Royals on the Farm 6/28 & 6/29

Hochevar is looking good, finally. Let's hope he keeps it up.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 10, Albuquerque 5 (Sun.)

LF Thorman 3-5, 2B (8), HR (13), 2 RBI (30), K, 2 RS -- .293
2B Falu 3-5, RBI (24), RS -- .266
CF Raines 2-4, 2B (3), HR, 3 RBI (4), 2 RS -- .167, finally starting to heat up?
3B Metcalf 1-4, 2B (14), 2 RBI (37), RS -- .231
C Buck 1-4, HR, RBI (2), 2 K, RS -- .182
SS Lisson 1-3, BB, 2B (5), RBI (12), K, RS -- .225
1B Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, K, RS -- .273

Phillips 5 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- W, 4-7, 6.95 ERA, 9.00 ERA in game, but gets the win
Hamulack 2 IP, H, BB -- 6.82 ERA
Hayes 2 IP, 2 K -- 2.76 ERA

*** Omaha came back from an early 4-0 deficit to surge to the 10-5 win. Heath Phillips gave up 4 runs in the 1st on 4 hits and a walk before recording an out. Omaha stranded 2 in the 1st but got to Isotopes SP Giancarlo Alvarado for 5 runs in the 2nd on a Tim Raines Jr. 2-run double, an Irving Falu RBI single and 2-run Scott Thorman homer for his 13th of the season. Phillips stranded 2 in the 4th but gave up a run on 3 hits in the 5th to tie the game at 5. John Buck hit a 1-out solo homer in the 5th for his 1st in rehab to give Omaha the lead for good. Travis Metcalf hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 7th and Mario Lisson doubled him home to make it 9-5. Raines then led off the 8th with his 1st homer for Omaha to cap the scoring. Chris Hayes pitched 2 perfect innings to finish it. Alvarado took the loss with 6 ER allowed on 9 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to drop to 5-6 with a 3.62 ERA. Three Isotopes had 2 hits. RF Jamie Hoffmann and LF Dermal "Dee" Brown had 2 RBI each.

O-Royals 2, Albuquerque 0 (Mon.)

SS Lisson 2-3, RS, 2 E (7) -- .237
LF Thorman 2-3, HBP, RS -- .300
DH Buck 1-4, RBI (3), K -- .200
CF Raines 1-3, RBI (5), K -- .173
1B Ka'aihue 0-3, K -- .269

DiNardo 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 7 K -- W, 5-3, 3.46 ERA
Rosa 2 IP, H, 3 K -- SV, 3, 6.08 ERA

*** Lenny DiNardo and Carlos Rosa combined on a 5-hitter. John Buck singled home a run in the 1st but was thrown out trying to get to second on the play to end the inning. DiNardo retired 13 in a row after a leadoff single in the 1st and Omaha stranded 2 in the 4th. Albuquerque did the same in the 5th then got nothing out of a bases-loaded situation in the 7th. Tim Raines Jr. singled home a run in the 7th to make it 2-0 and Rosa pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Isotopes knuckleballin' SP Charlie Haeger took the loss with 7 IP of 2 runs (1 ER) on 8 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to fall to 8-5 with a 3.75 ERA. CF Jason Repko was 2-4 with 2 K to move to .249.

The O-Royals are 30-47. They shut out the Isotopes again today in the series finale as Kyle Davies (1-0, 0.00) faced Isotopes righty Scott Elbert (1-0, 0.00). Davies was named PCL Pitcher of the Week in his first week back in AAA after throwing 8 innings of shutout ball versus Memphis. The Royals have 10 shutouts (make that 11 now) in a season for the first time since 1996.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 7, Arkansas 3 (Sun.)

RF Strait 2-4, RBI (24), RS, SB (10), picked off -- .286
LF Duarte 1-4, 2 RBI (17), K, CS (8) -- .237
C Clark 1-2, 2 BB, HR (3), 2 RBI (10), RS -- .326
CF Dyson 1-4, K -- .368
SS Bianchi 1-2, 2 BB, RS, SB (2), E (2) -- .556

Lerew 5 1/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 4 BB, 4 K, HRA, E (4) -- 4.97 ERA
de la Vara 1 2/3 IP, UER, 2 H, BB -- W, 3-1, 4.85 ERA
Holland 2 IP, 2 H, BB, K -- SV, 6, 2.25 ERA

