Royals on the Farm 5/3 and 5/4

My apologies for missing yesterday's post....between a usual busy Monday work day and another masterful performance from Zack Greinke, I didn't have the time or energy to get the report done. Is that a cushion I see in the Royals' first place lead? It's miniscule, but it's there. We forge on...

AAA - Omaha: Sunday rainout

Memphis 7, O-Royals 1 (Mon.)

LF Lubanski 2-4, SB (6) -- .318
DH Shealy 1-3, BB, RBI (10) -- .338
1B Ka'aihue 1-4, K -- .225
2B Hulett 0-3, BB, SB (2) -- .317
C House 0-3, BB, RS -- .329
3B Metcalf 0-4, K -- .278

Phillips 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 10 H, BB, K, balk -- L, 1-3, 6.56 ERA
Waechter IP, 2 H, BB -- 0.00 ERA, on rehab trail
Hughes 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, BB, 4 K, E -- 1.86 ERA
Rosa IP, K -- 3.00 ERA

*** Memphis got a good start from Blake Hawksworth to take the first game with Omaha for this season. Two hits and a Heath Phillips balk scored a Memphis run in the 1st but Omaha matched it on a 2-out RBI single by Ryan Shealy in the bottom of the frame before stranding 2. Phillips left the bases full in the 3rd but Memphis got back on the board with a 4-run rally in the 5th on 4 hits and an Irving Falu error. Doug Waechter made a rehab appearance and left the bases loaded in the 6th but Hawksworth retired the last 8 he faced. The Redbirds got to Dusty Hughes for 2 runs in the 7th on 2 hits, a walk, and a Hughes throwing error. The Royals loaded the bases in the 9th but didn't get the big rally they needed as Falu flew out to end the game. Hawksworth allowed an ER on 3 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA. 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir was 4-4 with a walk, his 3rd double, 8th RBI and 2 RS to move to .227, CF Jon Jay was 3-5 with a K and 2 RS to move to .244 and 2 others had 2 hits. 1B Nick Stavinoha had a walk, his 4th double and 3 RBI (19) to move to .237.

The O-Royals are 13-10 and 1 1/2 games back of the Redbirds. Sunday's rained out finale with Nashville will be made up on this coming Sunday when the Sounds visit the 'Blatt. The Redbirds (14-8, AAA Cardinals) are in town for a 4-game set. Game 2 is tonight with Redbirds righty Clayton Mortensen (2-1, 1.48) vying against Brandon Duckworth (1-1, 7.16). P Luke Hochevar was named the PCL Pitcher of the Week for April 27-May 3. He had 2 wins, 1 ER in 13 IP, 6 hits allowed, 5 BB/12 K over the week. That makes him only the 2nd O-Royals pitcher to win the award since 2003. Man, that's pitiful. The other one to win was Jorge de la Rosa in April '08. The Redbirds' roster features St. Louis prospects righty Jess Todd (1-0, 1.46 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 5 saves, 3 BB/17 K in 12 1/3 IP out of pen), OF Jon Jay (.244 BA, .591 OPS, 14 RS, 4 SB in 22 games/82 ABs), C Bryan Anderson (.186/.558, 12 Ks in 15 games/43 ABs), 3B David Freese (.211/.671, 2 HR in 10 games/38 ABs after starting season in majors), 3B Allen Craig (.280/.778, 4 2B, 2 HR, 3 E in 21 games/75 ABs), and Mortensen (numbers above plus 1.11 WHIP, 12 BB/16 K in 4 starts/24 1/3 IP).

AA - NW Arkansas: Sunday rainout

Arkansas 5, Naturals 4 (7/G1, Mon.)

RF Parraz 3-4, RBI (11) -- .355
3B C. Smith 2-3, BB, RBI (10) -- .189
LF Dickerson 2-4, 2B (4), 3B (2), RBI (8), K, RS -- .221
C Suomi 2-4, 3B, RS -- .333
2B McConnell 1-3, RBI (2), K, RS, SB -- .147
CF Duarte 1-4, K, CS (2) -- .293
SS Lisson 1-3, BB, 2B (2), RS -- .194
* NWA stranded 11.

