Royals on the Farm 5/21 & 5/22

Man, two missed days this week. Yesterday was one part getting ready for Memorial Day weekend, one part shock at the Royals being shut down by Todd "Hell"emeyer. And then Lohse today. The Royals like to find ways to rain on your optimism parade. We get decent pitching, and the offense disappears. Damn.

AAA - Omaha: Sacramento 4, O-Royals 3 (10/Thu.)

SS Hulett 2-4, BB, HR (4), RBI (32), 2 RS -- .304
2B Falu 2-4, BB, RS, CS (2) -- .283
C House 1-5, RBI (20), 2 K -- .305
LF Aldridge 1-5, 2B (4), RBI (25), 3 K -- .284
1B Ka'aihue 1-3, 2 BB -- .286
3B Metcalf 0-5, 2 K, E (5) -- .275
DH Thorman 0-3, HBP -- .171, organizational debut
CF Duarte 0-4, BB, 2 K, OF assist at third -- .172
* Omaha stranded 11 and went 1-12 with RISP.

Chen 7 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 6 K, E -- 4.76 ERA, nice outing, perfect into 6th
Atencio 2 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 K, WP -- BS, 2, L, 2-2, 5.66 ERA

*** The Royals had a 3-0 lead going into the 6th but blew it from there as Sacramento tied it in the 9th and won it in 10. J.R. House hit an RBI single and Cory Aldridge hit an RBI groundout in the 1st and Omaha jumped out to a 2-0 lead before leaving the bases full off River Cats SP James Simmons. The Royals stranded the bases full again in the 2nd but added a run in the 4th on a Tug Hulett solo homer for his 4th of the season. Bruce Chen was perfect until giving up a leadoff double in the 6th and the River Cats would plate 2 in the inning to cut the lead to 1. Omaha stranded 2 in the 6th and the 3-2 lead held into the 9th. Greg Atencio had come in to strand 1 in the 8th but allowed 3 straight singles with 2 out in the 9th to tie the game. Jose Duarte bailed him out by nailing a runner at third to end the inning. Atencio faltered with 2 out again in the 10th as a single and steal set up an RBI single by 2B Eric Patterson to give Sacramento its first lead of the game. Omaha stranded 1 in the 10th as RP Jeff Gray marked his 4th save. RP Jay Marshall got the win with a scoreless 1 2/3 IP to improve to 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA. Simmons allowed 3 ER on 7 hits and 4 walks with 6 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 5.54. Patterson was 2-5 with his 18th SB, 10th double, and 2 RBI (16) to move to .317 and 3B Gregorio Petit also had 2 hits to improve to .296.

Sacramento 3, O-Royals 1 (12/Fri.)

1B Ka'aihue 1-4, BB, RBI (24) -- .285
SS Hulett 0-4, S, K -- .296
C B. Pena 1-4, BB, 2B (3), K -- .333
3B Metcalf 0-4, BB, K -- .267
DH Aldridge 1-3, 2B (5), K -- .286, 10-game hit streak
LF Thorman 0-5, 2 K -- .150, what a pickup!
CF Duarte 0-5, 2 K -- .147, all of a sudden struggling

Duckworth 7 IP, 3 H, BB, K, pickoff -- 4.71 ERA, wow
Colon 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- 2.84 ERA
Hughes 1/3 IP, nothing -- 6.19 ERA
Rosa 1/3 IP, 2 BB -- 6.53 ERA
Hamulack 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- L, 2-1, 7.31 ERA, bullpen is in SORRY state
Yabuta 1/3 IP, K -- 5.40 ERA

*** The Royals were hitless into the 7th and stayed alive in the 11th before falling in 12 in a second straight extra-inning game with the River Cats. Brandon Duckworth and Vin Mazzaro were in a pitcher's duel as Duckworth escaped a jam in the 3rd and the Royals left 2 in scoring position in the 4th. Cory Aldridge broke up Mazzaro's no-hit bid with a 2-out double in the 7th but neither team would get to the opposing starter for a run. Roman Colon stranded 2 in the 8th and Omaha stranded 2 in the 9th as the game went to extras tied at 0. The Royals used 3 pitchers in the 10th with Tim Hamulack coming in to strand 2. The River Cats got a run on 2 hits and a walk in the 11th but Kila Ka'aihue tied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Hamulack gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk in the 12th and the Royals went down in order in the bottom of the inning to end it. RP Jeff Gray got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless IP to move to 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA. Mazzaro finished with 8 IP of scoreless ball with only 1 hit and 1 walk allowed with 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.66. SS Cliff Pennington was 3-3 with his 16th SB, his 5th double and a walk to improve to .283. Two other Cats had 2 hits. Patterson's lone hit was his 4th triple and drove in the eventual game winning RBI (17) as he was 1-5 to drop to .313.

