Royals on the Farm 5/29

NOTE: The timing for my vacation, which starts tomorrow and goes until June 7, is unfortunate. Not only do I have to delay the month-end wrapup for a week or so, I miss the most important thing of all probably this year for the organization -- the draft. I'll try to catch up when I get back, but for a week the blog will be dormant. Hopefully by the time I return the Royals have righted the ship.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Oklahoma 3 (completion of Wed. game)

CF Maier 1-4, HR (5), 2 RBI (22), RS -- .336
LF Hollins 2-3, RBI (17), K, RS -- .176, first good game in a while
1B-3B Smith 2-4, 2B (8), K, RS -- .257
3B-2B Matranga 1-3, 3B (2), RBI (9), K, RS -- .254
SS Aviles 0-1, BB, E (7) -- .336, pulled for call to KC
1B Stodolka 0-2, K -- .233
RF Costa 1-4 -- .303

Wright 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- 4.99 ERA
Colon 3 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, K, HRA -- W, 1-0, 4.60 ERA
Salmon 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 1, 5.40 ERA

*** A big 7th inning helped Omaha overcome the acid-delayed 1-run deficit and take game 2 from the RedHawks. Starter Matt Wright served up a 2-out solo homer in the 1st but Damon Hollins singled home Jason Smith, who had doubled, in the 2nd to tie the game. An Aviles error was followed by an RBI single in the 4th off Wright to make it 2-1 RedHawks and the game was suspended after the 4th Wednesday because of the hydrochloric acid spill at a nearby rail yard. Play resumed yesterday and Roman Colon stranded 2 in the 6th for Omaha. The Royals stranded 2 in their half but broke through in the 7th with 3 runs on a 1-out RBI triple by Dave Matranga and 2-run homer by Mitch Maier for his 5th of the season to greet new reliever Bill White. Colon gave up a solo homer in the 8th and Brad Salmon stranded 2 in the 9th for his 1st save. RP Wes Littleton took the loss with 2 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits, 2 walks and 4 Ks to fall to 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA. Starter A.J. Murray went 4 IP and allowed an ER on 4 hits, 2 walks and a K to move his ERA to 4.00. 2B Ryan Roberts was 2-4 with his 22nd RBI to move to .306 and RF Nelson Cruz was 1-4 with his 15th homer and 41st RBI to move to .335.

Omaha is 26-25 and in a 3-way tie for first. Thursday's regularly scheduled game was delayed to be part of a doubleheader today. Game 1 starters: O-Royals lefty Tyler Lumsden (2-5, 6.41) and Oklahoma right-hander Dustin Nippert (2-1, 5.27). Game 2 pits Omaha righty Brandon Duckworth (2-3, 4.79) vs. RedHawks right-hander Kameron Loe (2-3, 5.14). A few moves have been made, most notably IF Mike Aviles finally getting the call....for Billy Butler. I can kinda see it, because Billy wasn't hitting like Billy for the Royals. He's only 22 and hopefully Jirschele is directed to play him at first every day and Billy can iron out his batting stroke. Neal Musser also got called up to KC's pen as Leo Nunez hit the DL with an oblique strain. Kyle Davies has also reportedly been called up as Brett Tomko hits the bullpen, finally. Hopefully Davies earns a toehold in the majors and actually pitches well. I haven't seen any accompanying move reported there, tho. Maybe Musser is getting sent back to make room for Davies.

AA - NW Arkansas: Midland 7, Naturals 6

2B Maddox 3-3, BB, RBI (8), RS, SB (10) -- .247
1B Kaaihue 2-3, 2 BB, 2B (3), RBI (35), K, RS, CS -- .285
3B Lisson 2-4, RBI (16), K, RS, SB (14), picked off, E (6) -- .232
C Thibault 2-4, RBI (4) -- .167
RF McFall 2-4, HBP, 2 2B (8), 2 RS -- .257
DH Richardson 1-5, RBI (29), RS -- .309
CF Duarte 1-5, CS (4) -- .264
* LF Ovandy Suero had an OF assist at second.

