Royals on the Farm 5/11

AAA - Omaha: Tacoma 3, O-Royals 1 (7/G1)

DH Buchanan 1-2, SF, RBI (10) -- .333
CF Maier 1-3, RS -- .357
SS Aviles 0-3 -- .356
RF Costa 1-3 -- .313

Lumsden 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- L, 1-4, 6.82 ERA
Salmon 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- 5.48 ERA

*** Omaha struck first but Tacoma did all the striking thereafter in winning game 1 by a 3-1 count. Brian Buchanan hit a sacrifice fly in the 1st to make it 1-0 Omaha. Tacoma tied it off Tyler Lumsden in the 2nd on a 2-out RBI single but Lumsden stranded 2. Lumsden left the bases loaded in the 3rd and, starting with Buchanan's sac fly, 13 O-Royals went down in a row. A solo homer in the 5th gave Tacoma a 2-1 lead and Tacoma scratched out another run in the 6th. Omaha got a runner on in the 7th but Angel Berroa hit into a double play to end it. Tacoma SP Ryan Feierabend went 6 IP and allowed an ER on 3 hits with 3 Ks to improve to 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA and RP Eric O'Flaherty picked up his 1st save. LF Jeremy Reed was 2-4 with his 6th homer and 21st RBI to move to .370.

Tacoma 3, O-Royals 2 (7/G2)

2B Aviles 3-4, 2B (18), RBI (30) -- .367
CF Maier 3-4, 2B (7), RS -- .378, 15-game hit streak
SS Berroa 2-2, BB, HR (6), RBI (14), RS, SB (4) -- .311
RF Costa 0-2, BB, K -- .309

Wright 6 IP, 3 H, 3 K -- 4.41 ERA, best outing so far
Musser IP, 3 ER, H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- BS, 1, L, 0-3, 4.58 ERA

*** Matt Wright handed a 3-hit shutout to Neal Musser in the 7th and, by inning's end, Omaha was swept in the doubleheader and out of first place. Omaha stranded 2 in the 1st but Angel Berroa gave the O-Royals the lead with a solo homer in the 4th for his 6th of the season. With 2 out in the 5th, Mike Aviles doubled home a run to make it 2-0. Wright didn't let a runner past second but Musser walked the first 2 batters he faced in the 7th and, with 1 out, Tacoma 1B Shawn Garrett cranked a 3-run homer for his 1st of the season to give the Rainiers a 3-2 lead. Mitch Maier doubled with 2 out in the bottom of the 7th and Aviles singled off the pitcher's glove but SS Oswaldo Navarro threw Maier out trying to score to end the game. RP Jon Huber got the win for Tacoma with 2 IP of 3 hits and 3 Ks to move to 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA after starter Chris Jakubauskas allowed 2 ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 4 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 1.69. Garrett was 2-3 with his 4th double, the homer and 3 RBI (5) to move to .286.

Omaha is 17-18 and a 1/2 game back of Iowa. Game 3 of the set was tonight and Tacoma got another win. Jeff Fulchino started for the O-Royals.

AA - NW Arkansas: off day

*** The Naturals start a 4-game set at the Tulsa Drillers (13-23, AA Rockies) starts tonight. NWA is 4-0 versus the Drillers, but is down late tonight. Starter was Julio Pimentel. As I demanded, Carlos Rosa was promoted to Omaha after leading the TL thus far in ERA. His rotational turn comes around late this week.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Myrtle Beach 3, Blue Rocks 1

3B J. Johnson 2-2, BB, CS (4), E (3) -- .288
CF D. Robinson 1-4, 2B (7), 2 K -- .271
SS McConnell 0-4, K -- .262
2B Mertins 1-3, BB, K, E (8) -- .295
RF Dickerson 0-4, K -- .302

Godin 8 IP, 3 UER, 5 H, 5 K, WP -- L, 2-2, 3.82 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, K -- 4.42 ERA

*** Two Rocks errors were costly as the Pelicans locked down a sweep. Anthony Seratelli led off the 2nd with a double, advanced on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to make it 1-0 Rocks. A 2-out error by Josh Johnson was followed by a wild pitch and RBI single off Jason Godin to tie it in the 3rd. In the Pelicans 5th, it was Kurt Mertins who made the 2-out error and 2 ensuing doubles scored 2 runs to make it 3-1. The Rocks couldn't get a rally going as RP Nicholas Fellman marked his 1st save. RP Brett Butts got the win with 3 2/3 IP of a hit, walk and 5 Ks to improve to 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA. Starter Chris Vines went 4 1/3 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits, a walk and 4 Ks to move his ERA to 0.84. Five Pelicans had a hit each.

Wilmington dropped to 15-20. A 4-game set at the Kinston Indians (14-19, A-Adv. Tribe) started tonight and Kinston took game 1. Blake Wood started for Wilmington. The Rocks were 2-1 versus the K-Tribe coming into tonight's game.

A - Burlington: rainout

*** The rainout vs. Beloit will be made up May 24. The Bees started a 4-game set at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (14-19, A Mariners) tonight and came away with a 1-0 win as Alex Caldera started and Chris Chavez got the win in a 10-inning game. Wisconsin's roster features Mariners' prospects righty Phillipe Aumont (high '07 draft pick, 1-1, 0.00, 0.74 WHIP in 17 2/3 IP, mostly out of pen), OF Denny Almonte (yes, the Little League World Series kid, only played 1 game thus far), and OF Dan Carroll (.841 OPS in 15 games).