*** A 4-run 6th ended up being the key frame in the Naturals' win over the Travelers. A 2-run Travelers error put NWA on top in the 1st. Arkansas fought back with runs in the 4th and 6th off Anthony Lerew, one on a homer by C Hank Conger (his 5th), but Gilbert de la Vara got a bases-loaded double play to escape the jam in the 6th with the tie intact. Cody Strait hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 6th, Cody Clark took a bases-loaded walk, and Jose Duarte hit a 2-run single to make it 6-2. Arkansas scratched out a run in the 7th but NWA matched it in the 8th on Cody Clark's 3rd AA homer of the season. Greg Holland stranded 2 in the 9th for his 6th save. Starter Barret Browning took the loss with 5 IP of 4 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits and 5 walks with 4 Ks to fall to 0-7 with a 4.03 ERA. Conger and 1B Mark Trumbo had 2 hits each and Conger drove in 2 runs (32) to improve to .283.

Naturals 5, Arkansas 2 (Mon.)

1B C. Smith 2-4, 2B (13), RBI (50), K, SB (9) -- .252, first KC minor leaguer to 50 ribbies
LF Duarte 2-3, RBI (18), CS (9) -- .244
C Clark 1-2, BB, HR (4), 2 RBI (12), RS -- .333
CF Dyson 1-4, RS, OF assist at home -- .348
SS Bianchi 0-4 -- .500

Orvella 3 IP, H, 3 K -- 0.00 ERA, organizational debut
Cevette 1 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H -- 5.30 ERA
Nicoll 3 IP, 3 H, BB, K -- W, 6-0, 4.22 ERA
Sencion 2/3 IP, ER, H, BB -- 5.85 ERA
Swaggerty IP, nothing -- SV, 1, 1.86 ERA

*** NWA cobbled together a good game from 5 pitchers, including new pickup Chad Orvella, to take 3 of 4 from the Travelers. Jarrod Dyson scored on a wild pitch in the 1st to give NW Arkansas the lead and the Nats scored 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run shot by Cody Clark for his 4th of the season. Orvella pitched 3 good innings then gave way to Dan Cevette, who allowed a run in the 5th that scored off Chris Nicoll but was credited to Cevette. NWA stranded 2 in the 3rd but scored in the 4th on a Jose Duarte RBI single before stranding 2. The Naturals pushed in their last run in the 5th on a Corey Smith RBI double for his 50th RBI of the season. Nicoll was bailed out of trouble in the 7th as Dyson helped nail a runner at the plate to end the inning. Carlos Sencion loaded the bases with none out in the 9th and Ben Swaggerty came in to let 1 in but get the outs to finish it. Travs SP Tommy Mendoza took the loss with 7 IP of 5 runs (4 ER) allowed on 9 hits and 2 walks with 4 Ks to fall to 5-4 with a 3.04 ERA. Three Travs had 2 hits in the loss.

The Naturals are 4-1 and 1 1/2 games up on first. They have today and tomorrow off for a short all-star break. The TL All-Star Game is tomorrow. KC has signed righty Chad Orvella and assigned him to AA after he was released by the Rays with a 6.12 ERA in 19 1/3 IP with AAA Durham. He's coming back from an '07 shoulder surgery. IF Chris McConnell was placed on the DL with a broken finger, RP Aaron Hartsock was put on the shelf with shoulder tendonitis, and SP Blake Wood has hit the DL with elbow inflammation. IF Josh Johnson was recalled from Wilmington to take the roster spot. Jeff Bianchi was named Texas League Player of the Week for June 22-28 after hitting .625 with a homer and 6 RBI in the week.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 7, Frederick 6 (Sun.)

LF Ortiz 3-4, 2 2B (3), 3B (3), 5 RBI (19), K, RS, CS (4), E (2) -- .245
SS J. Johnson 2-4, 2 RS, SB -- .333
2B Giavotella 2-4, BB, 2B (10), RBI (26), SB (11) -- .228
CF D. Robinson 1-5, RBI (21), 2 K, picked off, OF assist at second -- .236
3B Moustakas 0-5, 2 K -- .260
*RF Paulo Orlando also had an OF assist at second.

