Royals on the Farm 6/27

Bruce Chen didn't pitch awfully his first start. It wasn't a Picasso, but it wasn't a stick figure drawing, either. You don't expect Nyjer Morgan to take you deep, and it would be nice to get more than 2 runs of support out of the offense. The Royals are assured their first losing interleague record since the horrible, horrible days of 2004. As much as I want to see several moves made, I wonder if they ever will be.

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 4, O-Royals 2

CF Raines 2-4, 2B (2), RBI -- .149, finally gets first RBI with organization
SS Lisson 2-3, BB, 2 2B (4), RS, SB (2) -- .222
1B Ka'aihue 1-4, HR (12), RBI (33), K, RS -- .272

M. Wright 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- L, 0-5, 7.12 ERA
Marte 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 4.30 ERA
Yabuta 2 IP, 6 K -- 4.37 ERA, wow

*** The Isotopes came up with 4 runs despite only 5 hits and Omaha couldn't keep pace in the series opener. Matt Wright gave up 2 2-out RBI hits in the 2nd and Omaha stranded 2 in the 3rd. The Royals left the bases full in the 4th and Victor Marte allowed 2 runs in the 6th to make it 4-0 Isotopes. Kila Ka'aihue led off the Omaha 6th with his 12th homer of the season and Tim Raines Jr. hit a 2-out RBI double to cut the lead in half. Yasuhiko Yabuta pitched 2 perfect innings with 6 Ks for his biggest night as an O-Royal and Omaha went down in order in the 9th as RP Scott Strickland got his 14th save. Starter Stephen Randolph allowed only 4 hits and 3 walks with 2 Ks over 5 IP to win and move to 4-2 with a 5.10 ERA. DH Juan "Not Juan Gone" Gonzalez was 2-4 with his 3rd double and 6th RBI to move to .222. 1B Sergio "Not the Golfer" Garcia was 1-2 with a walk, 2 RBI (7) and his 1st SB to move to .221.

The O-Royals are 28-47. Game 2 is today as Heath Phillips (3-7, 6.81) faces Isotopes righty Giancarlo Alvarado (5-3, 3.10).

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 4, Arkansas 3 (10)

SS Bianchi 5-5, 2B (5), walkoff HR, 3 RBI (7), RS, picked off -- .559, what a night other than pickoff
DH C. Smith 2-5, K, RS -- .247
CF Dyson 1-5, 2 K, SB (3) -- .400
3B Mertins 1-5, RBI (33), 2 K, SB (6) -- .294
LF Duarte 1-4, RS, SB (11) -- .237
RF Strait 1-4, K, OF assist at home -- .283

Cortes 5 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K, WP -- 4.00 ERA, 100 pitches, only 53 strikes
Swaggerty 2 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 3 K -- 2.08 ERA
Nicoll 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB -- BS, 2, 4.54 ERA
Sencion 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- W, 2-1, 5.72 ERA

*** The Naturals coughed up a 2-run lead in the 9th but Jeff Bianchi saved the day by capping off a nice night at bat. Bianchi started the scoring with a 2-out, 2-run double in the 1st and the Naturals stranded 2 in the 2nd. Cody Strait gunned down a runner at the plate in the 4th and Dan Cortes stranded 2. He stranded 2 more in the 5th before getting pulled after 100 pitches. Ben Swaggerty loaded the bases with none out in the 7th and allowed 1 run to score before escaping the jam. Jose Duarte hit a 2-out single in the 7th, stole second and scored on a Kurt Mertins single to make it 3-1 NWA before the Naturals left the bases full. Chris Nicoll came in to strand 2 in the 8th but gave up a 2-run triple to C Hank Conger in the 9th to tie the game. Carlos Sencion came in to strand 2 and, with 2 out in the NWA 10th, Bianchi smoked his 1st AA homer to left center off RP Marco Albano to end it. Albano worked 1 2/3 IP and dropped to 1-2 with a 4.55 ERA. Starter Trevor Reckling went 6 1/3 IP of 2 ER allowed on 8 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to move his ERA to 2.55. 1B Mark Trumbo and LF Coby Smith had 3 hits for Arkansas and Smith stole his 29th base. Conger was 2-5 with his 1st triple and 2 RBI (30)

