Royals on the Farm 7/11

AAA - Omaha: Memphis 3, O-Royals 1

3B Dawkins 1-3, HR (4), RBI (15), 2 K, RS -- .267
CF Maier 0-3, BB, K -- .315
DH Shealy 1-4, K -- .280
1B Stodolka 0-3 -- .232
LF Lubanski 0-3, K -- .238

Wright 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- 5.70 ERA, probably his best start of the season and it goes for nothing
Yabuta IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 1-2, 4.72 ERA

*** Matt Wright pitched well but Omaha gave him little run support and Yasuhiko Yabuta had a rough inning of work to take his 2nd AAA loss. Omaha left the bases loaded in the 4th but Gookie Dawkins gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the 5th with his 4th homer of the season. Wright stranded 2 in the 5th but allowed a run on 2 hits and a sac fly in the 6th to tie the game. Yabuta came in to pitch the 8th and 2 walks and a single loaded the bases with 1 out. He got a strikeout for out #2 but then journeyman IF (DH Friday) D'Angelo Jimenez hit a 2-run single to right to break the game open. Omaha didn't get a runner to second after Dawkins' homer. RP Kelvin Jimenez notched his 10th save as starter P.J. Walters worked 8 innings of 1 ER to improve to 7-1. D'Angelo Jimenez was 3-4 for the Redbirds.

Omaha is 44-50. The teams play a day-night doubleheader today. Probable starters: RH Roman Colon (2-3, 4.88) vs. Redbirds RH Anthony Reyes (1-2, 3.02) in game 1 and an unannounced Omaha starter vs. Memphis' RH Tyler Norrick (NR) in game 2. Shane Costa has hit the DL again with his sore wrists. Looking at the roster, P Greg Atencio has been called up to Omaha.

AA - NW Arkansas: Springfield 4, Naturals 2

CF Duarte 2-5, K, RS, SB (21), OF assist at third -- .255
3B Lucas 2-4, 2B (6), SB (7) -- .298
1B Richardson 1-2, 2 BB, HR (7), 2 RBI (43), RS -- .296
2B Maddox 0-3, BB, S, K, SB (14) -- .280

B. Johnson 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 10 H, 8 K, 2 HRA -- 4.28 ERA
de la Vara 1 2/3 IP, H, 2 BB, K -- 6.75 ERA
Crist 1/3 IP, 2 ER, H, HRA -- L, 3-1, 4.05 ERA

*** A 1st inning homer by Juan Richardson was all the offense the Naturals got Friday and Springfield won it in the 9th with a walkoff homer. Jose Duarte led off the game by reaching on an error and, with 2 out in the 1st, Richardson blasted his 7th homer of the season to give NWA a 2-0 lead. Blake Johnson gave up a solo homer in the 2nd to cut the lead in half and the game stayed 2-1 for a while. The Naturals left the bases full in the 5th for perhaps their best scoring chance and Johnson gave up another solo homer in the 5th to tie the game at 2. Both teams left a runner at third in the 7th and Gilbert de la Vara stranded 2 in the 8th. Kyle Crist came on for the 9th and hit the leadoff batter with a pitch. One sac bunt later, he gave up a 2-run walkoff shot to LF Allen Craig to end it. RP Luke Gregerson pitched a hitless 9th for the win to move to 5-5. Starter Adam Daniels allowed 2 unearned runs over 4 2/3 IP. SS Tyler Greene was 3-4 with his 11th homer and DH Matt Pagnozzi was also 3-4 with his 3rd homer. Two other Cards had 2-hit games.

The Naturals are 10-10 and 3.5 games back. Game 3 is tonight as Dan Cortes (4-3, 3.64) takes on Springfield's Tyler Herron (4-4, 5.19).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Potomac 8, Blue Rocks 3

DH Correll 1-4, HR, RBI (2), RS -- .240
SS McConnell 1-4, RBI (21) -- .276
1B Seratelli 1-3, 3B (3), K, RS -- .205
C Howell 0-3, RBI (32) -- .254, 5/5 SB against
3B Mertins 0-3, K -- .301, hit streak snapped at 17 games
RF Strait 0-4, K -- .300
2B Bianchi 0-3, K -- .231, very streaky at the plate

Mildren 5 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- L, 0-2, 5.40 ERA
Haltiwanger 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, K -- 3.67 ERA
Barrera IP, BB -- 2.68 ERA

