Royals on the Farm 6/11

Damn, now even Soria's blowin games! And leave it to the Royals to let Farnsworth sucker them into putting him back in high-leverage situations. The season is in The Bell Jar.

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 9, O-Royals 2

1B Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, 2B (17), RBI (26) -- .280
RF Aldridge 1-4, HR (7), RBI (29), K, RS -- .266
2B Hulett 1-4, K -- .307
C House 0-4, K -- .282
SS Lisson 0-3 -- .228
3B Falu 0-1, 3 BB, RS -- .258

DiNardo 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 4 K, balk -- L, 4-2, 3.48 ERA
Hayes 1 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, K, WP -- 6.75 ERA, AAA debut
Hamulack 2/3 IP, 2 K -- 8.03 ERA
Rosa IP, 3 ER, H, 3 BB, HRA -- 7.28 ERA, sigh...

*** The O-Royals managed just 4 hits as Iowa rolled to the win in the opener of a road trip. Kila Ka'aihue hit an RBI double in the 1st but Iowa answered with 2 runs off Lenny DiNardo on 3 hits in the bottom of the inning. Omaha loaded the bases with none out in the 3rd but Ka'aihue hit into a 3-2-3 double play and Brian Buchanan lined out to kill the threat. DiNardo stranded 2 in the 3rd and then got a double play with 1 out and the bases loaded in the 5th to escape that jam. Three singles loaded the bases with none out in the 6th and manager Mike Jirschele threw Chris Hayes in the deep end for his AAA debut as 2 hits drove in 3 runs before Hayes got out of the inning. Cory Aldridge hit his 7th homer of the season with 2 out in the 7th to cut it to 5-2 but Hayes uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch in the Cubs 7th to give the run back before Tim Hamulack stranded 2. Omaha stranded 2 in the 8th and Carlos Rosa served up a 3-run longball to DH Jason Dubois (his 7th) in the 8th to put the game on ice. The Royals went down in order in the 9th. Starter Kevin Hart got the win for the I-Cubs with 7 IP of 2 ER allowed on 4 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 2-3 with a 3.30 ERA. LF John-Ford Griffin was 4-5 with a RS to move to .220 and Dubois was 3-3 with a walk, HBP, his 12th double, the homer, 5 RBI (29) and 2 RS to move to .314. 1B Jake Fox was 0-3 with 2 walks, 2 K and a RS to drop to .416. CF Sam Fuld also had 2 hits, stole his 13th base and scored and drove in 2 runs (23).

The O-Royals are 24-36 and 10 1/2 games out, 6 games behind the pack in the division race. Game 2 is tonight as Heath Phillips (3-5, 6.10) faces Iowa righty Mitch Atkins (3-7, 7.73).

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 2, Arkansas 1 (8/G1)

RF Parraz 2-3, BB, walkoff HR (4), RBI (34), RS, OF assist at third -- .358, first walkoff HR in Nats history
LF Strait 2-3, 2B (13), RBI (17), SB (7) -- .300
CF Duarte 1-2, 2 BB, K, SB (9), picked off, OF assist at third -- .284
2B Mertins 0-3, S, 2 K -- .299
DH Suomi 1-3 -- .320
SS McConnell 0-2, S -- .220

B. Wood 7 IP, ER, 7 H, BB, K -- 5.52 ERA, nice start, but where'd the strikeouts go?
Nicoll IP, K -- W, 5-0, 3.48 ERA

*** The Naturals had their backs against the wall in the bottom of the 7th but forced an "extra" inning and won on Jordan Parraz's walkoff longball. Blake Wood and Jordan Walden dueled through the game, as OF assists helped the Nats' cause in the 2nd and 3rd. Neither team could get a run home and the Naturals stranded 2 in the 6th. Wood gave up a 2-out RBI single in the 7th but John Suomi led off the NWA 7th with a single and Cody Strait doubled home the tying run. The Naturals wouldn't put it away, though, as they left 2 in scoring position off RP David Herndon. Parraz led off the bottom of the 8th with the homer for his 4th of the season to end the game. Herndon blew his 4th save and took the loss with 2 ER allowed in an inning of work to drop to 2-5 with a 3.29 ERA. Walden worked 6 IP of 4 hits and 2 walks allowed with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.65. 2B Nate Sutton was 2-3 with a RS to move to .326. 1B Mark Trumbo drove in the Travelers' only run for his 30th RBI on the campaign. He also stole his 3rd base.

Naturals 5, Arkansas 3 (7/G2)

3B Lucas 3-3, 2 RBI (6) -- .256
1B C. Smith 2-3, HR (12), 2 RBI (43), K, RS -- .251
SS J. Johnson 2-3 -- .209, hasn't been much to report for Josh in '09
CF Duarte 1-4 -- .283
2B Mertins 1-4, RS -- .298
RF Parraz 1-2, BB, RS, CS (7) -- .359, 14-game hit streak
DH McFall 1-3, 2 RS, SB (3) -- .259

Tejeda 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- 4.50 ERA, rehab
Cortes 4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, K -- W, 4-5, 4.14 ERA, mediocre
Holland 2/3 IP, nothing -- SV, 3, 2.25 ERA

