Royals on the Farm 5/21

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Iowa 3 (12)

SS Aviles 3-6, 2 2B (20), RS -- .342, looks like he's back on track
3B Smith 1-5, HR (11), 2 RBI (29), 4 K, RS -- .252, game-saving homer and a golden sombrero
DH Buchanan 0-5, HBP, RBI (13), K -- .310
CF Maier 1-6, K, RS -- .333
RF Costa 1-4, 2 BB -- .305
1B Stodolka 1-5, 2B (6), K -- .240
LF Lubanski 0-4, BB, 2 K -- .237
*Omaha stranded 10.

Davies 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K, WP -- 2.17 ERA
Musser 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, balk -- 3.55 ERA, ejected in 10th
Salmon 3 IP, ER, H, BB, 2 K, WP -- W, 3-1, 5.40 ERA

*** An exciting 12th capped the game as three Royals were ejected in the extra-inning win. Starter Kyle Davies left the bases full in the 1st and Omaha stranded 2 in their half. A double play ball scored Iowa's first run in the 2nd and a 2-out RBI single made it 2-0 in the 3rd for the I-Cubs. Twelve Royals in a row were set down into the 5th and Omaha left a runner at third in the 7th. After a 1-out single in the Iowa 9th, catcher Matt Tupman and manager Mike Jirschele were ejected after a disputed call where the home plate ump ruled a Neal Musser pitch had gotten stuck in Tupman's chest protector and a runner at first was awarded second base. Iowa took the 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th and, with 1 out, Tupman's replacement, Damaso Espino, walked and Jason Smith hit a big 2-run game tying homer for his 11th of the season to tie the game. Musser himself was ejected in the 10th after giving up a single and a balk. With 1 out, the Cubs tried to score the lead run but Mike Aviles nailed 2B Eric Patterson at the plate to keep the game tied. Omaha left 2 in scoring position in the 10th and Iowa finally broke the tie with a 1-out RBI double by Patterson. Patterson was stranded at third and, with 1 out in the Omaha 12th, Mitch Maier and Aviles singled off Hector Carrasco. a wild pitch advanced them to second and third and, after an intentional pass loaded the bases, Brian Buchanan appeared to ground into a double play but a throw by ol' Royals buddy Andres Blanco on the turn hit the dirt and 2 runs scored (Aviles hustled on the play) to end the game. Carrasco took the loss with 2/3 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) on 2 hits and a walk to blow his 1st save and fall to 1-1 with an 8.22 ERA. Starter Justin Berg went 4 IP and allowed a hit with 3 Ks to drop his ERA to 8.59. Patterson was 4-6 with his 8th double and 10th RBI along with his 4th SB to move to .297. RF Josh Kroeger and 3B Casey McGehee had 2-hit games. The error was Blanco's 11th. I guess Aviles had another good defensive play in the 1st, so he had a good night all-around.

Omaha is 20-24 and 2.5 games out. The series ends tonight. Probable starters: Iowa LH Sean Marshall (0-0, 1.50) vs. O-Royals RH Carlos Rosa (0-1, 15.00). Surely Aviles is starting to force the Royals' hands in making some kind of move to bring him up. German or Grudzielanek have got to have trade value.....I guess Dayton Moore is in Omaha and saw the game Wednesday and will see Rosa pitch tonight. Aviles chose the right game to have a good all-around game. The Royals also signed lefty Horacio Ramirez to a minor-league deal, so we'll see if he turns up in Omaha.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 13, Midland 5

CF Duarte 2-6, 2B (4), 5 RBI (17), K, OF assist at home -- .249, wish he could have 2-hit, multi-RBI, OF assist nights more consistently
1B Richardson 4-4, BB, 3B, HR (4), 4 RBI (25), 3 RS -- .301, needed double for cycle
LF Suero 2-3, 2 BB, 3 RS, 3 SB (18) -- .273
C Donachie 1-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI (7), K, RS, E (3) -- .219
3B Lisson 1-4, S, RBI (15), K, RS -- .215
2B Maddox 1-5, RBI (6), RS -- .242
SS Sanchez 1-6, K, RS -- .220
RF Valentin 1-5, K, RS -- .294
* The Nats stranded 10.

