Royals on the Farm 9/3

AAA -- Omaha: O-Royals 5, Iowa 4

SS Aviles 2-4, HR (17), 2 RBI (77), RS -- .296, ends good season on up note; no word on Sept. call
LF Lubanski 2-4, HR (6), RBI (22), K, RS -- .208, another nice way to end shaky AAA debut stint
C Phillips 1-4, 2B (7), RBI (14) -- .238, game-winning hit; deserved or not, getting another call to KC
CF Maier 2-4, 2B (29), K, RS -- .279, no word on Sept. call for Mitch
1B Brazell 2-4, K, RS, E (9) -- .307, HRs tailed off but slugger gets Sept. call
RF Huber 0-4, K -- .276, getting a call-up, too

Hochevar 6 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K, HRA, WP -- 5.12 ERA, wouldn't be Hochevar start without a HR allowed; getting a chance to impress out of KC pen
Plummer IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K, HRA, WP -- BS, 1, 15.00 ERA, likely starts '08 in Omaha pen
Markray 2 perfect IP -- W, 8-7, 4.62, ditto to Plummer comment

Omaha tied the game in the 8th and won it in the 9th to end the season with a 3-1 series win versus the Cubs and clinch the first Omaha winning season in 5 seasons. Mike Aviles gave starter Luke Hochevar some support with a 2-run homer in the 1st for his 17th of the season and Hochevar had a no-hitter going into the 5th before serving up a leadoff homer to 1B John Nelson to cut the lead in half. Richie Lewis scored on a double-play ball in the 6th but Hochevar gave up another run on a hit and walk in the Iowa 6th to make it 3-2 Omaha. Jarod Plummer took over in the 7th and gave up a leadoff homer to Nelson and a run on 2 more hits and a wild pitch to make it 4-3 Iowa. Chris Lubanski tied it with a leadoff homer in the 8th for his 6th at AAA and, with 1 on and 1 out in the 9th, Paul Phillips doubled home a run off RP Ben Howard to give Omaha the 5-4 lead. Phillips was nailed at third on the play and 2 more singles after that went for naught as the lead held at 1. Thad Markray faced six batters and retired them all for his 8th win. Nelson was 2-4 for Iowa with 2 HR (15) and 2 RBI (44) to finish at .211 and Howard took the loss with an IP of an ER on 4 hits to end the season at 6-9 with a 4.28 ERA.

Omaha finished 73-71 and 16 games back. As noted yesterday, it marks the first winning season for Omaha since 2002. The call-ups thus far were noted above. Pitchers Kyle Davies and Leo Nunez were also "recalled" after making phantom (on-paper only) demotions to Wichita. Iowa and Omaha made Monday's finale notable by sharing the same bat throughout the game. It lasted until breaking in the 6th. I'll wrap up some season stats on the AAA, AA and A teams tomorrow, since A-Advanced Wilmington is in the playoffs and Rookie Idaho Falls starts the postseason soon.

AA -- Wichita: Tulsa 2, Wranglers 1 (10)

1B Kaaihue 1-4, HR (12), RBI (40), RS -- .246, did better in second chance at AA; we'll see where he starts '08
LF Valentin 0-4 -- .288
SS Arce 2-4, 2B (4), K -- .242
*No word on where Mike Stodolka has been the last week or so. He hasn't been in the lineup.

D. Hughes 8 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K -- 3.08 ERA, two great starts to finish the season, should be in Omaha mix in '08
Foster IP, ER, 3 H, HRA -- BS, 1, 3.48 ERA
Cromer 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H -- L, 3-8, 5.25 ERA

Monday's season-ending loss for the Wranglers summed up the 2007 season -- a lead, then a blown save in the 9th, then losing it in extras. It was that kind of year for Wichita. Starter Dusty Hughes battled several Tulsa pitchers through 6 scoreless frames and Wichita broke the tie in the 7th on Kila Kaaihue's 12th AA homer of the year to make it 1-0. John Foster came on to close it in the 9th but served up a 1-out solo homer to DH Christian Colonel to tie the game. Foster stranded 2 and Jason Cromer took over in the 10th only to give up a run on 2 hits and a walkoff sac fly by CF Chris Frey. Colonel was 1-4 with his 17th homer and 84th RBI to finish the season at .309 and RP Jarrett Grube got the win with 2 IP of 3 hits and a K to finish 7-3 with a 2.53 ERA.