B. Wood 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K, HRA -- 6.23 ERA, mediocre AA debut, 91 pitches
Plummer 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, K -- 5.00 ERA
Mildren 1 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, L, 2-4, 6.16 ERA
Crist IP, K -- 5.64 ERA

*** Blake Wood had a shaky NWA debut but the Naturals were in position for a win until the bullpen faltered in the 7th. Wood walked 2 in the 1st but stranded them to get out of the jam. The RockHounds scored a run off of him in the 3rd on 3 hits but Wood stranded 2. Kila Kaaihue hit a 1-out RBI double in the 4th to tie the game and scored on an error before Marc Maddox singled home another run to give Wood a 3-1 lead. Wood served up a leadoff homer in the Midland 4th to cut the lead to 1 and was pulled with 1 on and 1out in the 5th. Jarod Plummer gave up an RBI double to the first batter he faced to tie the game then stranded 2 more Midland baserunners. The Naturals responded in the 6th with 2 runs on a Juan Richardson RBI single after Brian McFall led off the inning with a double, and a Mario Lisson RBI single. Lisson was picked off at second later in the inning and likely would have scored as two singles after the play only ended up stranding 2 Nats. Paul Mildren came in with 2 on and 2 out in the 6th and ended the threat but the Nats stranded 2 in the 7th and Mildren wasn't as lucky in the 7th. A 1-out Lisson error was followed by a 2-run triple by C Anthony Recker and Recker scored on a single to make it 7-5 Midland. Kiel Thibault hit a 2-out RBI single in the 8th to cut the lead to 1 but Ovandy Suero was caught stealing in the 9th and the Naturals stranded 1 as Midland's Andrew Carignan notched his 5th save. RP Justin Dowdy got the win with 1 IP of an ER on 2 walks to move to 1-1 with a 7.43 ERA. Starter Vince Mazzaro went 6 2/3 IP and allowed 5 runs (3 ER) on 13 hits, a walk and 2 Ks to shift his ERA to 2.44. Five RockHounds had 2-hit games, led by Recker going 2-4 with his 3rd triple, 4th homer and 3 RBI (33) with 2 RS to move to .288.

NWA is 28-24 and a game up on first. The series concludes tonight. Starters: NWA's Rowdy Hardy (1-4, 5.24) vs. Midland's Andrew Bailey (1-4, 6.19). C Cody Clark was put on the 7-day DL to make room for Wood.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 10, Salem 9

C Howell 2-3, 2 BB, HR (2), 3 RBI (19), RS -- .290
CF D. Robinson 3-6, 2 RS, 2 SB (28) -- .277
SS McConnell 3-5, HBP, 2B (15), RS, SB (15), E (9) -- .259
RF Dickerson 1-5, BB, HR (5), 3 RBI (25), 2 K, RS, SB (23) -- .294
3B J. Johnson 2-4, 2 BB, 2B (7), RBI (16), K, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .333
1B Seratelli 2-5, 2B (5), HR (4), RBI (18), RS -- .168
DH Mertins 1-5, BB, RBI (21), K, RS -- .270
2B Bianchi 1-6, 2B (9), 2 K, RS -- .202
* The Rocks stranded 14.

Santiago 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 K, HRA, WP -- 4.70 ERA
Hartsock 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 4-2, 2.20 ERA
de la Vara 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K -- SV, 2, 4.31 ERA