The Naturals are 2-1 and 1/2 a game back. Game 3 is today as Anthony Lerew (4-4, 5.21) faces Travelers lefty Barret Browning (0-6, 4.08). Starters Blake Wood and Blake Johnson are getting some extra rest in before the all-star break. OF David Lough has been added to the Naturals' roster, but no accompanying move has been made.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Potomac 5, Blue Rocks 2

LF Orlando 2-3, S, 2B (12), 2 RS -- .229
1B-SS Seratelli 1-3, BB, 2B (9), RBI (19) -- .308
RF Walton 1-3, BB, RBI (14) -- .256
3B Moustakas 0-2, 2 K -- .265, left or pulled in 5th, story says ejected but not in box score
2B Giavotella 1-4, BB, E (13) -- .224
1B C. Robinson 0-3, K -- .288
DH Lough 1-4, K -- .320
* The Blue Rocks stranded 10.

Santiago 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 4 K -- L, 3-8, 4.16 ERA
Rivas 1 2/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, BB, 3 K, WP, balk -- 6.90 ERA
Z. Peterson 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K -- 1.93 ERA
Liotta IP, H, K -- 4.43 ERA

*** Three Rocks errors helped lead to 2 unearned runs as the P-Nats won 2 of 3 in the series. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 2nd and Mario Santiago gave up 2 runs in the 3rd on 3 hits to give Potomac a 2-0 lead. Anthony Seratelli doubled home a run with 2 outs in the 4th to cut the lead in half but Mike Moustakas struck out for the 2nd time in the game that inning and didn't come out to his position for the 5th. The box score doesn't mention an ejection but the game story does. Two Rocks errors helped the Nationals score a run in the 5th and the Rocks stranded the bases full in the bottom of the frame. Jamar Walton singled in a run in the 6th but Wilmington stranded 2. Potomac put it away in the 7th with 2 runs on a run-scoring Carlos Rivas wild pitch and Zach Peterson gave up a 2-out, bases-loaded RBI single to the first batter he faced before stranding the bases full. Derrick Robinson struck out for the third out in the 9th but got to first on a wild pitch on the play. Johnny Giavotella singled to bring the tying run to the plate but Clint Robinson struck out to end it as RP Atahualpa Severino picked up his 10th save. Starter Terrence Engles allowed 2 ER on 5 hits and 4 walks with 4 Ks to pick up the win and move to 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. DH Sean Rooney was 3-5 with his 2nd SB, 2 RBI (31) and a K to move to .302 and C Brian Peacock and LF Dan Nelson had 2 hits each. 2B Stephen King stole 2 bases (10) and scored 3 runs and RF Michael Burgess was 1-4 with his 38th RBI and a K to move to .232.

The Blue Rocks are 1-2. A 4-game set at the Frederick Keys (2-1, A-Adv. O's) starts tonight. Eduardo Paulino (3-4, 4.45) starts versus Keys lefty and former Mizzou pitcher Richard Zagone in his A-Advanced debut. The Rocks are 3-3 versus the Keys this season.

