Royals on the Farm 5/19 -- it's Melville debut night!

Well, that was probably the most exciting Royals 9th in a long while....the team site reports it's the biggest 9th inning comeback with a walkoff win since the Mendy Lopez game back on opening day 2004.....and, of course, I missed it. I've wavered on having Mike Jacobs as my player to watch thus far, but it's fun to see him really get hold of a pitch. He's already hit a few homers at the K that I can't remember the last time I saw a ball hit to that point. I'd like to put Alberto Callaspo in there, and still may do so, as, personal issues aside, he's probably the Royal I root for the most. But Jacobs can crush a pitch. And the Royals needed that Tuesday night.

AAA - Omaha: Colorado Springs 8, O-Royals 5

C B. Pena 3-4, HR (3), RBI (14), RS -- .339, Buck's OPS for May: .479, just keep an eye on it
2B Hulett 1-3, SF, HR (3), 3 RBI (31), RS -- .299
RF Aldridge 1-4, HR (4), RBI (24), RS -- .288, quietly having solid season
1B Ka'aihue 0-3, BB -- .285
DH House 0-3, BB -- .308
3B Metcalf 1-3, BB -- .285
CF Duarte 0-4, K, OF assist at third -- .200

M. Wright 4 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-1, 11.25 ERA, yikes
Yabuta 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K -- 5.56 ERA
Newman IP, nothing -- 5.74 ERA
Hamulack IP, 2 BB -- 6.43 ERA

*** Matt Wright got rocked and the O-Royals dropped 3 of 4 to the Sky Sox. Wright had a run in and the bases loaded with 1 out in the Colorado Springs 1st when journeyman DH Mark Bellhorn ripped a 3-run triple to make it 4-0 Sox after 1. The Royals stranded 2 in the 2nd and Wright allowed 2 more runs in the bottom of the frame on a walk and 2 hits to make it 6-0. Tug Hulett stepped up to hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd for his 3rd of the season to cut it to 6-2 but Wright allowed another run in the 4th and Yasuhiko Yabuta allowed a run on 2 extra-base hits in the 5th to bump the lead back to 6. Hulett hit a sac fly in the 8th and Brayan Pena hit his 3rd homer of the season for a solo shot to cut the lead to 8-4. Cory Aldridge hit his 4th homer of the season for a solo shot in the 9th but that was all the Royals could muster. Sky Sox SP Kurt Birkins got the win with 5 IP of 2 ER allowed on 4 hits and 2 walks with a K to improve to 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA. Three Sox had 2 hits each. Bellhorn's 3 RBI doubled his season total to 6. CF Carlos Gonzalez, the keystone of the Matt Holliday trade, was 2-4 with his 10th double and 41st RBI along with a K and RS to improve to .333. 2B Eric Young Jr. also had 2 hits, scored 3 runs and stole his 22nd base to improve to .289.

The O-Royals are 19-20 and 3 1/2 games back. They have today off to return for a homestand.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 10, Tulsa 0 (5-hitter)

2B Mertins 4-5, 3B (2), 3 RBI (16) -- .282
C Suomi 4-5, RBI (11), 3 RS -- .361
CF Strait 2-5, 2B (8), K, 2 RS -- .311
1B McFall 1-5, HR (5), 2 RBI (26), 2 K, 2 RS -- .252
RF Parraz 1-2, 3 BB, 3B, RBI (18), SB (3) -- .339
DH C. Smith 0-3, 2 BB, RBI (22), 2 K -- .234
3B J. Johnson 0-4, BB, RBI (4), 2 K, RS -- .214
SS McConnell 0-3, S, 2 K, RS -- .175
* The Naturals stranded 10.

B. Johnson 6 IP, 5 H, BB, 3 K, 2 WP, pickoff -- W, 2-3, 4.21 ERA
Bale 2 IP, 2 K -- 1.35 ERA, looks like he's rounding into shape
Sencion IP, 3 K -- 4.43 ERA, took him 17 pitches, but looks good in box score

*** The Naturals drilled the Drillers to support some outstanding pitching led by starter Blake Johnson. NWA left the bases full in the 1st and Johnson tiptoed through trouble by stranding 2 in scoring position in the 2nd. The Naturals struck for 3 runs in the 2nd off Rockies hot prospect SP Jhoulys Chacin on a run-scoring error, a Josh Johnson RBI groundout and a Jordan Parraz RBI triple. Kurt Mertins hit a 2-out RBI triple in the 4th and Johnson worked out of a runners-at-the-corners, none-out jam in the 5th. Brian McFall went long in the bottom of the 5th for a 2-run homer for his 5th of the season to make it 6-0 and chase Chacin. NW Arkansas poured on 4 more runs in the 7th on a John Suomi RBI single, 2-run Mertins single and bases-loaded walk taken by Corey Smith to make it 10-0. Nats pitchers retired the final 10 Drillers in a row. Chacin took the loss with 6 runs (4 ER) allowed on 8 hits and 3 walks with 8 Ks over 4 IP of work to fall to 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA. 1B Jeff Kindel was the only multi-hit Driller with a 2-4 night and made his 5th error in moving his BA to .318.