Wichita's second half ended at 31-39. They finished 56-84 to wrap their time in Wichita. The team is moving to become the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for the 2008 season. Tulsa squeaked into the playoffs by a game over Arkansas. They will play the Springfield Cardinals, who won both halves of the North title. San Antonio and Frisco square off in the South playoff series.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Potomac 11, Blue Rocks 5

CF Duarte 1-5, 2B (26), 2 RBI (42), CS -- .290
1B McCann 3-4, 2 2B (18) -- .277
DH Vega 1-3, BB, HR (8), RBI (57), K, RS -- .233
LF Robinson 2-5, 2B (1), E (1) -- .385
SS McConnell 2-4, K, RS -- .236
PH-DH Cleveland 1-1, 2B (10), RBI (16) -- .274
*The Rocks stranded 12.

Wood 3 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA, 3 hit batsmen -- L, 0-1, 4.66 ERA, rough start
Oliveros IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 HRA -- 4.22 ERA, very unkind to ERA
Humen, Chambliss and Haltiwanger 4 1/3 scoreless IP

Hopefully the Rocks got the last loss out of their system to finish the regular season as the Nats pounded Blake Wood and Rayner Oliveros to get an easy win. The Rocks stranded the bases loaded in the 1st and Wood gave up 3 runs to the Nats in the 2nd on 3 hits and 2 hit batsmen. Wilmington answered with 2 runs in the 2nd on a 2-run double by Jose Duarte to cut the lead to 3-2. Wood gave up a solo homer to tie it in the 3rd and the Rocks left the bases loaded again in the 3rd. Potomac took the lead with 2 hits, a walk and a hit batsman in the 4th and then drilled Oliveros in the 5th with a 2-run homer, a 2-out RBI double, and a 3-run homer that chased Oliveros for David Humen, who got out of the inning. Miguel Vega hit his 8th homer of the season in the 5th, Josh Johnson scored on an error in the 8th and Jeremy Cleveland doubled home a run in the 9th but the Rocks didn't threaten the huge Nats lead. Nats CF Justin Maxwell was 1-3 with 2 walks, his 13th homer and 3 RBI (43) to finish at .263 and P Gene Yost went 4 innings in relief with an ER on 3 hits and 3 Ks to get the win and move to 1-3 with a 5.33 ERA.

Wilmington finished the regular season 45-24 for the second-half division title and 75-62 overall (best overall record since 77-win 2004). The Rocks start a best-of-3 versus the Frederick Keys (64-74, first-half champs, A-Adv. Orioles) at home Wednesday with games 2 and 3 slated for Frederick. The Rocks were 10-10 versus the Keys this season. Game 1 playoff starter for the Rocks is, of course, lefty ace Rowdy Hardy (15-5, 2.48), aka the Carolina League pitcher of the year. He was 4-0 with a 1.52 ERA versus Frederick this season. Starter Dan Cortes was named league pitcher of the week for a second time for the week of Aug. 27 to Sept. 2. He was 2-0 in two starts and 12 IP with a 0.00 ERA over that time. It marked his second straight pitcher of the week award. Julio Pimentel will start game 2 versus Frederick while Cortes would start game 3, if necessary.

A -- Burlington: Bees 7, Clinton 5

SS Bianchi 3-5, 2B (19), 2 RBI (36), RS, 2 SB (15) -- .247, ended season on nice note, but overall disappointing; then again, he was coming off shoulder surgery
C Howell 1-4, SF, RBI (22) -- .232
1B Everett 0-2, 2 BB, SF, RBI (46) -- .266
CF Pennell 1-3, BB, RBI (1), K, RS, CS -- .154
2B Mertins 0-2, 3 BB, 3 RS, 2 SB (30) -- .249

Teaford 5 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 K, HRA -- W, 6-8, 4.68 ERA, not pretty line but got the win
A. Morales 2 IP, BB, K -- 2.34 ERA
Barrera 2 IP, H, 3 K -- SV, 4, 4.35 ERA

