Royals on the Farm 8/7 -- no-no for the Bees

NOTE: I do plan on posting some non RotF stuff again at some point -- it's been a busy summer.

AAA - Omaha: off day

*** The O-Royals start a 4-day, 5-game set vs. the Nashville Sounds (48-70, AAA Brewers) tonight. Probable starters: RH Brandon Duckworth (3-11, 4.97) vs. Sounds LH Lindsay Gulin (5-5, 3.64).

AA - NW Arkansas: Midland 5, Naturals 1

C Donachie 1-3, RBI (25), K, picked off runner -- .204
SS Lisson 2-4, 2B (16), RS, SB (26), E (21) -- .215
CF Duarte 1-4, K -- .257
2B Maddox 0-3, HBP -- .290
1B Richardson 1-4, 2B (27), K -- .293

B. Johnson 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 2 K -- L, 9-7, 4.66 ERA
Crist 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 K, HRA -- 4.38 ERA
Hamulack IP, 3 K -- 3.14 ERA, nice inning
M. Peterson IP, 2 K -- 2.25 ERA

*** Blake Johnson got negatory run support and had some trouble with the RockHounds, as did the Nats with Midland SP Josh Outman. Two walks and a hit earned Midland its first run in the 2nd and the Hounds added 2 in the 3rd on 4 singles. Midland added another run on 2 hits and a walk in the 5th and Outman held NWA to only 2 hits through 5 innings before exiting. Kyle Crist allowed a homer to the first batter he faced in the 6th to make it 5-0. NWA stranded 2 in the 6th but Adam Donachie came through with a 2-out RBI single in the 7th after Mario Lisson doubled. The next 7 Nats went down in order to end it. Outman's 5 scoreless IP earned him the win to move to 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA. DH Javier Herrera and 3B Tommy Everidge had 2 hits for Midland.

NWA is 28-18 and 2 games up on first. The series wraps tonight as Dan Cortes (7-4, 4.36) takes on Midland's Jason Windsor (2-0, 4.26).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Frederick 2

LF Ortiz 3-4, SB, OF assist at home -- .270, keeps proving concerns wrong about his hitting as a pro
CF D. Robinson 2-4, 3B (6), K, RS, SB (54), OF assist at second -- .250
DH Strait 1-4, HR (5), RBI (19), RS -- .303
SS McConnell 1-4, RBI (26) -- .271
2B Mertins 1-4, RBI (42), K -- .296
1B Correll 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .322
3B J. Johnson 1-4, K -- .271
RF Dyson 1-2, BB, SB (37) -- .251

Cegarra 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, BB, 6 K, balk -- 5.27 ERA
Hartsock 1 1/3 IP, 3 K -- W, 8-4, 4.18 ERA
Holland IP, H, BB, K, WP -- SV, 4, 3.78 ERA

*** Ed Cegarra was left in perhaps a little too long as he blew a 2-run lead in the 7th but Cody Strait picked him up and Aaron Hartsock had a nice night of relief to get the win. Adrian Ortiz nailed a runner at the plate to end the Frederick 3rd but the Rocks stranded 2 in the 3rd. Kurt Mertins hit a 2-out RBI single in the 4th and Derrick Robinson tripled and scored on a Chris McConnell single in the 6th to make it 2-0 Rocks. Cegarra had a 3-hit shutout going into the 7th but gave up a double, single, sac fly, got a K, then allowed a double and RBI single before getting pulled with the game now tied. Hartsock got a swinging strikeout to strand 2 then, after the Rocks left 2 in scoring position in the 7th, struck out 2 of 3 in the 8th to keep it tied. Strait led off the Wilmington 8th with his 5th homer as a Blue Rock to regain the lead and Greg Holland stranded 2 in scoring position in the 9th for his 4th save. RP Jeff Moore took the loss with an ER allowed in 2 IP to drop to 2-3 with a 4.08 ERA. Starter Tim Bascom worked 6 IP of 2 ER allowed to move his ERA to 6.59. 1B Brandon Snyder was 2-4 with 2 doubles, a K and RS.