Omaha is 19-22 and 4 1/2 games back. Game 3 is tonight as Lenny DiNardo (3-1, 4.15) faces River Cats lefty Dana Eveland (1-0, 6.61). RP John Bale is continuing his rehab in Omaha. As shown, the Royals signed 1B/OF Scott Thorman (former Brave, shocker!) off the scrap heap and have assigned him to Omaha.

AA - NW Arkansas: Tulsa 5, Naturals 4 (Thu.)

DH McFall 3-4, HR (6), 3 RBI (31), RS -- .276
RF Parraz 1-4, RBI (19) -- .328
LF Dickerson 1-4, K, SB (5) -- .231
2B Mertins 1-4, 2B (6), K, RS -- .272
SS Lisson 1-4, K, RS, E (10) -- .211, first Royal farmhand to 10 E is on the 40-man
CF Strait 1-4, E -- .302
C Howell 0-4, K -- .315

Kniginyzky 5 IP, 5 R (2 ER), 7 H, BB, HRA -- L, 1-4, 5.08 ERA
Marte 3 IP, 2 H, K -- 2.57 ERA
Hayes IP, K -- 0.71 ERA

*** Tulsa had its runs scored by the 4th and hung on from there to leave Springdale on a winning note. Kurt Mertins doubled and scored on a Jordan Parraz single in the 1st and NWA had the lead. Matt Kniginyzky stranded 2 Drillers in the 2nd but Tulsa rallied in the 3rd for 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 Nats errors to surge to the lead. RF Ryan Harvey led off the 4th with his 6th homer of the season and Tulsa made it 5-1. Brian McFall pulled the Nats closer with a 2-out, 2-run homer in the bottom of the 4th for his 6th of the season to cut the lead to 5-3. His next time up in the 6th, McFall hit a 2-out RBI single to trim the advantage to 1. The Nats would strand 2, then strand another in the 7th before RP Andrew Johnston shut the door for his 13th save. Starter Keith Weiser got the win with 6 IP of 4 ER allowed on 6 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to move to 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA. LF Cole Garner and Harvey had 2 hits each for Tulsa. Harvey had the homer, his 7th double and 19th RBI along with his 1st error to improve to .226.

Naturals 4, Arkansas 3 (10/Fri.)

3B-2B Lucas 2-5, RBI (3), 2 K, SB (4) -- .321
DH Mertins 1-4, BB, RBI (17), 2 K, CS (3) -- .271
1B-3B C. Smith 1-5, 2B (5), RBI (23), RS -- .222
SS Lisson 0-4, RBI (16), K -- .205
LF Dickerson 1-5, K, RS, OF assist at second -- .230
CF Strait 1-4 -- .301
C Suomi 1-3, HBP, 2B (4) -- .359
2B McConnell 0-2, 2 K -- .169
PH-RF Parraz 1-1, HBP, 2 RS -- .333

B. Wood 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, HRA -- 6.37 ERA, not bad
Holland 2 IP, H, 2 K -- W, 2-1, 2.05 ERA
Hayes IP, H -- SV, 2, 0.68 ERA

*** The Naturals rallied in the 8th to stay alive and won in the 10th. Corey Smith doubled to lead off the NWA 2nd and scored on a Mario Lisson groundout to get the Nats a lead. Arkansas answered with 3 runs off Blake Wood in the inning on a solo homer by 1B Mark Trumbo for his 4th of the season and 2 other hits and a hit batsman to take a 3-1 lead. That remained the score going into the 8th when the Naturals rallied with a Kurt Mertins RBI single and Smith RBI forceout to tie the game. Ed Lucas had the key hit in the 10th with a go-ahead RBI single and Chris Hayes pitched the 10th for his 2nd save. RP Bobby Cassevah took the loss for Arkansas with 3 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits and a walk with a K to blow his 1st save and drop to 0-3 with a 1.78 ERA. Starter Trevor Bell allowed an ER on 4 hits with 7 Ks over 7 IP to lower his ERA to 2.34. LF Nate Sutton was 4-4 with his 3rd double, 1st triple and a run scored to bump his BA to .269. Trumbo was 1-4 with the homer and his 18th RBI to improve to .214.

