Royals on the Farm 6/16

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 9, O-Royals 8

SS Smith 4-5, HR (15), 2 RBI (45), RS, E (11) -- .266, says something he's best producing power hitter on team
1B Shealy 2-5, 2B (9), HR (9), 4 RBI (23), 3 K, 2 RS -- .237
CF Maier 3-5, RBI (28), 2 RS -- .311
2B Dawkins 2-5, 2B (2), HR, RBI (5), 2 K, RS -- .333
DH Butler 2-3, 2 BB, K, RS -- .403
C B. Pena 0-5 -- .273
RF Costa 0-4, BB, 2 K -- .286
* Omaha stranded 10 and LF Damon Hollins had an OF assist at second.

Lumsden 5 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 9 H, 5 BB, 4 K, E (3) -- 6.88 ERA, disgusting line
Giron 2 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K -- 6.46 ERA
Salmon 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, L, 5-2, 4.66 ERA

*** Tyler Lumsden had another brutal outing but the Royals had the lead in the 9th before the Isotopes rallied. Here's the rundown of Lumsden's 1st: single, walk, RBI single, run scoring double play, double, walk, RBI single, K to strand 2. Jason Smith led off the 2nd with his 15th homer for Omaha to cut it to 3-1 but Albuquerque got the run back in the 2nd on a hit and Lumsden error. Omaha came back to tie it in the 3rd as Ryan Shealy cranked a 3-run homer for his 9th of the season. The Royals took the lead in the 4th on a Mitch Maier RBI single but left the bases loaded. Lumsden coughed up the lead in the bottom of the inning on 2 hits and a walk but escaped with the bases loaded. Gookie Dawkins made up for running into an out in the 4th by going solo in the 5th for his 1st of the season for Omaha and Omaha had a 6-5 lead. Again, Lumsden couldn't hold it, although a 2-out, 2-run error by shortstop Smith also helped lose the lead in the bottom of the 5th. The O-Royals rallied again, tho, for 2 runs in the 6th on a 2-out Shealy RBI double and Smith RBI single to make it 8-7 Omaha. The 7th and 8th were uneventful, for a change, and Omaha pitchers stranded 2 Isotopes in both innings. Brad Salmon came back out for the 9th for Omaha and gave up a walk and single. With 1 out, a fielder's choice by Ryan Shealy proved fruitless to keep the tying run from scoring and Salmon walked a batter to load the bases before a John Gall sac fly brought the winning run home. RP Marcus Gwyn got the win with an IP of 2 Ks to move to 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA. Starter Gaby Hernandez lasted only 3 1/3 IP and allowed 5 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 6.08. LF Gall was 3-3 with 2 walks, his 23rd double and 2 RBI (58) to move to .360 and continue to absolutely kill Omaha pitching. C Paul Hoover was 3-5 with a run scored to move to .288. RF Jai Miller also had 2 hits for the Isotopes.

Omaha is 33-36 and 7 games back. A 4-game set at the Round Rock Express (31-40, AAA 'Stros) starts tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Roman Colon (2-1, 4.94) vs. Express RH Jack Cassel (5-1, 2.05). I'm assuming this is a spot start for Colon and not a regular slot here. Omaha is 6-1 versus Round Rock.

AA - NW Arkansas: Tulsa 6, Naturals 3

RF Valentin 1-4, 2B (9), 2 RBI (19) -- .278
CF Duarte 0-3, BB, RS -- .250
1B Kaaihue 1-3, BB, RS -- .276
2B Maddox 1-4, 2B (11), K -- .289

B. Johnson 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- L, 5-6, 4.29 ERA, mediocre
Atencio 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 5.52 ERA
Crist IP, H, K -- 4.68 ERA

*** Three late runs were only halfway to where NWA needed to be as Tulsa took the opener of the 4-game set. Blake Johnson stranded 2 in scoring position in the 3rd but otherwise dueled with Xavier Cedeno into the 5th. That's when Tulsa struck for 4 runs on 4 hits and a hit batsman. Johnson was solid otherwise through 6 and NW Arkansas cut into the lead in the 7th on a run-scoring Tulsa error. Greg Atencio came out for his second inning of work in the 8th and the Drillers plated 2 runs to make it 6-1 to cripple the Naturals' chances at a tying rally. The Naturals did rally, tho, as Geraldo Valentin greeted RP Edward Valdez with a 2-run double in the 8th to cut it to 6-3 but Kila Kaaihue popped out to end the rally. Ryan Mattheus pitched a perfect 9th for Tulsa for his 10th save. Cedeno got the win with 7 2/3 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) on 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks to move to 5-6 with a 5.24 ERA. LF Matt Miller was 3-5 with 2 RBI (54) to move to .352 and 3 other Drillers had 2-hit games. CF Dexter Fowler had 2 doubles (20) and 2 RBI (37) to move to .313, and I swear he and Miller kill NWA every game. As John Gall is to Omaha, that duo is to NW Arkansas.

NWA is 33-36 going into today's first-half finale versus the Drillers. Probable starters: Tulsa's Chaz Roe (0-0, 4.50) vs. NWA's Paul Mildren (2-4, 6.84).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: off day

*** The second half begins today with the record fresh at 0-0 and the Frederick Keys (A-Adv. O's, 34-36 first half) are in town for 3 starting tonight. Starters: Rocks righty Jason Godin (2-6, 5.32) v. Keys prospect pitcher Brandon Erbe (5-5, 4.65), who shut down Wilmington the last time he faced them. The Rocks are 4-5 versus the Keys.

A - Burlington: off day (all-star break)

*** The MWL All-Star Game is tonight in Midland, Mich. OF Adrian Ortiz and P Joe Augustine are the Bees' representatives.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: opening day tonight

*** The Chukars start the campaign tonight with the first of 3 versus the Casper Ghosts (Rookie Rockies). IF's roster includes '08 draftees IF John Alfaro (9th rounder), 1B Tito Espinosa (15th rounder), lefty Derrick Saito (16th rounder), OF Shawn Griffin (20th rounder), lefty Blaine Hardy (22nd rounder), righty Ryan Morgan (26th rounder), righty James Thompson (38th rounder) and lefty Stephen Gilgenbach (47th rounder), plus some non-drafted free agents and a mix of other players, most notably P Luis Cota (back from arm injury), C Sean McCauley and OF Patrick Norris. The highest draft pick on Casper's roster is 4th round righty Ethan Hollingsworth. Three other picks from the first 10 rounds are on the roster....all pitchers.

Rookie - Burlington: opening night as well

*** The season begins tonight with a home game versus the Danville Braves. The B-Royals roster features '08 draftees OF Allen Caldwell (12th rounder), lefty John Flanagan (13th rounder), OF Carlo Testa (18th rounder), C Miguel Moctezuma (19th rounder, great name), 3B Jason Morales (24th rounder), righty Carson Bryant (25th rounder), lefty Tim Huber (27th rounder), and righty Pernell Halliman (40th rounder, 6-7, 240), plus some guys from the Dominican team. My favorite name other than Moctezuma is 19-year-old P Sugar Ray Marimon. There are a few 18-year-olds on the squad. Other notables are OF Hilton Richardson, IF Fernando Cruz, P Mike Lehmann and converted OF O.D. Gonzalez, who is pitching for the B-Royals and can reportedly hit 94 on the gun. The highest draftee on Danville's roster is 3rd round righty Craig Kimbrel. No other high draftees are on the Braves' roster. Righty Kelvin Herrera starts the opener for Burlington.