Royals on the Farm 5/16

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 6, Albuquerque 2

SS Berroa 1-3, SF, 2 RBI (16) -- .300
CF Maier 1-4, SF, 2 RBI (14), OF assist at home -- .365
RF Costa 1-4, 2B (13), RBI (26), RS -- .313
3B Smith 1-3, SF, 2B (6), RBI (21), 2 K, RS -- .235
2B Aviles 0-4, K -- .350, suddenly slumping
DH Buchanan 1-3, HBP, 2B (2), RS -- .319
1B Stodolka 0-4, 2 K -- .250

Davies 6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- W, 5-2, 2.09 ERA, another strong start
Giron IP, ER, 3 H -- 7.54 ERA
Salmon 2 IP, ER, H, 3 K, HRA -- 5.40 ERA

*** Kyle Davies pitched well again (do we really need Brett Tomko starting?) and the Royals took the opener from Albuquerque. Angel Berroa got Omaha started with a sac fly after a Brian Buchanan leadoff double in the 2nd. Davies stranded 2 in the 2nd and Omaha scored 2 in the 3rd on a Mitch Maier RBI single and Shane Costa RBI groundout. Shane Costa doubled in the 6th and scored on a Jason Smith sac fly and Maier hit a sac fly in the 7th to make it 5-0. Roberto Giron came in for the 7th and promptly gave up back-to-back doubles, although Maier kept the Isotopes scoreless with an OF assist at the plate via relay man Mike Aviles. Giron allowed another single that brought in a run but got a double play to escape the inning. Smith doubled and Berroa singled him home in the 8th to make it 6-1 and Brad Salmon gave up a 9th inning solo homer but was otherwise solid to finish off the victory. Albuquerque SP Eulogio De La Cruz threw 3 wild pitches and took the loss with 6 IP of 4 runs (3 ER) on 4 hits with 5 Ks to fall to 5-2 with a 5.27 ERA. 1B Tagg Bozied and DH Chase Lambin had 2 hits each.

Omaha is 18-20 and 1 game back. The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Carlos Rosa (NR) vs. Isotopes LH Chris Seddon (2-2, 4.50).

AA - NW Arkansas: Arkansas 11, Naturals 4

RF McFall 3-3, BB, HR (8), RBI (24), SB (4), CS (4), RS -- .250
2B Falu 2-4, RBI (8), RS, SB (4), CS -- .274
DH Richardson 1-3, BB, RBI (21), K, CS (3) -- .290, ejected in 7th
SS Sanchez 0-3, BB, SF, RBI (11), K, RS -- .222
CF Duarte 1-4, BB, SB (13), OF assist at third -- .255
LF Valentin 1-4, BB, K -- .306
C Thibault 1-3, BB, 2B (2), E, PB -- .167
* NWA stranded 10.

Mildren 2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- L, 1-3, 6.39 ERA, ouch
Crist 3 1/3 IP, ER, H, 5 BB, 2 K, WP -- 4.42 ERA, some control problems
Atencio 2 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- 6.28 ERA

*** It was a rough night in different aspects for all 3 NWA pitchers used in the opening loss versus Arkansas. The Naturals scored 4 runs in the first 2 innings but, unfortunately, Arkansas scored 6. Juan Richardson hit an RBI single in the 1st but NWA SP Paul Mildren gave up a triple and sac fly in the bottom of the frame to tie the game. The Naturals responded with a 3-run 2nd as Brian McFall led off with his 8th homer, Irving Falu singled home a run and Angel Sanchez hit a sac fly to make it 4-1. Mildren's 2nd, however, went walk, single, sac fly, 2-run homer, K, double, 2-run homer, K as Arkansas made it 6-4 Travelers. The Naturals stranded 2 in the 4th and Kyle Crist left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning. He stranded 2 more in the 5th and Greg Atencio took over with 1 on and 1 out in the 6th and allowed two RBI singles, although Jose Duarte cut the rally short with an OF assist at third. Richardson walked with 2 out in the 7th and Mario Lisson followed with a double, but Richardson was cut down at the plate to end the rally. He and manager Brian Poldberg argued the call and were ejected. Atencio served up a 3-run homer in the 8th to make it 11-4 and the Nats left the bases loaded in the 9th. RP Doug Brandt got the win with 2 IP of a hit, walk and K to improve to 1-1 with a 4.12 ERA. Starter Brok Butcher went 4 IP and allowed 4 ER on 7 hits, 3 walks and a K to move his ERA to 4.76. 1B Michael Collins was 3-3 with a walk, his 3rd homer, 6th SB and 4 RBI (23) along with 3 RS to move to .277 and 3B Adam Morrissey was 1-3 with 2 walks, his 4th homer, 3 RBI (14) and a run scored to move to .286. Three other Travs had 2-hit games.

