Royals on the Farm 8/31 and most of 9/1

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 6, Iowa 5 (Sun.)

CF Bigler 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI (8), RS -- .327, can't argue with results
1B Ka'aihue 2-5, HR (11), RBI (20), RS -- .309, 99th RBI on season
DH Shealy 2-5, HR (22), RBI (62), 3 K, RS -- .280
2B J. Gutierrez 2-4 -- .333
3B Spann 1-4, BB, RBI (10), RS -- .299
LF B. Pena 0-5, RS -- .289

Salmon 5 IP, UER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K, WP -- 4.62 ERA, has been solid starter when given chance
Lowery 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K -- BS, 2, 2.12 ERA
Yabuta 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K -- BS, 2, W, 4-3, 5.36 ERA, vultured the vultured win
B. Richardson IP, K -- SV, 1, 11.57 ERA

*** Omaha had a 2-run lead going into the 9th but Yasuhiko Yabuta blew his 2nd save before Kila Ka'aihue helped win it for Omaha in the 10th. With the bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the 1st, Chad Spann singled home a run but that was all Omaha would get in the inning. Three Iowa hits tied it off Brad Salmon in the 1st as a passed ball helped the Cubs' cause. Omaha loaded the bases with none out in the 2nd but got no runs out of it this time. Salmon stranded 2 in the 2nd and Ryan Shealy hit his 22nd homer of the season to lead off the 3rd and make it 2-1 Royals. It stayed that way until Devon Lowery took over in the 6th and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits to swing it to 3-2 Iowa. Omaha stranded 2 in the 7th but Brett Bigler stepped up with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th and cranked his 1st AAA homer to give the Royals a 5-3 lead. Yabuta had 1 on with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th when Iowa strung together 3 straight singles to tie the game. He stranded 2 and Ka'aihue hit a 1-out solo shot in the 10th for his 11th at AAA to give the Royals back the lead. Brett Richardson pitched a perfect 10th for his 1st AAA save. RP Justin Berg took the loss for Iowa with an ER allowed over an IP to fall to 4-6 with a 5.52 ERA. Starter Mike Burns worked 6 innings of 2 ER allowed to move his ERA to 4.67. C Anthony Richie was 3-4 with a HBP, RBI and K. 1B Jason DuBois also had 2 hits for Iowa and drove in 2 runs.

O-Royals 13, Iowa 8 (today)

LF B. Pena 5-6, 2 2B (17), HR (6), 3 RBI (31), 4 RS, SB (7) -- .303, what a way to finish...here's an idea, DFA John Buck and Ross Gload and give Pena and Ka'aihue their rightful shot...I give it 5 percent chance of happening
DH Shealy 2-4, HBP, SF, 2B (22), 3 RBI (65) -- .282
1B Ka'aihue 2-4, 2 BB, 2B (4), RBI (21), K, RS -- .316, finished with 37 HR, 100 RBI
SS Dawkins 2-5, BB, 2 RBI (32), K, 2 RS, E (6) -- .266
RF Hollins 2-5, 2B (16), HR (16), RBI (55), K, 3 RS -- .220
CF Bigler 2-5, 2 K, RS, E (2) -- .333, can't say he didn't rise to occasion
3B Spann 1-5, RBI (11), 2 K, RS -- .292
2B Labandeira 1-5, RBI (12) -- .210
* Omaha left 10 on base.

D. Hughes 4 1/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 5.04 ERA
Musser 1 1/3 IP, BB -- W, 3-5, 4.34 ERA
Lumsden 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- SV, 1, 7.21 ERA, about the way I figured a Tyler Lumsden save would go

*** Omaha put some runs on the board to get past the Cubs and finish on a high note today. Ryan Shealy hit a 2-out RBI single in the 1st but Dusty Hughes gave up a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st to make it 3-1 Cubs. Damon Hollins led off the 2nd with his 16th homer of the season and the Royals surged ahead with 4 runs in the 3rd on a Shealy sac fly, Chad Spann RBI single, run-scoring error by former Royal Andres Blanco and Josh Labandeira RBI single to make it 6-3 Royals. Iowa rallied for a run with 2 out in the 4th but left the bases loaded off Hughes and a Gookie Dawkins RBI single in the 5th made it 7-4. Hughes was chased after giving up 2 runs in the Iowa 5th but Shealy doubled home a run in the 6th to keep the lead at 2 at 8-6. The Royals pulled away with 4 runs in the 7th on a Dawkins RBI single and 3-run homer by Brayan Pena, who was in the process of a 5-6 day at the plate. Pena doubled and scored on Kila Ka'aihue's RBI single in the 9th as Kila scraped out his 100th RBI of the season. Tyler Lumsden gave up 2 runs in the 9th but stranded 2 in scoring position for his 1st save. Iowa SP Jason Stanford took the loss with 5 1/3 IP of 8 runs (6 ER) allowed to fall to 3-1 with a 5.06 ERA. RF Josh Kroeger was 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI with 2 K and a RS. 1B Jason DuBois was 1-5 with his 25th homer and 4 RBI. If you're curious, Blanco finished the regular season at .285 with a 1-4 day and his error was his 23rd of the season. Iowa moves on to the PCL playoffs.

