Royals on the Farm 8/8

AAA -- Omaha: Tucson 9, O-Royals 0

RF Costa 2-4, 2B (17) -- .348
DH Shealy 1-4, K -- .269
CF Maier 1-4 -- .286
3B Aviles 0-3, BB, K, E (17) -- .311
1B Brazell 0-4, 3 K, 2 E (7) -- .314
LF Huber 0-4, K -- .270

Buckner 6 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 8 H, BB, 3 K -- L, 8-7, 4.10 ERA
Shiell IP, 4 R (1 ER), 2 H, 3 BB, 2 WP -- 4.72 ERA, errors took their toll on O-Royals
Hoelscher 2 IP, K -- 4.66 ERA

Tucson scored a run in each of the first 4 innings off SP Billy Buckner and coasted to the shutout win with five pitchers combining their efforts. The Sidewinders manufactured a run in the 1st and then capitalized on a Craig Brazell error in the 2nd to add another run. Another Brazell error in the 3rd led to yet another run and Tucson scored a run on 3 hits in the 4th to make it 4-0. Tucson SP Yusmeiro Petit retired 13 of the last 14 Omaha batters he faced before getting pulled to start the 6th. Tucson padded the lead with another run off Buckner in the 6th and then scored 4 runs in the 7th off Jason Shiell on 2 hits, 3 walks, 2 wild pitches and a Mike Aviles error. The Royals' best chance came in the 7th when they left the bases loaded and they left 2 in scoring position in the 8th before going down in order in the 9th. Tucson LF Rich Thompson was 2-4 with 2 RBI (33) to move to .287 and Petit got the win with 5 IP of a hit, walk and 2 Ks to improve to 8-4 with a 3.86 ERA.

Omaha is 59-60. They have today off before starting a road trip. RP Joe Nelson is slated to begin a rehab assignment in Omaha soon.

AA -- Wichita: Midland 10, Wranglers 8 (11)

RF Joseph 3-5, 2 2B (11), 4 RBI (23) -- .245
2B Valentin 3-6, 2B (14), RBI (39), RS, E (5) -- .300
3B Nettles 3-5, 2B (5), RBI (25), 2 RS -- .262
1B Stodolka 1-5, RBI (51), 3 K, SB (3) -- .300
LF Padilla 1-5, RBI (35), K, RS -- .352
DH Kaaihue 1-5, K -- .256

Atencio 6 1/3 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K, WP -- 4.91 ERA
Cromer 2/3 IP, H -- BS, 1, 5.77 ERA
Connolly 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K -- 5.30 ERA
de la Vara 1/3 IP, K -- 5.74 ERA
DeHoyos 2 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, HRA -- 1.19 ERA
Plummer 2/3 IP, 2 ER, H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 4-6, 3.28 ERA

Both teams staged comebacks in the game but a walkoff homer kept Midland move to 7-0 versus Wichita this season. Starter Greg Atencio gave up a run on 2 hits in the 1st but the Wranglers answered with a 3-run 2nd on a 2-out bases loaded double by Onil Joseph that cleared the bases to make it 3-1. Mike Stodolka singled in a run in the 3rd and Wichita had a 4-1 lead. Jorge Padilla added an RBI ground out in the 5th to make it 5-1 before Midland began clawing back into the game. The RockHounds scored 2 runs in the 5th on 2 hits, a walk, a wild pitch and passed ball to cut the lead to 2 and then cut it to 1 with a run on 2 hits and a walk. Atencio was pulled for Jason Cromer with 1 on and 1 out in the 7th and Cromer let the tying run in on a steal, single and Geraldo Valentin error. Mike Connolly came on for the 8th and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks and a hit batsman before hitting the showers in favor of Gilbert de la Vara, who got out of the inning with a 7-5 deficit. David Shafer came on for Midland to try to close it out in the 9th but Wichita wasn't done as Joseph singled in a run and Valentin hit a clutch 2-out RBI single to tie the game. Wichita stranded 2 in the inning and Adam Greenberg kept the game alive in the bottom of the 9th by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the inning. The Wranglers gave themselves a chance to win in the 10th with a run on a Jeff Nettles RBI double but DeHoyos gave up a solo homer to Midland C Anthony Recker in the bottom of the 10th to keep the game going. Jarod Plummer came on for the 11th and struck out 2 with a walk between them before giving up a game-ending 2-run homer to DH Brant Colamarino to end it. Colamarino was 3-5 for Midland with his 9th homer, 2 RBI (40) and 3 RS to move to .240, 1B Vasili Spanos was 4-6 with his 25th double and 53rd RBI to move to .294 and RP Mike Bumatay got the win with a hitless IP to move to 3-0 with a 4.67 ERA.

Wichita is 17-27 and 7 games out. Game 2 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Wichita righty Carlos Rosa (5-6, 4.98) vs. Midland lefty Trent Peterson (1-4, 5.48).

