Royals on the Farm 4/23

AAA - Omaha: Oklahoma City 5, O-Royals 4

3B Metcalf 2-4, HR (2), RBI (10), K, RS -- .286
LF Lubanski 2-4, 2B (4), 2 K -- .317
RF Aldridge 1-3, BB, HR, RBI (11), RS -- .271
C House 1-4, RBI (12) -- .350
1B Shealy 1-4, K, RS -- .327
Ka'aihue DNP

Chen 6 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, BB, 5 K, HRA, pickoff -- L, 0-1, 5.06 ERA
Yabuta 2 IP, H, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA, solid debut

*** Bruce Chen had 2 rough innings that came back to bite Omaha as Oklahoma City earned at least a split of the 4-game set. Tommy Murphy led off the game with a single and later scored on a J.R. House single to make it 1-0 O-Royals. Chen stranded 2 in scoring position in the 1st but settled down to retire 10 straight going into the 5th. Travis Metcalf led off the Omaha 4th with his 2nd homer of the season and it was 2-0 Royals. The game turned on one pitch as Chen had 2 on with 1 out in the 5th and served up a 3-run shot to 2B German Duran (his 1st) to give the RedHawks the lead. Three singles helped bring in 2 more Oklahoma City runs in the 6th as the RedHawks made it 5-2. Cory Aldridge greeted RP Warner Madrigal with a leadoff homer in the 7th (his 1st) to cut the lead to 2 and a 2-out fielding error by 3B Esteban German (his 6th) in the 8th scored Ryan Shealy and put Chris Lubanski at third as the tying run, but Aldridge grounded out to kill the rally. The Royals went down in order in the 9th as RP Pedro Strop got his 1st save. Starter Michael Ballard got the win with 2 ER allowed on 7 hits, a walk and 5 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA. German and RF Greg Golson had 2 hits for the 'Hawks as German improved to .292 and Golson to .356. Duran's 3 RBI gave him 5 for the season and a 1-3 day moved his BA to a whopping .094.

Omaha is 8-7 and now 2 games back of Iowa. The series wraps tonight as Lenny DiNardo (0-0, 4.50) makes his first organizational start versus RedHawks righty Jared Hyatt (no stats yet).

AA - NW Arkansas: Arkansas 4, Naturals 3

2B Mertins 2-3, RBI (6), RS -- .324
C Howell 2-3, 2B (2), RS -- .368
LF Dickerson 1-3, BB, RBI (5), picked off -- .205
SS Lisson 0-2, BB, SF, RBI (8) -- .262
CF Duarte 0-3, BB, OF assist at second -- .364
1B McFall 0-4, 3 K -- .250
RF Parraz 1-3, BB, 2B (2), K, RS, CS -- .316

B. Johnson 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 0-2, 7.07 ERA
Sencion 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K, balk -- 3.18 ERA

*** Arkansas matched whatever the Naturals did then trumped it by a run to take the first game in the 2009 version of the rivalry. Jordan Parraz got the scoring started by ripping a 2-out double in the 2nd and scoring on a Kurt Mertins single. Mertins attempted to score on a Jeff Howell single only to get tossed out at the plate by CF Peter Bourjos. Blake Johnson had a relatively easy first 3 innings but gave up a sac fly in the 4th to tie the game. With 1 out and the bases full in the Naturals' 5th, Joe Dickerson took a walk and Mario Lisson hit a sac fly to make it 3-1 NWA. Johnson responded by allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in the 5th to tie the game at 3. A 2-out RBI single in the 5th knocked Johnson from the game and gave the Travelers their first lead, which they wouldn't relinquish. Long ago Royal farmhand RP Chad Blackwell was one of two relievers along with RP Ryan Brasier to finish the game with 3 perfect innings as Brasier picked up his 1st save. RP Marco Albano also pitched 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief to get the win and move to 1-1 with a 6.43 ERA. Starter Amalio Diaz allowed 3 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks over 4 1/3 IP to move his ERA to 8.49. Bourjos was 2-4 with his 2nd double, 5th SB, 2 RS and the outfield assist as his BA moved to .311. 1B Mark Trumbo drove in 2 runs to give him 9 on the season.