The Naturals are 20-20 and 3 games out. Game 2 of the set with the Arkansas Travelers (15-25, AA Halos) is ongoing as Dan Cortes (1-4, 4.35) started versus Travs young lefty Trevor Reckling (3-0, 1.55), who already has 2 wins over the Nats but won't get a third today. The Naturals are 3-5 versus Arkansas this year going into today's game.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Salem 2, Blue Rocks 1 (Thu.)

SS Bianchi 2-4, K -- .302
DH Walton 2-3, BB, 2B, RS, SB (3) -- .309
CF D. Robinson 0-4, SF, RBI (16), 2 K -- .245
3B Moustakas 1-4, K -- .297
2B Giavotella 1-4 -- .203
1B C. Robinson 0-4, 2 K -- .318
LF Ortiz 1-2, 2 BB, SB (5) -- .270

Liotta 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 5.23 ERA
Paulino 2 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, K, 2 E (3) -- BS, 1, L, 1-1, 6.75 ERA

*** Wilmington had a tenuous 1-0 lead and lost it in the 8th before an errant pickoff throw decided the game. The Rocks left the bases full in the 1st but got a run in the 2nd on a Derrick Robinson sac fly. Ray Liotta stranded 2 Red Sox in the 3rd but otherwise faced little trouble through 6 innings of work. In the Salem 8th, Eduardo Paulino made a fielding error before allowing a game-tying RBI single and stranding the bases full of Sox. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 9th and Paulino had runners at the corners with 1 out in the bottom of the inning when he made another error on a pickoff throw that allowed the winning run to score. RP Jason Rice threw 2 hitless innings for the win to move to 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA. Starter Dave McKae allowed an ER on 6 hits and a walk with 4 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 4.62. LF Jason Place was 2-4 to improve to .263.

Myrtle Beach 5, Blue Rocks 1 (Fri.)

LF Ortiz 2-4, K, SB (6) -- .278
2B Giavotella 1-4, RBI (17), K, CS (5) -- .205
CF D. Robinson 1-4, 2B (5), 2 K, RS -- .245
3B Moustakas 0-4, 2 K -- .289, snaps 12-game hit streak
SS Bianchi 1-4, 2 K -- .301
DH Lough 1-4, K -- .311
1B C. Robinson 0-3, BB, K -- .311

Santiago 5 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, K, 2 HRA -- L, 1-5, 5.40 ERA
Abreu 1 2/3 IP, 2 BB, 2 K -- 9.00 ERA
R. Hardy IP, 2 H, 2 BB -- 7.71 ERA

*** The Rocks were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and the Pelicans took the opening game of the 3-game set. The Rocks left the bases full in the 2nd but took the lead in the 3rd on a Johnny Giavotella RBI single. Mario Santiago had a quiet first 3 innings but the Pelicans nailed him in the 4th with solo homers by RF Jason Heyward (Braves' top prospect, his 8th) and LF Cody Johnson (his 16th!, killed the Rocks in the first series) making it 2-1 MB. The Rocks left 2 in scoring position in the 5th and Myrtle Beach picked up 3 more runs in the 6th on 2 hits and 4 walks off Santiago and Juan Abreu to stake a 5-1 lead. The Rocks wouldn't threaten after the 5th. Starter Cole Rohrbough got the win for MB with 5 2/3 IP of an ER allowed on 5 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Heyward was 1-3 with a walk, his homer, his 18th RBI, 4th SB and 2 RS to improve to .283 with a .913 OPS. 1B Freddie Freeman and Johnson had 2 hits each. Johnson had a walk, his homer, his 32nd RBI and a K in improving to .283. Freeman had his 21st RBI as he improved to .292.

The Rocks are 20-21 and 6 games out. The series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (15-26, A-Adv. Braves) continues tonight as Everett Teaford (4-1, 2.56) faces Pelicans lefty Edgar Osuna (3-3, 3.54). The Rocks are 2-3 versus the Pelicans. Former Royal farmhand righty Erik Cordier, who they gave up for TPJ, is on the Pelicans' roster.

A - Burlington: Bees 12, South Bend 2 (Thu.)

