Royals on the Farm 6/13 & 6/14

As usual, the Royals have righted the ship a little bit thanks to interleague play. Hopefully this can keep up through the next series before they get back to facing AL competition again. Nice to see a great start out of Hochevar, plus another great start by Bannister, who is good by day and mediocre in night games.

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 6, O-Royals 2 (7/G1, Sat.)

2B Falu 2-4, RS, SB (6) -- .264
1B Ka'aihue 1-2, BB, 2B (18), RBI (27), RS -- .283
3B Metcalf 1-2, BB, RBI (33) -- .257
SS Lisson 0-3 -- .217
* RF Tommy Murphy had an OF assist at the plate.

Phillips 4 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K -- L, 3-6, 6.41 ERA
Marte 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, K -- 4.32 ERA

*** Iowa battered Heath Phillips to take the opener of Saturday's twinbill. A single, walk, steal and sac fly gave the I-Cubs a 1-0 lead in the 1st and Phillips walked the bases loaded in the 3rd before allowing 3 runs on 3 singles, although Tommy Murphy gunned down a runner at the plate to end the rally. Iowa padded the lead with a run in the 4th and the Royals were being shut out on 1 hit by Iowa starter Mitch Atkins through 5. Kila Ka'aihue ended the shutout with a 1-out RBI double in the 6th and scored on a Travis Metcalf single to cut the lead to 5-2. RP Victor Marte gave the run back in the bottom of the inning, though, and the Royals stranded 1 in the 7th. Atkins got the win with 6 IP of 2 ER allowed on 4 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 4-7 with a 7.33 ERA. CF Sam Fuld was 2-2 with a walk, his 14th double, 2 RBI (25), 2 RS and his 14th SB to move to .270. 1B Jake Fox was 0-2 with 2 walks and a RS to drop to .410.

O-Royals 2, Iowa 0 (2-hitter, 7/G2, Sat.)

DH Buchanan 2-3, RBI (8), K -- .276
LF Thorman 2-3, 2B (6), RS -- .261
C Tupman 2-3, RS -- .283
RF Aldridge 2-3, 2B (7), K -- .269
3B Metcalf 0-3, RBI (34) -- .254
1B House 0-3 -- .278
SS Lisson 1-2, S -- .226

Chen 7 IP (CG), 2 H, BB, 4 K -- W, 3-2, 3.80 ERA, back on track, 87 pitches

*** Four Royals matched Iowa's 2-hit output as Bruce Chen was masterful in shutting out the Cubs. The Royals rallied for a 2-out run in the 1st as Scott Thorman doubled and scored on a Brian Buchanan single to give Omaha the early lead. Both of Iowa's hits came in the 1st inning as Chen worked around them. Omaha stranded 2 in the 3rd and Chen retired 11 in a row at one point. Travis Metcalf hit an RBI forceout in the 6th to make it 2-0 Royals and Chen faced little further resistance in finishing off his complete-game gem. Iowa SP Esmailin Caridad took the loss with 4 IP of an ER allowed on 5 hits with 2 Ks to fall to 3-8 with a 4.54 ERA. Fox was 1-3 to drop to .409.

Iowa 7, O-Royals 6 (Sun.)

2B Falu 3-5, 2B (7), RBI (18), RS, E (5) -- .267
DH Buchanan 2-5, 2B (6), 2 RBI (10) -- .286
3B Metcalf 2-3, S, HR (7), RBI (35), RS -- .259
1B Ka'aihue 2-5, RBI (28), RS -- .286
LF Thorman 2-3, HBP, RS, CS -- .272
SS Lisson 1-4, 2B (2), RBI (8) -- .227
* RF Tommy Murphy had an OF assist at home.