Paulino 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 4.85 ERA
Godin 3 1/3 IP, UER, 2 H, 6 K -- W, 1-0, 2.11 ERA
Sisk IP, 2 K -- SV, 7, 2.61 ERA

*** The Rocks and Adrian Ortiz came back in a big way Sunday with 7 runs in the final 2 innings for the 7-6 win. Johnny Giavotella was thrown out at the plate to end the Wilmington 1st and the Keys got a homer from 2B Bobby Stevens (his 5th) to take the lead after 1. Frederick loaded the bases with none out in the 3rd off Eduardo Paulino and scored 2 runs before leaving 'em loaded. Jason Godin came in with 2 on and 2 out in the 5th and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and an Ortiz error to make it 6-0 Keys. Mizzou product and Frederick SP Richard Zagone handed a 3-hit shutout to the pen in the 7th and Wilmington got on the board with 4 runs in the 8th on a 2-run Ortiz double, Derrick Robinson RBI single and Johnny Giavotella RBI double before leaving 2 in scoring position. RP Luis Lebron came in to try and finish it for Frederick in the 9th but Ortiz hit a 1-out bases-loaded triple to swing the game abruptly to a Rocks 7-6 lead. The Rocks stranded 2 and Brandon Sisk pitched a perfect 9th for his 7th save. Lebron picked up his 4th blown save and the loss to fall to 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA. Zagone allowed 3 hits and a walk with 5 Ks in his level debut. Stevens and DH David Cash had 2 hits for the Keys.

Blue Rocks 7, Frederick 3 (10, Mon.)

LF Orlando 2-5, 2B (13), RBI (17), 2 K, 2 RS -- .234
CF D. Robinson 2-5, RBI (22), K, RS, SB (36), E (3) -- .239
2B Giavotella 1-4, BB, 3B (6), 2 RBI (28), RS -- .229
C Eigsti 1-4, BB, RBI (20), 2 K, PB (9) -- .221
RF Walton 1-5, 2B (2), RBI (15), K -- .254
1B Seratelli 0-4, SF, RBI (20), 2 K -- .296
3B Moustakas 1-4, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (7) -- .259
DH Ortiz 1-4, 2B (4), K, RS -- .245

R. Hardy 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA -- 2.12 ERA
Chavez 2 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, 2.57 ERA
Abreu 2 IP, K -- W, 3-1, 1.65 ERA

*** The Rocks broke it open with a 4-run 10th to pick up the win for Juan Abreu. Ryan Eigsti singled in a run in the 2nd and Johnny Giavotella drove in a run with a groundout in the 3rd to make it 2-0 Rocks. Rowdy Hardy induced a bases-loaded double play to escape the 3rd and Derrick Robinson hit a 2-out RBI single in the 5th to give Wilmington a 3-0 lead. A Robinson error allowed the first Frederick run to score in the 5th and C Caleb Joseph clubbed his 6th homer off Hardy in the 6th to cut it to 3-2. Chris Chavez gave up an RBI triple in the 7th to tie it but got out with a tie before stranding 2 in the 8th. Giavotella started the scoring in the 10th with an RBI triple and scored on an Anthony Seratelli sac fly before Paulo Orlando singled in a run and Jamar Walton doubled home Orlando to make it 7-3. Abreu pitched 2 perfect innings for the win. RP Joe Esposito took the loss with 4 ER allowed over 2 IP to fall to 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA. Starter Zach Britton allowed 3 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 9 Ks over 6 IP to move his ERA to 2.14. LF David Cash was 3-4 with his 1st triple and 11th RBI and a K to move to .242. Joseph was 2-5 with the homer and his 35th RBI to move to .328.

Wilmington is 3-2 and tied with Potomac for first. Game 3 with the Keys is tonight as Alex Caldera (1-6, 6.42) faces O's prospect and Keys righty Pedro Beato (4-5, 4.62). IF Antonio Jimenez got called up from Burlington despite not hitting great there, .219 with a .554 OPS. IF Chase Fontaine is set to follow today.

A - Burlington: Bees 3, Cedar Rapids 2 (Sun.)

3B Fontaine 2-4, 2B (7), RS -- .290, not sure he deserves call, but OK
RF Francis 1-4, RBI (44), 3 K -- .287
SS Jimenez 1-4, 2B (9), RBI (21), K, CS (2), 2 E (12) -- .219, both he and Fontaine have double digit E
LF Griffin 1-3, BB, RBI, 2 K, CS -- .143
DH Hosmer 1-3, BB, 3B (2) -- .248
2B F. Garcia 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, 2 SB (19) -- .288

Montgomery 5 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 7 K, pickoff -- 1.93 ERA
J. Garcia 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- 5.14 ERA
Bowden 2 IP, UER, 2 H, BB, 4 K -- BS, 1, W, 2-2, 2.94 ERA

