Royals on the Farm 7/2

I've said it once, I'll say it again. This Royals offense is scintillating. Makes perfect sense that Dayton Moore keeps harping on pitching year after year. Meanwhile bringing in the least-fitting free agent position players. There's a reason people are assistants TO the GM and not THE GM, just like there's a reason people are assistant coaches and not head coaches. Dayton Moore is Dwight Schrute, not Michael Scott. Take that for what you will....

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, New Orleans 2

CF Raines 3-3, 2B (4), 2 RS, picked off -- .204, incidentally, the Royals coulda had Tim Raines Sr. (4th round) and Ozzie Smith (3rd round) both in the '77 draft, but were busy taking guys that ended up not doing much the first 4 rounds....more good Royals times, but at least '77 was a good season
C Buck 1-4, HR (2), RBI (4), 2 K, RS -- .261, ready to come back and not hit in KC
DH House 1-4, RBI (30) -- .265
2B Falu 1-4, RBI (25), K, RS -- .273
1B Ka'aihue 0-3, HBP, K -- .265
SS Lisson 0-4, picked off -- .244

Duckworth 4 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- 4.50 ERA
M. Wright 3 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP -- W, 1-5, 6.75 ERA
Rosa 1 2/3 IP, nothing -- SV, 4, 5.82 ERA

*** Omaha scored 2 in the 7th and held on for the win. John Buck led off the 2nd with his 2nd homer of his rehab stint and Zephyrs LF Michael Ryan hit his 8th homer of the season to tie the game in the 4th. J.R. House hit a 2-out RBI single in the 5th but former Royal IF Gookie Dawkins doubled home former Royal IF Dave Matranga in the 7th to retie the game at 2. Tim Raines Jr. hit a 2-out double in the Omaha 7th and scored on an Irving Falu single. Falu then scored on an error to make it 4-2 O-Royals. Carlos Rosa pitched a perfect 1 2/3 innings for his 4th save. Zephyrs SP Willie Collazo pitched 6 2/3 innings of 4 runs (3 ER) on 7 hits with 6 Ks to lose and fall to 6-3 with a 4.00 ERA. Five Zephyrs had a hit each. CF Cameron Maybin was 1-4 with his 4th error, a K and an OF assist at first to move his BA to .322.

Omaha is 32-48. The series finale is tonight as lefty Heath Phillips (4-7, 6.95) faces, for the third straight game as a projected starter, Zephyrs righty Rick VandenHurk (still 3-1, 3.31). One of these games the O-Royals will face him. Tonight is the Alex Gordon game in Omaha before he heads back to AA to rehab.

AA - NW Arkansas: San Antonio 9, Naturals 5

3B Lucas 2-2, 2 BB, 2 2B (8), RBI (23), RS -- .286
RF Strait 2-4, RBI (25), 2 K, RS, SB (11) -- .289
LF Lough 2-4, RS, SB -- .500, AA debut
C V. Wilson 2-4, K, CS -- .400
SS Bianchi 1-4, SF, 2 RBI (9), 2 K, E (3) -- .477
CF Dyson 0-3, BB, S, K, SB (4) -- .308

Teaford 5 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, K, HRA -- L, 2-2, 6.11 ERA
de la Vara 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K -- 5.05 ERA
Holland IP, 3 ER, H, 3 BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 2.92 ERA

*** NWA got close but San Antonio pulled away for the series-opening win. NWA stranded 2 in the 2nd and San Antonio scored on 2 walks and 2 hits that inning to take a 1-0 lead but stranded the bases full. The Naturals tied it in the 4th on an Ed Lucas RBI double and took the lead on a Jeff Bianchi sac fly in the 5th. San Antonio responded with a 3-run 5th as a Bianchi error came back to haunt Everett Teaford, who gave up a 2-out, 2-run homer to 1B Craig Cooper (his 7th) to make it 4-2 Missions. Cody Strait hit a 2-out RBI single in the 6th to cut the lead back to 1 but the Missions got 2 runs off Gilbert de la Vara in the 7th and a 3-run homer by 2B Eric Sogard (his 3rd) in the 8th put the game away. Bianchi hit a 2-out RBI single in the 9th that scored 2 runs thanks to a Missions error but Corey Smith followed with a flyout to end it. Missions SP Cesar Carrillo got the win with 6 IP of 3 ER allowed on 8 hits and 5 walks with 5 Ks to move to 4-4 with a 5.09 ERA. Three Missions had 2 hits as Cooper and Sogard drove in 3 runs each. Cooper's gave him 59 RBI and he also committed his 10th error.

