Royals on the Farm 6/5

That's not the Greinke we've gotten used to. But hey, I could get used to this Hochevar. Two runs on only 4 hits? Sold....

AAA - Omaha: Round Rock 7, O-Royals 4

3B Metcalf 2-4, HR (6), RBI (28), K, RS -- .244
2B Hulett 2-5, 2B (13), K, RS -- .298
DH Buchanan 2-4, K -- .286
C Tupman 2-4, PB -- .273
LF Thorman 1-3, S, HR (8), 3 RBI (18), K, RS, E (2) -- .239
1B Ka'aihue 1-4, RS -- .277
SS Lisson 0-4 -- .171
* RF Irving Falu had an OF assist at the plate.

M. Wright 2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-3, 8.27 ERA, 65 pitches
Yabuta 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 3 K -- 5.60 ERA
Hamulack 3 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, BB, K -- 7.77 ERA
Rosa IP, H, BB, K -- 7.09 ERA

*** Round Rock took a 6-0 lead before Omaha made a futile late run as the Express swept the 4-game series. Matt Wright had yet another rough outing as the Express scored a run in the 1st on 2 singles, a walk and passed ball before they stranded 2 in scoring position. Round Rock returned in the 2nd to score 2 more runs on 4 hits and a walk before again leaving 2 in scoring position as Wright labored. Omaha stranded 2 in the 2nd and it was Yasuhiko Yabuta who allowed a run in the 3rd as the Omaha pen got a 7-inning workload Friday. The Express stranded 2 for a third straight inning and then scored another run in the 4th on 2 hits off Yabuta to make it 5-0. The Royals finally got a scoreless defensive inning in the 5th but Round Rock scored again in the 6th on 2 hits off Tim Hamulack. Travis Metcalf broke Omaha's scoring drought with a leadoff homer in the 7th for his 6th of the season but Round Rock got the run back before stranding the bases full in the 8th. Scott Thorman stepped up with 2 on in the 8th and slammed his 8th homer of the season off former Royal farmhand RP Jose Capellan to cut it to 7-4 but RP Chad Paronto pitched a perfect 9th for his 14th save. Starter Yorman Bazardo got the win with 7 IP of an ER allowed on 8 hits and a walk with 5 Ks to move to 7-2 with a 2.45 ERA. Six Express had multi-hit games as SS Tommy Manzella was 4-5 with a walk, his 3rd triple, 17th RBI, K and RS to move to .308. LF Yordany Ramirez and converted pitcher CF Brian Bogusevic had 3 hits and 2 RBI for the Express, and former Royal 2B Jason Smith was 2-4 with his 8th RBI to move to .229. 3B Chris Johnson continued his torture of the Royals with another 2-hit game to move to .300.

The Royals are 23-31 and 7 1/2 games out. A 3-day, 4-game set with the Nashville Sounds (31-25, AAA Brewers) started tonight with Heath Phillips (2-5, 6.96) facing Sounds righty Tim Dillard (7-2, 3.68). The O-Royals are 7-5 versus the division-leading Sounds.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 10, Midland 9

2B Mertins 3-6, 2B (12), 4 RBI (27), 2 RS -- .302
RF Parraz 3-6, 2 2B (13), 2 RBI (29), RS, SB (4) -- .354
CF Duarte 3-5, BB, RBI (8), K, RS, SB (8) -- .279
DH Suomi 2-5, 2 2B (6), K, RS -- .333
C Howell 2-5, 3 RS, PB (3) -- .286
LF Strait 0-4, BB, K, SB (5) -- .301
SS McConnell 1-3, 2 BB, K, 2 RS -- .232
* NWA stranded 11.

Cortes 5 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- W, 3-5, 4.14 ERA, not pretty, but got job done
Nicoll IP, 5 ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K, HRA, WP -- 3.58 ERA, has fallen apart all of a sudden
Hartsock 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 1, 4.26 ERA