D. Hughes 3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 BB -- 4.65 ERA
Hayes 5 IP, ER, H, K -- 2.84 ERA, 59 pitches
Atencio 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB -- BS, 3, L, 2-6, 6.67 ERA

*** It was another Omaha bullpen special as Chris Hayes pitched well in relief but Greg Atencio faltered once again in the 9th as Iowa rallied for 3 runs and the win. Omaha had 3 runs before Iowa recorded an out as Kila Ka'aihue hit an RBI single and Brian Buchanan hit a 2-run double but the Royals would strand 2. Dusty Hughes got the start for Omaha and sandwiched 2 walks around an RBI triple in the 1st before also stranding 2 Cubs. Hughes left the bases loaded in the 2nd and Iowa tied the game with 2 runs on 3 doubles and a single in the 3rd before Tommy Murphy came through with an assist at the plate via relay man Irving Falu to end the rally. Travis Metcalf led off the 4th with his 7th homer of the season and 2 Iowa errors with 2 outs helped lead to a Falu RBI double to make it 5-3 Royals. Hayes came in with 2 on and 0 out in the 4th and got out of the jam and would, in fact, retire the first 8 batters he faced. Iowa scratched out a run in the 7th to cut the lead to 5-4 but Mario Lisson hit an RBI double in the 8th to give the Royals some insurance before they stranded 2 with a 6-4 lead. Atencio came on to pitch the bottom of the 9th and allowed a leadoff double, 1-out RBI single, 2-out RBI double to tie the game and then a walkoff single to PH Steve Clevenger to end it. RP Neal Cotts pitched a hitless 9th for the win to move to 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA. Starter J.R. Mathes went 6 IP of 5 runs (4 ER) allowed on 9 hits with a K to move his ERA to 3.25. Three I-Cubs had 2 hits, including 2 RBI games from Fox and 1B Bobby Scales. Fox hit his 3rd triple with 2 RBI (53) to move to .409 and Scales hit 2 doubles (8) with 2 RBI (14) and 2 RS to move to .322. Fuld was 1-2 with 3 walks, his 15th double, 2 RS, his 15th SB and an OF assist at second in moving to .272.

The O-Royals are 25-38 and 12 1/2 games out. A 3-game set at the New Orleans Zephyrs (29-35, AAA Marlins) starts tonight as Matt Wright (0-3, 8.27) faces NO righty Rick VandenHurk (3-0, 2.65). The Zephyrs' roster features Fish prospects OF Cameron Maybin (top prospect, .297 BA/.789 OPS, 10 RS, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 7 BB/15 K, 3/3 SB, 2 E in 27 G/91 ABs since being demoted from Florida), righty Ryan Tucker (on DL, allowed 9 ER in 4 2/3 IP this season), OF John Raynor (.272/.677, 27 RS, 14 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 13 BB/55 K, 7/12 SB in 57 G/224 ABs), 1B Gaby Sanchez (.316/.887, 25 RS, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 15 BB/19 K in 31 G/117 ABs), and righty Brett Sinkbeil (1-6, 9.20 ERA, 2.32 WHIP, 77 H allowed, 9 HRA, 25 BB/32 K in 18 appearances (8 starts) and 44 IP), plus former Royals farmhands IF Dave Matranga (leading team with 1.116 OPS in 37 G/76 ABs), IF Gookie Dawkins and righty Nate Field (7 saves, 0.97 WHIP, 11 BB/37 K in 30 IP). Omaha 2B Tug Hulett was recalled to KC as OF Coco Crisp hit the DL with a bum shoulder.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 16, Arkansas 6 (Sat.)

3B Lucas 2-4, SF, 2B (4), HR, 6 RBI (15), RS, E (2) -- .269
C Howell 3-4, BB, 3B, RBI (18), 2 RS -- .304
CF Duarte 2-5, BB, 2B (6), 3 RBI (11), K, 2 RS, OF assist at second -- .279
RF Parraz 2-6, 3B (3), RBI (36), K, 2 RS, OF assist at third -- .359
DH McFall 2-3, 2 BB, 2B (13), RBI (36), 3 RS -- .267
1B C. Smith 0-2, 2 BB, HBP, 2 RS -- .251
SS McConnell 1-4, BB, K, 2 RS, E (3) -- .226

B. Johnson 5 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 10 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- W, 4-5, 5.05 ERA
Sencion 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- SV, 1, 5.56 ERA

