Royals on the Farm 5/16

Um, not to state the obvious, but if the Royals are gonna contend, they need to win more than just Greinke's starts. A .200 winning percentage each time through the rotation isn't gonna cut it. And only 3 1/3 from Hochevar today? Arrrrrggggh.

AAA - Omaha: Colorado Springs 9, O-Royals 3

DH House 2-4, BB, 2B (4), RS -- .328
C Tupman 2-4 -- .320, 5/5 SB against
CF Duarte 1-4, 2 RBI -- .250
3B Metcalf 1-4, 2B (10), RBI (21), K -- .289
1B Ka'aihue 1-2, 2 BB, 2B (8), RS -- .255
LF B. Pena 0-5, 2 K -- .326

Chen 5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- L, 1-2, 5.45 ERA
Newman 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, K -- 6.14 ERA
Hamulack IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K -- 6.92 ERA, Omaha pen needs some help...Hayes? Nicoll? both?

*** Colorado Springs took a 6-run lead and coasted to the series opening win. Omaha left 2 in scoring position in the 1st and the Sky Sox got to Bruce Chen for 2 runs in the 3rd on two extra-base hits and a sac fly. They plated 4 runs in the 4th on 2 walks and 3 hits to make it 6-0 off Chen. The Royals got on the board in the 6th with a Travis Metcalf RBI double and Jose Duarte RBI groundout. Josh Newman allowed a run in the 6th and Duarte hit an RBI single in the 8th to cut it to 7-3 but Tim Hamulack was nicked for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning as the Sox put it away. Starter Brandon Hynick got the win for the Sox with 6 2/3 IP of 2 ER allowed on 7 hits and 4 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA. 3B Mike McCoy was 4-5 with 2 SB (9), his 2nd triple, 4 RBI (11) and 3 RS to move to .374. RF Dan Ortmeier was 3-5 with his 2nd SB, 2 RBI (22), and a K to move to .339 and 2 others had 2 hits for the Sox. LF Matt Miller had 2 doubles (13), a walk and his 27th RBI to move to .326 with a 2-3 day. 2B Eric Young Jr. stole his 20th base of the season.

The O-Royals are 18-18 and 2 1/2 games back. Game 2 is today as Lenny DiNardo (2-1, 4.09) faces Sky Sox righty Alan Johnson (4-0, 3.60). Ryan Shealy has missed 9 games with a swollen knee.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 8, Springfield 5

3B Lucas 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI, RS -- .455
DH McFall 2-5, RBI (24), 2 K, RS -- .257
RF Parraz 2-5, 2B (10), K, OF assist at second -- .340
C Howell 1-3, SF, 2B (4), 2 RBI (13), K, RS -- .318
LF Dickerson 1-5, 2B (7), 2 RBI (13), RS -- .232
1B C. Smith 1-5, RBI (21), K -- .245, sets NWA record with 14-game hit streak
SS McConnell 1-3, BB, RBI (7), RS, SB (2) -- .176
2B Mertins 1-4, BB, K, RS, SB (4) -- .261
CF Strait 1-4, K, 2 RS -- .316

B. Wood 6 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA -- W, 2-2, 6.88 ERA, ugly line but a W
Cevette 2/3 IP, K -- 3.38 ERA
Bale IP, H -- 1.93 ERA
Marte IP, BB -- SV, 3, 3.00 ERA

*** The Naturals held off the Cardinals to split the 4-game set with a win Saturday. Blake Wood got dinged first as RF Tyler Henley went solo for his 1st homer of the year in the 2nd but Cody Strait reached on a 2-out error in the NWA 2nd and scored on a Jeff Howell double before Chris McConnell singled home Howell to make it 2-1 Nats. The Cards tied it with a run on 2 hits in the 4th but NWA regained the lead with 2 runs in the inning on a Howell sac fly and a Joe Dickerson RBI groundout to make it 4-2. Ed Lucas hit a 2-out RBI double in the 5th but Springfield got a run back in the 6th to cut it to 5-3. The Naturals struck for 3 runs in the 6th as Dickerson ripped an RBI double, Corey Smith singled home a run to extend his now franchise-record hit streak to 14 games, and Brian McFall singled home a run to make it 8-3, but NWA left 'em loaded. Wood allowed a 2-run homer to DH Mark Hamilton (his 5th) in the 7th but he and the bullpen finished it off. Starter Brandon Dickson took the loss for Springfield with 5 IP of 5 runs (2 ER) allowed on 7 hits, a walk and 3 Ks to drop to 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA. 2B Dan Descalso was 2-4 with a RS to move to .355, 1B Curt Smith was 2-4 with his 1st RBI, error and a RS to move to .286, and Hamilton hit his HR with 2 RBI (15), 2 walks, a K and RS to improve to .313 with a 1-2 day.