The Naturals are 19-19 and 2 1/2 games back after already losing today's game with the Drillers. Anthony Lerew started and took the loss for the Nats.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 9, Salem 7

3B Moustakas 3-5 -- .288, starting to heat up this level
LF Orlando 3-5, 3B (2), 2 RS, picked off -- .217
C Eigsti 2-4, S, 2B (6), 3 RBI (14), 2 K, RS, PB (6) -- .271
1B C. Robinson 2-4, 2B (13), RBI (23), K, RS -- .331
CF D. Robinson 2-4, BB, 2B (4), RS, 2 SB (20), picked off -- .246
DH Walton 2-4, picked off twice -- .295, might as well have had 0-fer
SS Bianchi 1-5, 2B (11), RBI (17), RS -- .296
RF Ortiz 1-3, 2 RBI (11), K, OF assist at third -- .261
RF Lough 0-1, HBP -- .314, pulled in 4th
2B Giavotella 0-4, BB, K, RS -- .198

Caldera 4 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- 5.35 ERA
R. Hardy 2 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB -- 9.00 ERA
Swaggerty 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- W, 2-1, 2.51 ERA
Hartsock IP, H -- SV, 9, 0.54 ERA

*** The Rocks climbed out of an early hole as 5 late runs gave them the win and at least a split of the set with the Red Sox. Three doubles gave the Sox 2 runs off Alex Caldera in the 1st but Ryan Eigsti tied it with a 2-run double in the 2nd. Caldera got knocked around again in the 3rd as Salem posted 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk, including a 2-run homer by LF Chih-Hsien Chiang for his 3rd of the season. Adrian Ortiz pulled the Rocks closer with a 2-out, 2-run single in the 5th but Rowdy Hardy allowed a run in the 6th on 2 hits and a walk to make it 7-4 Salem. Derrick Robinson doubled and scored on an error in the 7th to cut it to 7-5 and, after Ben Swaggerty stranded 2 in the Salem 7th, the Rocks surged ahead with 3 in the 8th on a Clint Robinson RBI double, and two run-scoring Salem errors. An Eigsti RBI single in the 9th gave Wilmington some insurance and Aaron Hartsock pitched a quiet 9th for his 9th save. RP Derrick Loop blew his 2nd save and took the loss with 2 IP of 4 runs (3 ER) allowed on 7 hits and a K to fall to 1-3 with a 2.33 ERA. Starter Jose Capellan allowed 4 ER on 8 hits and 2 walks with a K over 5 IP to move his ERA to 6.69. Four Sox had 2 hits, including Chiang, who was 2-4 with the HR and 2 RBI (13) along with a K to improve to .232. C Luis Exposito also drove in 2 runs (19) and hit his 7th double in improving to .259. The Sox made 5 errors in the loss.

The Rocks are 19-19 and 6 games back. Game 3 is tonight as Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.16) faces Sox righty Seth Garrison (2-3, 5.91).

A - Burlington: Cedar Rapids 7, Bees 2

Hosmer DNP
RF Francis 2-4, 2B (9), HR (7), 2 RBI (24), K, RS, E (4) -- .314
2B F. Garcia 2-4, BB, 3B, RS, 2 E (7) -- .320
C S. Perez 2-4 -- .154
LF Van Stratten 1-5 -- .315
DH McCauley 1-3, BB, K -- .189
SS Alfaro 1-4, 2 K -- .183
CF Norris 0-4 -- .202
* The Bees stranded 10.

Casey 4 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 9 H, BB, 3 K, WP -- L, 2-4, 3.09 ERA
B. Hardy 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, K -- 2.70 ERA
Bowden 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K -- 2.30 ERA

*** The Bees batted 2-12 with runners in scoring position and the Kernels came away with 3 of 4 in the series. Cedar Rapids got all it would need in the 1st with 4 runs off Bryan Casey on 4 hits, a walk, a wild pitch and hit batsman. The Kernels added 2 runs in the 2nd on 3 hits and a Fernando Garcia throwing error. The Bees stranded 2 in the 2nd and 4th and got their only runs on a 2-out, 2-run homer by Nick Francis in the 5th for his 7th of the season. The Kernels responded to the score by getting a run back off Blaine Hardy in the 6th. The Bees stranded 2 in the 9th. Starter Will Smith got the win for the Kernels with 5 IP of 2 ER allowed on 7 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to improve to 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. Five Kernels had multi-hit games led by 3-hit nights from 1B Roberto Lopez and C Beau Brooks. RF Angel Castillo drove in 2 runs (19).

The Bees are 14-23 and in the cellar of the MWL West. A 3-game home set versus the South Bend Silver Hawks (18-19, A D-Backs) starts tonight with, I believe, Tim Melville making his long-awaited pro debut versus SB lefty Wade Miley (1-2, 3.47). Miley (those stats plus 1.18 WHIP, HRA, 7 BB/27 K in 6 starts/36 1/3 IP) is the only Arizona prospect of note on the Silver Hawks roster. CF Brendan Duffy leads the offense with a .342 BA/.873 OPS.