Royals on the Farm 6/19 & 6/20

Happy Father's Day, everybody.....yet another Father's Day where it isn't too fun to be a Royals fan. 42-16 in the last 4 games, talks of potential Jeff Francoeur trades (although I guess if we give up Jose Guillen it might be worth it), starters failing, ugh. I'm making up for it by pulling for Topeka native Gary Woodland in the golf U.S. Open.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Albuquerque 0 (3-hitter, Fri.)

LF Thorman 3-4, HBP, 2 RS -- .306, remarkable
DH Aldridge 2-4, HR (8), 3 RBI (33), K, RS -- .286
RF Murphy 2-4, RBI (10), 2 K -- .222
C House 2-4, BB, RS -- .268
3B Metcalf 1-5, 2 K -- .254
1B Ka'aihue 0-5, 2 K -- .262
SS Lisson 0-4, 2 K, E (4) -- .220
* Omaha stranded 10.

Chen CG, 3 H, BB, 5 K -- W, 4-2, 3.38 ERA, rightfully in discussion for Davies' rotation spot

*** Bruce Chen pitched another great game and the Royals used a Cory Aldridge homer to even the series with the Isotopes. Aldridge's homer came with 2 on and 2 out in the 4th off SP Dwayne Pollok for Cory's 8th of the season to make it 3-0 Omaha. Omaha stranded 2 in the 5th and a 2-out Mario Lisson error in the 5th lost Chen a perfect game bid. Tommy Murphy hit an RBI single in the 6th before the Royals left the bases full. Omaha loaded the bases with none out in the 7th but couldn't push in a run. Chen's no-hit bid ended with 2 out in the 7th as DH Hector Luna singled but Chen ended up stranding 2 in scoring position. He stranded 2 in the 9th as well as he finished with a 116-pitch complete game. Pollok took the loss with 3 ER allowed on 4 hits with 2 Ks to fall to 2-3 with a 5.45 ERA. Three Isotopes had a hit each. Luna was 1-3 with a walk to drop to .353.

Albuquerque 7, O-Royals 4 (Sat.)

C House 3-4, 2B (8), RS -- .276, pulling out of slump?
2B Falu 2-4, 2B (9), HR (2), RBI (19), RS -- .259
DH Aldridge 1-4, 2B (9), 3 RBI (36), K -- .285
3B Metcalf 0-4, 2 K -- .250
LF Thorman 0-2, 2 BB, RS -- .301
1B Ka'aihue 1-3, HBP, K, RS -- .263
SS Lisson 0-4, 2 K -- .209

M. Wright 5 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K -- L, 0-4, 7.67 ERA, former Brave isn't getting it done
Rosa 2 IP, BB, 2 K -- 6.62 ERA, where's this been?
Hughes IP, ER, 2 H -- 4.78 ERA

*** Omaha had a 4-0 lead early but it was all Albuquerque thereafter as the Isotopes earned at least a split of the 4-game set. The O-Royals loaded the bases with 2 out in the 1st and Cory Aldridge again had the big hit with a bases-clearing double to give Omaha a 3-0 lead. Irving Falu added a 2-out solo homer in the 2nd for his 2nd of the season to make it 4-0 Royals. Matt Wright got touched up for 3 runs in the 3rd on 3 hits to cut the lead to 1 and, after Omaha stranded 2 in the 5th, Albuquerque scored 3 more runs that inning on 3 hits and a sac fly to take a 6-4 lead. Dusty Hughes gave up 2 2-out hits for an Isotopes run in the 8th and RP Scott Strickland pitched a perfect 9th for Albuquerque for his 11th save. RP Hyang-Nam Choi got the win with 3 scoreless IP to move to 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA. Starter Miguel Pinango allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and a walk with a K over 4 IP to move his ERA to 7.55. SS Chin-lung Hu was 2-4 with 2 doubles (11) and 3 RBI (29) with a K and 2 RS to move to .253.