*** Aaron Hartsock was the pitcher of the night for the Naturals as he crawled out of a jam handed to him, then pitched the last 2 innings scoreless to hold off Midland and finally get the Nats a win over the RockHounds. The Naturals pounded former Wichita State P Travis Banwart as they scored 2 runs in the 1st on a Jordan Parraz RBI double and steal of home. NWA added 2 runs in the 2nd on a Jose Duarte RBI single and Kurt Mertins RBI groundout. Dan Cortes got through the first 2 innings before allowing 3 runs in the 3rd on 3 hits and 2 walks to trim the lead down to 1. The Naturals knocked Banwart out of the box in the 4th with 4 runs on a 2-run Mertins single, Parraz RBI single and Cody Strait double play ball that brought in a run to make it 8-3. The onslaught continued with 2 runs in the 5th on a run-scoring wild pitch and Mertins RBI single before the Nats stranded 2 with a 10-3 lead. Cortes allowed a run in the 5th as the 'Hounds quietly started a comeback. Chris Nicoll took over in the 6th and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and a wild pitch to cut the lead to 10-6. NWA stranded 2 in the 7th and Midland pulled even closer that inning with a leadoff homer by DH Chris Carter (his 7th) before loading the bases with none out, which chased Nicoll for Hartsock. Hartsock allowed 2 of the inherited runners to score on a single and forceout but escaped the inning with a 10-9 lead. He would strand 2 in the 8th and another in the 9th as the Naturals tiptoed away with the win. Banwart took the loss with 8 ER allowed on 8 hits, 3 walks and 3 Ks over 3 IP to drop to 5-2 with a 4.45 ERA. Five Midland batters had multi-hit games led by a 3-5 night from SS Josh Horton, who hit his 10th double and scored twice to move to .302. 1B Tommy Everidge was 2-5 with 2 doubles (16), 3 RBI (51), a K and RS to move to .301 and 2B Adrian Cardenas was 2-4 with a walk, K and RS to move to .392. I'd hate to run into the RockHounds in the Texas League this season, were I a pitcher in the league.

NWA is 25-27 and 5 games back. A 3-game set at the Frisco RoughRiders (24-27, AA Rangers) started tonight as Anthony Lerew (3-3, 5.05) faced off with rehabbing Rangers lefty Matt Harrison. The Naturals are 2-1 versus the Riders.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: rainout

The rainout called for doubleheaders both today and tomorrow with the Lynchburg Hillcats. Alex Caldera and Danny Duffy pitched today's games for Wilmington and the teams split 1-0 wins behind great outings from both starters. Caldera allowed only 3 hits, Duffy only 2 and the bullpen was unhittable in both games. The only problem was Lynchburg's SPs had a good day, too. More on those games tomorrow.

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 7, Bees 5

LF Norris 3-4, RS, SB (17) -- .234
CF Dyson 2-5, 3B, RBI (2), 2 RS, SB (3) -- .571
3B Fontaine 2-4, 2B, RS -- .200
2B F. Garcia 1-3, 2 BB, 2B (4), RBI (6), K, RS -- .295
1B Hosmer 1-5, 2B (13), RBI (32), 2 K -- .265
RF Francis 0-1 -- .305, pulled in 3rd for disciplinary reasons
DH Bonilla 0-5, 2 K -- .231

Melville 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K, HRA, balk -- 5.51 ERA, left with injured arm, uh oh
Z. Peterson 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, BB, K -- 3.93 ERA, back from DL
Barrera 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 19.29 ERA, down from 108
Bowden 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-2, 2.70 ERA

*** The Bees made a comeback in the 7th but Quad Cities pulled victory from the jaws of possible defeat in the 9th. Tim Melville had a tough 1st as the Bandits scored 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk. The Bees answered with 2 runs of their own as Jarrod Dyson got them started with a triple and scored on a Fernando Garcia double before Eric Hosmer doubled home Garcia to tie it. Melville gave up a 2-run homer to C Charles Cutler (his 4th) in the 3rd and left after the next batter lined one off his hand. The game story on the team site reports it was a precautionary measure. Manager Jim Gabella said in the Hawk Eye report on the game he was worried Melville's thumb was broken, but he appeared OK after the game. We'll see if he makes his next start. The Bees stranded 2 in the 3rd and the Bandits added a run to the lead in the 7th on a walk and 2 hits off Henry Barrera to make it 5-2. Dyson singled home a run in the bottom of the inning and a 2-out, 2-run error by CF Travis Mitchell tied the game. Barry Bowden pitched a scoreless 8th but gave up a sac fly and RBI double in the 9th as Quad Cities regained the lead. The Bees left the bases full in the 9th as RP David Carpenter notched his 3rd save. RP Joel Pichardo pitched a scoreless 8th for the win to move to 1-0 with a perfect ERA. SP Arquimedes Nieto allowed 2 ER on 5 hits, a walk and K over 6 IP to move his ERA to 3.45. Cutler was 4-4 with a walk, his HR and 3 RBI (36) along with 3 RS and his 5th passed ball to improve to .397. Two other Bandits had 2 hits and RF Frederick Parejo drove in 2 runs (9).

The Bees are 22-31. A 4-game set at the Cedar Rapids Kernels (33-21, A Angels) started tonight as Sam Runion started versus Kernels lefty Manuel Flores (3-2, 3.05). The Bees are 1-3 versus Cedar Rapids thus far. OFs Nick Francis and Nick Van Stratten, SP Bryan Casey and RP Barry Bowden have been chosen to play in the MWL All-Star Game on June 23 in Clinton, Iowa. Van Stratten and Francis will start while both pitchers were chosen as reserves for the West team. P Carson Bryant was DL'ed to make room for Peterson on the roster.