*** A 3-run 3rd would do the trick for the Naturals as they swept the doubleheader. Robinson Tejeda made his first rehab appearance for the Naturals and served up a solo homer to journeyman RF Val Majewski (his 1st) in the 2nd to spot the Travelers a lead. NWA got the run back on a run-scoring throwing error by SP Barret Browning in the 2nd and then pushed ahead with 3 in the 3rd on a Corey Smith RBI single and 2-run Ed Lucas single to make it 4-1. Dan Cortes loaded the bases with none out in the 5th and allowed 2 runs before escaping the jam with a narrow 4-3 lead. Smith got a run back in the 5th with his 12th homer to make it 5-3 and Cortes was pulled with 2 on and 1 out in the 7th. Greg Holland induced a groundout then got a flyout for his 3rd save. Browning took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits, a walk and K to drop to 0-4 with a 3.03 ERA. Six Travs had a hit each. Sutton was 1-3 but was caught stealing for the 6th time as his BA moved to .326. DH Hank Conger was 0-3 with 2 K to drop to .283.

The Naturals are 29-28 and 4 1/2 games back. The teams play another doubleheader today as Anthony Lerew (3-3, 4.84) faces young Arkansas lefty Trevor Reckling (3-1, 1.90). Reckling is 2-1 versus NWA this year. I figured they might let him stick around to play in the A-Advanced all-star game but lefty Everett Teaford has been called up to AA and is set to make his debut Monday.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: off day

The Rocks are 33-26 and 5 1/2 games out as the first half dwindles. A 3-game set at the Winston-Salem Dash (32-26, A-Adv. White Sox) starts tonight as Danny Duffy (5-2, 2.66) faces Dash righty Jacob Rasner (1-0, 3.26). The Rocks are 3-3 versus the Dash in '09. No roster replacement for Everett Teaford has been made that I've seen.

A - Burlington: Bees 4, Beloit 1 (8/G1)

CF Norris 2-4, RBI (8), 2 SB (20) -- .239
DH Dyson 2-4, BB, K, SB (8) -- .395
C Bonilla 2-4, RS -- .241
SS Rivera 2-4, K, RS -- .294
3B Jimenez 1-4, HR, 3 RBI (15), 2 K, RS -- .217
LF Van Stratten 1-4, BB -- .347
RF Francis 0-4 -- .289
* The Bees stranded 11.

Runion 5 1/3 IP, ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 6.60 ERA
Thompson 2 2/3 IP, H, 3 BB, 2 K -- W, 3-1, 2.40 ERA

*** The Bees scored a 7th inning run to tie it late and then got a go-ahead homer from Antonio Jimenez in the 8th to win the first of two with the Snappers Thursday. Beloit got its run off Sam Runion in the 3rd with 2 hits, a walk and wild pitch but the Bees caught a runner stealing home to end the rally. The Bees left the bases loaded in the 6th and James Thompson stranded 2 Snappers in the 6th. Juan Rivera singled and got to third on a Beloit error with 1 out in the 7th and Patrick Norris tied the game with a single before the Bees left 2 in scoring position. With 1 out and 2 on in the 8th, Jimenez went long for the 1st time this season to make it 4-1 and the Bees would leave the bases loaded before Thompson also left the bases full before ending the game with a swinging K. RP Danny Rondon took the loss with 3 ER allowed in his inning of work to drop to 2-4 with a 5.73 ERA. SP Michael Tarsi worked 5 1/3 IP of 3 hits and a walk with 7 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.95. DH Michael Harrington was 3-4 to move to .253 and 3B Nathan Hanson was 2-4 with his 17th RBI to improve to .243.

Beloit 4, Bees 3 (7/G2)

RF Francis 1-3, HR (8), RBI (35), 2 K, RS -- .290
LF Van Stratten 1-2, HBP, SF, RBI (24), K, RS, 2 SB (11) -- .349
DH Hosmer 0-3, 2 K -- .259, finally back in lineup
CF Dyson 1-4, 2 K, RS -- .381, ejected in 7th

Baez 5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- L, 3-2, 3.35 ERA
Z. Peterson 2 IP, 2 K -- 3.63 ERA

*** Beloit came back to win despite 3 errors in the game. Manauris Baez gave up a run on a double and sac fly in the 1st but the Bees answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the frame on a Nick Van Stratten sac fly and Nick Francis solo homer for his 8th of the season. Baez worked out of a jam in the 2nd but got touched up for 3 in the 3rd on 2 hits and a walk, including a 2-run homer by LF Ozzie Lewis for his 5th of the season. Van Stratten scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 3rd to cut it to 4-3 but left 2 in scoring position in the 4th. The Bees stranded a runner at third in the 6th then went down in order in the 7th as RP Steven Blevins got his 1st save. RP Bruce Pugh pitched 2 scoreless innings for the win to move to 2-1 with a 3.99 ERA. Starter Curtis Leavitt went 3 IP of 3 runs (2 ER) allowed on 3 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 8.38. Six Snappers had a hit each. Lewis drove in 2 runs (23), as did SS Ramon Santana, who was 1-1 with a walk, his 12th double, a sac fly, 2 RBI (26), a RS and his 6th error to improve to .343.

The Bees are 26-34. Game 4 of the set is tonight as Mike Lehmann (2-1, 3.74) faces Snappers righty Daniel Berlind (1-6, 3.94).