Royals on the Farm 5/24

NOTE: Seems like forever since I posted anything other than the daily reports on here. I'm sure I'll get around to weighing in on a Royals season that looks to be on the downward spiral soon, but I'm not sure if it'll be before I go on vacation for a week starting next Saturday. I'm also moving over the summer at some point, so that might also cause a couple delays in reports, but we press on.....

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 8, Round Rock 3

CF Maier 3-5, 2B (10), 2 RBI (19), 2 RS -- .355
2B Aviles 2-5, HR (8), 3 RBI (38), RS -- .333
LF Lubanski 3-4, 2B (7), 2 RBI (20), K, 2 RS -- .262
RF Costa 1-4, SF, RBI (31) -- .300
1B Stodolka 2-4, 2B (7), K, RS -- .243
SS Berroa 2-4, BB, RS -- .313, always notable when An-hell takes a walk
C Tupman 2-5, RS, 2 PB (7) -- .267

Lumsden 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 2 K, WP -- W, 2-5, 6.41 ERA, good start despite almost 2-pt. WHIP
Lowery 1 2/3 IP, BB, K -- 1.13 ERA
Giron IP, H, BB -- 6.41 ERA

*** Tyler Lumsden only had 1 inning where he faltered and Omaha earned at least a split of the 4-gamer with the Express. Mitch Maier led off the game with a double and scored on a Shane Costa sac fly and Omaha had a 1-0 lead quickly. Lumsden walked 2 in the 1st but got a double play to escape the threat and Omaha continued to get to Round Rock SP Josh Miller in the 2nd. With 2 out and 2 on, Chris Lubanski and Maier hit RBI singles and Mike Aviles clubbed a 3-run homer to left for his 8th of the season to make it 6-0 Omaha. Lumsden stranded 2 in the 4th but hit trouble in the 5th when, with a run in and 2 on and 2 out, he allowed 2 RBI singles and a walk to cut the lead to 6-3. He finally stranded 2, tho, and was pulled with 1 on and 1 out in the 7th for Devon Lowery. Omaha pounced again in the 8th as Lubanski hit a 2-out RBI double and Maier hit an RBI single to make it 8-3. Roberto Giron stranded 2 in the 9th to end it. Miller took the loss with 5 IP of 6 ER on 10 hits and a K to fall to 3-2 with a 6.47 ERA. C J.R. House was 2-3 with 2 walks, his 17th RBI and a run scored to move to .324.

Omaha is 23-24 and 1.5 games back of Memphis. Game 3 of the set is today. Starters: Omaha RH Brandon Duckworth (2-2, 4.93) vs. proud former Royal (cough*fatty*cough) Round Rock RH Runelvys Hernandez (3-2, 4.74).

AA - NW Arkansas: Frisco 4, Naturals 2

CF Duarte 2-4, BB, 2B (6), HR (3), RBI (19), K, RS -- .258
RF McFall 2-4, 2B (6), RBI (28), K -- .252
1B Kaaihue 1-4 -- .265, would say those 3 are top candidates for first position move to Omaha
SS Sanchez 1-3, BB, 2 K, SB (3), E (9) -- .226
* 3B Mario Lisson stole his 13th base and was caught stealing for the 2nd time.

Hardy 7 2/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 6 H, 5 K, pickoff -- L, 1-4, 5.24 ERA, among his best couple starts of season
C. Hayes 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K -- 1.88 ERA

*** Rowdy Hardy perhaps was in one inning too long as a Frisco rally in the 8th cost NWA the game. Brian McFall doubled home a run in the 2nd and Jose Duarte hit a leadoff homer in the 3rd for his 3rd of the season to make it 2-0 Naturals. The Naturals had runners at the corners and no outs in the 6th when a Mario Lisson grounder to third turned into a bad double play with Kila Kaaihue eliminated at the plate and Juan Richardson thrown out at third to throw cold water on the rally. I say Hardy was left in an inning too long, but you can't really blame Nats manager Brian Poldberg, as Rowdy had a 3-hit shutout through 7 innings. He fell apart in the 8th, tho, as his inning went double, RBI double (maybe shoulda pulled him then?), RBI single, sac bunt, K, Angel Sanchez run-scoring throwing error, pulled for Chris Hayes. Hayes gave up an RBI single before ending the rally with the Naturals down, 4-2. The last 10 NWA batters were set down in a row as Brian Gordon went 2 innings for his 2nd save. RP Brandon Puffer went 1 1/3 IP and allowed a hit and 2 Ks to improve to 3-0 with a 4.08 ERA. Starter Matt Harrison went 5 2/3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 3.15. CF Craig Gentry was 2-4 with his 12th double and 17th RBI besides getting picked off as he improved to .277 and LF Ben Harrison also had 2 hits to improve to .345.