A - Burlington: Cedar Rapids 3, Bees 2

3B Jimenez 1-3, 3B (4), RBI (20), RS -- .219
SS Rivera 1-3, RBI (4) -- .229
LF Griffin 0-4 -- .000, A-ball debut
DH Hosmer 0-4, 2 K -- .247
RF Francis 0-4, K -- .288
CF Norris 0-3, 2 K, OF assist at home -- .242

Casey 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 4-7, 3.67 ERA, left with reported injury, nothing in team site story
B. Hardy 3 1/3 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 K -- 2.75 ERA
R. Pena IP, 2 BB, K, WP -- 4.76 ERA
Thompson IP, K -- 2.34 ERA

*** The Bees scraped out only 4 hits and 2 late runs as Cedar Rapids earned at least a split of the set. Bryan Casey gave up a 2-out solo homer to RF Roberto Lopez (his 7th) in the 1st and, after a walk, 1B Gabe Jacobo doubled in a run to make it 2-0 Kernels. Casey left the bases full in the 2nd but the Kernels added a run off Blaine Hardy in the 5th. Antonio Jimenez hit an RBI triple in the 8th to get the Bees on the board and scored on a Juan Rivera groundout to cut the lead to 1 but RP Michael Kohn struck out the side in the 9th for his 6th save. Starter Manuel Flores went 8 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to improve to 4-3 with a 3.40 ERA. Three Kernels had 2 hits. Jacobo hit 2 doubles (11) and drove in his 39th run to move to .234 and Lopez drove in his 39th run and scored twice to move to .253.

The Bees are 1-2. The series is ending this afternoon with Mike Montgomery (1-1, 1.99) facing Kernels righty Tyler Chatwood (3-4, 4.14).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 8, Chukars 7

2B D. Batista 2-5, 3B (2), HR, 5 RBI (7), 2 RS -- .385
SS Alfaro 2-4, BB, 2B (2), RBI (2), SB (2) -- .417
1B Espinosa 2-4, 2B, RS -- .167
CF H. Richardson 2-4, K, RS, OF assist at first -- .583
3B Taylor 1-5, HR, RBI (3), K, RS -- .353
DH S. Perez 0-5 -- .364
C Theriot 0-3, BB, K, RS, PB, E -- .000

Hodgson 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB -- 4.50 ERA
Hodge 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB -- 13.50 ERA, season debut
Toribio 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB -- 4.50 ERA
Keating IP, H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 0.00 ERA
C. White IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, L, 0-1, 9.00 ERA

*** The Chukars blew a 1-run lead in the 9th to take their first loss of the season. The Chukars stranded 2 in the 1st but got a 2-run homer from Deivy Batista (his 1st) in the 3rd to take the lead. The Chukars loaded the bases with none out in the 4th and got a 1-out, 3-run triple from Batista to make it 5-0. J.D. Alfaro followed with an RBI single to make it 6-0. Two walks, a triple and passed ball in the 4th gave Orem 2 runs to cut it to 6-2. Mitch Hodge loaded the bases with 1 out in the 6th and Aneidy Toribio allowed 2 runners to come in to cut it to 6-4. Jason Taylor led off the 7th with his 1st homer of the season but Orem scored 2 more runs on 3 hits, a walk, and wild pitch off Toribio and Patrick Keating in the bottom of the inning to trim it to 7-6. Cole White came in and left the bases loaded in the 8th and, with 2 out and 1 on in the 9th, a walk was followed by a 2-run walkoff double from DH Justin Bass to end it. RP Yeison Almeida worked 2 scoreless innings for the win to move to 1-0 with a perfect ERA. Starter Patrick Corbin allowed 2 ER on 4 hits with a K over 3 IP to set a 6.00 ERA. 3B Mike Wing was 3-3 with his 1st error, 2 BB and 2 RS to move to .438, and 3 other Owlz had 2 hits. Bass was 2-5 with his 1st double and 3 RBI to move to .273 and CF Dan Eichelberger drove in 2 runs (3).

IF is 3-1. Game 2 is today as Nick Wooley makes his pro debut versus Owlz lefty Stephen Locke (1-0, 1.80).