NWA is 22-19 and 3 games up on first. The series continues tonight as the likely starters are NWA's Julio Pimentel (2-3, 3.72) and Arkansas' Fernando Rodriguez (2-4, 6.85).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Myrtle Beach 6, Blue Rocks 2

SS McConnell 3-4, RBI (11), RS, SB (11) -- .255
2B Mertins 1-4, 2B (9), RBI (12), 2 K -- .283
RF Dickerson 0-4, 2 K -- .291
3B J. Johnson 0-1, 3 BB, CS (6) -- .309, he knows how to get on base, OBP .491 through 31 games played
* CF Jarrod Dyson had an OF assist at first.

Godin 6 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HRA, WP -- L, 2-3, 4.33 ERA
Nicoll 2 IP, 3 K -- 1.82 ERA

*** Jason Godin had a rough start, and got no run support, as the Pelicans continued their dominance of the Rocks. A Brett Bigler error helped lead to a Pelicans run in the 1st and the Rocks stranded 2 in the 3rd. The Pelicans scored 2 more off Godin in the 3rd but Jarrod Dyson helped throw a runner out on the basepaths to cut the rally short. Godin gave up a 2-run homer in the 4th and a solo homer in the 5th to make it 6-0 Pelicans. The Rocks didn't break through until the 8th when Chris McConnell hit a 2-out RBI single and Kurt Mertins hit an RBI double. The Rocks stranded 1 in the 9th. Myrtle Beach SP Chris Vines went 6 IP and allowed 4 hits, a walk and had 9 Ks to improve to 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA. RP Brett Butts picked up his 5th save with the 3-inning variety. Six Pelicans had a hit each and C Tyler Flowers and LF Concepcion Rodriguez had 2 RBI each.

Wilmington is 18-22 and 7 games out. The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Rocks right-hander Blake Wood (1-2, 3.38) vs. Pelicans southpaw Kelvin Villa (1-0, 3.38).

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 8, Bees 1

DH Lough 2-4, 2B (5), 3B (2), K -- .254
2B A. Perez 2-4, K, SB (8), CS (2), E (7) -- .215
SS Moustakas 0-3, HBP, K, E (8) -- .243
RF Tucker 0-3, BB, RBI (8), 2 K -- .142
CF Ortiz 0-5, 2 K, OF assist at third -- .303, really slumping
3B Taylor 1-3, BB, K, RS, SB (14) -- .218

Mitchell 5 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 10 H, 5 K, HRA -- L, 0-4, 4.80 ERA, having some rough times in A-ball
Augustine 3 IP, 2 UER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 1.95 ERA
Bradley IP, H, K -- 0.49 ERA

*** The Bees got blitzed by the River Bandits in game 1 of their 3-game set. Three hits scored 1 run for QC in the 1st off Matt Mitchell but he stranded 2. A David Lough triple went for naught in the Bees 1st and a 2-out, 2-run double off Mitchell in the 2nd made it 3-0. Another double in the 3rd brought in a run although Adrian Ortiz ended the inning with an outfield assist at third via cutoff man Mike Moustakas. The Bees couldn't string together any hits and, in the 6th, a solo homer off Mitchell and 2-out RBI single off Joe Augustine made it 6-0 Bandits. Wilson Tucker got the Bees on the board with an RBI groundout in the 6th but the Bandits put it further away with 2 in the 8th off Augustine on a single, 2 walks, a Moustakas error and a catcher interference call on Ryan Eigsti. The Bees didn't threaten again. Starter Nicholas Additon went 5 IP of 4 hits, a walk and 3 Ks to pick up the win and move to 4-2 with a 3.74 ERA. RP Mark Diapoules had a 4-inning save for his 1st of the season. 3B Domnit Bolivar was 4-5 with his 7th double and 9th error with 2 RS to move to .223. Two other Bandits had 2-hit games, including prospect SS Peter Kozma, who was 2-5 with his 8th double and 3 RBI (18) to move to .313. He also had his 9th error.

The Bees are 15-24. The series goes to game 2 tonight as Bees SP Alex Caldera (2-2, 2.76) takes the hill versus QC's Blake King (1-2, 4.71).