Royals on the Farm 6/23

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 3, New Orleans 2 (10)

RF Costa 2-5, 2 2B (19), RBI (38) -- .303
1B Shealy 2-4, K -- .259
3B Dawkins 1-4, 2B (3), RBI (9) -- .255
CF Maier 1-4, S, RBI (29) -- .295
C B. Pena 0-3, 2 BB, 2 SB -- .289
DH Butler 0-4, BB, 2 K, RS -- .351
LF Lubanski 0-4, K -- .244

Colon 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA -- 4.58 ERA, 70 pitches, not bad start
Musser 4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 2 K -- W, 2-4, 3.48 ERA

*** Shane Costa had the big hit in the 10th as the Royals set up a chance to sweep the Zephyrs. Starter Roman Colon stranded 2 in the 2nd and Mitch Maier singled home a run in the 3rd to give Omaha the lead. Colon didn't get past the first batter in the Zephyr 3rd with the lead as a leadoff homer tied the game. Gookie Dawkins hit a 2-out RBI double in the 4th and this time Colon held the lead into the 6th before serving up a game-tying solo homer. Neal Musser left 2 in scoring position in the 7th and Omaha left the go-ahead run at third in the 9th. With a runner at second and 1 out in the top of the 10th, Costa stepped up with a double to drive home Dave Matranga and make it 3-2 Omaha. C Brayan Pena caught a runner stealing in the bottom of the inning to help Musser lock down the win. Zephyrs RP Carlos Muniz took the loss with 2 IP of an ER on 2 hits and a walk to drop to 2-4 with a 3.18 ERA. Starter Tony Armas Jr. went 6 IP and allowed 2 ER on 5 hits, 2 walks and 4 Ks to move his ERA to 2.50. RF Raul Gonzalez was 2-4 to move to .340.

Omaha is 38-38 and got the sweep today in the finale. Matt Wright started for Omaha. KC has picked up righty Robinson Tejeda off waivers from the Rangers and have shuffled John Bale to the 60-day DL to make room for him on the 40-man. RP Joel Peralta has also been summoned back to KC as Jeff Fulchino gets shipped back to Omaha.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 8, Arkansas 1

SS Lisson 4-4, 2B (11), HR (6), 2 RBI (29), 2 RS -- .224
1B Kaaihue 3-3, BB, HR (17), 2 RBI (47), 2 RS, SB (3) -- .284
LF Suero 2-4, RS -- .277
2B Maddox 1-4, 2 RBI (15), RS -- .282
C Clark 1-4, 2B (2), 2 RBI (8) -- .208
CF Duarte 1-4, BB, 2 K, RS, picked off -- .247

Cortes 4 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K -- 3.48 ERA, 75 pitches
Nicoll 3 2/3 IP, H, 2 K -- W, 1-1, 4.76 ERA, very nice game
Hayes 1 1/3 IP, nothing -- 2.43 ERA, ditto

*** Three Naturals pitchers held the Travs to 3 hits after the 1st as NWA broke out the bats for the first time in a while to drub Arkansas and split the 4-game set. A 2-out walk and RBI double off Dan Cortes in the 1st spotted the Travs a 1-0 lead. Cortes stranded 2 in scoring position in the 2nd and the Nats left the bases full in their half. NW Arkansas got on the board in a big way with a 4-run 4th on a Kila Kaaihue RBI single, 2-run single by Marc Maddox and an RBI double off the bat of Mario Lisson. Kaaihue led off the 5th with his 17th homer of the season and Cody Clark hit a 2-out, 2-run double to make it 7-1 NWA. Lisson added a solo homer in the 7th for his 6th of the season and Chris Hayes stranded a runner in the 9th to end it. Arkansas SP Brok Butcher took the loss with 5 IP of 7 ER on 12 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to drop to 4-4 with a 5.40 ERA. Four Travs had a hit each and 1B Ben Johnson notched his 14th double and 62nd RBI.

NWA is now 2-4 and 2 1/2 games back. The 2-day all-star break begins today.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: all-star break

*** The game is tomorrow night with three Rocks representing Wilmington -- OF Joe Dickerson and Ps Everett Teaford and Tyler Chambliss.

