Royals on the Farm 8/7

NOTE: The blog has been pretty "Royals on the Farm" heavy the past couple months. I do plan a wrap-up post to the Legacy Countdown (link down and to the left for those who don't know what I'm talking about) as well as a top 20 or 25 Royals prospects list for '07 at some point. It's just a matter of when motivation, family and work combine to allow me to have the time/energy to do so. I also need to revive the NPB Notes at some point. You know what they say -- so much to do, so little time. On to the report....

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 5, Tucson 2

3B Aviles 3-4, HR (15), 2 RBI (70), 2 RS -- .314, deserves a September call. Will he get one?
DH Brazell 1-3, BB, HR (26), 3 RBI (65), RS -- .318, mention the homerless streak, he snaps it...like clockwork
CF Maier 2-4, K -- .287
RF Costa 1-4, 2B (16), RS -- .345
1B Shealy 0-4, 3 K -- .270
C Tupman 1-4 -- .295
LF Lubanski 0-3, K, E (2), OF assist at third -- .225

Wright 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K -- W, 8-3, 3.86 ERA, solid start, walks aside. See Aviles comment.
Giron 1 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 2 K -- 4.03 ERA
Musser IP, H -- SV, 6, 0.00 ERA

Two longballs did the trick for Omaha as the Royals positioned themselves for a potential series split. Omaha stranded 2 in the 2nd and Tucson took the lead off SP Matt Wright in the 3rd on a walk and 2 hits, although Chris Lubanski stifled a potential bigger rally by helping throw out a runner at third to end the inning. With 2 out and 1 on in Omaha's half, Mike Aviles stepped up and hit his 15th homer of the season to set a new career high in that stat. Wright stranded 2 in the 5th and, in the bottom of the inning, a 2-out rally produced a 3-run homer by Craig Brazell to snap a 64 AB homerless streak and mark his 26th homer at Omaha (33rd overall). Wright allowed a run before getting pulled from the game in the 7th and Roberto Giron stranded 2 Sidewinders. Omaha stranded 2 in scoring position in the 8th and Neal Musser got a double play behind him in the 9th to help grab his 6th save. Tucson CF Jeff Salazar was 1-3 with his 65th RBI to improve to .300 while SP Casey Daigle took the loss with 5 IP of 5 ER on 8 hits and 2 Ks to drop to 9-3 with a 5.99 ERA.

Omaha is 59-59. The series finishes today with a matinee. Probable starters: Tucson RH Yusmeiro Petit (7-4, 4.09) vs. Omaha RH Billy Buckner (8-6, 4.07). Today is D-Day for Ryan Shealy as his rehab assignment expires and KC has to decide what to do with him.

AA -- Wichita: off day

The Wranglers start a 3-game set at the Midland RockHounds (17-25, AA A's) tonight. Wichita is 0-6 versus Midland. Probable game 1 starters: Wichita righty Greg Atencio (4-6, 4.96) vs. Midland righty Andy Shipman (4-7, 5.42). Monday's notes column on the KC Royals site indicated Rowdy Hardy would likely start the 2008 season in Wichita, so I assume he'll finish out 2007 in Wilmington.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Winston-Salem 2

RF McFall 2-4, HR (11), 2 RBI (56), K, RS -- .266
CF Duarte 2-5, 2B (22), 2 RBI (33), RS -- .286
3B Lisson 2-5, HR (7), RBI (54), RS -- .272
DH McCann 2-4, 2B (9), RBI (18), 2 K, RS -- .210
2B Maddox 1-5, 2 K -- .263

B. Johnson 4 IP, UER, BB, 6 K, WP -- 3.77 ERA, nice start despite pitch count
Chambliss 4 IP, UER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- W, 4-2, 4.84 ERA
Green IP, H, K -- 4.41 ERA