Lerew 5 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 12 H, BB, K, 2 HRA -- L, 1-1, 4.62 ERA, not pretty line
Cevette 1 1/3 IP, BB, K -- 0.00 ERA

*** Anthony Lerew couldn't hold a 2-0 lead as Arkansas came back to take the first of two with NWA Monday. Corey Smith hit a 2-out RBI single in the 1st but NWA stranded 2 in taking a 1-0 lead. The Naturals rallied for another run in the 3rd on a Jordan Parraz RBI single but left the bases full. Lerew had little trouble through 3 innings but the Travelers got to him in the 4th to tie the game on 4 hits and a Brian McFall error at first before stranding 2. NWA left 2 in scoring position in the 4th and the Travs moved ahead in the 5th with a run on 3 hits. Lerew gave up solo homers to DH Ben Johnson (his 2nd) and 2B Ryan Mount (his 3rd) in the 6th and then loaded the bases with 2 out before Dan Cevette came in and got the last out of the inning to keep it at 5-2. The Naturals got back on the board off RP Ryan Brasier in the bottom of the inning as John Suomi led off with a triple and scored on a Chris McConnell single. Joe Dickerson hit a 1-out RBI triple to cut it to 5-4 but the Nats couldn't get him home to tie the game as they stranded 2. The Nats got the tying run to third with 1 out in the 7th in the twinbill-shortened game but Suomi and PH Jeff Howell grounded out to end the game as RP David Herndon picked up his 5th save and dropped his ERA to 1.42. Starter Tommy Mendoza got the win for Arkansas with 5 IP of 2 ER on 9 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move to 1-0 with a 4.66 ERA. Four Travelers had 2 hits as Johnson was 2-3 with a walk, the homer, 2 RBI (10) and a RS to move to .211.

Naturals 5, Arkansas 4 (13/G2, Mon.)

1B C. Smith 4-7, 3 RBI (13), K -- .216
LF Dickerson 3-6, BB, 2B (5), K, RS -- .243, he and Smith had nice day
DH McFall 3-6, 2B (9), RBI (20) -- .275
SS Lisson 1-6, RBI (11), K, RS, E (7) -- .192
CF Duarte 2-6, BB, K, 2 RS -- .296
2B Mertins 0-5, BB, K, E (4) -- .261
3B J. Johnson 2-5, BB -- .211
* The Naturals stranded 15, making it 26 left on base for the night.

Sencion 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 2 K, WP -- 4.00 ERA
Nicoll 2 1/3 IP, 2 UER, H, 2 BB, 2 K, E -- 0.57 ERA
Holland 2 1/3 IP, 2 K -- 3.07 ERA
Hayes 6 IP, 3 H, 2 K -- W, 3-0, 0.96 ERA, 56 pitches, 45 strikes

*** Chris Hayes basically pitched a start out of the bullpen as Corey Smith finally got the game-winning hit in the 13th after 7 1/2 innings of scoreless baseball. Reliever Carlos Sencion got the spot start and allowed a run on 2 walks, 2 steals and a wild pitch in the 1st but Smith hit an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Sencion stranded 2 in the 2nd but 2 hits and a walk scored a run and chased him from the game in the 3rd. Chris Nicoll stranded 2 and NWA retied it in the 4th on a Brian McFall RBI double. Two errors with 2 outs in the Arkansas 5th opened the door and the Travs got a 2-run single off Nicoll to take a 4-2 lead. Again, the Naturals answered as they scored 2 in the 5th on RBI singles by Smith and Lisson to tie the game. That was when the scoring stopped as Bobby Cassevah and Barret Browning pitched 7 scoreless innings for the Travs and Greg Holland and Hayes combined for 8 1/3 scoreless IP for NWA. The Nats left 'em loaded in the 7th and tried to win in the 10th as Joe Dickerson ripped a 2-out double with Jose Duarte on first but Duarte was thrown out at the plate. With 2 out and Duarte on second in the 13th, Smith came through with his 4th hit of the game as the single brought in the game-winner. RP Bryan Rembisz took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of an unearned run on 3 hits and a K to drop to 1-2 but keep a perfect ERA. Starter Marco Albano lasted 3 innings and allowed an ER on 2 hits and 2 walks to move his ERA to 3.95. LF Ben Johnson had the OF assist to help nail Duarte at the plate in the 10th and was 2-5 with a walk and RS to move to .226, 3B Abel Nieves had his first 2 RBI and RF Coby Smith was 1-5 with 2 walks, a RS, 4 SB (9) and his first 2 errors to drop to .343.

The Nats are 11-12 and 2 games back of Springfield. A 3-game set at the Cardinals (13-10) starts tonight with Blake Wood (1-0, 7.56) taking on Cards righty Brandon Dickson (1-1, 5.48). The Naturals are 3-1 versus Springfield thus far. RP John Bale is set to join NWA for a rehab assignment this week.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Sunday rainout

Monday rainout

It's been wet in Delaware. Sunday's game with Winston-Salem will be made up in June. Monday's opener with the Potomac Nationals (13-10) was delayed to a doubleheader today. The Blue Rocks are 1-2 versus the P-Nats this season. Ray Liotta (1-1, 6.43) is starting game 1 for Wilmington with Mario Santiago (1-2, 6.27) set to start game 2. The Nationals are countering with lefty William Atwood (0-3, 11.65) and righty Colton Willems (A-Adv. debut). The Blue Rocks are 12-11 and 2 games out of first. Lefty Rowdy Hardy has been added to Wilmington's roster.