*** The Naturals were actually outhit, 16-14, but slaughtered the Travs by 10 runs for the 5-game sweep in the intrastate rivalry. The Nats commited both of their errors in the 1st and Arkansas got a run to take an early lead. The Naturals got the run back in the 1st as Jordan Parraz hit an RBI single but NWA left the bases full. Three hits off Blake Johnson helped score 2 more Arkansas runs in the 2nd as the Travs made it 3-1. The Travs stranded 2 in the 3rd and Northwest Arkansas got to work. Ed Lucas hit a 2-out, 3-run homer in the 3rd for his 1st at AA this year and the lead quickly swung to the Naturals. Arkansas SP Michael Anton was pulled with 1 out and the bases full in the 4th and the Travs had a 2-run error while another error helped the Naturals score an extra run on another play to make it 8-3. NWA outfielders cut down Arkansas baserunners in both the 4th and 5th innings and the Naturals added to their lead with 2 runs in the 5th on a Jeff Howell RBI triple and run-scoring balk to make it 10-3. Lucas hit a 2-run double in the 6th to make it 12-3. Arkansas got 3 runs off Carlos Sencion in the 8th to cut the lead to 12-6 but NWA scored 4 that inning on a Lucas sac fly, and bases loaded 3-run double by Jose Duarte. Sencion stranded 2 in the 9th. Anton took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 7 runs (5 ER) allowed on 6 hits, 4 walks and a K to fall to 1-6 with a 4.30 ERA. Four Travelers had multi-hit games as SS Hainley Statia was 4-5 with his 7th double and 2 RS to move to .199. 3B Wilberto Ortiz drove in 2 runs (16) and made his 12th error.

Tulsa 8, Naturals 0 (2-hitter, Sun.)

RF Parraz 1-3, HBP, K -- .359, hit streak up to 18 games
C Clark 1-3 -- .286
CF Duarte 0-4 -- .272
2B Mertins 0-2, 2 BB, K, CS (6) -- .289
SS McConnell 0-2, BB, K -- .222

Tejeda 1 2/3 IP, ER, H, BB, 3 K -- L, 0-1, 4.91 ERA, rehab continues
Kniginyzky 6 1/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HRA -- 6.67 ERA, AA has not agreed with him
Nicoll IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 3.63 ERA

*** Four Tulsa pitchers combined on the 2-hit shutout in the series opener. Robinson Tejeda took the loss by allowing a run in the 1st in his second rehab outing for the Naturals. Matt Kniginyzky came in with 2 out in the 2nd and got nicked for a solo homer by RF Ryan Harvey (his 9th) in the 4th. Tulsa pushed across another run in the 6th and Kniginyzky had pitched well but served up a 3-run homer to DH Mike Paulk (his 2nd) in the 8th to make it 6-0. The Nats had their hits in the 1st, then not again until the 8th as the offense sputtered. Chris Nicoll came in with 1 on and 0 out in the 9th and a walk and 2 singles plated 2 runs to make it 8-0. The Naturals wouldn't threaten again. P Xavier Cedeno got the win with 2 hitless IP to move to 2-2 with a 4.11 ERA. Starter Joey Williamson allowed a hit and 2 walks over 4 IP to keep a spotless ERA. Paulk was 3-5 with his homer and 4 RBI (28) and a K to improve to .301. 2B Dan Mayora also had 2 hits for Tulsa with his 22nd RBI to move to .307.

The Naturals are 32-29 and 2 games back. The 2nd game of the 4-game series with the Tulsa Drillers (32-29, AA Rockies) continues tonight as Everett Teaford makes his AA debut versus Tulsa lefty Brandon Durden (1-1, 2.76). The Naturals are 4-5 versus Tulsa thus far. RP Dan Cevette was put on the DL with a sore throwing arm (his left) and lefty RP Ben Swaggerty has gotten the call up from Wilmington after posting a 1.64 ERA with 12 BB/27 K in 22 IP there.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Winston-Salem 12, Blue Rocks 2 (7/rain, Sat.)