Neither Warthog run was earned as three Wilmington pitchers combined on a 3-hitter. A wild pitch by starter Blake Johnson erased a strikeout in the 1st and stolen bases helped Winston-Salem score a run without the benefit of a hit as C Cody Clark made a throwing error that allowed a runner to score. Johnson left a runner at third and the Rocks stranded 2 in the 2nd before surging ahead in the 4th on a 2-run homer by Brian McFall for his 11th of the season. Brad McCann singled in a run in the 5th to make it 3-1 and Jose Duarte hit a 2-run single in the 6th to chase Warthogs SP Derek Rodriguez. Mario Lisson led off the 7th with his 7th homer of the season to make it 6-1 but the Rocks left the bases loaded. Johnson and Chambliss retired 15 straight batters and took a no-hitter into the 6th before it was broken up. Chambliss gave up a hit, walk and sac fly that, thanks to a passed ball, went for an unearned run in the 8th. Patrick Green gave up a 1-out double in the 9th before closing it out. Rodriguez took the loss for Winston-Salem with 5 2/3 IP of 5 ER on 11 hits, a walk and 6 Ks to drop to 10-4 with a 4.09 ERA.

Wilmington is 28-16 and 6 games up on first. Game 3 is tonight. Probable starters: Blue Rocks right-hander Dan Cortes (4-8, 4.14) vs. Warthogs righty Brian Omogrosso (6-5, 3.52).

A -- Burlington: Bees 8, Fort Wayne 2

1B Turner 3-3, BB, GS (9), 4 RBI (25), 2 RS -- .223
3B Soto 1-4, 2B (4), 2 RBI (7), K -- .233
2B Mertins 1-4, RBI (36), K, RS -- .260
CF Robinson 1-5, RBI (20), RS, SB (28) -- .242
LF Dickerson 2-3, BB, 2B (22), RS -- .292
SS Bianchi 1-4, K -- .229
RF Walton 0-4, 2 K -- .306
DH Castillo 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .262

Wood 4 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- 5.09 ERA
A. Morales 3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K -- W, 4-0, 1.02 ERA, back from DL and looking good
Cribb 2 IP, ER, 4 H, 5 K -- 5.87 ERA

The Bees pounced on Wizards SP Stephen Faris and rode some good pitching of their own to the win. That didn't look to be the case in the 1st as Blake Wood stranded the bases loaded but Wood settled down a little and the Bees' offense generated 3 runs in the 2nd on a bases-loaded 2-run double by Jesus Soto and a Derrick Robinson RBI ground out. The big blow came in the 3rd when Jase Turner clubbed a 2-out grand slam to center for his 9th of the season to make it 7-0 Bees. Wood allowed a run in the 4th on a double, hit batsman and walk but Kurt Mertins hit an RBI force out in the bottom of the inning to make it 8-1. P Angelo Morales made his first appearance off the DL and went 3 hitless innings. He stranded 2 on walks in the 6th and handed the ball to Josh Cribb in the 8th. Cribb allowed a run on 3 singles in the 8th before striking out the side with a single mixed in in the 9th to end it. Ft. Wayne LF Javis Diaz was 2-5 with his 21st SB to move to .281 and Faris took the loss with 3 IP of 8 ER on 7 hits, 5 walks and 2 Ks to drop to 7-7 with a 4.50 ERA.

Burlington is 21-22 and 5 games back. The series continues tonight and no starters have been announced on the team site. The Bees' site is usually one of the better ones in the organization but the staffers who put it together seem to be asleep at the wheel since a series last week. I wonder if this post on the Bees' Blog has anything to do with it:

http://gobeesblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/randy-still-out-but-bees-games-back-on-the-air/

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Ogden 5, Chukars 3 (10)

DH Robinson 2-4, 2B (12), HR (10), RBI (41), RS -- .325
CF Ortiz 2-5, K, SB (10), CS (3) -- .325, 10/13 SB not bad
2B Bionde 1-4, 2B (2), RBI (8) -- .226
1B Seratelli 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, 2 SB (20) -- .325
RF Gonzalez 1-4, 3 K, 2 OF assists at second -- .313