The O-Royals are 27-42. The series ends tonight as Sidney Ponson makes a rehab start versus Isotopes righty Giancarlo Alvarado (4-5, 3.45). Kyle Davies has been optioned to Omaha as Robinson Tejeda has been activated, so the dream of a Davies consistently good season has been effectively dashed, not that it wasn't already. Also, there haven't been any injury updates on Lubanski/Shealy/Costa anywhere that I've seen in a while. At the same time, I haven't exactly been combing the Internet for info. I have a feeling they're just letting Shealy and Costa rot, since they don't really have anywhere they want to put them.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 9, Springfield 5 (Fri.)

SS Bianchi 3-5, 3 2B, 2 RS -- .600, taking AA by storm in his debut!
RF Parraz 2-4, BB, 2 HR (6), 3 RBI (40), 2 RS -- .355, wow
3B Lucas 4-4, BB, HR (3), 2 RBI (21), 3 RS, SB (7) -- .272
C Clark 2-4, S, RBI (8), K, CS -- .324
1B C. Smith 2-5, 2B (9), RBI (45), K -- .246
CF Duarte 1-5, 2B (7), RBI (12), K, CS (6) -- .254
2B Mertins 1-4, BB, 2 K, 2 RS -- .306
DH Suomi 0-4, K -- .315
PH-DH V. Wilson 1-1, RBI -- 1.000, season debut for Vance

B. Johnson 6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 5-5, 4.95 ERA, odd line, but a W
de la Vara 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, WP -- 5.08 ERA
Hartsock 1 2/3 IP, H, K -- SV, 4, 3.86 ERA, looking good

*** The Naturals scored in all but 2 innings as Ed Lucas, Jordan Parraz and Jeff Bianchi all had nice nights at the plate. Corey Smith singled home a run in the 1st before the Nats stranded 2. Jose Duarte hit an RBI groundout in the 2nd and Lucas led off the 4th with his 3rd homer of the AA season to make it 3-0 Naturals. Blake Johnson had a 1-hit shutout through 5 and Bianchi led off the 6th with a double for his first AA hit before scoring on a Lucas single to make it 4-0. Johnson had 2 out and 2 on in the 6th when he gave up a 3-run homer to 2B Dan Descalso for his 6th of the season to trim the lead to 1. Parraz stepped up and hit a 2-run homer in the 7th for his 5th of the season and Bianchi doubled again before getting stranded. Gilbert de la Vara was brought in with the bases loaded and 2 out in the 7th and got a groundout to end the threat. Cody Clark singled in a run in the 8th to make it 7-3 and de la Vara allowed 2 runs in the inning before getting pulled with 1 out and 1 on. Aaron Hartsock stranded 2 and Parraz led off the 9th with his 6th homer and 2nd of the game before Bianchi doubled for a third time and scored on a Vance Wilson pinch-hit single to make it 9-5. Hartsock pitched a perfect 9th for his 4th AA save. Starter Brian Broderick took the loss for Springfield with 6 IP of 4 ER allowed on 8 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to fall to 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. Descalso was 2-3 with a walk, his HR, 3 RBI (40) and 2 RS to move to .328. DH Mark Hamilton was 2-3 with a walk to move to .312.

Springfield 9, Naturals 3 (Sat.)

C Wilson 3-4, 2B, RBI (2), RS -- .800
SS Bianchi 2-3, BB, 2B (4), RBI -- .625, hot start
RF Parraz 2-5, K -- .356
DH Suomi 1-4, RBI (17) -- .313
CF Duarte 1-5, K -- .253
2B Mertins 1-4, BB, RS -- .305
* The Naturals stranded 10.

