Royals on the Farm 9/1

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 8, Iowa 1

RF Huber 1-3, 2 SF, 3 RBI (68) -- .281
C Phillips 2-4, BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (13), 2 RS -- .237
LF Lubanski 2-5, 2B (6), 2 RBI (21), K -- .206
SS Aviles 2-5, 2B (27), 2 K, RS, E (23) -- .296
1B Brazell 2-4, BB, 2 2B (33), 3 RS -- .308
3B Wathan 2-5 -- .242
CF Maier 1-5, K -- .278

Wright 5 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- W, 10-5, 4.06 ERA, nice end to season, now will he get call to KC?
Hoelscher 4 IP, 2 H, 2 K -- SV, 3, 5.17 ERA

Omaha poured on the offense in support of Matt Wright to even the series with the Cubs at 1 game each. A Justin Huber sac fly in the 1st gave Omaha a 1-0 lead but Iowa got a run in the 3rd on 2 hits and a sac fly to tie it. Paul Phillips regained the lead for the Royals with a 2-run homer in the 4th for his 2nd of the season and the Royals gained some breathing room with 4 runs in the 5th on a run-scoring error, another Huber sac fly and a 2-run double by Chris Lubanski. Huber singled in a run in the 6th to make it 8-1 and Nate Hoelscher faced the minimum over the last 3 innings to get his 3rd save. Cubs DH Koyie Hill was 2-4 to move to .329 and SP J.R. Mathes took the loss with 4 1/3 IP of 7 R (6 ER) on 8 hits, a walk and 3 Ks to fall to 10-8 with a 5.58 ERA.

Omaha is 71-71. The series is continuing this afternoon and its 1-0 Omaha in the 7th. Ben Hendrickson started for Omaha. RP Neal Musser got called up to KC.

AA -- Wichita: Tulsa 8, Wranglers 5

LF Gaffney 2-4, 2 HR (3), 2 RBI (17), K, 2 RS -- .245
CF Greenberg 2-4, BB, HR (8), RBI (43), K, RS, OF assist at third -- .269
C Donachie 1-4, HR (9), 2 RBI (35), RS, 2 E (4) -- .204
SS Arce 2-4 -- .224
RF Valentin 1-4, BB, K, RS, CS -- .293

Barnes 4 IP, 7 R (4 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 1-1, 3.00 ERA
Cedeno 4 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K, WP -- 6.33 ERA

The teams combined for 11 runs in the first 3 innings but when the dust settled Tulsa came out on top in the opener of the final series. The Wranglers loaded the bases with 1 out in the 1st and an Adam Donachie RBI ground out gave Wichita the lead before the bases were left full. Tulsa got off to a better start versus starter Justin Barnes as the Drillers scored 4 runs in the 1st on a Donachie error and 2 doubles. Wichita answered with 2 runs in the 2nd on solo homers by Michael Gaffney (his 2nd) and Adam Greenberg (his 8th) to cut it to 4-3 but Tulsa scored a run on 3 hits before Greenberg nailed a runner at third to end the rally. Donachie hit his 9th homer to lead off the 3rd and cut it to 5-4 but Tulsa scored 2 in the 3rd on a hit, Donachie's second run-scoring error of the game and a sac fly. The scoring stopped then until the 7th when Tulsa scored on 2 hits, a walk and wild pitch off Juan Cedeno. Gaffney hit his 2nd homer of the game and 3rd of the season to start the 9th but Wichita stranded 1 as Tulsa RP Steven Register notched his 37th save. Drillers 1B Aaron Rifkin was 2-4 with his 34th double and 2 RBI (71) to move to .264 and SP Ching Lung Lo got the win with 5 IP of 4 ER on 7 hits, 3 walks and a K to move to 8-8 with a 5.61 ERA.

Wichita is 31-37 and out of the race. The series continues tonight. Probable starters haven't been announced on the team site.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Blue Rocks 2, Potomac 1

1B Lisson 3-4, 2 E (17) -- .283
LF Robinson 2-4, RS -- .500, nice debut for late call-up Derrick
3B Maddox 1-4, RBI (44), K, SB (11) -- .258
C Thibault 1-4, RBI (36), K, picked off -- .257
CF Duarte 0-4, 3 K -- .291

B. Johnson 6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 WP -- W, 9-6, 3.28 ERA, Rocks rotation has been remarkable; Johnson is 6-0 with a 1.28 ERA in last 12 outings
Humen IP, UER, 2 H -- 3.03 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, BB, K -- 4.01 ERA
Chambliss IP -- SV, 2, 4.47 ERA

