took the lead in the 6th on a Mike Sweeney sac fly. Hochevar gave up his seemingly obligatory homer in the 6th to tie the game and the Sounds squeezed home a run in the 7th after Fernando Cortez started the inning with his 9th error. Mitch Maier led off the 8th with his 13th homer to retie the game and Hochevar nailed a runner trying to score on a triple to keep the game tied in the Nashville 8th. The Royals left 2 in scoring position in the 13th but Mike Aviles hit a 2-out solo homer in the 15th for his 16th on the year to give the Royals a 3-2 lead. Thad Markray stranded 1 in the bottom of the inning to get his 7th win. Sounds CF Callix Crabbe was 2-7 with his 9th triple, 8th homer and 37th RBI to move to .291 and P Marino Salas took the loss with 2 IP of an ER on 2 hits to drop to 0-1 with a 5.16 ERA.

Omaha is 70-69 with 5 games left. The series ends tonight. Probable starters: Omaha LH Tyler Lumsden (9-5, 6.04) vs. Sounds LH Adam Pettyjohn (11-4, 3.96).

AA -- Wichita: Wranglers 9, Springfield 5

SS Arce 2-4, HR (1), 3 RBI (3), 2 RS -- .213
3B Nettles 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (41), RS -- .284
LF Gaffney 1-4, BB, RBI (15), 2 K, 2 RS -- .238
2B Falu 0-3, BB, RBI (28), RS -- .249
RF Valentin 0-5, RBI (53), E (9) -- .295
C Donachie 2-5, K, RS -- .207
DH Greenberg 1-5, 3B (11), K -- .266

D. Hughes 6 IP, UER, 2 H, 9 K -- W, 6-2, 3.33 ERA, pitched like Wichita pitcher of the year Wednesday
Bernat 2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 HRA -- 7.20 ERA, rough go at AA thus far
Cromer perfect IP -- 5.38 ERA

Dusty Hughes stymied the Cardinals and the Royals used a 6-run outburst to even the series with Springfield. Wichita broke the game open quickly with 6 runs in the 2nd on RBI singles by Mike Gaffney and Valentino Arce, a bases-loaded walk by Irving Falu, a Geraldo Valentin RBI ground out and a 2-run single by Jeff Nettles that chased Cards SP Adam Daniels. Hughes took a 1-hitter into the 6th and a Valentin error led to a run on a 2-out base hit that inning to get Springfield on the board. Arce had stretched the lead in the top of the inning with a 2-run homer for his 1st AA longball. P David Bernat gave up a homer in the 7th and a 3-run homer in the 8th to cut it to 8-5 but Wichita got some insurance on a run-scoring passed ball in the 9th and Jason Cromer slammed the door. Cards LF Cody Haerther was 1-4 with his 5th homer and 3 RBI (28) to move to .296 and Daniels took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of 6 ER on 4 hits, 2 walks and a K to fall to 4-7 with a 6.58 ERA.

Wichita is 30-35 and 4 1/2 games back with 5 games left. The series goes to game 3 tonight. Probable starters: Wichita righty Jason Shiell (1-0, 2.25) vs. Springfield righty Mitch Boggs (10-7, 4.05).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Salem 7, Blue Rocks 3 (14)

LF Cleveland 2-4, 2 BB, HR (2), RBI (14), RS -- .261
RF McFall 1-5, S, RBI (72), 4 K -- .285, Tuesday Mitch Maier, now Brian McFall with golden sombrero
3B Lisson 1-6, RBI (60), CS -- .278
CF Duarte 2-6, BB, RS, SB (34), picked off (10th time CS) -- .290
1B McCann 2-4, 2B (16), 2 K -- .269
SS McConnell 2-6, 2B (8), SB (6) -- .236
*Wilmington stranded 10.

Wood 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 8 K, pickoff -- 0.00 ERA, what a debut, I take back calling him a signability pick, 23 2/3 IP scoreless streak
D'Amico 2 IP, H, 3 K, balk -- 4.79 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, 3 ER, 3 H -- BS, 5, 4.08 ERA
Humen and Santos 4 IP scoreless relief
Chambliss IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, BB, 3 K -- L, 5-3, 4.56 ERA

Salem clinched a "wild card" playoff spot of sorts as Kinston is on the verge of taking both halves of the southern division in the Carolina League. Meanwhile, Wilmington saw its lead shrink a game in efforts to clinch the second-half north title. Blake Wood made a statement in his A-Advanced debut by handing a 3-hit shutout to the pen in the 7th. The Rocks led, 2-0, at that point thanks to a Mario Lisson RBI single in the 1st and Jeremy Cleveland solo homer in the 5th for his 2nd for the Rocks. The 2-0 lead held into the 9th when Russ Haltiwanger (aka the fruits of Ruben Gotay and Jeff Keppinger deals for KC) gave up 3 runs on 3 hits for his 5th blown save. That swung the lead to 3-2 for Salem when Brad McCann led off the Rocks' 9th with a double and pinch runner Brett Bigler scored on a Brian McFall single to tie the game. The Rocks left a runner at third in the 10th and then left the bases loaded in the 11th after loading them with 1 out. Tyler Chambliss came in to pitch the 14th for Wilmington and gave up 4 runs on 4 hits, a walk and a Josh Johnson error at second to break the tie in a big way. Chris McConnell doubled with 2 out in the 14th but that was it. Salem 3B Billy Hart was 5-7 with his 23rd SB, 27th double, 44th RBI and 2 RS to move to .303 and RP Chris Blazek got the win with 2 IP of a hit and 4 Ks to move to 4-2 with a 4.20 ERA.