Teaford 2/3 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 K, balk -- L, 1-1, 11.74 ERA, yowch
Kniginyzky 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 6.30 ERA
Sencion 1 1/3 IP, H, K -- 5.84 ERA

*** Everett Teaford's 2nd AA start was one to forget as the Cards jumped all over him to knock him out of the box in the 1st en route to a 9-3 win. Teaford's outing went single, balk, RBI triple, RBI single, single, RBI single, K, K, RBI single, single, 3-run triple, pulled for Matt Kniginyzky, who got a flyout to escape the inning. Jeff Bianchi led off the 2nd with his 4th double in 2 AA games but was thrown out at third on the next play. John Suomi singled home a run that inning to cut it to 7-1 and, after the Naturals stranded 2, Springfield did the same in the 2nd. Bianchi hit an RBI groundout in the 3rd and Vance Wilson hit an RBI double to cut it to 7-3. Springfield SP Brandon Dickson recovered to retire the last 7 he faced and NWA couldn't cash in on a possible rally in the 6th. Kniginyzky stranded 2 in the 6th and the Naturals did the same in the 7th. Kniginyzky served up a 2-run homer to DH Matt Arburr (his 5th) in the 7th and Carlos Sencion later came in to strand 2. NWA stranded 2 in the 9th to lose by 6. Dickson got the win with 5 IP of 3 ER allowed on 8 hits and 2 Ks to improve to 4-4 with a 4.02 ERA. Four Cards had 2 hits as SS Pete Kozma was 2-4 with 2 E (12), a walk, his 3rd triple and 3 RBI (20) along with a RS to move to .244. Everybody in the lineup had at least 1 hit.

The Naturals are 35-32 and 1 game back of first. The series ends tonight as Blake Wood (2-5, 5.48) faces Cards righty Trey Hearne (6-1, 3.00). Only 3 games remain in the first half, so it's crunch time. 1B Brian McFall has been placed on the DL.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Winston-Salem 4, Blue Rocks 0 (no-hitter, 7/G1, Fri.)

3B Moustakas 0-3, K -- .268
CF D. Robinson 0-3 -- .230
2B Giavotella 0-3 -- .216
1B C. Robinson 0-1, BB, picked off -- .294
DH Lough 0-2 -- .335
RF Walton 0-0, 2 BB, CS (7), picked off -- .266
LF Ortiz 0-2 -- .240

Caldera 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, K, balk -- L, 1-5, 6.43 ERA
Villa 2 IP, H, BB -- 3.79 ERA

*** Levi Maxwell held the Rocks hitless for a 7-inning no-no in game 1 of a scheduled twinbill Friday. Alex Caldera balked home the only run the Dash needed in the 2nd before stranding 2. The perfect game ended early as Clint Robinson led off the 2nd with a walk but was picked off. The Dash added single runs off Caldera in the 3rd, 4th and 5th. Jamar Walton drew a couple walks but was picked off once and caught stealing the second time to eliminate much chance of a rally. Maxwell moved to 2-8 as he allowed 3 walks with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 4.82. Three Dash batters had 2 hits. 3B Brent Morel was 2-4 with his 16th SB, 30th RBI and a RS to move to .251. The no-hitter was the first against the Rocks by a single pitcher in franchise history.

Winston-Salem 4, Blue Rocks 2 (7/G2, Fri.)

LF Orlando 2-3, 2B (10), RS -- .222
SS J. Johnson 1-2, BB, RBI, CS -- .500, '09 Rocks debut
RF Lough 1-3, RBI (29) -- .335
CF D. Robinson 0-3, K -- .227, bat isn't coming around
3B Moustakas 0-3 -- .265
2B Giavotella 0-3, K -- .213, fast track has derailed
1B C. Robinson 1-3, RS -- .294
DH Ortiz 0-2, K -- .237

Paulino 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP -- L, 3-4, 4.45 ERA
Rivas IP, H, BB -- 6.99 ERA