Omaha finished the season 63-81.

AA - NW Arkansas: Tulsa 9, Naturals 5 (Sun.)

2B Falu 4-5, 2 RS, SB (11) -- .301
C Clark 1-3, S, HR (4), RBI (13), K, RS -- .178
LF Aldridge 1-2, 3 BB, RBI (39), K -- .274
DH Richardson 1-5, RBI (82), K -- .295
SS Lisson 1-5, RBI (65) -- .226
3B Lucas 1-4, BB, K, RS -- .307
* CF Ovandy Suero had an OF assist at home. The Naturals stranded 11.

Hardy 3 2/3 IP, 9 ER, 11 H, BB, 3 K -- L, 6-11, 4.97 ERA, tough day for his ERA
M. Peterson 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, K -- 2.41 ERA
Mildren 2 IP, H -- 6.33 ERA

*** A 6-run Tulsa 4th did in the Naturals. Tulsa scored 3 runs on 5 hits in the 1st off Rowdy Hardy but NWA matched that feat in the bottom of the inning as they loaded the bases with none out and Juan Richardson hit an RBI single and Mario Lisson singled home 2 runs. The Nats stranded 2 and 2 more in the 2nd. Hardy took one for the team a little bit in the 4th as Tulsa pounded out 6 runs on 6 hits, a walk and hit batsman before he was finally pulled with 2 outs. Matt Peterson got the last out and Cody Clark hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning for his 4th of the season. The Nats stranded 2 in the 7th and 8th and picked up a meaningless run in the 9th on a Cory Aldridge RBI single but there would be no more late magic. RP Tomas Santiago pitched 3 innings of scoreless ball for the win to move to 4-8 with a 4.42 ERA. Starter Xavier Cedeno allowed 4 runs (3 ER) over 4 IP to move his ERA to 4.12. CF Dexter Fowler was 3-4 with 2 RS and six other Drillers had 2 hits.

Tulsa 5, Naturals 3 (today)

2B Maddox 2-5, CS (12) -- .283
1B Clark 1-2, RBI (14) -- .184
DH Aldridge 0-3, SF, RBI (40), K -- .269
CF Duarte 0-4, BB, RBI (47), K -- .250
SS-3B Lucas 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .304
3B-1B Richardson 1-3, BB -- .296
LF Suero 0-1, 3 BB, SB (42) -- .253

Pimentel 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 6 K -- L, 7-13, 5.38 ERA
Atencio 2 IP, ER, 3 H, K -- 3.81 ERA
Crist 2 IP, H, 4 K -- 3.89 ERA

*** NWA made it close late but dropped the regular season finale. Tulsa scored a run on 3 hits and a walk off Julio Pimentel in the 1st, then added 3 runs in the 2nd on 3 more hits and a walk to make it 4-0 Drillers. NWA got on the board with a 2-out rally in the 5th as a walk and single were followed by a Cody Clark RBI single and bases-loaded walk by Jose Duarte to cut it to 4-2. The bases were left full but Cory Aldridge hit a sac fly in the 6th to cut the lead to 1. Greg Atencio allowed a run on 3 hits in the 7th and the Naturals stranded 4 over the last 3 innings to take the loss. RP Ryan Mattheus picked up his 17th save as starter Josh Hall got the win with 6 IP of 3 ER allowed to move to 1-2 with a 7.97 ERA. CF Dexter Fowler and SS Chris Nelson were both 3-5 as Fowler had 2 doubles, a triple, 2 RBI, 2 K and 2 RS and Nelson had 2 RBI, a K and RS.

NWA finished the season 42-28 and 75-65 overall. The playoffs start Wednesday with game 1 of the best-of-5 at the Arkansas Travelers. Aldridge and Blake Wood were named the TL player and pitcher of the week for the final week of the season. Aldridge hit 5 HR with 17 RBI over 7 games and Wood pitched 9 scoreless innings in two starts during the week.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 2, Potomac 0 (3-hitter, Sun.)