*** The Rocks had only 3 measly hits but made the most of them, I guess. Paul Mildren had another very mediocre start and the Nationals avoided the sweep. The P-Nats' big inning was the 3rd when they scored 5 runs on a 2-run homer and 5 other hits off Mildren. Anthony Seratelli led off the Wilmington 3rd with a triple and scored on a Jeff Howell groundout to get the Rocks off ground zero. Chris McConnell hit an RBI single later in the inning but was thrown out trying to stretch it to 2 to end the inning. Brad Correll hit his 1st organizational homer to lead off the Rocks 4th and cut the lead to 5-3. Unfortunately, the next 14 Rocks would get sat down and only one more would reach base in the game on a Potomac error as a cadre of 3 relievers held the Rocks hitless. The Nats knocked Mildren out of the game with a run in the 6th and scored 2 off Russ Haltiwanger in the 8th to help put it away. Nats starter Luis Atilano got the win with 3 ER over 5 IP to move to 1-0. Five Potomac batters had 2-hit games and SS Dan Lyons was 2-2 with his 1st homer and 5 RBI.

The Rocks are 9-12 and 3 games back. A 4-game home set with the Lynchburg Hillcats (12-9, A-Adv. Buccos) starts tonight. Probable starters: righty Ed Cegarra (2-4, 4.32) and Hillcats right-hander Michael Crotta (7.6, 5.00), who beat the Rocks last time he faced them. The Rocks are 7-5 versus the Hillcats. Apparently some controversy has been swirling around the delivery of RP Henry Barrera. Manager Darryl Kennedy was ejected in the 9th after Barrera was called for an "illegal pitch" for allegedly coming off the pitching rubber before making the pitch. Kennedy argued and got tossed. I think this came up the game before when Barrera pitched, too.

A - Burlington: Great Lakes 6, Bees 3

Moustakas DNP third game in row.....wonder what's up
CF Lough 2-4, RS, SB (9), CS (7) -- .269
1B Taylor 0-3, SF, RBI (31) -- .207
RF Van Stratten 1-4, K -- .333, playing well but not getting much PT
2B Giavotella 1-3, BB, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .330
3B Martin 0-3, BB, K -- .294
DH Billick 0-2, HBP, picked off -- .429

Mitchell 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, WP -- 3.92 ERA
Augustine 3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, K, 2 HRA -- BS, 2, L, 2-1, 3.11 ERA

*** Burlington had a 3-0 lead in the 6th but it was all downhill after that as Great Lakes avoided a sweep. A Jason Taylor sac fly in the 1st ended up scoring 2 runs on a Loons error and a David Lough single in the 3rd scored a run thanks to another Loons error. Matt Mitchell stranded 2 in the 3rd and was pulled after walking the leadoff batter in the 6th for a fine outing. Joe Augustine came in and gave up a single, 2-run double and 2-run homer in the inning and the Loons moved ahead, 4-3. Another 2-run homer in the 8th doomed the Bees as they left the bases full in the 9th and RP Miguel Ramirez got his 15th save for Great Lakes. RP Garrett White got the win with 3 scoreless innings of work to move to 1-0. Starter Victor Garate allowed 3 runs (1 ER) over 5 innings of work. LF Andy Lambo was 3-4 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 RS.

The Bees are 12-10 and 3 games back. A 3-game set at the Lansing Lugnuts (15-7, A Jays) starts tonight. Dan Gutierrez (1-1, 2.14) matches up with Lansing's Brian Letko (1-1, 3.94). The Bees are 2-1 versus Lansing.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 14, Helena 13 (10)

SS Alfaro 4-6, 2 2B (8), 2 RBI (19), K, 3 RS -- .339
1B Van De Keere 3-5, SF, HR, 3 RBI (6), K, 2 RS -- .228
RF Severino 2-5, 2B, GS, 4 RBI (7), RS -- .189
3B Jimenez 3-6, RBI (9), K, 2 RS, 2 SB (7) -- .284
2B A. Perez 1-3, 2 BB, SF, 2 RBI (15), K, RS -- .237
C McCauley 2-4, 2 BB, RBI (7), RS, picked off -- .225
CF Norris 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 RS, 2 SB (11) -- .225
LF Griffin 1-4, 2 BB, RS, SB (3), CS (3), OF assist at home -- .222
DH Testa 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K, RS -- .185

Morgan IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, K, 3 HRA, WP -- 6.39 ERA, rough night for Rockhurst product
Sisk 2 IP, ER, H, BB, HRA -- 4.50 ERA, organizational debut for NDFA out of indy league
Gilgenbach 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- 9.31 ERA
Rada 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 K -- 5.11 ERA
J. Garcia 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 K, WP -- BS, 2, W, 3-0, 2.35 ERA
Huber IP, H, BB, K -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA

*** The game was a wild one as Helena took a 7-2 lead, IF surged ahead, 11-7, the game was tied at 11, IF took a 12-11 lead, fell behind, 13-12, tied it in the 9th and won it in 10. J.D. Alfaro hit an RBI double to get IF started in the 1st and scored on an Alwin Perez groundout to make it 2-0 Chukars. Ryan Morgan's 1st for Idaho Falls went triple, 2-run homer, K, solo homer, 2 ground outs. He then gave up a leadoff homer in the 2nd and walked the bases loaded before getting pulled for Brandon Sisk to make his Chukar debut. Sisk let in 2 runs on a walk and a double play ball but escaped with IF down, 6-2. Sisk gave up a solo homer in the 3rd to make it 7-2 but the Chukars answered big-time in the 4th with 8 runs on an RBI single by Devery Van De Keere, a grand slam by Neder Severino for his 1st homer of the season, an Alfaro RBI double, a Perez sac fly and a Sean McCauley RBI single that made it 10-7 Chukars. The Brewers stranded 2 in the 4th and IF plated another run in the 5th on a Van De Keere sac fly. The momentum swung to Helena in the bottom of the 5th as the Brewers scored 3 runs on 2 walks and a single off Stephen Gilgenbach and a 3-run double off Orlando Rada. Two hits pushed in another run in the 6th to tie it at 11 but Carlo Testa scored on a wild pitch in the 7th to make it 12-11 IF. Justin Garcia gave up a 2-run double in the 7th to give the lead back to the Brewers but Van De Keere tied it in the 9th with his 1st homer of the season. The Chukars loaded the bases with 1 out in the 10th and Antonio Jimenez hit an RBI groundout to make it 14-13. IF left the bases full again but Tim Huber got a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play in the bottom of the inning to help secure his 1st pro save. RP Adam Arnold took the loss for Helena with 2 ER allowed over 2 2/3 IP to fall to 0-1 and notch his 1st blown save. Starter Brandon Ritchie allowed 7 ER over 3 1/3 IP. 3B John Delaney was 4-5 with a walk, double, triple, 3 RBI and 2 RS and 6 other Brewers had 2-hit games.

The Chukars are 9-15 and 9 games out. A 3-game set at the Missoula Osprey (4-20, Rookie Diamondbacks) starts tonight. Aneidy Toribio (0-2, 3.86) will pitch vs. Missoula's Rafael Quezada (1-3, 9.28) in game 1. The Osprey have lost 10 straight. The Osprey's roster features D-Backs 2008 2nd rounder righty Bryan Shaw, 4th round OF Ryne White, 7th round righty Miles Reagan, 9th round righty Brett Moorhouse and 11th round SS Kyle Greene, among others. 38th round righty Jesse Orosco Jr. also pitches for Missoula.

Rookie - Burlington: Danville 12, B-Royals 2

RF McFadden 1-3, BB, RBI (3), K -- .174
CF H. Richardson 1-5, 3 K, RS, picked off -- .279
LF Caldwell 1-4, K, E (3), OF assist at third -- .169
3B Morales 0-4, 2 K, CS -- .229

Garrido 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, WP -- L, 0-2, 4.32 ERA
G. De La Cruz 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 10.91 ERA
Marimon 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K -- 12.00 ERA
Roq. Colon IP, 4 ER, 4 H, BB -- 7.59 ERA

*** The pitching staff's league worst 5.78 ERA held more than true Friday as Danville roasted the B-Royals. Starter Santiago Garrido gave up 2 2-out RBI doubles in the 1st and the Royals would never lead. They did tie it in the 3rd on a fielding error that scored Yenssi Reyes after he led off with a double and a Warren McFadden RBI single. Garrido promptly lost the lead in the bottom of the inning on a 2-out RBI single and Giancarlo De La Cruz came in for the 5th and the score started getting ugly. Four hits and an error brought in 2 runs that inning with another run scoring in the 6th. Three hits brought in 2 more runs off Sugar Ray Marimon in the 7th and Roque Colon was slapped around for 4 runs in the 8th. The Royals stranded 2 in the 9th. Starter Paul Clemens went 5 innings of 2 runs (1 ER) to move to 1-0. Six Braves had multi-hit games led by RF Chris Shehan, who was 4-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RS to move to .284. CF L.V. Ware (any relation to Koko B.?) had 2 hits and 4 RBI for Danville.

The Royals are 4-19. Game 2 is tonight as there are no announced starters on the team site.

Rookie - AZL: off day

*** The Royals were slated to play the 8-7 Rangers today.