Rocks pitchers did the job again as Wilmington started the final series of the regular season with a narrow win. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 1st and both teams stranded 2 in the 3rd. The game was scoreless into the 6th when Marc Maddox and Kiel Thibault hit RBI singles but the Rocks stranded 2. Starter Blake Johnson handed a 2-hitter to the bullpen in the 7th and David Humen allowed a run on 2 hits and a Mario Lisson error before stranding 2 Nats. Russ Haltiwanger left runners at the corners in the 8th and Tyler Chambliss pitched a perfect 9th for his 2nd save. Nats SP Cory VanAllen took the loss with 5 2/3 IP of 2 ER on 9 hits, a walk and 4 Ks to drop to 3-7 with a 5.49 ERA.

Wilmington is 44-23 and has clinched the second-half title. The series continues this afternoon. Starters: Rocks right-hander Dan Cortes (7-8, 3.20) vs. Nationals righty Brad Meyers (0-0, 7.71).

A -- Burlington: Clinton 2, Bees 1

2B Mertins 3-4, 2B (15), RBI (39), K -- .253
SS Bianchi 1-4, K -- .240

Cegarra 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K -- L, 1-6, 5.12 ERA
Cribb and Hartsock 3 1/3 IP scoreless relief

Clinton starter Kasey Kiker pitched a solid 5 innings and the LumberKings won a pitchers' duel. Starter Ed Cegarra gave up a run in the 1st as Clinton had 2 hits and Brady Everett committed an error. The Bees loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd but Everett lined into a double play to stifle the rally. The LumberKings scored a run on 3 hits off Cegarra in the 3rd to make it 2-0 and Cegarra left the game with a leg injury with 2 outs in the 5th. The Bees stranded 2 in the 6th but scored on a Kurt Mertins single in the 8th before stranding 2 that inning. They went down in order in the 9th as RP Josh Lueke got his 6th save for Clinton. Clinton RF K.C. Herren was 2-4 with 2 doubles (30) and 2 RBI (48) to move to .275 and Kiker got the win with 5 IP of 3 hits, 4 walks and 5 Ks to move to 7-4 with a 2.90 ERA.

Burlington is 30-37. The series has resumed this afternoon with the Bees up, 1-0, in the 6th. Dan Gutierrez started for the Bees.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Chukars 7, Casper 2

DH Robinson 3-5, 2B (17), RBI (62), K -- .346
SS Moustakas 2-5, 2B (3), RBI (5), 2 K, RS -- .381, justifying the pick well so far
RF Gonzalez 1-5, HR (9), 2 RBI (35), 2 K, 2 RS -- .292
C Eigsti 1-4, RBI (12), K -- .211
CF Ortiz 2-5, 2B (8), RS -- .313
LF Tucker 1-5, 2B (9), K, RS, SB (1) -- .321
1B Seratelli 1-5, 2B (17), K, RS, SB (27) -- .328
*IF stranded 11.

Peterson 4 IP, ER, 4 H, 9 K -- 3.00 ERA, strikeout machine
Baldwin 3 IP, ER, 2 H, 5 K -- W, 5-1, 2.61 ERA
Swaggerty 1/3 IP, H, 2 BB, K -- 3.34 ERA
Holland 1 2/3 IP, H, 2 K -- SV, 6, 3.03 ERA

IF cranked out all 7 of its runs in the first 4 innings to salvage the series finale versus Casper. Mike Moustakas doubled with 2 out in the 1st and O.D. Gonzalez followed with his 9th homer to make it 2-0 Chukars. Ryan Eigsti singled in a run in the 2nd and another run scored on a Casper error to make it 4-0. Starter Zach Peterson allowed a run in the 3rd but Clint Robinson doubled in a run in the bottom of the 3rd and the Chukars scored 2 in the 4th on another run-scoring Rockies error and a Moustakas RBI single. Burke Baldwin allowed a run in the 6th but Greg Holland got out of a bases-loaded jam left to him in the 8th and induced a double play in the 9th en route to his 6th save. Rockies 2B Zack Murry was 3-4 with his 7th SB, 19th RBI and 3 E (13) to move to .283 and SP Jeff Fischer took the loss with 3 IP of 5 R (3 ER) on 6 hits and 4 Ks to fall to 0-10 with a 6.15 ERA.

Idaho Falls is 21-11 and 5 games up on first with 6 games left. They start a 3-game set at the second-place Orem Owlz (16-16, Rookie Halos) today. No announced starters on the team site. IF is 8-4 versus Orem.

Rookie -- Burlington: finished 38-30
Rookie -- AZL: finished 28-28