Leonard 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 5.27 ERA
Swaggerty and J. Hughes 4 scoreless IP
Jensen 2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 K -- L, 1-2, 2.81 ERA

The Chukars came back from a 3-0 deficit but faltered in the 10th to drop the series with the Raptors. Starter John Leonard gave up 2 runs in the 2nd on 3 hits, a walk and a wild pitch. Clint Robinson doubled to lead off the 2nd but ran into an out at third to help stifle a rally. Ogden pushed across another run in the 4th on a walk and hit to take a 3-0 lead. Robinson atoned somewhat for his baserunning gaffe with a solo homer with 2 out in the Chukar 4th that cut the lead to 3-1 and marked his 10th pro homer. Joe Hughes stranded the bases full in the 7th and Mike Bionde hit a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 1. Hughes dodged a bullet again in the 8th by leaving the bases loaded and Idaho Falls got it tied in the bottom of the inning on a steal of third by Anthony Seratelli that allowed him to score on a throwing error. RP Matt Jensen gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the 10th and the Chukars went down in order in their half. Ogden RF Travis Vetters was 2-4 with his 7th double and 2 RBI (22) to move to .311 and RP Doug Brooks blew his 1st save but got the win with 3 IP of an unearned run on a walk and 6 Ks to improve to 3-4 with a 5.63 ERA.

Idaho Falls is 7-2 and 2 games up on first. They have today off.

Rookie -- Burlington: B-Royals 8, Bluefield 7

SS Martin 2-2, BB, HBP, HR (6), 3 RBI (22), RS -- .232
1B Lane 1-3, BB, HBP, 2 RBI (30), RS, SB (7) -- .302
CF Norris 2-5, 2 RS, SB (22), E (2) -- .281
RF Tucker 2-3, BB, HBP, 2 RS, SB (3) -- .282
C Doscher 0-2, 2 BB, RBI (14) -- .211
3B Jimenez 0-3, 2 BB, RBI (19), K, CS, E (9) -- .206
DH Amyx 1-4, BB, 2 K, RS -- .237
*The B-Royals stranded 10.

Bradley 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, BB, 4 K, E (2) -- 1.43 ERA
Gjeldum 3 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 4.56 ERA
Biddle IP, 3 ER, 3 H -- BS, 1, W, 2-0, 5.06 ERA
Woods IP, ER, 3 H, WP -- SV, 6, 2.66 ERA

The Royals blew a late 3-run lead but recovered to win and split the series with the Orioles. The Royals got off to a good start with 3 runs in the 1st on a bases-loaded walk by Antonio Jimenez, an RBI single by Kyle Martin and a HBP by Nick Doscher as Bluefield SP Cliff Flagello lasted only 2/3 of an inning. The Royals left the bases loaded and the O's scored a run on 2 hits off SP Anthony Bradley in the 2nd. A Jake Lane RBI ground out made it 4-1 Burlington in the 2nd but a Bradley error helped lead to a Bluefield run in the 4th. Burlington left the bases full in the 4th but Kyle Martin made it 6-2 with a 2-run homer in the 5th for the 6th of his career. RP Ted Gjeldum allowed a run on a walk and double in the 6th and George Biddle blew the save with 3 runs on 3 hits in the 8th to make it 6-6. The Royals rallied back in their half of the 8th with 2 runs on a passed ball that scored Patrick Norris and an RBI single by Lane that made it 8-6. RP Ryan Woods sandwiched 2 singles around a wild pitch to start the 9th to allow a run and put the tying run on base. He recovered to strand 2 for his 6th save. Bluefield SS Jason White was 2-5 with his 20th double and 29th RBI to move to .278 and P Bryan Lee took the loss with 4 IP of 4 ER on 5 hits, 3 walks and 5 Ks to drop to 0-3 with a 9.15 ERA.