DH Hosmer 3-4, BB, RBI (13), 4 RS -- .243
1B D. Wood 3-5, 2B (6), 3 RBI (14), RS -- .313
RF Francis 3-5, 2B (11), 2 RBI (29), 2 K, 2 RS, CS (2) -- .336
C Bonilla 2-5, 2 2B (5), 3 RBI (13) -- .247
LF Van Stratten 2-4, 2B (9), RBI (17), K, 2 RS -- .358
PH-LF Tucker 1-1, HR (2), RBI (7), RS -- .125
2B F. Garcia 0-4, RS, SB (10) -- .310

Runion 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- W, 2-3, 7.11 ERA, good start
Saito 2 IP, H, 2 K, WP -- 3.90 ERA
Thompson IP, BB -- 3.60 ERA

*** The Bees offense took all the drama out of the game as Burlington steamrolled the Silver Hawks. Sam Runion gave up a solo homer to CF Alberto Diaz (his 5th) in the 1st but David Wood hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning to even the score. Runion was victimized for another solo homer in the 2nd, this one by RF Isaias Asencio (his 2nd) and South Bend had a 2-1 lead. The Bees took the lead for good with a 4-run 3rd on a Nick Van Stratten RBI single, Eric Hosmer RBI single and 2-run Wood double to take a 5-2 lead. The Bees added 5 runs in the 7th on a 2-run Nick Francis double, a run-scoring passed ball and 2-run Jose Bonilla double to make it 10-2. Wilson Tucker hit a pinch-hit solo homer in the 8th for his 2nd of the season and Bonilla hit another RBI double to finish the scoring. The Silver Hawks only got 1 runner to second after the 2nd. Starter Randy Rodriguez took the loss with 5 IP of 5 runs (4 ER) allowed on 8 hits with 3 Ks to fall to 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Five Silver Hawks had a hit each. Diaz was 1-3 with a walk, K, his homer, his 22nd RBI and a RS to move to .230.

South Bend 4, Bees 2 (Fri.)

2B F. Garcia 2-4, 2B (3), RS, CS (4) -- .323
C Bonilla 2-3, BB, K -- .261
1B Hosmer 1-2, 2 BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (15), RS -- .248, slowly showing more signs of life
CF Van Stratten 0-4, K -- .341
RF Francis 0-4 -- .326
SS Franco 0-3 -- .000, season debut

Baez 5 IP, ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K -- 3.00 ERA
J. Garcia 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, E -- L, 1-3, 6.14 ERA
Bowden 2 1/3 IP, H, 4 K, E -- 2.00 ERA

*** A 3-run 7th helped the Silver Hawks avert a sweep. South Bend stranded 2 off Manauris Baez in the 4th and the game was quiet going into the 5th when the Hawks got a run on 4 hits and an error before leaving the bases full. Eric Hosmer slammed a 2-run homer in the 6th for his 2nd as a pro and the Bees had a 2-1 lead. Things fell apart in the 7th, tho, as Justin Garcia allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, a walk, and his own error. The Bees stranded 2 in the 9th as RP Justin Mace got his 3rd save. Hosmer's homer was the Bees' last hit of the game. Starter Brett Moorhouse got the win with 2 ER allowed on 6 hits and a walk with 4 Ks over 8 IP to improve to 2-4 with a 3.46 ERA. SS Reynaldo Navarro was 3-5 with a run scored to move to .246. 3B Victor Estevez was 3-4 with a K and RS to move to .208.

The Bees are 16-24. A 3-game home set versus the Dayton Dragons (15-26, A Reds) starts tonight with Mike Montgomery (0-0, 0.00) making his second start of the season versus Dayton lefty Matt Fairel (2-2, 3.12). Dayton's roster features no top Cincy prospects. 2B Cody Puckett leads the Dragons with an .806 OPS, 12 2B, 7 HR and 23 RBI and 22 RS. He also has 11 BB/36 Ks in 38 G/157 ABs. 3B Carlos Mendez is hitting .330. Fairel has 53 Ks in 43 1/3 IP. RP Mace Thurman is 3-0 with a 3.33 ERA and 33 Ks in 27 IP. Former Royal 1B Todd Benzinger is the Dragons' manager. IFs Angel Franco and Chase Fontaine have been added to the Bees' roster. C Sean McCauley left Friday's game after being hit in the helmet with a backswing from a South Bend batter. 3B Kyle Martin has retired, surprisingly, although he wasn't hitting too well this season. Had a good '08, tho. IF J.D. Alfaro was also sent down to extended spring training after struggling with the Bees. I bet he's back in IF or rookie Burlington next month.