2B Giavotella 2-2, BB -- .222
LF Lough 1-3, HR (3), RBI (26), K, RS -- .326
1B C. Robinson 1-3, 2B (15), RBI (33) -- .287
3B Moustakas 1-3 -- .263
DH Ortiz 1-3 -- .254, OK out of leadoff spot for once
SS Bianchi 0-3, 2 K -- .302

Caldera 4 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- L, 1-4, 6.36 ERA, ouch
Villa 2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 3 K, WP -- 4.00 ERA

*** An 8-run 4th brought Wilmington's win streak to a sudden halt as Winston-Salem ran away with game 2 of the 3-game set. Both teams left runners at third in the 1st and the game was quiet until the 4th when Alex Caldera got blitzed for 8 runs on 7 hits, including a 3-run homer by CF Kent Gerst for his 2nd of the season. David Lough got Wilmington off ground zero with a leadoff homer in the 5th for his 3rd of the season but Kelvin Villa allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on 4 2-out hits. The Rocks left the bases full in the 6th and the Dash added 2 more runs to their lead on 3 more 2-out hits off Villa. Clint Robinson doubled home a run in the 7th but then the rain drowned play. Starter Levi Maxwell got the win for Winston-Salem with 6 IP of an ER allowed on 5 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to improve to 1-8 with a 5.51 ERA. Five Dash batters had multi-hit games as RF Christian Marrero was 3-4 with his 14th double, 3 RBI (32), a K and 2 RS to move to .308. LF Joe Persichina was 2-2 with a walk, his 3rd double, 4 RBI (8) and a RS to move to .224 and Gerst had 2 hits, including his HR, 3 RBI (7) and a RS to move to .256.

Blue Rocks 4, Winston-Salem 0 (3-hitter, Sun.)

3B Moustakas 2-4, RBI (38), K, RS, SB (5) -- .268
RF Lough 2-4, 2B (14), RBI (27), K -- .330
SS Bianchi 1-4, RBI (26), K, RS -- .301
DH C. Robinson 2-4, SB (2) -- .291
1B Seratelli 2-4, 2B (6) -- .278
CF D. Robinson 1-4, BB, RS, 3 SB (35) -- .232
2B Giavotella 0-3, BB, RS -- .218
LF Ortiz 0-4, K -- .249

Paulino 7 IP, 3 H, 2 K -- W, 3-3, 4.25 ERA, solid
Abreu 2 IP, 3 BB, K -- 2.38 ERA

*** Eduardo Paulino and Juan Abreu combined on a 3-hitter as the Blue Rocks shut down the Dash to take 2 of 3 in the series. Paulino and Dash starter Johnnie Lowe had a good duel Sunday as Wilmington ran into a couple early outs and the game was scoreless into the 8th, when Lowe came out for RP Santo Luis. With 1 out and 2 in scoring position, the Rocks broke the ice as Mike Moustakas singled home a run, Jeff Bianchi hit an RBI fielder's choice, David Lough doubled home a run and Bianchi scored on a passed ball to give the Rocks a 4-0 lead. Juan Abreu left the bases full in the 8th but pitched a perfect 9th to wrap it up. Luis took the loss with 4 runs (2 ER) allowed in only 1/3 IP to fall to 1-3 with a 6.65 ERA. Lowe allowed 7 hits and a walk with 4 Ks over 7 IP to drop his ERA to 4.21. Three Dash batters had a hit each.

The Rocks are 35-27 and 6 1/2 games out. A 3-game set at the Potomac Nationals (35-26) starts tonight as Mario Santiago (3-5, 4.02) faces Nationals righty Brad Meyers (3-2, 1.66). Meyers shut the Rocks down the first time he faced them. The Rocks are 1-6 versus the P-Nats. Righty Zach Peterson has gotten the call-up from Burlington to join the Wilmington pen after posting a 3.63 ERA in the Midwest League this season. Villa's runs allowed Saturday snapped a 34-inning scoreless streak out of the Rocks pen. Villa had been the last Rocks reliever to allow a run. Starter Danny Duffy entertained the crowd with a dance wearing his street clothes during Saturday's rain delay.

A - Burlington: Beloit 4, Bees 1 (Sat.)