The Bees rallied for the lead in the 6th and the bullpen finished off the season-ending win. Kurt Mertins scored on a double-play ball in the 1st but the Bees stranded 2 and Clinton scored twice in the 1st on 3 hits off starter Everett Teaford. Burlington tied it in the 4th on a 2-out Vinny Pennell RBI single but Teaford gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to give the lead back to the LumberKings. The lead swung back to the Bees in the 5th as they scored 2 runs on sac flies by Brady Everett and Jeff Howell to make it 4-3. Teaford couldn't hold it, however, as Clinton scored 2 runs in the 5th on 3 hits to make it 5-4. With 1 on and 2 out in the Burlington 6th, Pennell walked, the Bees scored the tying run on a Clinton error and Jeff Bianchi hit a clutch 2-run double to make it 7-5 Bees. Angelo Morales followed with 2 hitless innings of relief and Henry Barrera allowed a hit over his 2 innings pitched for his 4th save. Clinton DH Chad Tracy was 2-4 with his 9th SB, 14th homer and 2 RBI (84) to finish batting .250 and P John Slusarz took the loss with 1 1/3 IP of 2 UER on 2 walks to fall to 1-7 with a 2.88 ERA.

Burlington finished at 31-38 for the second half and 61-77 overall.

Rookie -- Idaho Falls: Orem 6, Chukars 5

SS Moustakas 0-3, BB, HBP, RS -- .346
3B Martin 4-4, 2B (2), RBI (1), SB (1) -- .600
LF Koko 2-5, HR (2), RBI (13), 3 K, 2 RS, SB (5) -- .186
RF Gonzalez 3-5, RBI (36), K, RS, picked off twice -- .301
DH Seratelli 2-4, BB, 2B (18), RBI (45), RS -- .328
1B Van De Keere 2-3, BB, CS -- .282
CF Ortiz 1-5, 2B (9), K -- .311
*IF stranded 10.

Leonard 1 1/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, K -- 4.84 ERA
J. Hughes 2 2/3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, K, WP -- 3.64 ERA
Swaggerty 2 IP, 3 K -- 3.15 ERA
Roach 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K -- L, 3-1, 3.62 ERA
Cassa 2/3 IP, K -- 3.46 ERA

Orem inched within another game of the Chukars with an 8th inning run making the difference. Kyle Martin singled home a run to start a nice day for him at the plate in the 2nd but Orem touched up starter John Leonard for 4 runs in the 2nd on 4 hits, a walk, a hit batsman and Leonard error as Joe Hughes finished the inning. Hughes stranded the bases full and Idaho Falls tied it in the 3rd with 3 runs on an O.D. Gonzalez RBI single and 2-run single by Anthony Seratelli that was aided by an Orem error. The Chukars left the bases loaded and Orem regained the lead in the bottom of the inning with a run on 2 hits and a wild pitch off Hughes. A crucial play came in the 6th as Adrian Ortiz hit a 1-out double for IF but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. Rubi Koko came up next and hit his 2nd homer of the season to tie the game. IF left the bases full again in the 7th and Jason Roach gave up the go-ahead run on an RBI triple in the 8th to make it 6-5. The Chukars went down in order in the 9th as P Ryan Brasier picked up his 9th save. Owlz DH Gordon Gronkowski was 3-4 to move to .345 and P Brian Chambers got the win with 2 IP of 3 hits, a walk and 3 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 1.85 ERA.

IF is 21-13 and 3 games up on first. The series concludes tonight with no announced starters on the team site.

Rookie -- Burlington: done at 38-30

1B/DH Jake Lane .315 BA/.453 OBP/.996 OPS, 16 doubles, 4 triples, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 30 BB, 50 K, 9/15 SB, 2 E in 53 games -- led team in all three percentage categories and tied Wilson Tucker for team RBI lead

OF David Lough .337/.380/.857, 6 doubles, 2 HR, 4 BB, 13 K, 6/7 SB, 0 E in 24 games -- hit well but battled injuries, hope has better health record in '08

OF Wilson Tucker .298/.341/.829, 15 doubles, 1 triple, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 10 BB, 36 K, 5/8 SB, 4 E in 54 games -- started hot, cooled off but bat and glove combined plus nice OF arm earned promotion to IF