*** Mike Montgomery's good start resulted in a no-decison as the Kernels tied it in the 8th but the Bees salvaged a win in the 9th. Montgomery struck out the side in the 2nd and Burlington got a 2-out RBI single from Nick Francis in the 3rd to take the lead before stranding 2. Antonio Jimenez doubled in a run in the 4th and Montgomery gave up an RBI single before getting pulled for Justin Garcia in the 6th. Barry Bowden came in to pitch the 8th and loaded the bases with 1 out. Jimenez made a 2-out error to allow the tying run to score to make it 3-3 but Bowden left the bases full. Bowden struck out the side in the 9th and, with 2 out and 2 on in the bottom of the inning, Shawn Griffin picked up his 1st A-ball RBI in style with a walkoff single. RP Nick Pugliese allowed an ER over 1 2/3 IP to fall to 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA. Starter Tyler Chatwood worked 4 IP of 2 ER allowed on 5 hits and 3 walks with 6 Ks to move his ERA to 4.17. Five Kernels had a hit each.

off day Monday

The Bees are 2-2 and a game back of first. A 4-game set at the Quad Cities River Bandits (2-2, A Cardinals) starts tonight with Sam Runion (3-4, 6.03) facing Bandits righty Brett Zawacki (1-3, 5.71). The teams are tied 2-2 in the season series. IF Marc Maddox has joined the Bees' roster, and IF Jason Taylor is on his way back to Burlington after starting at Idaho Falls.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 8, Orem 3 (Sun.)

SS Batista 3-5, HR (2), 2 RBI (9), K, 3 RS, 2 SB -- .444
DH Alfaro 3-4, HBP, HR, 2 RBI (4), 3 RS, CS -- .500
3B Taylor 1-4, BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (5), RS, SB -- .333
LF Testa 1-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI (2), K -- .286
C S. Perez 0-4, BB, RBI (3), K -- .267
CF H. Richardson 1-4, RS, SB (2) -- .500

Wooley 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- 9.00 ERA, pro debut
Halliman 4 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, one of best outings of career
Lafferty 2 1/3 IP, ER, H, BB, K -- 3.00 ERA
Morgan 2/3 IP, H, BB, K -- 0.00 ERA

*** IF pitchers stranded 14 Owlz and the Chukars did much more with their 10 hits than the Owlz did with theirs. Jason Taylor slammed a 2-run homer in the 1st for his 2nd of the season and the Chukars had a quick 2-0 lead. The problem was Nick Wooley gave up a 2-run homer to 3B Mike Wing (his 1st) to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Wooley left 2 in scoring position in the 2nd and Deivy Batista gave Idaho Falls the lead again in the 3rd with his 2nd homer of the season to make it 3-2. Pernell Halliman took over in the 3rd and walked the bases loaded to start the 4th, including a walk to Terrell Alliman, so Pernell Halliman pitched to Terrell Alliman. Funny. He got out of the jam somehow and IF kept its 1-run lead. Halliman stranded 2 in the 5th and IF left 2 in scoring position in the 6th. Halliman stranded 2 more in the 6th and the Chukars plated 3 in the 7th on a Batista RBI forceout and bases-loaded walks to Carlo Testa and Salvador Perez that made it 6-2. Brendan Lafferty stranded 2 in the 8th and J.D. Alfaro went long in the 9th for his 1st Chukar homer of the season for a 2-run shot that made it 8-2. Lafferty hit 2 batters in the 9th and was pulled for Ryan Morgan, who walked in a run before closing it out. Starter Stephen Locke took the loss with 3 IP of 3 ER allowed on 5 hits and 4 Ks to fall to 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. C Braulio Pardo and SS Kevin Ramos had 2 hits each for Orem. Pardo made his 1st 2 errors of the season while Ramos made his 1st.

Chukars 10, Orem 2 (Mon.)

C S. Perez 4-5, 2B, K, 3 RS -- .400
3B Alfaro 3-5, 2 2B (4), 2 RBI (6), K -- .524
2B A. Franco 3-5, HR, 2 RBI (3), 3 RS, SB (2) -- .261
1B Espinosa 1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI (3), K, RS, CS -- .158
RF Testa 1-5, 2B (2), RBI (3), 2 K, SB -- .250
DH Cooper 0-5, RBI, 2 K, RS -- .100, first pro RBI
SS Batista 1-5, K, RS, SB (3) -- .391
CF H. Richardson 1-5, 3 K -- .429