3B Fontaine 2-4, 2B (2), RBI (6), 2 E (6) -- .232
CF Dyson 1-3 -- .378, left with leg injury in 6th -- a "tight hamstring"
DH Hosmer 1-4, 2 K, SB (3) -- .256
RF-LF Van Stratten 1-4, OF assist at home -- .340
C Bonilla 1-3, BB, 2B (7), 2 K, RS, PB (2) -- .236

Montgomery 4 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K, pickoff -- 2.10 ERA
J. Garcia 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, BB -- L, 1-4, 5.88 ERA
Bowden 1 1/3 IP, 3 K, WP -- 2.36 ERA
Pena IP, UER, 2 BB, K -- 3.00 ERA

*** The Bees lost a tenuous 1-0 lead in the 6th as Beloit came back for the win in the series finale. Back-to-back doubles gave the Bees the lead in the 2nd as Chase Fontaine doubled home Jose Bonilla to make it 1-0. Mike Montgomery handed the pen a 2-hit shutout with 2 out in the 5th but Justin Garcia had a rough 6th as Beloit scored 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk to take a 2-1 lead. Jarrod Dyson led off the Bees 6th with a single but had to leave the game with an injured leg. The Snappers added a run in the 7th, although it could have been worse as Nick Van Stratten turned a would-be sac fly into a double play at the plate. The Snappers pushed home a 4th run in the 9th and the Bees stranded 1 in the bottom of the inning as RP Joe Testa got his 6th save. Starter Dan Osterbrock got the win with 6 1/3 IP of an ER allowed on 6 hits and a walk with 2 Ks to move to 4-5 with a 5.15 ERA. Six Snappers had a hit each. 3B Ramon Santana was 1-4 with a walk, his 13th double, a K and RS to move to .340. LF Ozzie Lewis drove in his 25th run.

Wisconsin 4, Bees 3 (Sun.)

DH Hosmer 2-4, RBI (33), K -- .261
2B F. Garcia 2-4, 2B (5), K -- .272
CF Norris 1-5, RBI (9), K -- .236
3B Jimenez 1-3, SF, RBI (16) -- .208
LF Van Stratten 1-3, BB, 2B (12), RS -- .340
RF Francis 0-4, 4 K, OF assist at second -- .277, season has taken a sudden turn for Nick
C Bonilla 1-4, 3B (2), 2 K, RS, picked off runner -- .236

Casey 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 WP -- L, 4-6, 3.65 ERA
B. Hardy 3 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 K -- BS, 1, 2.53 ERA

*** A 3-run Rattler 6th helped Wisconsin take the series opener. A walk and 2-out RBI double in the 2nd off Bryan Casey gave Wisconsin the early lead but the Bees tied it in the 3rd on a Patrick Norris RBI single before stranding the bases loaded. Burlington moved ahead in the 5th on an Eric Hosmer RBI single but Casey was pulled for Blaine Hardy with runners at the corners and 2 out in the 6th. Hardy gave up an RBI single and 2-run triple to make it 4-2 Rattlers before escaping the inning. Jose Bonilla tripled and scored on an Antonio Jimenez sac fly in the 6th and Fernando Garcia hit a 2-out double in the 9th that was followed by a Rattler error, but Garcia was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the game as RP Jim Henderson got his 16th save for Wisconsin. Starter Wily Peralta worked 5 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) allowed on 5 hits and a walk with 8 Ks to improve to 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA. LF Chris Dennis and RF Michael Vass had 2 hits for Wisconsin as Dennis had a walk, his 13th double, 16th RBI and 2 RS to move to .350 and Vass had his 13th double, 19th RBI and was picked off once to move to .241. 1B Brock Kjeldgaard drove in 2 runs (38) and hit his 2nd triple.

The Bees are 27-34 and out of the first-half race. Game 2 of 4 with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (31-32, A Brewers) is tonight as Tim Melville (1-3, 4.50) faces Rattlers righty Alex Periard in his '09 Rattler debut. The Bees are 2-2 versus the Rattlers.



The Royals announced the signing of 7 draft picks, starting with 10th rounder HS 1B Geoff Baldwin of Grand Junction, Colo. He was a Nebraska signee. 11th rounder SS Ryan Wood signed, as did 12th rounder righty Nick Wooley, 16th round lefty Eric Diaz, 20th round righty Patrick Keating, 25th round righty Richard Folmer, 30th round righty Josh Worrell (son of former Card Todd), and also brought in undrafted guys lefty Jose Sanchez from Montgomery (PA) College and righty Kyle Sweat out of the U of Central Florida.