Wilmington is 22-24 and 3 games back. Game 2 is tonight as lefty Paul Mildren (0-6, 7.71, even the team site labels him "struggling") pitches vs. Keys righty Kyle Schmidt (9-9, 4.21).

A - Burlington: Bees 10, Peoria 0 (no-hitter)

3B Moustakas 2-5, 2B (19), 2 RBI (60), RS -- .267
CF Lough 3-6, 2B (16), 2 RBI (49), K, 2 RS, picked off -- .264
DH Walton 2-5, 2 RBI (42), K, RS -- .248
2B Giavotella 2-5, RBI (15), K, 2 RS -- .301
SS J. Rivera 2-5, 2 RS -- .237
C Eigsti 2-4, BB, RS -- .223
1B C. Robinson 1-4, BB, RBI (45), K, RS -- .246
LF Francis 1-3, BB, HBP, 2B (3), RBI (6), K -- .222
RF Van Stratten 0-3, BB, HBP -- .330

Duffy 6 IP, 2 BB, 4 K, WP -- W, 7-4, 2.48 ERA, if he keeps this up, the Royals have a pitching stud on their hands
Abreu 3 IP, BB, 5 K -- SV, 7, 3.66 ERA, also pitched well of late

*** The Bees got their 7th straight win in style as Danny Duffy and Juan Abreu dominated the Chiefs for a no-hitter -- the club's first since June '04. Meanwhile, the offense pounded Peoria for 10 runs on 15 hits. Mike Moustakas got the scoring started with an RBI double in the 1st and Jamar Walton hit a 2-run single to make it 3-0 Bees after 1. Moustakas came back up in the 2nd and hit an RBI single before Clint Robinson did the same to make it 5-0 and chase Peoria starter Jose Pina. A walk in both the 2nd and 3rd spoiled Duffy's chances at a perfect game but he retired the last 12 he faced. David Lough singled home a run in the 3rd and Nick Francis hit an RBI double in the 4th to make it 7-0 Bees. The Bees finished the scoring with 3 in the 7th on a run-scoring passed ball, a Lough RBI double and Johnny Giavotella RBI single that made it 10-0. After that it was simply a question of whether the no-hitter would last. Abreu struck out 2 in a perfect 7th, K'd another in a perfect 8th and gave up a 2-out walk in the 9th before ending the game with a strikeout for his 7th save, as he struck out 2 that inning. Pina allowed 5 runs (4 ER) over 1 1/3 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA.

Burlington is 28-17 and 3 games up on first. The series wraps tonight as Luis Cota (1-1, 3.77) starts (backed up from last night) versus Peoria's Casey Coleman (1-1, 2.16).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Billings 4, Chukars 2

1B Espinosa 3-4, 2 2B (5), RBI (10), K -- .198, bat finally heating up?
SS Jimenez 2-4, 2B (6), 2 K, RS, 2 E (13) -- .301
LF Griffin 1-4, RBI (20), K -- .267
C McCauley 1-4, K, RS -- .259
CF Norris 0-4, K -- .246
RF Testa 0-3, BB -- .241

Hodgson 5 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 2-4, 4.00 ERA
Novakowski 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 4.00 ERA

*** Billings plated 3 runs in the 1st and that was all the Mustangs would need to take the opener from Idaho Falls. Ivor Hodgson gave up a walk, single and 3-run homer as Billings took command from the get-go. Tito Espinosa hit an RBI double in the 2nd, but 2 Antonio Jimenez errors in the 5th helped Billings push across another run to make it 4-1. Jimenez led off the 6th with a double and scored on a Shawn Griffin single to cut the lead to 4-2 but 12 of the next 14 Chukars went down to end it. Starter Leonardo Astorga got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER allowed to improve to 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA. RP Randall Linebaugh pitched a scoreless 9th for his 5th save. LF Tony Brown was 2-3 with a walk, RBI, K and RS and 1B Mike Konstanty was 1-4 with his 6th homer and 3 RBI.

