Royals on the Farm 8/4

AAA - Omaha: Colorado Springs 8, O-Royals 3

RF Stodolka 2-4, RBI (21), E (6) -- .288
2B Labandeira 1-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI, RS -- .067, first Omaha hit was a doozy
1B Kaaihue 1-3, BB, K, RS -- .375
C B. Pena 1-4 -- .290
LF Lubanski 1-4, 2 K, RS -- .245
SS Sanchez 0-4, K -- .217

Bale 1 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 0-2, 8.22 ERA
Wright 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- 5.86 ERA
Lumsden 2 IP, H, K -- 6.85 ERA, what'd I say?

*** The Sky Sox lit up John Bale for 5 runs in the 2nd en route to the win to even the series. Bale loaded the bases with 1 out in the inning and gave up a sac fly and 2 RBI hits before getting pulled for Matt Wright, who allowed a 2-run single before getting out of the inning with Omaha down, 5-0. The Sky Sox got 3 2-out hits in the 3rd after 2 to start the inning to score 3 more runs and make it 8-0. Josh Labandeira got Omaha on the board with a 2-run homer in the 3rd and Mike Stodolka hit an RBI single in the 6th but that was the only other Royal threat in the game. Colorado Springs starter Franklin Morales got the win with 3 ER allowed over 5 1/3 IP to improve to 8-4 with a 5.65 ERA. RF Matt Miller (now torturing Royals AAA pitching) and CF Chris Frey had 3 hits each for the Sox and three others had 2-hit games. 3B Kenny Perez drove in 3 runs.

Omaha is 51-65. Game 3 is tonight as Sky Sox and former Royal LH Mark Redman (6-3, 5.04) matches up with Omaha RH Jose Capellan (4-0, 3.00). We'll see if Carlos Rosa makes an appearance or not.

AA - NW Arkansas: Arkansas 6, Naturals 2

LF Falu 2-4, HR (5), 2 RBI (34), RS -- .285
CF Duarte 1-4, K -- .255
RF McFall 1-3, K, CS (6) -- .240
2B Maddox 0-4, RS -- .292
1B Richardson 0-3 -- .294

Hardy 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 K, 2 HRA -- L, 5-9, 4.97 ERA
Nicoll 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 2.87 ERA

*** The Naturals offense struggled for a second straight game and Arkansas split the 4-game set to tie the season series. Rowdy Hardy gave up a leadoff homer in the 2nd and another run on 2 hits in the 5th as the offense was being shut out on 3 hits through 6. A 2-run homer off Hardy in the 6th made it 4-0 Travelers. Irving Falu smoked a 2-run homer off "the other" Francisco Rodriguez in the 7th to cut the lead in half but Arkansas got the runs back on a 2-run homer in the 8th off Chris Nicoll. Three Rodriguezes pitched for Arkansas as RP Fernando Rodriguez pitched 2 hitless innings for the win to move to 6-10 with a 5.92 ERA. Starter Dan Davidson allowed 3 hits over 4 IP to move his ERA to 2.63. Three Travs had 2 hits led by 3B Corey Smith, who was 2-3 with 2 HR (19) and 3 RBI.

NWA is 27-17 and 3 games up on first. The Naturals have today off before starting a homestand. Kila Kaaihue was named Texas League Player of the Month for July after hitting .400 with a 1.324 OPS in 24 July games.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Winston-Salem 6, Blue Rocks 5

LF Ortiz 2-4, BB, RBI (3), RS -- .192, finding his high-A legs?
1B Correll 2-3, BB, 2B (13), RBI (21), RS, E (3) -- .342
DH Bianchi 0-3, SF, 2 RBI (52), 2 K -- .255
CF D. Robinson 1-3, 2 BB, 2B (20), RBI (27), 2 RS, CS (14) -- .249
SS McConnell 1-4, BB -- .274
RF Strait 1-4, K, CS (2) -- .308
2B Mertins 0-4, 2 K -- .297
3B J. Johnson 0-2, 2 BB, K, RS -- .271

Santiago 5 1/3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 9 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- L, 7-7, 3.79 ERA
Holland 2 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K -- 3.84 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, H, 2 K -- 3.20 ERA

*** Winston-Salem took a 5-2 lead and hung on for the win. Mario Santiago gave up a triple to the first batter of the game and a sac fly made it 1-0 Warthogs. The Rocks started their half of the 1st with 4 straight walks as Brad Correll's base on balls brought in a run to tie the game and Jeff Bianchi hit a sac fly to make it 2-1 Wilmington. Santiago gave up a 2-run homer in the 2nd and 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk in the 3rd to make it 5-2 'Hogs. The Rocks cut the lead to 1 with 2 runs in the 5th on a Derrick Robinson RBI double and Adrian Ortiz RBI single. Greg Holland allowed an insurance run in the 7th and it came in handy as Bianchi hit an RBI groundout in the 8th but Cody Strait was later thrown out at the plate and the Rocks stranded 2. RP Matt Zaleski pitched 2 scoreless innings to get his 3rd save. RP Michael Dubee got the win with 2 2/3 IP of an ER allowed to improve to 4-6 with a 4.67 ERA. Starter Clevelan Santeliz worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed 4 ER to move his ERA to 4.72. Four 'Hogs had 2 hits as 1B Freddie Thon hit his 2nd homer with 2 RBI and 3B C.J. Retherford drove in 3 runs and made his 21st error.

Wilmington is 19-24 and 6 games out. Game 2 is tonight as Rocks right-hander Matt Kniginyzky (7-7, 3.48) takes on Winston-Salem righty Anthony Carter (4-2, 5.40).