The Naturals are 17-18 and 2 games back. They have today off.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Lynchburg 5

CF D. Robinson 3-5, 2B (3), 2 RBI (15), K, RS, SB (18) -- .242
2B Giavotella 3-5, 2 RBI (15) -- .218
3B Moustakas 1-5, HR (6), RBI (27), K, RS, E (9) -- .269
1B Seratelli 2-4, RS, SB (2), picked off -- .255
C Eigsti 2-4, 2B (5), K, 2 RS -- .260
SS Bianchi 1-4, 2B (10), K, RS -- .303
RF Lough 1-3, S, 2B (8), K -- .303
LF Ortiz 1-2, 2 S, SB (3) -- .257

Paulino 4 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- 7.04 ERA
Liotta 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, BB, 4 K -- 6.41 ERA
Swaggerty 2/3 IP, H, K -- W, 1-1, 2.92 ERA
Hartsock IP, H, K -- SV, 8, 0.57 ERA

*** The Rocks came back from an early 4-0 deficit as late rallies added up to a 6-5 win. The Hillcats scored 2 runs off Eduardo Paulino in the 1st on a 2-run shot by 1B Matt Hague (his 2nd) and then added 2 runs in the 2nd on a walk and 2 hits to make it 4-0. Derrick Robinson hit an RBI single in the 3rd but a Mike Moustakas error in the 4th helped Lynchburg get the run back to make it 5-1. The Rocks left 2 in scoring position in the 5th but Moustakas led off the 6th with his 6th homer of the season to cut the lead to 3. Derrick Robinson hit a 2-out RBI double in the 7th and scored on a Johnny Giavotella single to cut the lead to 5-4. Ray Liotta left the bases full in the Lynchburg 7th and Jeff Bianchi led off the 8th with a double and would score on a passed ball to tie the game. Ben Swaggerty came in to strand 2 Hillcats in the 8th and Giavotella hit the go-ahead RBI single in the 9th to make it 6-5. Aaron Hartsock stranded the tying run at third in the 9th to pick up his 8th save. RP R.J. Rodriguez took the loss for Lynchburg with an ER allowed on 2 hits with 2 Ks over an IP to drop to 3-1 with a 4.40 ERA. Starter Paul Mildren allowed 2 ER on 8 hits with 3 Ks over 6 IP to drop his ERA to 5.46. Five 'Cats had multi-hit games led by a 3-6 night from 2B Jose De Los Santos, who stole his 12th base, K'd twice and scored 3 runs in improving to .276. 3B Pedro Alvarez was 1-4 with a sac fly, 2 RBI (30) and a K to improve to .210.

The Rocks are 17-18 and 5 games back. The first half of the split schedule is officially half over. The series wraps today as Mario Santiago (1-3, 5.46) faces Hillcats righty Matt McSwain (2-1, 4.86). The organization picked up righty Eric Basurto from the Marlins to fill out the Ross Gload trade. Basurto, 23, was a 33rd round pick of the Marlins in '06 out of Chabot College. He spent '08 in the Sally low-A league and posted a 1.64 ERA and 1.45 WHIP with 26 BB/36 K in 44 IP. I assume he'll end up in Wilmington but it could be Burlington, too.

A - Burlington: Bees 7, Cedar Rapids 2

3B Jimenez 2-4, 2 2B (6), RBI (9), K, 2 RS -- .198
CF Norris 2-4, RBI (5), K, 2 RS, SB (12), OF assist at home -- .214
RF Van Stratten 2-4, SF, 2B (7), RBI (13), RS, SB (5) -- .361
LF D. Wood 2-4, 2B (5), HR (2), RBI (10), RS, OF assist at home -- .274
1B Hosmer 0-3, BB, RBI (12) -- .245
2B F. Garcia 0-1, 2 BB, S, RBI (3) -- .325
C Bonilla 1-2, 2 BB, 3B, RS -- .257

Baez 6 IP, ER, 7 H, WP -- W, 2-1, 3.21 ERA
Bryant 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- SV, 1, 3.74 ERA

*** The Bees cranked up the offense in the middle innings to swamp the Kernels in the series opener. Nick Van Stratten led off the Bees 1st with a double and 2 Kernels errors brought him home to give the Bees an early lead. Manauris Baez gave up a run in the 2nd on 3 2-out hits and a wild pitch, although David Wood helped bail him out with an assist at the plate to keep the game tied. The Bees stranded 2 in the 2nd but Wood hit a 1-out solo shot in the 4th for his 2nd of the season to make it 2-1 Burlington. Van Stratten hit a sac fly in the 5th and Fernando Garcia squeezed home a run to make it 4-1. The Bees rallied for 3 runs with 2 out in the 6th as Jose Bonilla tripled, Antonio Jimenez doubled him home, and Patrick Norris singled home Jimenez before later scoring on a wild pitch to make it 7-1. Carson Bryant allowed a run in the 7th but finished the last 3 innings for the unconventional save for his 1st of the season. Kernels SP Manaurys Correa took the loss with 5 2/3 IP of 6 ER allowed on 7 hits and 3 walks with a K to drop to 1-3 with a 6.44 ERA. SS Adam Younger was 4-4 with his 2nd error, 3 doubles (5), 7th RBI and a RS to move to .327 and 2 others had 2 hits for Cedar Rapids.

The Bees are 14-20. Game 2 is today as Mike Montgomery makes his A-ball debut for the Bees versus Kernels righty Tyler Chatwood (1-2, 2.45). Montgomery has 4 walks and 5 Ks but no hits allowed through 3 IP. Kelvin Herrera has been placed on the DL to make room for Montgomery. Righties Mike Lehmann and Tim Melville have also been added to the Bees roster. Herrera, Carlos Arias and Brent Fisher have been sent back to extended ST. Melville is expected to make his first pro start Wednesday.