A - Burlington: Bees 1, West Michigan 0 (10/Sun.)

2B F. Garcia 2-3, BB, SB (3) -- .500
CF Norris 1-4, RBI (3), K -- .231, walkoff single
1B Hosmer 0-3, BB, K -- .214
RF Francis 0-4, 2 K -- .297
C Bonilla 0-3, BB, 2 K, PB -- .170
3B Jimenez 1-4, 2B (3), RS -- .204
* LF Wilson Tucker had an OF assist at home.

Casey 6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- 2.81 ERA
B. Hardy 4 IP, H, 3 K -- W, 1-2, 2.38 ERA, has been stellar out of pen

*** Bryan Casey and Mauricio Robles dueled but the game came down to the bullpens as the Bees gutted out a 1-0 extra-inning win Sunday. Casey stranded 2 in the 1st and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 4th thanks to an OF assist from LF Wilson Tucker at the plate to end the inning. The Bees' best chance against Robles came when they stranded 2 in the 6th and the Bees got a runner to third with 2 out in the 9th but couldn't get the winning run home, so the game went to extras. Blaine Hardy allowed only 1 baserunner in his 4 IP and the Bees finally got some action off RP Tyler Stohr in the 10th. Antonio Jimenez hit a 2-out double and Patrick Norris followed with a single to score the winning run. Stohr took the loss with 1 2/3 IP of an ER on 2 hits and a walk to fall to 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA. Robles allowed only 2 hits and 2 walks with 9 Ks over 6 IP to lower his ERA to 3.04. Six Whitecaps had a hit each. LF Billy Nowlin was 1-3 with a walk to drop to .393.

West Michigan 3, Bees 1 (10/Mon.)

DH S. Perez 3-5, 2B (2), RBI (2) -- .160
1B Hosmer 2-3, BB, 2B (6) -- .233
SS Alfaro 2-3, BB, 2B (2) -- .197
RF Francis 1-5, K, OF assist at third -- .291
C Bonilla 1-4, K, CS (2), E -- .176
* The Bees stranded 11.

Runion 5 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 7.88 ERA
Bryant 3 IP, 2 BB, K -- 4.02 ERA
Bowden 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- L, 0-1, 3.72 ERA

*** An 8th inning run kept the Bees alive but West Michigan took the game and series in 10 Monday. Sam Runion left 2 in scoring position in the 1st and then gave up a run on a walk, steal and RBI single in the 2nd to give WM a 1-0 lead. The Bees stranded 2 in the 2nd and Runion settled down to pitch fairly well through 5. He got no run support, however, as the Bees stranded 2 more in the 6th. Finally, with 2 out and 1 on in the 8th, the Bees rallied as David Wood singled and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single, altho Wood pulled a Berroa and was thrown out at third to end the inning. RP Barry Bowden struck out the side in the WM 9th but hit trouble in the 10th as, with 2 out and 1 on, a steal and throwing error were followed by a walk and run-scoring wild pitch, and 2 singles and another run in before Bowden could end the rally. The Bees got 2 on with 1 out in the 10th but RP Tyler Stohr avenged his defeat Sunday by getting the final 2 outs for his 4th save. RP Erik Crichton got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless IP of 2 hits and a walk allowed with 3 Ks to improve to 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA. SP Brandon Hamilton went 6 IP and allowed only 5 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.60. 3B Bryan Pounds was 2-5 to move to .316 and Nowlin was 1-5 with his 17th RBI, a K, and an OF assist at third to drop to .377.

The Bees are 7-16. A 3-game set at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (9-14, A Brewers) starts tonight as Manauris Baez (1-0, 4.11) faces Rattlers righty Michael Bowman (0-1, 3.21). The Rattler roster features Brew Crew prospects 1B Brett Lawrie (.305 BA, .932 OPS, 13 RS, 5 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 8/11 SB, 5 E in 23 games/82 ABs), OF Cutter Dykstra (Lenny's son, .225/.603, 12 RS, 4 2B, 8 BB/21 K, 4/6 SB in 22 games/80 ABs), righty Wily Peralta (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 6 BB/14 K in 5 games (3 starts) and 20 IP), righty Cody Scarpetta (0-1, 4.70, 1.57, 9 BB/24 K in 5 games (4 starts) and 15 1/3 IP), lefty Evan Frederickson (1-1, 7.79, 2.08, HRA, 17 BB/21 K in 5 games (3 starts) and 17 1/3 IP), OF Erik Komatsu (.333/.667 in only 1 game, on DL) and lefty Efrain Nieves (1-2, 6.10, 1.35, 3 HRA, 6 BB/16 K in 5 games (3 starts) and 20 2/3 IP). Lefty Luis Cota has hit the DL for the Bees with shoulder discomfort. Righty Kelvin Herrera took his roster spot.