NWA is 25-23 and 2 games up on first. Game 2 is late this afternoon. Starters: NWA's Blake Johnson (4-2, 3.35) vs. Frisco's Tommy Hunter (1-0, 1.29).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Lynchburg 1

DH Seratelli 2-3, SF, 2B (4), HR (3), 3 RBI (16), RS -- .167
3B Mertins 1-4, 3B (2), 2 RBI (17), K, RS -- .266
RF Dickerson 1-4, RBI (21), RS, SB (21) -- .303
1B Vega 2-4 -- .207
LF Bigler 2-4, K, SB (5) -- .167
2B Bianchi 1-4, 3B (2), K, RS -- .206
CF D. Robinson 1-4, K, RS, SB (24) -- .270
SS J. Johnson 1-4, K, RS -- .317

Santiago 7 IP, ER, 7 H, K -- W, 3-3, 4.14 ERA, solid start....where are the Ks, tho?
Barrera 2 IP, 2 H, 4 K -- 2.66 ERA

*** The Rocks set the tone with a 4-run 1st as Mario Santiago pitched well and Wilmington got in position for a sweep. Kurt Mertins drilled a 2-run triple after a Hillcat error in the 1st and Joe Dickerson hit an RBI single before Anthony Seratelli hit an RBI double to make it 4-0 Rocks. Seratelli came back up in the 3rd and hit his 3rd homer to make it 5-0. Santiago was perfect through 3 but gave up a run on 3 hits in the 4th. The Rocks left the bases full in the 4th but Jeff Bianchi led off the 5th with a triple and scored on a Seratelli sac fly to make the lead 6-1 Rocks. Henry Barrera stranded 2 in the 9th to finish it. Lynchburg SP Mike Crotta took the loss with 4 2/3 IP of 6 runs (5 ER) on 11 hits with 3 Ks to fall to 3-4 with a 5.10 ERA. 3B Jim Negrych went 2-4 with his 13th double to move to .378 and 1B Kent Sakamoto was 2-4 with his 25th RBI and 6th error to move to .257.

Wilmington is 23-24 and 6 games back. The series ends tonight. Probable starters: Rocks piggybackers lefty Everett Teaford (2-1, 2.90) and righty Greg Holland (3-3, 4.10) vs. Hillcats (and Bucs' hot prospect) Daniel Moskos (3-2, 4.89). Moskos already beat the Rocks once this season.

A - Burlington: Beloit 8, Bees 0 (7/G1)

SS Moustakas 0-3, K -- .250
3B Taylor 0-2 -- .219
CF Lough 0-3, K -- .263
* The Rocks only had 3 hits.

Duffy 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, BB, 7 K, WP -- L, 0-2, 9.39 ERA
C. Chavez 2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 K -- 2.41 ERA

*** The Bees were shut down by Snappers starter Mike Tarsi in the loss in the first of two with Beloit Saturday. Tarsi struck out the side in the 1st and Bees starter Dan Duffy gave up an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st to spot Beloit an early lead. The Bees got hits from Alwin Perez and Antonio Jimenez in the 3rd but Perez got picked off and Jimenez was caught stealing to wipe them away. Beloit added a run in the 3rd on only one hit -- a double -- but blitzed Duffy for 3 runs in the 4th on 4 hits to make it 5-0. Chris Chavez gave up 3 more runs on 3 hits and a hit batsman in the 5th to make it 8-0. Wilson Tucker had the Bees' only other hit in the 7th but was stranded. Tarsi got the win with 6 IP of 2 hits with 8 Ks to improve to 2-6 with a 6.09 ERA. Beloit CF Ben Revere was 3-4 with his 6th double and 3 RBI (15) with a K and 2 RS to move to .422 and 2 other Snappers had 2-hit games.

Snappers 3, Bees 1 (7/G2)

SS Moustakas 1-3, RBI (18) -- .251
LF Ortiz 0-2, BB, RS -- .291
CF Lough 0-3, 2 K -- .258
3B Martin 1-3, 2B (3), K -- .231
* The Rocks only had 4 hits.

Abreu 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K -- L, 1-3, 5.06 ERA
Arias 3 2/3 IP, H, 3 BB, 4 K -- 3.81 ERA

*** The Bees' offense was beyond sluggish again in game 2 as Beloit swept the twinbill. It must be the effect the Twins and their minor affiliates have on all the Royals' teams. Juan Abreu gave up a run in the 1st on 2 hits, a hit batsman and walk. He left 2 in scoring position in the 2nd and walked the bases full to start the 3rd as Beloit scored 2 runs and chased him for Henry Arias. Beloit starter Mike McCardell was perfect through 3 but gave up a walk and single to start the 4th and a Mike Moustakas RBI groundout cut it to 3-1 and chased McCardell from the game. Arias stranded 2 in the 4th and again in the 6th. Moustakas led off the 7th with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. It cost the Bees as Kyle Martin followed with a double but that was it for Burlington. RP Steven Hirschfeld went 3 1/3 IP with 3 hits and 2 Ks to get the win and move to 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA. Revere was 2-4 with his 4th triple and K and 2 SB (14) and a RS to move to .425.

Burlington is 19-30 and tied for last place. The series continues today. Starters: Bees' Eduardo Paulino (2-2, 5.06) vs. Beloit's Daniel Berlind (3-4, 3.99).