Burlington is 25-21 and 8 games back. They start a 2-game home set versus the Princeton Rays (22-24) tonight. No announced starters (or much of anything else timely) on the team site. The Royals are 3-0 versus the Rays.

Rookie -- AZL: Royals 7, Rangers 5 (7/G1)

RF Pennell 2-4, 3B (1), 4 RBI (15), RS -- .314
DH D. Cruz 2-3, HBP, RBI (20), RS, CS -- .305
2B Angel 1-4, RBI (13), K -- .237
CF Richardson 2-3, BB, 2B (2), K, 3 RS, SB (8) -- .222
SS Jose 2-3, BB, K, RS, E (17) -- .208
1B Wood 0-2, BB, HBP, E (6) -- .336
C McCauley 1-3, 2B (7), 2 K, RS -- .295

Thomson 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K -- 6.75 ERA, somewhat bumpy start to rehab
Hodgson 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- W, 1-1, 4.91 ERA
Feickert 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K -- 9.00 ERA
Rada 1 1/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 3.15 ERA
Van Slyke IP, BB, 3 K, WP -- SV, 6, 0.49 ERA

The Royals had an early 4-1 lead and held on to win the first of two with the Rangers Tuesday. Vinny Pennell hit an RBI ground out in the 1st and, after John Thomson stranded 2 Rangers in the 1st, Ryan Angel singled home a run in the 2nd to make it 2-0. Thomson was pulled with 1 on and 1 out in the 2nd and Ivor Hodgson allowed the runner to score before getting out of the inning. Pennell smacked an RBI triple in the 3rd and scored on a Diego Cruz ground out to make it 4-1 Royals. Hodgson stranded 2 in the 3rd and 4th and the Royals padded the lead in the 5th on a wild pitch that scored Hilton Richardson to make it 5-1. Casey Feickert allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk in the Ranger 5th but the Royals got both runs back in the 6th on a 2-run single by Pennell to make it 7-3. Orlando Rada allowed a run in the 6th and then was credited with an unearned run in the 7th as Eric Van Slyke shut the door for his 6th save. Rangers DH Reece Creswell was 2-4 with his 6th RBI to move to .333 and SP Michael Bumstead took the loss with 3 IP of 4 runs (3 ER) on 5 hits, a walk and 5 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA.

Rangers 8, Royals 2 (7/G2)

1B D. Cruz 1-2, BB, 3B (4), RBI (21), RS -- .308
CF Craze 1-4, K, SB (7) -- .268, hard to win many games with only 2 hits total for the Royals
RF Pennell 0-2, K -- .308
DH Wood 0-3, RS -- .329
3B F. Cruz 0-2, BB, 2 K, E (11), picked off -- .210
C Y. Reyes 0-2, BB, K -- .364

Runion 4 2/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- L, 2-2, 6.89 ERA
Vasquez 1 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K -- 7.71 ERA
Mieles IP, ER, BB, 2 WP -- 6.75 ERA

The Royals offense was rendered mostly powerless by a trio of Rangers pitchers as the Rangers split the double dip. The Royals left the bases loaded with 1 of their 2 hits on the game coming in the 1st and the Rangers started the scoring with 2 runs in the 2nd on 3 hits and 2 walks off Sam Runion. The Royals stranded 2 more in the 2nd and the Rangers put up 2 in the 3rd on a hit, hit batsman and 2 errors to make it 4-0. Diego Cruz hit an RBI triple in the Royals 3rd and scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 4-2 but 11 Royals went down in a row into the 7th. The Rangers tacked on 4 more runs off Alberto Vasquez and Ed Mieles to make it 8-2. The Royals stranded 1 in the 9th. Rangers 2B Julio Gonzalez was 2-3 with 2 RBI (3) to move to .200 and RP Yoon-Hee Nam got the win with 3 IP of 2 Ks to improve to 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA.

The Royals are 7-3 and 1/2 a game up on first. They play the 4-6 Cubs tonight.