RF Strait 1-3, BB, 2B (13), RBI (34), K, SB (10) -- .298
LF Ortiz 1-2, BB, RBI (12), picked off -- .311
CF D. Robinson 0-4, K -- .245
SS McConnell 0-3, BB, RS -- .251
DH Correll 0-3, K -- .275
3B J. Johnson 1-3, 2 K, CS (12) -- .256
2B Mertins 0-2, BB, K, SB (28) -- .282

Teaford 2 IP, BB, 3 K -- 3.80 ERA, saving for playoffs
Hartsock 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 12-5, 3.46 ERA
Barrera 2 2/3 IP, H, 3 K -- 2.81 ERA
Chambliss 1 1/3 IP, BB, 2 K, WP -- SV, 24, 3.86 ERA

*** Four Rocks pitchers combined to 3-hit the Nationals. Adrian Ortiz hit an RBI single in the 2nd and Cody Strait added an RBI double in the 3rd to account for the Rocks' runs. Potomac stranded 2 in the 4th, 5th and 8th and Tyler Chambliss got the last 4 outs for his 24th save. Nationals SP Jeff Mandel took the loss with 6 IP of 2 ER allowed to fall to 6-6 with a 3.68 ERA. 2B Mike Martinez had 1 of the Nationals' 3 hits as his 6th triple, walked twice and stole his 25th base.

Potomac 9, Rocks 5 (10, today)

LF Dyson 2-3, BB, RS, SB (39) -- .260
CF D. Robinson 1-4, S, 2B (22), RBI (34), 2 K, RS -- .245
RF Orlando 1-3, BB, SF, 3B (14), RBI (51), K, RS, picked off -- .261
DH Strait 1-5, RBI (35), K, RS, SB (11) -- .296
SS McConnell 1-3, BB, S, E (28), picked off -- .252
1B Correll 1-2, 2 BB, HBP, 2B (18), RS, E (9) -- .277
3B J. Johnson 0-3, BB, S, 2 K -- .253
2B Bianchi 0-4, 2 K -- .255

Liotta IP, H, 2 K -- 1.80 ERA
Chavez 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- 3.12 ERA
Swaggerty 2 IP, 2 H, K -- 2.66 ERA
Holland 1 2/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- 3.42 ERA
Chambliss IP, 5 ER, 6 H, BB, K -- BS, 6, L, 2-4, 4.55 ERA
Morizio 1/3 IP, BB -- 0.00 ERA

*** The Rocks blew a 3-run lead in the 9th and got walloped in the 10th as Potomac took the season finale. Two Rocks were picked off in the 1st to stymie a potential rally. Potomac got the scoring started with 2 runs in the 4th on 3 hits off Chris Chavez, but the Rocks equaled the output in the 4th on a Cody Strait RBI single and run-scoring wild pitch. Derrick Robinson hit an RBI double in the 5th and scored on a Paulo Orlando sac fly to give the Rocks a 4-2 lead and the Rocks added a run without a hit in the 6th thanks to a Potomac error. Tyler Chambliss was brought in with 1 on and 2 out in the 9th with a 5-2 lead and allowed 2 hits around a hit batsman to score 3 runs and tie the game. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 9th and Potomac continued to batter Chambliss in the 10th with 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Catcher Matt Morizio came in to pitch and stranded the bases loaded, but the Rocks couldn't rally in the bottom of the 10th. RP Clint Everts pitched a hitless 9th for the win to move to 4-2 with a 4.80 ERA. Starter Jack Spradlin pitched 3 scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 3.16. 2B Matt Rogelstad and 3B Stephen King had 4 hits for the Nationals with Rogelstad driving in 2 runs in the win. SS Mike Martinez had 3 RBI on a key double in the 10th but also made 2 errors.

The Rocks finished the season at 34-36 and 69-71 overall. The two teams lock horns again Wednesday in playoffs round 1. Hartsock ended up being among 3 pitchers leading the Carolina League in wins with 12. Derrick Robinson's 62 steals shattered a Rocks season record (was 49 by good ol' Carlos Febles).

A - Burlington: Beloit 4, Bees 3 (Sun.)

2B J. Rivera 3-4, K, RS, 2 SB (19) -- .243
1B C. Robinson 2-4, 2 2B (22), 2 RBI (62), K -- .264
DH Taylor 2-3, BB, RS -- .241
3B Moustakas 2-5, 3 K, RS, SB (7) -- .273
CF Lough 1-4, BB, RBI (61), K -- .269
SS Martin 0-5, K -- .314
RF Francis 0-4, 2 K, OF assist at second -- .266

J. Rodriguez 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 K, WP -- L, 1-1, 5.14 ERA
Sisk 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 4 K -- 1.19 ERA

*** The Bees dropped a slim loss to the Snappers. Clint Robinson laced an RBI double in the 2nd and then repeated the feat in the 4th to make it 2-0 Bees. The Snappers scored a run on 2 hits and a wild pitch in the 4th and then added 3 runs in the 5th on 4 hits off Jacob Rodriguez and Brandon Sisk. Three Bees struck out with 2 on in the 6th but David Lough hit an RBI single in the 7th to cut it to 4-3. The Bees got the tying run to third with none out in the 9th but Juan Rivera was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Kyle Martin grounder and the rally went nowhere. RP Mike Tarsi got his 1st save for the Snappers. Starter Mike Allen worked 5 2/3 IP of 2 ER allowed to win and move to 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA. Three Snappers had 2 hits and RF Yangervis Solarte drove in 2 runs along with 2 SB.