A - Burlington: Bees 4, Peoria 1

CF Ortiz 3-4, 3B (6), SB (25), 2 RS -- .304
2B Giavotella 1-4, 2 RBI, SB (2) -- .219, first pro RBI
3B Moustakas 0-3, SF, RBI (37) -- .239
1B Taylor 1-4, K, CS (8) -- .226
DH C. Robinson 0-3, K -- .253

Duffy 7 IP, 4 H, 8 K -- W, 3-3, 3.67 ERA, another dominant start
Abreu 2 IP, ER, H, 4 K, HRA -- SV, 3, 4.18 ERA

*** Dan Duffy handcuffed the Chiefs to lead Burlington to another win. Duffy stranded 2 in the 1st but then retired 19 of 21 through 7. Adrian Ortiz got the Bees started on a hit that scored a run thanks to a Peoria error in the 3rd and Johnny Giavotella followed with a 2-run single to make it 3-0 Bees. Juan Abreu lost the shutout by serving up a solo homer to the first batter he faced in the 8th but Ortiz tripled and scored on a Mike Moustakas sac fly in the 8th to make it 4-1 and Abreu pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Peoria starter Audy Santana took the loss with 4 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits, a walk and 2 Ks to fall to 0-4 with a 3.72 ERA. 3B Marquez Smith and C Josh Donaldson had 2-hit games for Peoria and Donaldson clubbed his 12th double and 6th HR with his 19th RBI. Only 1 other Chief had a hit than those 2.

The Bees are 4-1 and a game back of Beloit. The series continues tonight. Peoria sends SP Dae-Eun Rhee (3-1, 1.16) to the hill to face Bees SP Alex Caldera (5-5, 3.31 ERA).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 10, Ogden 8 (10)

C McCauley 3-5, HBP, 2B, RBI (2), K, RS, PB (3) -- .238
3B Jimenez 3-6, 2B, 2 K, RS, E -- .400
2B F. Garcia 2-5, 2B (2), 3 RBI (4), K, SB, picked off, E (2) -- .286
RF Francis 2-6, 3 RBI (10), K, SB, E -- .344
LF Griffin 2-4, BB, SF, 2 RBI (4), 2 RS, OF assist at third -- .240
SS Molina 2-5, 2B (3), RS, 2 SB -- .286
CF Norris 1-4, 2 BB, 2 RS, SB (2) -- .259
1B Espinosa 0-4, RS, E (2) -- .182
* The Chukars stranded 12 and 5 IF errors led to 5 unearned Ogden runs.

Cota 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K, pickoff -- 5.40 ERA
Miller 2 1/3 IP, UER, H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 2.70 ERA
Gilgenbach IP, 2 UER, H, BB, K -- 10.80 ERA
J. Garcia 3 IP, 2 UER, H, 2 K, HRA -- BS, 1, W, 2-0, 1.50 ERA

*** Ogden scored 5 late runs to force extras but Nick Francis came up with some more heroics in the 10th to get the Chukars the W. Starter Luis Cota allowed a run on 2 hits and a walk in the 1st but left the bases full and the Chukars responded with a run in the 2nd on a Fernando Garcia RBI single after Sean McCauley led off with a double. Ogden got a triple and run-scoring IF error in the bottom of the 2nd but Shawn Griffin hit a sac fly in the 3rd to tie it and Francis followed with a 2-run single to make it 4-2 IF. The Chukars left the bases full again in the 4th and Cota gave up a run in the bottom of the frame before getting pulled with 2 on and 2 out. Garcia doubled home 2 runs in the 5th and Griffin and McCauley hit RBI singles in the 6th to make it 8-3 Chukars. Ogden got a single that turned into a roundtripper in the bottom of the 6th thanks to 2 Chukar errors on the play and another error helped lead to 2 Ogden runs in the 7th to cut it to 8-6. Justin Garcia came in to pitch the 8th and gave up a 2-out, 2-run homer to tie it. With 1 out and 2 on in the 10th, Francis stepped up and hit an RBI single that scored 2 runs thanks in part to an interference error on Ogden. Garcia retired the next 7 batters after giving up the game-tying homer to finish the game. RP Jon Michael Redding took the loss for the Raptors with 1 1/3 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) on 4 hits and a walk to drop to 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Starter Mike Watt lasted only 2 1/3 IP and allowed 4 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits, a walk and K to move his ERA to 12.46. Two Raptors had 2-hit games including 1B Steven Caseres, who was 2-5 with 2 RBI to move to .333. RF Kyle Russell also had the game-tying homer in the 8th for his 2nd career HR and 2 RBI (6) in dropping to .391.