Paukovits 4 IP, H, 5 BB, 3 K -- 0.00 ERA
Keating 2 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- W, 2-0, 2.84 ERA
Toribio 1 1/3 IP, BB, K -- 3.38 ERA
Ford IP, K -- 0.00 ERA, season debut

*** Four Chukar pitchers held the Owlz to 4 hits while the offense ran roughshod over Orem en route to the series win. Tito Espinosa singled in a run in the 2nd and IF had a 1-0 lead. Carlo Testa hit an RBI forceout in the 4th to make it 2-0 and J.D. Alfaro doubled in a run in the 5th to stretch it to 3-0. Patrick Keating took over for Bryan Paukovits in the 5th and gave up a 2-run homer to 2B Jean Segura (his 2nd) to cut the lead to 3-2. It was all Chukars thereafter, tho, as Alfaro doubled home another run in the 7th and IF scored 5 in the 8th on a run-scoring Orem error, a Chanse Cooper RBI forceout, a 2-run homer by Angel Franco (his 1st) and another run-scoring error that made it 9-2. Espinosa hit an RBI groundout in the 9th to finish the scoring. Orem SP Tyler Kehrer took the loss with 3 1/3 IP of 2 ER allowed on 6 hits with 6 Ks to fall to 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA. Segura was 3-4 with his homer and 2 RBI (4) along with his 3rd steal to improve to .440.

IF is 5-1 and 1 1/2 games up on first. A 4-day, 5-game set at the Casper Ghosts (1-5, Rookie Rockies) starts tonight with Santiago Garrido (0-0, 5.40) facing Ghosts lefty Jonathan Vargas (0-1, 9.00). The Chukars are 3-0 versus Casper. IF Jason Morales and P Richard Folmer have been added to the Chukars' roster. SS Deivy Batista was named Pioneer League Hitter of the Week for June 22-28 after hitting .444 with 2 triples and 2 HR with 9 RBI in the week.

Rookie - Burlington: Johnson City 4, B-Royals 0 (Sun.)

LF Del Rosario 2-4, K, CS -- .348
2B Espinal 1-4, 2B (2), K -- .400
C Moctezuma 0-2, BB, K, E -- .000
SS Culver 1-2, BB, 3B -- .200

Lamb 4 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 7 H, 2 K, pickoff -- L, 0-1, 4.00 ERA, long awaited pro debut
Odenbach 3 IP, H, 3 BB, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
Hudnall IP, BB -- 5.40 ERA

*** John Lamb, the Royals '08 5th round draftee, finally made his pro debut and took the loss as the Cards shut out the B-Royals. Johnson City scored a run on 3 hits off Lamb in the 2nd before stranding 2, then after the Royals stranded 2 in the 3rd, got 2 runs on an RBI triple and sac fly to make it 3-0. The Cards pushed across another run in the 4th and the Royals would squander two triples down the stretch as the Cards sat down the last 8 in order to finish it. Cards SP Reynier Gonzalez worked 5 innings of 4 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to move to 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA. Three Cards had 2 hits as RF Edgar Lara was 2-4 with 2 doubles (4), a RS and an OF assist at third to improve to .471.

B-Royals 8, Bluefield 5 (Mon.)

SS Espinal 3-5, RS, SB (3) -- .433
LF Del Rosario 2-5, 2 RBI (3), 2 RS -- .357
C T. Jones 1-3, SF, 2B (4), 2 RBI (3), K, E -- .250
3B Kuebler 1-2, 2 HBP, 2B, RBI, K, 2 E (3), picked off -- .200
CF G. Beltre 0-3, S, SF, RBI (2), K, RS -- .130
RF MacDougall 1-4, BB, 2 RS, E (3) -- .250
2B R. Wood 1-3, 2 BB, K, 2 RS -- .125

Billo 4 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, BB, 3 K, pickoff -- 2.35 ERA
D. De La Cruz 3 IP, UER, H, K, E (2) -- W, 1-0, 2.45 ERA
Kelley IP, UER, H -- 0.00 ERA
B. Richardson IP, H -- SV, 2, 4.50 ERA

