Royals on the Farm 6/18

Back to back shellackings at the hands of the D-Backs...yikes. Let's sweep the Cardinals...and start getting rid of some of the dead wood while we're at it (cough, TPJ..seriously, he can't even hit .100, if .200 is the Mendoza line, .100 is the Pena Jr. line). It frightens me, kinda, that my favorite Royal position player, Bert Callaspo, leads the team with an .822 OPS. That's a solid OPS but it shouldn't lead an MLB team.

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 9, O-Royals 1

RF Aldridge 2-4, 2B (8) -- .281
1B Ka'aihue 0-2, BB, SF, RBI (29), K -- .268
C House 1-4, K, E (3) -- .264
3B Metcalf 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .255
LF Thorman 1-4, 2 K -- .292
SS Lisson 1-3, K -- .231

Tejeda 2 IP, 2 UER, H, 3 BB, K -- L, 0-1, 0.00 ERA
Phillips 4 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 8 H, 3 K -- 6.69 ERA
Atencio IP, 2 K -- 6.46 ERA
Yabuta IP, H -- 5.30 ERA

*** A 6-run 6th did the trick for Albuquerque as the Isotopes took the first of 4 with Omaha. The Isotopes loaded the bases off Robinson Tejeda with 1 out in the 2nd and scored 2 runs on a J.R. House throwing error on a botched double play. Heath Phillips came in for the 3rd and allowed a run on 2 hits to make it 3-0 'Topes. Kila Ka'aihue hit a sac fly in the 4th to break up the fledgling shutout but Albuquerque pitchers would retire the next 10 straight. Phillips got pummeled in the 6th as the Isotopes scored their 6 runs on 6 hits and a Tim Raines Jr. fielding error in center. Omaha left the bases full in the 7th and wouldn't threaten again. SP Stephen Randolph got the win with 5 IP of an ER allowed on 3 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move to 3-2 with a 5.79 ERA. RP Claudio Vargas went 3 IP for his 1st save. Three Isotopes had 2 hits and 3 had 2 RBI. Former Royals prospect LF Dee Brown was 2-4 with his 14th double and 2 RBI (44) with a K and RS to move to .308.

The O-Royals are 26-41. Game 2 is tonight as Bruce Chen (3-2, 3.80) faces Isotopes righty James McDonald (1-0, 3.26). Today is Bruce's 32nd birthday, so have a good one, Bruce.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 6, Springfield 5

C Clark 2-3, BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (7), K, RS -- .300
DH Suomi 2-4, 3B (2), 2 RBI (16), RS -- .327
2B Mertins 1-3, BB, 2B (14), RBI (30) -- .303
CF Duarte 0-4, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (10) -- .256
RF Parraz 1-4, 2B (17), K, RS -- .352
SS McConnell 0-4, E (4) -- .211

Lerew 5 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K, HRA -- 4.61 ERA
Swaggerty 2 1/3 IP, H, 4 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA
Holland IP, 2 H, 2 K, WP -- SV, 5, 2.61 ERA

*** Cody Clark's RBI single in the 9th capped a late Naturals comeback as they got a big win versus Springfield. Kurt Mertins was thrown out at the plate in the 1st but NWA got a 2-run triple from John Suomi to take a 2-0 lead. Anthony Lerew had a rocky 1st as the Cards tied the score on 4 hits and a walk. Lerew stranded 2 in the 2nd and Clark led off the 5th with his 2nd homer of the year for the Nats before Mertins hit an RBI double to make it 4-2. Lerew had 2 on with 2 out in the 6th when a decent outing went south as he served up a 3-run homer to 3B Mike Folli for his 2nd of the season to give Springfield a 5-4 lead. Ben Swaggerty pitched the rest of the inning and RP Francisco Samuel came on in the 9th to try to finish it for the Cards. Suomi and Ed Lucas singled and a wild pitch scored Suomi to tie the game. Clark stepped up and hit a 1-out RBI single to give the Naturals the lead and Greg Holland left 2 in scoring position in the bottom of the 9th for his 5th save. Samuel took his 3rd blown save and the loss to fall to 3-3 with a 4.71 ERA. Starter Lance Lynn worked 6 IP of 4 ER allowed on 4 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 4.11. LF Daryl Jones was 3-5 with a K and RS to move to .308, SS Pete Kozma was 2-5 with his 11th error, a K and RS to move to .244 and 1B Mark Hamilton was 2-4 with his 22nd RBI, 2 K and a RS to move to .304. Folli's 3-run HR gave him 11 RBI on the season.

The Naturals are 34-31 and 1 game back of the Cards and Tulsa. Game 2 is tonight as Blake Johnson (4-5, 5.05) faces Cards righty Brian Broderick (0-1, 6.00). 36-year-old C Vance Wilson has been activated from the DL.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: rainout

The Rocks are 37-28. The game is being made up as part of a doubleheader today. Alex Caldera will start the opener while Eduardo Paulino (3-3, 4.25) will take the mound in game 2. Levi Maxwell will start game 1 for the Dash while Johnnie Lowe (4-2, 4.21) will pitch game 2 for Winston-Salem.

A - Burlington: Peoria 5, Bees 4 (10)

CF Dyson 3-4, S, RBI (4), K, RS -- .370
3B Fontaine 2-4, BB, 2 2B (5), K, RS -- .266
DH Hosmer 1-2, 2 BB, SF, RBI (37), RS -- .253
1B D. Wood 1-5, RBI (23), 3 K -- .259
RF Francis 0-3, SF, RBI (39), 3 K -- .273, on K streak of late
LF-RF Van Stratten 0-4, BB, K, CS (6) -- .335
C Bonilla 1-5, 2 K -- .248
* The Bees stranded 11.

Montgomery 6 IP, ER, 2 H, 7 K -- 1.99 ERA, wow, perfect other than 1 inning
R. Pena IP, 2 ER, 3 H, WP -- 6.75 ERA
B. Hardy 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- BS, 2, L, 3-3, 2.75 ERA

*** Mike Montgomery had a great outing but the bullpen let him down as the Bees dropped the game in 10. The Bees stranded 2 in the 1st but loaded the bases with none out in the 3rd and scored 2 runs on a Nick Francis sac fly and David Wood RBI single. Jarrod Dyson singled in a run in the 4th to make it 3-0 but Peoria finally got to Montgomery in the 5th for a run on 2 hits as he was perfect coming into the inning. Eric Hosmer hit a sac fly in the 7th to make it 4-1 but Riquy Pena took over in the bottom of the inning and things got shaky. Three hits scored 2 Peoria runs to make it 4-3 and Blaine Hardy gave up a leadoff triple and run-scoring wild pitch in the 8th to tie the game. The Bees left 'em loaded in the 9th and Hardy stranded 2 that inning. With 2 on and 1 out in the 10th, Cubs uberprospect 3B Josh Vitters singled home the winning run to end it. RP Manolin De Leon got the win with 2 1/3 scoreless IP to move to 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA. Starter Chris Archer worked only 3 IP and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to make his ERA 2.42. C Mike Brenly was 3-4 with his 4th passed ball, 2 2B (7) and 3 RBI (22) to move to .268 and Vitters was 2-5 with his 42nd RBI, a K and RS to move to .321.

The Bees are 28-39. Game 2 is tonight as Bryan Casey (4-6, 3.65) takes on Chiefs righty Marcus Hatley (5-4, 4.53).