IF is 4-6 and 3 games back while on a 4-game skid. The series continues tonight as the Chukars send Ryan Morgan (0-1, 5.06) to the mound versus Billings' Jamie Arneson (4-1, 4.43).

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 5, Greeneville 4

SS J. Gutierrez 3-4, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .258
1B D. Cruz 2-4, RBI (8), RS, E (2) -- .268
3B F. Cruz 2-4, K, RS -- .248
CF H. Richardson 1-5, RBI (14), 3 K, SB (9) -- .235
LF Caldwell 1-5, RBI (12) -- .205
C Vittek 1-4, 3 K -- .263
* The Royals stranded 11.

Baez 5 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HRA -- 3.55 ERA, nice K rate, anyway
G. De La Cruz 4 IP, 2 H, 5 K -- W, 3-3, 5.45 ERA

*** The Royals blew a 4-run lead but salvaged a win with a run in the 8th. Burlington stranded 2 in the 1st but plated 4 in the 2nd on a Diego Cruz RBI single, 2-run Astros error and Hilton Richardson RBI single before the Royals stranded 2. They stranded 2 more in the 3rd and the Astros began chipping away in the 4th as Manauri Baez gave up a leadoff homer to cut it to 4-1. A run-scoring Diego Cruz error in the 5th and a 2-out, 2-run homer off Baez tied the game at 4. Jorge Gutierrez was thrown out trying to score on a flyout in the 6th but, in the 8th, he singled with 1 out, stole second, advanced on a groundout and scored on an Allen Caldwell single to make it 5-4 Burlington. Giancarlo De La Cruz got a key strikeout to end the game with the tying run at third in the 9th for the win. Greeneville RP Nathaniel Pettus allowed an ER over 1 IP to fall to 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA. Starter Jose Trinidad worked 5 innings of 4 runs (2 ER) allowed to move his ERA to 2.73. 2B Albert Cartwright was 2-3 for the Astros with a walk, his first 2 HR and 3 RBI along with his 8th SB and 9th error.

The B-Royals are 16-32. A 3-game set at the Elizabethton Twins (29-19) starts tonight with no announced starters on the team site. The Royals are 0-3 versus the Twins.

Rookie - AZL: Rangers 6, Royals 5 (8/rain)

SS Espinal 1-3, 2B (3), RBI (13), K, RS -- .226
C Matos 1-3, RBI (4) -- .250
1B Henriquez 1-4, 2 RS -- .149
3B Kuebler 1-3, K, RS -- .208
CF Llanos 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (9), E (3) -- .174

Fortuna 4 2/3 IP, H, 3 BB, 5 K -- 5.46 ERA
Garrido 2 1/3 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 4 H, 2 WP -- 7.88 ERA
Hentges IP, UER, H, 2 K, WP -- BS, 1, L, 1-1, 2.38 ERA

*** The Royals pen blew a 5-run lead late and the rain washed away the final inning to preserve the Ranger win. The Royals got off to a good start with 3 runs in the 1st on a Yowill Espinal RBI ground-rule double, a Mauricio Matos RBI groundout and a run-scoring Ranger error. The Royals added 2 in the 4th on another run-scoring Rangers error and Jake Kuebler scored later in the inning as Derek Rodriguez was caught stealing to make it 5-0. Carlos Fortuna held the Rangers in check over 4 2/3 innings but Santiago Garrido got touched up for 3 runs in the 6th on 3 doubles and a run-scoring wild pitch. Garrido was pulled with runners on the corners and no outs in the 8th and Chase Hentges allowed a sac fly and RBI double to tie the game before a wild pitch and passed ball on Jose Bonilla scored the go-ahead run. The Royals went down in order in the 8th and the rain took care of the rest. RP Tyler Tufts got his 1st save with a perfect 8th and RP Cody Eppley pitched the 7th to get the win to move to 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA. Starter Kyle O'Campo worked 4 IP of 5 R (2 ER) allowed to move his ERA to 3.86. Six Rangers had a hit each as 4 doubles were key to the win.

The Royals are 2-8 and in the AZL cellar. They play the 5-5 Cubs tonight.