IF Jose Santos .814 OPS, 15 XBH, 8 E in 38 games -- had good and bad games
IF Kyle Martin .755 OPS (only .294 OBP), led team with 10 HR and 17 doubles, 46 Ks with only 13 BB, 10 E in 58 games -- bat got him to Idaho Falls, free swinger
1B/DH Brett Amyx .748 OPS, 17 XBH, 21 BB/54 K in 50 games -- I expected better; struck out too much

OF Patrick Norris .735 OPS, 8 XBH, 39 BB/59 K, 30/35 SB, 3 E in 60 games -- durable, decent leadoff guy, struck out too much but showed good speed and steady D

P Anthony Bradley 2-2, 2.09 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 13 BB/51 K, 3 HRA in 12 games (7 starts) and 51 2/3 IP -- had great season as undrafted free agent, hopefully back in fold for '08; nice nearly 4-1 K/BB ratio

P Joe Augustine 4-1, 2.36 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 9 BB/27 K, 5 HRA in 11 games (6 starts) and 45 2/3 IP -- not quite as good as Bradley other than WHIP but also a solid undrafted free agent

P Ryan Woods 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 7 saves, 5 BB/18 K, 1 HRA in 17 games and 28 IP as closer -- solid out of pen

P Eduardo Paulino 1.12 WHIP, tied Brian Gausman for team IP lead at 53 2/3, 18 BB/42 K, allowed 7 HR and had 4.86 ERA -- had both really good and bad outings
P Brian Gausman 2.68 ERA with 1.30 WHIP, 12 BB/34 K, only gave up 3 HR in 53 2/3 IP
P Alex Caldera 3.40 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP, 13 BB/39 K, 5 HRA in 42 1/3 IP -- not bad debut

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=483&stn=true&sid=t483

Rookie -- AZL: done at 28-28

1B David Wood .318/.369/.862 OPS, 17 doubles, 3 triples, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 17 BB, 29 K, 8 E in 54 games -- won team "triple crown" with nice season as undrafted free agent, hope to see him at A-ball in Burlington next season

C Sean McCauley .286/.375/.851, 10 doubles, 2 HR, 10 BB, 19 K, 4 E in 31 games -- not bad debut for HS draftee, expect to see at IF next season

1B Diego Cruz .276/.348/.725, 9 doubles, 4 triples, 1 HR, 32 RBI, 14 BB, 35 K, 4/9 SB, 2 E in 54 games -- middling season for Diego, second on team in RBI

OF Hilton Richardson .599 OPS, 9 XBH, 20 BB, 66 K, 12/19 SB, 3 E in 48 games -- expected more out of relatively high HS draftee, but he has time to learn
IF Fernando Cruz .519 OPS, 7 XBH, 8 BB, 43 K, 13 E in 48 games -- disappointed more than Richardson, but is even younger

P Eric Van Slyke 1-1, 0.83 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 9 saves in 18 games and 21 2/3 IP as closer, 5 BB/29 K, 0 HRA -- hope he sticks with organization

P Matt Mitchell 5-1, 1.80 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 25 BB/72 K, 0 HRA in 14 games (7 starts) and 55 IP -- earned AZL pitcher of year with great debut, strikeout machine

P Dan Duffy 2-3, 1.45 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 17 BB/63 K, 0 HRA in 11 games (9 starts) and 37 1/3 IP -- nice 1-2 punch with Mitchell, even better K rate and K/BB than Mitchell

P Sam Runion 5.82 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 17 BB/51 K, 4 HRA in 51 IP -- didn't flash as much as Mitchell or Duffy, we'll see where he starts '08
P Williams Farinas 1.24 WHIP, 3.55 ERA, 16 BB/36 K, 4 HRA in 50 2/3 IP -- was solid in rotation
P Michael Lehmann 1.33 WHIP, 2.64 ERA, 23 BB/40 K, 4 HRA in 44 1/3 IP -- another guy who showed flashes
P Mitch Hodge 4.24 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 1-6 record, 23 BB/35 K, 2 HRA in 40 1/3 IP -- had rough go at times

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=412