*** A 4-run Dash 4th was enough to get Winston-Salem a sweep of the double dip. Paulo Orlando doubled with 2 out in the 2nd and scored on a Josh Johnson single to make it 1-0 Rocks. Eduardo Paulino had pitched well going into the 4th but allowed a walk, single and run-scoring wild pitch to tie the game before 3 more singles scored 3 more runs and Paulino ended up stranding 2 down, 4-1. Carlos Rivas stranded 2 in the 7th and David Lough hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 2 and bring the tying run to the plate. Orlando singled to put the tying run on base but Johnson grounded into a 4-6-3 DP to end it. SP Johnnie Lowe got the win for the Dash with 6 1/3 IP of 2 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to improve to 5-2 with a 4.10 ERA. RP Miguel Socolovich earned his 4th save. LF Tyler Kuhn was 2-3 with a K and RS to move to .600 and C Adam Ricks drove in 2 runs (11).

double rainout Saturday

The Rocks are 37-30 and finish the first half with a doubleheader today versus the Dash. Mario Santiago will start game 1 and Rowdy Hardy will start game 2. The Dash will counter with righty Anthony Carter (6-3, 4.03) and lefty Justin Edwards in his A-Advanced debut. The other leftover game of the series has been canceled.

A - Burlington: Peoria 12, Bees 10 (Fri.)

3B Fontaine 2-4, HBP, 2B (6), 2 RBI (11), K, 2 RS, 3 E (9) -- .277, good day/bad day for Chase
LF Norris 2-4, 2B, RBI (11), RS -- .242
DH Hosmer 2-5, K, RS -- .256
SS Rivera 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI (3), K, RS -- .216
CF Dyson 1-4, S, RBI (5), CS (4), E -- .362
RF Van Stratten 1-4, S, 2B (13), RBI (26), RS -- .333
C Bonilla 1-4, BB, K, 2 RS -- .248

Baez 4 2/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K, balk -- 3.63 ERA
R. Pena 2/3 IP, 4 UER, H, BB, K, 2 WP, balk, E -- 5.79 ERA
Saito 2 2/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 5 H, 2 K, HRA -- BS, 1, L, 2-5, 4.00 ERA

*** The Bees blew an 8-0 lead to drop another game to the Chiefs as the teams combined for 11 errors. Burlington got it started with 3 runs in the 2nd on a run-scoring Peoria error, Juan Rivera RBI triple and Jarrod Dyson RBI single. The Bees surged further ahead with 5 runs in the 3rd on another run-scoring Peoria error, a 2-run Chase Fontaine double, yet another run-scoring Chiefs error and a Patrick Norris RBI double to make it 8-0. Manauris Baez stranded 2 Chiefs in the 3rd but gave up a 2-run triple in the 4th to get Peoria on the board. Rivera hit an RBI forceout in the 5th to make it 9-2 but the Chiefs cut it to 9-4 with a 2-run double in the bottom of the inning before Riquy Pena came in to strand 2. The Chiefs came back to tie it in the 6th off Pena and Derrick Saito as 4 errors, 2 wild pitches, a run-scoring balk, a walk and only 2 hits helped the Bees implode. The Bees stranded 2 in the 7th but regained the lead in the 8th on a Nick Van Stratten RBI double before leaving 2 in scoring position. Saito couldn't hold it, however, as he served up a 3-run homer to SS Ryan Flaherty (his 9th) to make it 12-10. RP Chris Huseby struck out the side in the 9th for his 6th save. RP Erik Hamren allowed a run in an inning of work but got the win to move to 2-3 with a 6.30 ERA. Starter Marcus Hatley allowed 8 runs (only 3 ER) on 6 hits, 2 walks and a K over 3 IP to move his ERA to 4.75. LF Kyler Burke was 3-5 with his 28th double, 1st triple, 4 RBI (37) and 2 RS to move to .293. CF David Macias was 2-4 with a walk, his 5th double and 2 RS to move to .286, Flaherty drove in 3 runs (35) and scored twice, and 3B Josh Vitters was 1-5 with his 10th error and 2 RS to move to .318. RF Nelson Perez drove in 2 runs (30).

Peoria 5, Bees 3 (Sat.)