IF is 3-4 and 3 1/2 games back. Game 2 at the Raptors is tonight as Chukars SP Ivor Hodgson (0-1, 3.60) takes on Ogden's Robert Boothe (0-0, 7.20).

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 6, Pulaski 1

DH Caldwell 2-4, 2 2B, RBI (2), K, RS -- .227
3B F. Cruz 2-3, BB, 2B, K, 2 RS -- .286
SS J. Gutierrez 1-3, RBI -- .167
RF Testa 0-2, BB, RBI, K, RS -- .000
2B A. Franco 0-4, RBI, K -- .250
CF H. Richardson 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .261
C S. Perez 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .313
1B Morales 1-3, BB, 2B, RS -- .182

Herrera 6 IP, 2 H, 6 K -- W, 1-0, 0.82 ERA, verrrrrry nice
Roq. Colon 2 IP, ER, 3 H, K, HRA -- 6.75 ERA
Bowden IP, K -- 0.00 ERA, pro debut

*** The Royals finally scored some runs and got good pitching at the same time to get their first win of the season. Starter Kelvin Herrera struck out the side in the 1st and Fernando Cruz and Allen Caldwell hit back-to-back doubles in the 2nd to give Burlington a 1-0 lead. The Royals broke it open in the 4th with 5 runs on a Pulaski error, bases loaded walk by Carlo Testa, RBI single by Jeorge Gutierrez and an RBI single by Angel Franco that turned into 2 runs thanks to another Mariner error. Herrera faced the minimum over his 6 IP and Roque Colon lost the shutout by giving up a solo homer in the 7th but he and Barry Bowden finished it off. Mariners SP Kyle Haas allowed 6 runs (5 ER) on 2 hits with 4 walks and 4 Ks over 3 1/3 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 10.57 ERA. CF Dwight Britton supplied the M's only run on his 1st homer of the season.

Burlington is in the W column now at 1-5. The series continues tonight with no announced starters on the team site.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 7, Cubs 5

2B Nilsen 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, RS, CS, E -- .500, nice pro debut for NDFA
C Bonilla 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, K, RS -- .429
CF Llanos 1-3, BB, 2B, RBI, 2 RS -- .333, first pro ribbie
RF Del Rosario 1-3, BB, RBI, OF assist at third -- .200
1B A. Marte 1-3, BB, RBI, RS, E -- .333
DH Henriquez 0-3, HBP, RBI, K -- .000
3B Kuebler 0-4, K, E -- .000

L. Perez 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 5 BB, 3 K, 2 WP -- 2.25 ERA
A. Bonilla 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 3.00 ERA
B. Richardson IP, ER, H, BB -- W, 1-0, 9.00 ERA
Ruhlman perfect IP -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA

*** The Royals almost let an early 3-run lead slip away but came back late to get past the Cubs. The first 4 Royal batters drew walks as Alexis Marte's pushed a run home and Edwin Henriquez took a bases-loaded HBP to make it 2-0 Royals and chase starter Chris Huseby from the game. The Royals left the bases full and the Cubs got a run back in the 2nd thanks to 2 wild pitches by Royals starter Leondy Perez. Astin Jacobo led off the Royals 2nd with a triple and scored on an Alex Llanos double before a Luis Del Rosario groundout scored Llanos to make it 4-1 Royals. The Cubs got a run in the 4th and another in the 5th to whittle the lead down to 1 but left the bases loaded in the 5th. The Cubs tied it in the 7th off P Ariel Bonilla and got a 2-out RBI double in the 8th off Brett Richardson to take a 5-4 lead. With 2 out and 1 on in the Royals 8th, James Nilsen clubbed his 1st pro homer to put the Royals on top and Jose Bonilla followed with his 1st homer of the season to make it 7-5. Josh Ruhlman pitched a perfect 9th for his 1st save. RP Oswaldo Martinez took the loss for the Cubs with an IP of 3 ER on 3 hits to fall to 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA. Huseby allowed 2 ER on 4 walks without recording an out to set an infinite ERA. Six different Cubs had a hit each.

The Royals moved to 1-1. They lost this morning's game to the A's as Gary Cuevas took the loss.