Bees 7, Beloit 3 (today)

SS J. Rivera 2-4, K, RS, CS (5), E (15) -- .247
1B C. Robinson 1-4, HR (17), 2 RBI (64), K, RS, E (6) -- .264
2B Giavotella 1-5, 2B (18), 2 RBI (26), K, E (13) -- .299, so close to .300
3B Martin 1-2, HR (9), RBI (28), RS -- .316
DH Taylor 1-2, RBI (58), K, CS (14) -- .242
CF Lough 0-1, BB, HBP, RBI (62), E (7), OF assist at second -- .268
RF Van Stratten 1-4 -- .345

Augustine 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, 5 K, WP -- W, 4-2, 3.77 ERA
Raglione 2 IP, K -- 6.06 ERA
Bowden 2 IP, H, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA

*** The Bees put the season finale away with 3 runs in the 7th to finish their best season in several years with a victory. Mike Moustakas drew a 2-out walk in the 1st, stole second and scored on a Jason Taylor single to give the Bees a 1-0 lead and the Bees rallied again with 2 out in the 2nd. This time they scored 3 runs on a bases-loaded walk by David Lough and 2-run Johnny Giavotella double to make it 4-0. Three hits and 2 Bees errors helped the Snappers score 3 runs in the 2nd but Lough, who made one of the errors, made up for it by making an assist at second from center. The Bees preserved the lead by throwing a runner out at the plate in the 5th and then surged ahead in the 7th as Kyle Martin went solo for his 9th homer as a Bee and Clint Robinson hammered a 2-run shot to center for his 17th of the season to make it 7-3. Barry Bowden stranded 1 in the 8th and pitched a perfect 9th to finish the win. Beloit SP Shooter Hunt took the loss with 4 ER allowed in 2 IP to fall to 1-4 with a 5.46 ERA. SS Chris Cates was 2-4 and C Allan de San Miguel drove in 2 runs for Beloit.

The Bees finished 43-26 and 73-65 overall. The best-of-3 (think I said 5 yesterday) playoffs start Wednesday at home versus the Kane County Cougars (A A's).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 11, Chukars 6 (6, rain/Sun.)

C S. Perez 2-3, 2 2B (3), RBI (3), K, RS -- .379
LF Griffin 2-3, 2B (15), RBI (26), K, RS -- .249
CF Norris 2-3, HR, RBI (18), RS -- .261
3B Van De Keere 1-2, BB, 2B (15), RBI (27), K, RS, CS (2) -- .289
1B Espinosa 1-3, 2B (9), RBI (17), 2 K, RS, E (9) -- .207
RF Testa 1-3, RBI (31), SB (11) -- .303
SS Alfaro 1-3, RS -- .271

Casey 2 IP, 7 R (6 ER), 7 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- L, 3-5, 3.56 ERA
Rada 2 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, BB, 2 K -- 4.79 ERA
Miller 2/3 IP, nothing -- 6.43 ERA

*** Orem riddled IF pitching for 11 runs before rain washed away the last few innings in the Chukars' home finale. Bryan Casey had perhaps his roughest start of the season as Orem scored 4 in the 1st on 3 extra-base hits, including a 3-run homer by C Alex Silversmith. Three hits, a walk and a Tito Espinosa error in the 2nd plated 2 more runs to make it 6-0 Owlz. Espinosa hit an RBI double in the 2nd and scored on a Carlo Testa single to cut the lead to 6-2. Casey was pulled with 1 on and and none out in the 3rd and Orlando Rada allowed a run to make it 7-2, but the Chukars answered with 2 runs in the 3rd on a Patrick Norris inside-the-park homer for his 1st of the season and a Shawn Griffin RBI single but the Chukars left 2 in scoring position. Orem pulled back away with 4 runs in the 5th on 5 hits to chase Rada from the game. Devery Van De Keere and Salvador Perez hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the 5th to cut it to 11-6 but Mother Nature put a stop to the action with 1 down in the Orem 6th. Orem SP Manaurys Correa allowed 6 ER over 4 1/3 IP to get credit for the win and move to 2-0 with a 6.06 ERA. Silversmith was 3-3 with a double, his 2nd homer and 3 RBI with 2 RS. Four other Owlz had 2 hits as 1B Roberto Lopez drove in 3 runs.

IF is 15-18. The final series of the season -- a 5-gamer at the Casper Ghosts (12-18, Rookie Rockies) starts tonight. Colby Beach (3-4, 6.86) takes on Casper's Marco Duarte (5-5, 5.58). IF is 4-7 versus the Ghosts.