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

RF McFall 3-4, 2B (25), RBI (57), RS, OF assist at first -- .272
LF Bigler 1-3, HBP, 2 RBI (26), K -- .245
1B Vega 2-3, BB -- .222, 17 BB/114 Ks on season
C Thibault 1-4, RBI (29), RS -- .267
SS McConnell 1-4, RBI (15), RS -- .250
CF Duarte 1-5 -- .285
3B Lisson 1-4, BB, K, 2 RS, SB (19) -- .272

Cortes 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- W, 5-8, 3.83 ERA, great start
Humen IP, ER, 2 H, BB -- 2.92 ERA
D'Amico IP, ER, 2 H, BB -- 4.62 ERA

Dan Cortes handed a 3-hit shutout to the bullpen and two relievers didn't exactly cruise but closed out the win. The Rocks left 2 in scoring position in the 1st but moved ahead with 2 runs in the 2nd on RBI singles by Chris McConnell and Jose Duarte. Wilmington scored 3 runs in the 3rd on a Kiel Thibault RBI single and a 2-run single by Brett Bigler to take a 5-0 lead. Brian McFall singled in a run in the 4th to put the Rocks up, 6-0. Cortes benefitted from 2 double plays in the early going and David Humen took over in the 8th with the shutout intact. Humen lost the shutout on 2 hits and a walk but stranded 2 and Yovany D'Amico gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk in the 9th before also stranding 2. Warthogs DH Micah Schnurstein was 1-4 with his 69th RBI to move to .291 and SP Brian Omogrosso took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 6 runs (5 ER) on 8 hits, 3 BB and a K to drop to 6-6 with a 3.89 ERA.

Wilmington is 29-16 and 6 games up on first. The Rocks go for the sweep tonight. Probable starters: Wilmington southpaw Rowdy Hardy (14-3, 2.38) vs. WS right-hander Garry Bakker (2-4, 4.44).

A -- Burlington: rainout

The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tonight. No starters announced on the team site.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: off day

The Chukars start a 4-game set at the Billings Mustangs (5-4, Rookie Reds) tonight. The Mustangs' roster features '07 Reds draftees supplemental 1st rounder IF Todd Frazier (.280 BA/.768 OPS in 24 games), 3rd rounder RH Scott Carroll (0.00 ERA in 2 IP, out of Missouri State), 5th rounder LH Andrew Bowman (0-3, 7.20, out of Nebraska), 7th rounder 3B Brandon Waring (.303/.912, 8 HR, 12 E in 45 games), 10th rounder RH Harris Honeycutt (0-0, 5.40 ERA) and about a dozen others.

Rookie -- Burlington: B-Royals 3, Princeton 2 (12)

RF Tucker 3-6, HR (8), RBI (34), K, RS -- .290
LF Severino 1-5, HR (3), RBI (14), RS -- .246
DH Amyx 3-4, BB -- .254
1B Lane 2-5, BB, 2B (10), 2 K, RS, SB (8) -- .306
CF Norris 0-6, 4 K -- .270, tough night
*The Royals stranded 11.

Caldera 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA, E (1), pickoff -- 4.28 ERA
Gausman 5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 8 K, WP -- 2.45 ERA
Rollins 1/3 IP, K -- W, 2-1, 4.76 ERA

Five innings went between the last score in regulation innings and the winning score in extras as Jake Lane did some nifty baserunning to key the win. Starter Alex Caldera gave up a leadoff homer in the 1st to put the Rays up, 1-0, but stranded 2 and the Royals tied the game in their half on a solo homer by Wilson Tucker for his 8th pro longball. Caldera retired 9 of 10 before giving up a leadoff homer in the 5th to give the Rays back their 1-run lead. The Royals stranded 2 in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and Tucker ran into an out in the 5th to help squander another potential scoring chance. Neder Severino led off the bottom of the 6th with his 3rd homer of the season to re-tie the game and a long scoreless drought began for both teams. With 1 out in the Burlington 12th, Lane singled, stole second and scored from there on a wild pitch on a Yeldrys Molina strikeout as the throw went to first and Lane beat the throw back home. Princeton RF Justin Reynolds was 2-4 with his 13th SB, 4th homer and 11th RBI to move to .273 and RP Justin Garcia took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of an ER on 2 hits and 2 Ks to fall to 1-1 with a 2.76 ERA.

Burlington is 26-21 and 8 games back. The series concludes tonight. Probable starters: Burlington's Eduardo Paulino (3-1, 4.07) vs. Princeton's Chris Andujar (0-4, 8.24).

Rookie -- AZL: Royals 5, Cubs 4

SS Jose 2-3, BB, SF, 2B (5), RBI (14), RS, SB (4) -- .214
LF Pennell 2-5, 3B (2), RBI (16), K, RS -- .313
CF Richardson 1-5, RBI (13), 4 K, RS -- .221, some problems making contact
DH Wood 1-5, RBI (24), 2 K -- .324
1B D. Cruz 0-5, RBI (22) -- .296
3B F. Cruz 0-4, 3 K -- .203
* The Royals stranded 10.

Mitchell 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K, WP -- 2.58 ERA
Foster 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA
Farinas 3 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 K -- SV, 1, 2.63 ERA

The Royals scored 5 early runs and made them stand up to gain ground on the field in the AZL. David Wood cracked an RBI single and Diego Cruz hit an RBI ground out to give the Royals a 2-0 lead in the 1st. In the 2nd, the Royals added 3 runs on a Hilton Richardson RBI single, a Lifete Jose sac fly and a Vinny Pennell RBI triple. The Royals left the bases loaded in the 3rd and SP Matt Mitchell gave up a run on 2 hits in the 4th to cut it to 5-1. Mitchell was pulled for John Foster with 2 on and 2 out in the 5th and Foster gave up a 2-run triple before escaping the inning. P Williams Farinas came in for the 7th and gave up a run on 2 hits in the 9th before C Salvador Perez nailed a runner trying to steal second to end the game. Cubs SS Marwin Gonzalez was 2-4 with his 1st triple and 2 RBI (2) to set a .500 BA and SP Marcus Hatley took the loss with 2 2/3 IP of 5 ER on 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks to drop to 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA.

The Royals are 8-3 and 1 1/2 games up on first. They play the 4-5 Brewers tonight.