Cortes 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 K -- W, 1-1, 1.96 ERA, some control problems but kept Midland off scoreboard
Crist IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB -- 5.12 ERA
De La Cruz 2 IP, ER, BB, K -- 4.28 ERA, left with back injury
Atencio IP, ER, H, BB, 2 K, 3 WP -- 6.46 ERA

*** Jose Duarte and Juan Richardson had excellent run-generating nights as Dan Cortes got all the run support he could hope for and the Naturals took the opener versus the RockHounds. Richardson hit an RBI single in the 1st and Adam Donachie hit his 1st homer of the campaign in the 2nd to make it 2-0 NWA. Cortes stranded 2 in the 3rd and gave up an RBI single off his glove in the 4th although Duarte saved a run with an OF assist at the plate. Cortes stranded 2 and, in the bottom of the 4th, Ovandy Suero hit a 1-out single, stole second and third and scored on a Donachie groundout to make it 3-1 Naturals. Richardson cranked a 2-run homer in the 5th for his 4th of the season to make it 5-1 but Kyle Crist came in for the 6th and loaded the bases before giving up a 2-run single to cut the lead back to 2. He stranded 2 and the Naturals left the bases loaded in their half. NWA broke it open with a 3-run 7th on a Marc Maddox RBI groundout and a 2-run single by Duarte to make it 8-3. The Naturals stranded 2 in scoring position but cashed in for a big rally with a 5-run 8th. Richardson hit an RBI triple, scored on a Mario Lisson single, and Duarte hit a bases-loaded 3-run double to put the game away at 13-3. Julio De La Cruz walked the leadoff man in the 9th and left with an injured back. Greg Atencio gave up a 2-out RBI double and wild pitched another run home before finishing Midland off. Midland SP Ryan Webb took the loss with 5 IP of 5 ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks to fall to 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA. C Anthony Recker was 2-2 with 2 walks and 3 RBI (24) to move to .271 and RF Jon Zeringue also had 2 hits.

NWA is 24-21 and 2 games up on first. Game 2 is tonight as NWA's Paul Mildren (1-3, 6.39) vies against Midland's Henry Rodriguez (1-4, 7.66).

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

RF Dickerson 2-4, HR (4), RBI (19), K, RS -- .291, second walkoff homer of season
3B Mertins 0-4, RBI (14), K -- .267
CF D. Robinson 1-3, BB, K, SB (21) -- .264, leads league in SB
SS McConnell 1-2, 2 BB -- .247
2B Bianchi 0-3 -- .202
DH J. Johnson 0-2, BB, K -- .315
* LF Brett Bigler had an OF assist at second.

Kniginyzky 6 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K -- 3.73 ERA, good start
de la Vara 1 2/3 IP, BB -- 4.68 ERA
Hartsock 1 1/3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- W, 3-2, 1.78 ERA

*** Joe Dickerson ended the game with a walkoff homer in the 9th as the Rocks evened the series with Potomac. The first two Rocks batters reached but a Dickerson double play ball cut the rally short in the 1st. The game was a pitcher's duel into the 5th when Kurt Mertins hit an inning-ending double play ball but a run scored on the play before Derrick Robinson was caught on the basepaths to end the rally. A similar situation happened in the Potomac 6th as a run scored on a 2-out single and Brett Bigler caught a runner at second to end the rally. Aaron Hartsock stranded 2 in the 8th and Dickerson led off the 9th with his 4th homer on a 2-2 pitch to end it. RP Yunior Novoa took the loss with 2 IP of an ER on a hit and 3 Ks to drop to 2-1 with a 1.44 ERA. Starter Craig Stammen went 4 1/3 IP of an UER on 3 hits, 4 walks and 2 Ks to move his ERA to 1.98. 1B Chris Marrero was 3-4 to move to .250. The Nationals only had 5 hits.

The Rocks moved to 21-23. The series finished with a matinee today and Potomac smoked Jason Godin to win, 10-3. Two steals moved the Rocks' season total to 100 Wednesday.

A - Burlington: Bees 4, Kane County 0 (2-hitter)

LF Walton 2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (12), RS -- .214
SS Moustakas 1-4, RS -- .244
3B Taylor 1-2, BB, SF, 3B (3), RBI (21), K, SB (15) -- .218
CF Ortiz 1-4, HR, RBI (10), K, RS -- .298

Mitchell 6 IP, H, BB, 3 K -- W, 1-4, 4.00 ERA, that's the way to get the 1st W of the season
Augustine 3 IP, H, K -- SV, 2, 1.80 ERA

*** Matt Mitchell and Joe Augustine shut down the Cougars for a 2-hit shutout as the Bees earned a series win. Adrian Ortiz led off the Bees 1st with his 1st homer of the season and Burlington had a 1-0 lead. The Bees stranded 2 in the 2nd but Jason Taylor hit a sac fly in the 3rd and Jamar Walton cracked a 2-run homer for his 2nd of the season to make it 4-0. Mitchell and Augustine retired 14 Cougars in a row at one point and, after an 8th inning leadoff double, Augustine retired the next 6 to end it. Cougars SP Scott Moore took the loss with 5 IP of 4 ER on 7 hits, a walk and 4 Ks to fall to 1-3 with a 4.62 ERA.

The Bees improved to 19-26. The series ended with a matinee today as the Cougars salvaged the final game and Alex Caldera took the loss.