A - Burlington: off day

*** The Bees start a 4-game set at the Peoria Chiefs (23-20, A Cubs) tonight as Ray Liotta makes his 2nd Burlington start versus rehabbing Jon Lieber.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden 7, Chukars 5

SS Alfaro 3-4, BB, 2 2B (14), HR (6), RBI (36), 2 RS -- .282
RF Testa 2-4, 2B, HR (3), RBI (11), K, 2 RS -- .237
3B Jimenez 2-5, 2B (5), RBI (16), K -- .305
LF Griffin 2-5, RBI (19), K -- .276
CF Norris 1-4, BB, RBI (10), RS, picked off -- .245
C McCauley 1-3, BB, K -- .256

Casey 4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 6 K, HRA -- L, 2-3, 3.18 ERA
Carver IP, 4 ER, H, 3 BB -- 8.47 ERA
T. Huber 2 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 0.79 ERA
B. Hardy IP, 2 K -- 5.91 ERA

*** A 5-run Ogden 6th did in the Chukars as Ogden set up a shot at a 3-game sweep. Bryan Casey pitched well until giving up a solo homer in the 4th but J.D. Alfaro matched the feat by leading off the IF 4th with his 6th homer to tie it. Casey gave up a run on 2 hits in the 5th and was pulled for Jesse Carver. Carver allowed 3 walks and a 2-run double in the 6th before getting pulled for Tim Huber, who served up a 3-run homer to the first batter he faced to make it 7-1. Antonio Jimenez hit an RBI double in the 6th and Patrick Norris and Shawn Griffin hit RBI singles in the 7th to cut the lead to 7-4. Carlo Testa socked a solo homer in the 8th for his 3rd for IF to cut the lead to 2 and the Chukars left a runner on in the 9th as Cole St. Clair picked up his 2nd save for Ogden. Starter Geison Aguasviva worked 6 innings of 2 ER allowed to improve to 3-2 with a 3.35 ERA. C Matt Wallach was 2-4 with his 3rd homer and 3 RBI and 1B Steven Caseres was 2-4 with a double, 2 RBI, a K and RS.

IF is 4-4 and a game back of Ogden going into the series finale tonight. Colby Beach (2-3, 5.91) starts versus an unnamed Ogden starter.

Rookie - Burlington: Johnson City 11, B-Royals 3

1B D. Wood 3-4, 2B (8), 2 RBI (13) -- .260
2B A. Franco 1-4, 3B, RBI (17), K, RS -- .247
CF H. Richardson 2-5, 2B (5), 2 K, 2 RS -- .229
LF Caldwell 2-4, K -- .203
C Vittek 0-4, 2 K, 2 E (4), 3 PB (8) -- .277, defensive issues
DH F. Cruz 1-4, K -- .246
3B Morales 0-4, 2 K -- .193

Fisher 3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 6 H, BB, 4 K -- L, 0-1, 12.00 ERA, rough first rehab start in Appy League
Lehmann 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 3.23 ERA
Jorge IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB -- 7.82 ERA
Mieles IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 2 K, WP -- 5.79 ERA

*** The Royals fell behind, 6-0, and couldn't recover. Brent Fisher had a rough 1st inning at Burlington as two extra-base hits and a walk along with a Josh Vittek throwing error scored 2 Cardinal runs. Four hits in the 3rd plated 3 more Johnson City runs to make it 5-0 and two doubles in the 5th scored another run off Mike Lehmann. David Wood singled home a run in the 6th to get the Royals on the scoreboard but Victor Jorge allowed 3 runs in the 7th to make it 9-1. Angel Franco tripled in a run in the 8th and Wood hit another RBI single to cut it to 9-3. Three hits, an error and wild pitch in the 8th by Ed Mieles just gave the 2 runs back, however. RP Jose Mateo got the win with 4 IP of 3 ER allowed to move to 2-1 with a 5.16 ERA. Starter Michael Blazek worked 4 shutout innings to drop his ERA to 5.72. DH Curt Smith was 4-5 with 2 doubles, an RBI and 5 RS, LF Jarred Bogany was 3-4 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI, and 2 others had 2-hit games.

The B-Royals are 15-30. A 3-game home set with the Greeneville Astros (20-26) starts tonight with no announced starters on the team site. The Royals are 0-3 versus Greeneville.

Rookie - AZL: Padres 5, Royals 1

3B Nilsen 1-1, RBI (8) -- .224
CF Llanos 2-5, 2 K, SB (8) -- .183
SS Espinal 2-5, picked off -- .230
LF D. Rodriguez 2-4, K, SB (4), OF assists at first and home -- .189
DH Beltre 0-4, 2 K -- .250
RF Del Rosario 0-1, 2 BB, HBP, RS -- .305
C J. Bonilla 1-4, 3 K, PB (12) -- .355
3B Kuebler 0-3, K -- .204
2B D. Batista 1-2, BB, K, CS (5) -- .306
* The Royals stranded 10.

Hodge 3 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 K, 3 WP -- L, 0-4, 12.36 ERA
Cuevas 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- 5.34 ERA
J. Smith IP, 2 H, K -- 1.64 ERA

*** Mitch Hodge got torched again and the Padres dropped the Royals. The Royals left the bases loaded in the 1st and Hodge loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd before working out of the jam. The Pads broke through for 3 in the 3rd on 3 hits, 2 walks and a wild pitch then added 2 runs in the 4th on 2 hits, a walk and 2 wild pitches to make it 5-0. James Nilsen hit an RBI single in the 8th but that was all the offense the Royals could muster. Starter Stiven Osuna got the win with 5 scoreless innings of work to move to 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA. RF Aaron Murphree was 3-4 with a walk, double and RBI and RS while two others had 2 hits for the Pads.

The Royals are 2-6 and 4 1/2 games back. They had today off.