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 6, Johnson City 3

RF V. Soto 2-3, S, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, RS -- .500
1B D. Cruz 2-3, SF, 2 2B, RBI, RS -- .400
CF MacDougall 2-5, 2B (2), RBI (2), RS, SB -- .250
2B Espinal 1-5, RBI (2), 2 K, CS (2), 2 E (4) -- .429
SS R. Wood 0-4, 2 K -- .095
C F. Cruz 1-4, 2B (2), RS, PB -- .250
DH Molina 1-2, BB, S, 2B, K, 2 RS -- .500

Hayenga 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 4 K, WP -- W, 1-0, 1.50 ERA, season debut
Hentges 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K -- SV, 1, 3.00 ERA

*** Keaton Hayenga made a nice start and the B-Royals got past Johnson City to even the series. Hayenga threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the 1st but Gabe MacDougall hit an RBI double in the 3rd and Yowill Espinal singled him home to make it 2-1 Royals. Diego Cruz hit a sac fly in the 4th to make it 3-1. Hayenga left 2 in scoring position in the 4th but 2 doubles scored a Cardinals run in the 5th to trim the lead to 1. Hayenga stranded 2 more in the 6th and Victor Soto gave the Royals some breathing room with a 2-run homer in the 7th to make it 5-2. Chase Hentges allowed a run on 2 hits in the 8th but Diego Cruz doubled and scored on an error in the 9th and Hentges pitched a perfect 9th for the save. Cards SP Randy Santos went 4 IP of 3 ER allowed on 6 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to drop to 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. 2B Luis Mateo and LF Rainel Rosario had 2 hits for Johnson City.

The B-Royals are 2-3 and 2 games back. The set ends tonight with no announced starters on the team site.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 13, Dodgers 7

DH Stovall 2-5, HR, 3 RBI (9), 2 K, 2 RS -- .346, first pro homer
RF S. Cabrera 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI (4), 3 RS -- .158
3B Figueroa 2-5, RBI (5), K, 2 RS -- .348
CF Llanos 1-4, BB, SF, RBI (5), 2 K, SB (3) -- .333
1B G. Baldwin 2-4, BB, K, 2 RS -- .238
C E. Escobar 1-1, RBI (2), RS -- .444
LF Polonia 1-3, BB, HBP, RBI, K, RS, SB (2) -- .267
2B Maddox 0-3, BB, RS, E -- .167

Amador 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- 10.00 ERA
E. Diaz 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 6.75 ERA
S. De La Rosa 2 1/3 IP, 6 K -- W, 1-0, 1.69 ERA, very nice

*** The Royals came back from a 7-0 deficit with 13 runs in the last 3 innings to win. The game was scoreless until the Dodgers got to Ezequiel Amador for 2 runs in the 4th on 3 hits and a hit batsman with 2 outs. The Royals left the bases full in the 5th and the Dodgers struck for 3 runs that inning on 3 hits, a walk, wild pitch and Marc Maddox error to make it 5-0 Dodgers. Eric Diaz stranded 2 in the 6th and the Royals finally got to work in the 7th. Santos Cabrera broke the ice with a 2-run double, Juan Polonia hit an RBI single, Yunior Figueroa singled home a run and Ryan Stovall went long for the 1st time as a pro to make it 7-5 Royals. Diaz allowed 2 runs in the 7th to tie the game at 7 but Cabrera scored on a wild pitch in the 8th to give the lead back to the Royals. The Royals got an Edul Escobar RBI single before loading the bases with 0 out in the 9th and a 2-run error was followed by another run-scoring error and Alex Llanos sac fly to make it 13-7. Starling De La Rosa struck out the first 5 he faced, then got another K to finish the game. RP Marlon Urriola allowed 5 runs (3 ER) over an inning of work to drop to 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. Starter Carl Webster pitched 5 scoreless innings of 2 hits with 6 Ks to drop his ERA to 2.00. RF Travis Vetters was 3-5 with a double, RBI and 2 RS to set a .600 BA. 3B Johan Garcia was 2-4 with 2 SB (4), 2 RBI (4) and 2 RS to move to .364 and 1B Ryan Arp drove in 2 runs and had 2 errors in the loss.

The Royals are 4-2 and 1/2 a game back. They play the 0-5 Padres tonight.