Wilmington is 42-22 and 5 games up on first with 5 games left. The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Rocks ace southpaw Rowdy Hardy (15-4, 2.43) vs. Salem right-hander Sergio Perez (7-10, 4.05). Hardy was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year Wednesday as he leads the league in wins and ERA. It'd be nice for them to clinch the division tonight with Hardy on the mound. Lisson, Hardy and Duarte were named year-end all-stars for the league. The last Royals farmhand to be Carolina League pitcher of the year was Zack Greinke in 2003.

A -- Burlington: Bees 1, Quad Cities 0 (10; 4-hitter)

2B Soto 1-4, RBI (13), K -- .245
LF Everett 2-4, 2B (29), K, CS -- .270
CF Robinson 0-3, BB -- .246
1B Castillo 0-3, BB, K -- .258

Teaford 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- 4.51 ERA, 0.68 ERA in August
Cribb 2 IP, H, 2 K -- 5.54 ERA
Hartsock 2 IP, K -- W, 7-4, 2.58 ERA

A pitchers' duel went the way of Burlington after a 10th inning walkoff hit. The game was fairly nip-and-tuck through 9 as both teams stranded some baserunners but didn't have many serious scoring chances. Matt Spade came on to pitch the bottom of the 10th for Quad Cities and walked 2 batters before an error loaded the bases with none out for Burlington. Jesus Soto stepped up and singled to right to end it abruptly. Swing SS Oliver Marmol was 2-3 but made his 7th error in the 10th in improving to .188, and Spade took the loss with an ER on a hit and 2 walks to drop to 0-1 with an infinite ERA, as he didn't record an out.

Burlington is 30-34 and out of the playoff race. The Bees hit the road for the rest of their slate, starting with 2 games at the Cedar Rapids Kernels (37-28, A Angels). The Bees are 6-9 versus the Kernels. Probable starters: Bees RH Jason Godin (5-5, 3.01) vs. Kernels RH Trevor Bell (7-4, 4.24). AZL call-ups Ryan Angel and Vinny Pennell made their debuts as pinch runners in Wednesday's game. OF Felix Peralta was also activated from the DL. OF Jamar Walton was placed on the DL and will miss the last 5 games.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 3, Orem 1

DH Moustakas 2-4, RBI (3), K -- .444, 2 games, 2 2-hit games, sounds good
RF Gonzalez 3-4, 2B (12), K, RS -- .299
3B Van De Keere 1-3, BB, 2 RBI (30), K, SB (5) -- .274
CF Ortiz 1-3, BB, RS, CS, OF assist at home -- .313
1B Robinson 1-3, BB, RS -- .339
SS Seratelli 1-4, SB (26) -- .332

Leonard 4 IP, ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K, balk -- 4.50 ERA
J. Hughes 4 IP, H, 5 K -- W, 2-1, 3.66 ERA
Holland IP, K -- SV, 5, 3.19 ERA

Mike Moustakas did just as well in his 2nd pro game as in his first and the Chukars swept Orem. Moustakas hit an RBI single in the 1st but Orem tied the game off SP John Leonard in the 2nd on a walk and 2 hits, although Adrian Ortiz nailed a runner at the plate to keep it tied. O.D. Gonzalez led off the 4th with a double and scored on a Devery Van De Keere force out to give IF a 2-1 lead. Van De Keere singled in another run in the 6th to make it 3-1 and the bullpen tandem of Joe Hughes and Greg Holland allowed only 1 hit from the 5th on to make the lead stand. Orem 2B Hector Estrella was 2-2 with his 30th RBI to move to .312 and SP Mason Tobin took the loss with 4 IP of 2 ER on 5 hits, 3 walks and a K to fall to 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA.

IF is 20-9 and 5 games up on first with 9 games left. The Chukars start the last pre-playoff home set with 3 versus the Casper Rockies (9-19) starting tonight. IF is 11-1 versus Casper. Probable starters: Casper SP Parker Frazier (2-4, 10.85) vs. IF SP Ben Norton (1-4, 4.05).

Rookie -- Burlington: season over at 38-30.

Rookie -- AZL: Mariners 3, Royals 1

SS Jose 2-4, K -- .235
DH Wood 1-4, 2 K -- .318
CF Richardson 0-4, 3 K -- .199, not how he wanted to end the season
3B F. Cruz 0-4, K -- .210, ditto

Lowery 2 IP, H, 4 K -- 2.25 ERA
Duffy 3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, BB, 3 K, 2 WP -- L, 2-3, 1.45 ERA
Jorge, Mieles and Lehmann 3 scoreless IP

The Mariners ended the Royals' season on a sour note by taking the finale. Dan Duffy relieved rehabbing Devon Lowery in the 3rd and allowed 2 runs in the inning on 2 hits, a walk and an error by C Yenssi Reyes. He gave up another run in the 5th on 2 hits and 2 wild pitches. Meanwhile, the M's had a 1-hitter through 7 and lost the shutout in the 9th on a run-scoring error. M's C Jonathan Arias was 2-3 with his 3rd double and 6th passed ball to move to .196 and SP Fabian Williamson got the win with 5 IP of a hit, 2 walks and 8 Ks to improve to 6-2 with a 3.43 ERA. RP Julio Santiago notched his 1st save for the Mariners. The M's and Giants will square off for the AZL title.

The Royals finished the season 16-12 in the second half and 28-28 overall. They ended up with the 4th best record in the 9-team AZL.