*** A 7-run 6th was instrumental in the Rocks win to finish the set with the Avalanche with a 2-2 split. Derrick Robinson got Wilmington on the board early by singling and scoring on a double play in the 1st. Starter Mario Santiago stranded a couple in the 2nd and the Rocks stranded 2 in the 3rd but scored again in the 4th on a Jeff Howell RBI single before leaving the bases full. Santiago gave up a 2-run homer and another run in the 4th to make it 3-2 Salem and was pulled after giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in the 5th. Aaron Hartsock stranded 2 and the Rocks went off in the 6th. Josh Johnson doubled to lead off the inning before Howell clubbed a 2-run homer to left for his 2nd of the season, Anthony Seratelli followed with his 4th homer of the season (off his face on the video screen beyond the fence), and with 2 out and 2 on, Joe Dickerson slammed a 3-run homer to right center for his 5th of the season to make it 8-5 Blue Rocks. Jeff Bianchi continued the rally with a double and scored on a Johnson single before the Rocks left 'em loaded again. Hartsock gave up 2 runs in the 6th on a walk and 3 hits to close the game to 9-7 Rocks but a Kurt Mertins RBI groundout provided a little insurance in the 7th. The Rocks left the bases full for a third time that inning and Gilbert de la Vara gave up a run on 2 hits in the 8th. A triple and RBI single off de la Vara in the 9th closed the gap to 1 with no outs but he retired the next 3 batters for his 2nd save. RP Raymar Diaz took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of 4 ER on 4 hits and 2 Ks to fall to 2-3 with a 4.00 ERA. Starter Erick Abreu went 4 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 2.21. RF Jordan Parraz and C Koby Clemens both had 4-hit games for Salem (Clemens is hitting .304 but had 2 PB to make it 13 on the season) and 1B James Van Ostrand was 3-5 with his 13th double, 4th homer and 4 RBI (36) to move to .301. Two other Avalanche batters had multi-hit games.

Wilmington is 26-26 and 6 games out. A 3-gamer at the Lynchburg Hillcats (20-33, A-Adv. Bucs) starts tonight. Probable starters: Wilmington southpaw Everett Teaford (3-1, 2.54) vs. Pirates hot prospect lefty Daniel Moskos (3-3, 5.60). The Rocks are 4-2 versus Lynchburg coming off a 3-game sweep last weekend.

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 6, Bees 0

SS Moustakas 0-4, 2 K, E (12, fielding) -- .249, did I say I hope backup plans are being made for Moose?
LF Ortiz 1-4, K, CS (6), OF assist at home -- .303
CF Lough 1-4, 2 K -- .256
DH S. Hayes 1-3, 2 K -- .184, team only had 3 hits
1B C. Robinson 0-4, K -- .231
3B Martin 0-3, BB, 2 E (4) -- .278
* RF Jamar Walton had an OF assist at first.

Runion 4 IP, 6 R (3 ER), 8 H, BB, HRA, WP -- L, 0-3, 4.60 ERA
Z. Peterson 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- 4.30 ERA
Baldwin IP, K -- 0.00 ERA, Bees debut for Burke

*** The Bees got little to no offense Thursday as the Bandits used 2 3-run innings to get the win. The Bees stranded 2 in the 1st and a Kyle Martin error in the 2nd was costly as Sam Runion served up a 3-run homer to get the Bandits on the board. Adrian Ortiz saved a run in the 3rd by cutting down a runner at the plate from left but Bandits pitchers faced only 6 over the minimum as a couple caught stealings cost the Bees. Another Martin error in the 5th helped fuel a Quad Cities rally as Runion was pulled with a run in, 2 in scoring position and 0 out. Zach Peterson gave up 2 more runs in the inning as Mike Moustakas' 12th error of the season cost a run and the Bandits had a 6-0 lead. The Bees didn't have a hit after the 5th. QC starter Mark Diapoules went 5 IP and allowed 3 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to improve to 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA and RP Nick Additon picked up a 4-inning save with 2 walks and 4 Ks for his 1st save of the season. RF Charles Kingrey was 3-4 with his 15th double and 30th RBI to improve to .310 and three other Bandits had 2-hit games. 2B Mike Folli had the 3-run homer for his 2nd of the season.

Burlington is 21-32. The series continues tonight as Dan Duffy (0-2, 9.39) takes the hill for the Bees versus QC starter Chuckie Fick (0-2, 2.70). Lefty Burke Baldwin took Ed Cegarra's roster spot and, to clear room for Clint Robinson, IF Zach Evangelho hit the DL.