*** A 5-run 7th keyed a B-Royals win in the opener with the Babybirds (O's). Geulin Beltre gave Burlington the lead with a sac fly in the 1st. Bluefield responded with 3 runs in the 3rd on 3 hits and a Jake Kuebler error to take the lead off Greg Billo. The Royals tightened it with a run-scoring wild pitch in the 4th but stranded 2. Deybi De La Cruz gave the run back in the 5th thanks to his own error and Bluefield led, 4-2. Travis Jones doubled home a run in the 6th but the Royals stranded 2 once more. In the 7th, the Royals loaded the bases with none out and a wild pitch scored the first run, followed by a 2-run Luis Del Rosario single, a Jones sac fly and Kuebler RBI double to make it 8-4 B-Royals. A dropped foul pop error on Jones led to a Bluefield run off Scott Kelley in the 8th and Brett Richardson pitched a solid 9th for his 2nd save. RP Robert Holloway blew his first save and took the loss with 6 ER allowed in an inning of work to fall to 0-1 with a 54.00 ERA. Starter Vito Frabizio worked 5 IP of 2 unearned runs allowed on 4 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to keep a 0.00 ERA. SS Javier Santana was 2-3 with a double and 2 RS to move to .158. 2B Omar Casamayor drove in 2 runs (4) and scored twice in improving to .250 with a 1-3 night.

Burlington is 3-4 and 2 games back. Game 2 versus the Bluefield Orioles (3-4) is tonight with Carlos Fortuna (0-0, 4.50) facing O's righty Robert Bundy (0-1, 4.50). Bluefield's roster features Orioles '09 draftees 19th rounder OF Kipp Schutz and others.

Rookie - AZL: Padres 7, Royals 2 (Sun.)

2B Maddox 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, RS, SB -- .300
DH A. Gordon 1-3, BB, 2 K -- .400
3B Figueroa 1-4, RBI (6) -- .333
CF Llanos 0-3, K, E -- .296
PH-CF A. Howard 0-1, K -- .000, pro debut
1B G. Baldwin 1-4, K -- .240

L. Ortega 6 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, K, WP -- L, 0-1, 8.38 ERA
G. Batista 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB -- 7.71 ERA
Adams 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- 0.00 ERA

*** The Padres took an early 4-0 lead and made it stand. Starter Luis Ortega allowed 2 runs in both of the first 2 innings and the Royals got an RBI double from Marc Maddox in the 3rd before stranding 2. Yunior Figueroa pulled the Royals a run closer in the 6th with an RBI groundout but Geronimo Batista and Jack Adams got battered for 3 runs, all credited to Batista, in the 7th as the Pads socked it away. The Royals stranded 2 in both the 8th and 9th. Starter Jonathan Berger worked 5 innings of 1 ER allowed on 4 hits with 4 Ks to move to 1-1 for the Padres with a 3.00 ERA. Six Padres had multi-hit games. CF Rymer Liriano had 3 hits and 2 RBI (6) along with his 1st SB to improve to .320. SS Jonathan Galvez was 3-3 with a walk, HBP, his 4th RBI and 5th SB to move to .421.

Mariners 9, Royals 5 (Mon.)

RF Mariano 2-4, K, RS, E -- .333
CF Polonia 1-3, 3B, 3 RBI (4), K, RS -- .273
SS A. Martinez 0-4, RBI -- .069
3B A. Gordon 0-2, K -- .286
2B Maddox 0-3, BB, K -- .231
DH Stovall 0-4, 2 K -- .300
PH-1B G. Baldwin 1-2, RS -- .259
LF Howard 0-2, K -- .000, first pro start

Sample 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K, E -- L, 0-1, 6.75 ERA
Castaneda IP, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA, season debut
L. Santiago 3 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K -- 6.75 ERA
Yambati 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA, 3 WP -- 16.20 ERA, season debut

*** The Royals were down by 8 when they got on the board late and what they got wasn't enough. Tyler Sample allowed 2 runs in the 1st but the two teams retired 24 in a row at one point into the M's 6th, when they scored 2 runs off Leonel Santiago to make it 4-0. Marc Maddox broke up an M's perfect game bid with a 2-out walk in the 7th and the M's scored 4 in the 7th off Santiago and Robinson Yambati to make it 8-0. The Royals loaded the bases with none out in the 8th and Juan Polonia ripped a 3-run triple to right to break up the shutout. Adrian Martinez added an RBI groundout and the Royals got another run on a Mariners error to cut it to 8-5. The Mariners got a run back in the 8th and the Royals didn't threaten in their half of the 9th. RP Anthony Fernandez allowed only a walk with 7 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. Starter Shawn Kelley pitched a hitless 1st. DH Evan Sharpley was 2-3 with a walk, his 1st triple and 1st homer with 4 RBI (6) along with 2 RS with a steal to move to .389.

The Royals are 4-4 and 2 games back. They have today off.