LF Van Stratten 2-4, 3B (4), RBI (27), K, RS -- .337
RF Francis 2-4, HR (9), RBI (40), K, RS -- .278
C McCauley 2-4 -- .233
CF Dyson 0-4, BB, RS -- .339
DH Hosmer 1-4, K -- .256
2B F. Garcia 1-2, 2 BB, SB (16) -- .286, .451 OBP tho in 44 games

Melville 4 2/3 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, K, E (2) -- L, 1-4, 3.90 ERA
J. Garcia 3 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K -- 5.40 ERA

*** Two more Bees errors helped contribute to another Chiefs win. The Chiefs got a run off Tim Melville on 2 hits in the 3rd but Nick Francis led off the 4th with his 9th homer of the season to tie it at 1. Melville put the first 2 batters on in the 5th then made a run-scoring throwing error followed by a run-scoring error by 3B Chase Fontaine and the Chiefs added another run to make it 4-1. Justin Garcia allowed a run in the 6th on 2 XBH to make it 5-1 Peoria. Nick Van Stratten came through with an RBI triple in the 8th and scored on a wild pitch to cut it to 5-3 but the Bees would strand 2 in the 9th as RP Chris Huseby got his 7th save. Chiefs SP and the Cubs version of Chris Carpenter pitched 6 innings of an ER allowed on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move to 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA. 3B Josh Harrison was 2-4 with 2 SB (14), his 16th double and 27th RBI to move to .332, RF Nelson Perez was 2-3 with a walk, his 12th double, 31st RBI and a run scored to move to .230 and CF David Macias drove home 2 runs (8). DH Josh Vitters was 0-4 with a K to fall to .313.

The Bees are 28-41. The first half and series wrap up today as the Bees try to avoid a sweep. Sam Runion (2-4, 6.50) is facing Peoria righty Aaron Shafer (5-3, 4.73).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: season starts Tuesday

The Chukars' roster is set. 19-year-old C Salvador Perez has been demoted from Burlington after struggling in the MWL to try to regroup in the Pioneer League. The other catchers on the roster are Juan Graterol and '09 9th round draftee Ben Theriot. The infield includes SS J.D. Alfaro, who also struggled at A-ball early this season, along with 3B Jason Taylor, who's coming back from a drug suspension, Angel Franco, who got some time with the Bees, Deivy Batista, who was decent in rookie ball last season, and '08 draftee Tito Espinosa. The outfield group includes '08 draftee Shawn Griffin, Carlo Testa, Hilton Richardson, Julio Aparicio, '08 draftee Allen Caldwell, and '09 21st rounder Chanse Cooper. The pitching staff includes '09 draftees Cole White, Patrick Keating, Nick Wooley and Brendan Lafferty as well as RP Carlos Arias, who got beaten around in A-ball some this season, RP Eric Basurto, who the Royals got in the Ross Gload deal, Santiago Garrido, Pernell Halliman, '07 high-round pick Mitch Hodge, Ivor Hodgson, Sugar Ray Marimon, Ryan Morgan, Bryan Paukovits and Aneidy Toribio. I'm interested to see how Taylor, Richardson, Testa, White and Hodge, in particular, do. P Carson Bryant has been released. Either the organization decided he wasn't fitting in or he didn't like the thought of another year of rookie ball.

Rookie - Burlington: season starts Tuesday

The B-Royals' website, which is probably the least informative in the organization other than the AZL site, still doesn't have an up-to-date roster on it. The Burlington (NC) Times News does report, however, that the roster includes P Keaton Hayenga, P Carlos Fortuna, P John Lamb, IF Jake Kuebler, 19-year-old Puerto Rican former 3B/SS prospect now C prospect Fernando Cruz, IFs Jason Morales, Diego Cruz and Yeldrys Molina, P Jaeson Hudnall, and '09 draftees Ps Buddy Baumann and Dusty Odenbach and IF Ryan Wood. More to come as info becomes available...

Rookie - AZL: season starts tonight vs. the Padres

The AZL site also includes an incomplete roster. I'll have to wait, or try and piecemeal it together.