NWA is 6-7 and 2 games back. Game 2 is tonight as Blake Wood (0-0, 7.00) starts vs. Travs lefty Michael Anton (1-0, 7.00).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 4, Winston-Salem 3

DH Lough 2-4, 2 2B (5), RBI (12), RS -- .373
SS Bianchi 2-4, picked off -- .327
3B Moustakas 1-4, RBI (12), RS -- .269
RF Orlando 1-3, HBP, 2B (3), RBI (5), SB (4), 2 K -- .146
1B C. Robinson 1-4, RS -- .365, they have him in 7 slot for some reason, move him up!
LF Ortiz 1-4, RBI (5) -- .250
CF D. Robinson 0-5, 2 K -- .211, flip flop him and Ortiz, I say, even tho Ortiz has yet to dazzle in '09
2B Giavotella 0-3, BB, K, RS, SB -- .208

Teaford 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 K, HRA, WP -- W, 2-0, 2.20 ERA, nice
Rodriguez IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K -- 6.35 ERA
Hartsock IP, H, BB -- SV, 3, 1.42 ERA

*** Everett Teaford pitched well and the bullpen held on to a lead as the Rocks took the first of 4 from the Dash. David Lough and Paulo Orlando hit back-to-back doubles in the 2nd to get Wilmington on the board, then with 2 out in the 3rd, Johnny Giavotella reached on an error and scored on a Mike Moustakas single, then Lough doubled home Moustakas to make it 3-0 as the Rocks would strand 2. Adrian Ortiz hit an RBI single in the 4th to make it 4-0 and Teaford was perfect going into the 4th before serving up a single and 2-run homer to SS Greg Paiml (his 1st) to cut the lead in half. C Ryan Eigsti picked off a runner at third to end the 5th and Teaford worked around a leadoff double in the 6th. Craig Rodriguez came in for the 8th and gave up a 2-out RBI single to Paiml to cut the lead to 1 but Aaron Hartsock pitched a scoreless 9th for his 3rd save. Starter Levi Maxwell took the loss for Winston-Salem with 6 IP of 4 runs (2 ER) on 8 hits and 2 walks with a K to drop to 0-3 with a 4.97 ERA. Paiml was 2-4 with the HR and 3 RBI (10) along with his 2nd SB and 2nd E to move to .276. CF Jordan Danks also had 2 hits for the Dash with his 4th double, a run scored and an OF assist at home to move his BA to .300.

The Rocks are 9-6 and still a game back. Game 2 is tonight as Alex Caldera (0-1, 4.85) hurls vs. Dash righty Johnnie Lowe (1-0, 3.48).

A - Burlington: Kane County 8, Bees 4

RF Tucker 1-2, HR, 2 RBI (5), RS -- .208
3B Martin 1-3, HBP, HR, RBI (6), 2 K, 2 RS -- .214
SS Alfaro 1-4, 2 K, RS -- .233
1B Hosmer 0-3, BB, K -- .154, would be nice to see a hit now and then
RF Francis 0-2, K -- .378, pulled after K looking to end 4th
CF Norris 0-4, 2 K, OF assist at third -- .182
C Bonilla 0-4, 2 K -- .194

Casey 2 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- L, 0-3, 4.50 ERA
Saito 2 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K, HRA, WP -- 9.72 ERA, still waiting on him to show me something as a pro
Bryant 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K -- 3.86 ERA

*** The Cougars only scored in 2 innings but it was enough for an 8-4 win as the Bees made the most of only 5 hits. Bryan Casey started for the Bees and danced around 2 singles in the 2nd thanks in part to an OF assist by Patrick Norris at third. He was pulled with 1 on and 1 out in the 3rd because of a blister on his foot and Derrick Saito got shelled as he gave up a 3-run homer to 3B Jason Christian (his 2nd), a run-scoring wild pitch, an RBI triple and 2 other hits for 1 run to make it 6-0 Cougars. J.D. Alfaro scored on a 2-out wild pitch in the 4th and Kyle Martin followed with his 1st homer of the season as the solo shot cut the lead to 6-2. Wilson Tucker hit a 2-run homer in the 7th for his 1st of the season and it was 6-4 KC. The Bees stranded 2 in the inning and, after the Cougars got 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk off Carson Bryant in the 9th, RP Jose Guzman pitched a perfect 9th to finish it. Starter Shawn Haviland picked up the win with 6 IP of 2 ER on 2 hits and a walk with 7 Ks to improve to 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA. Three Cougars had 2 hits as DH Steve Kleen was 2-4 with a walk, K and RS to move to .362. Christian's 3 RBI gave him 12 on the season.

The Bees are 3-9. The finale of the set is tonight as Sam Runion (1-1, 8.00) faces Cougars lefty Pedro Figueroa (1-0, 4.50).