The Naturals are 4-2 and a game up on first. Game 2 is tonight as Matt Kniginyzky (2-6, 6.18) faces Missions lefty Nathan Culp (5-5, 4.29).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Kinston 6, Blue Rocks 1

LF Ortiz 1-2, HBP, 2B (5), RBI (20), K -- .249
3B Moustakas 0-4, K -- .263
2B Giavotella 0-4, 2 K -- .230
1B Fontaine 0-3 -- .000, first Wilmington start

Duffy 3 1/3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 5 H, 5 BB, 6 K, WP, pickoff -- L, 6-3, 3.86 ERA, career high 5 BB, last couple starts have been distressing, 11 ER in 6 2/3 IP
Z. Peterson 2 2/3 IP, H, BB, K -- 1.23 ERA
Rivas 2 IP, 4 K -- 6.47 ERA
Liotta IP, 2 K -- 4.34 ERA

*** Kinston poured on all its runs in the 4th as Danny Duffy struggled once more and the K-Tribe took the series opener on a 3-hitter. Duffy was in control until the 4th, which for him went walk, single, single, run-scoring Ryan Eigsti error, bases loaded walk, (Eigsti pickoff), single, 2-run double, walk, bases loaded walk, pulled for Zach Peterson. Peterson walked in a run before escaping the jam with the Rocks down, 6-0, and being no-hit. Paulo Orlando broke that up with a leadoff single in the 5th but the Rocks didn't score until Adrian Ortiz doubled home a run in the 8th before Wilmington stranded 2. K-Tribe SP Russell Young allowed only a hit and 2 walks with 5 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA. CF Adam Davis had 2 RBI (17) for Kinston.

The Rocks are 3-4 and a game back. Game 2 is tonight as Mario Santiago (3-8, 4.16) faces K-Tribe lefty Eric Berger (6-5, 2.29).

A - Burlington: Bees 3, Quad Cities 0

1B Hosmer 3-4 -- .255
3B Taylor 2-4, 2B (2), HR, 3 RBI (6), K, RS, E -- .308, picking up where he left off last season
2B Maddox 0-3, BB -- .250, wonder if he'll end up in AA or AAA
LF Van Stratten 1-4, 2B (15), K, RS -- .321
RF Francis 0-3, BB, RS -- .282
C Bonilla 0-4 -- .243

Lehmann 6 IP, 3 H, BB -- W, 3-3, 4.02 ERA
B. Hardy 3 IP, 3 H, 3 K -- SV, 1, 2.61 ERA

*** Jason Taylor provided the offense and Mike Lehmann and Blaine Hardy kept Quad Cities off the board. Lehmann stranded 2 in the 3rd and Taylor smoked a 3-run homer for Burlington in the 6th for his 1st of the season for Burlington to make it 3-0. Hardy worked around triples in the 8th and 9th to close it out for his 1st save. QC starter Kevin Thomas took the loss with 6 IP of 3 ER allowed on 6 hits and 2 walks with 2 Ks to drop to 3-4 with a 3.64 ERA. 3B Matt Carpenter was 3-4 with a triple to set a .750 BA and RF Alex Castellanos was 2-4 with his 3rd triple to move to .266.

The Bees are 4-3 and a game back. The set ends tonight as Bryan Casey (4-7, 3.67) comes off the DL to make the start versus River Bandits lefty Hector Cardenas (5-4, 4.33).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: rainout

The Chukars are 7-2 and 1 1/2 games up on first. The rainout will be made up as part of a doubleheader today. The Chukars will send Nick Wooley (0-0, 9.00) against Casper righty Chris Balcom-Miller (0-0, 0.00) in one of the games.

Rookie - Burlington: Kingsport 10, B-Royals 3

C T. Jones 2-4, HR, 2 RBI (6), K, RS -- .321, 7/7 SB against
3B Culver 0-3, BB, RBI (3), K -- .222
SS R. Wood 1-4, CS -- .139
DH F. Cruz 1-3, 2B (3) -- .259

Hayenga 4 1/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 5 H, 3 BB, WP -- L, 1-1, 3.48 ERA
Hentges 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, K, WP -- 4.15 ERA
Kelley 2 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
B. Richardson IP, 5 ER, 4 H, K, WP -- 18.00 ERA

*** Kingsport used a 5-run 9th to turn a win into a rout. Keaton Hayenga had a rough outing as the Mets scored 2 in the 1st on 2 hits and a Jake Kuebler error. A Hayenga wild pitch scored another run in the 3rd and Chase Hentges allowed an inherited runner to score in the 5th to make it 4-0 Mets. Malcom Culver hit an RBI groundout in the 5th to get the B-Royals on the board but Kingsport got the run back in the 6th off Hentges. Travis Jones hit a 2-run homer in the 6th for his 1st of the season to cut it to 5-3 but Brett Richardson got battered for 5 runs in the 9th as the Mets put it away. Mets RP Brian Needham allowed 3 runs over 4 IP to win and move to 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Starter Zach Von Tersch allowed only a hit and walk with 5 Ks over 4 IP to drop his ERA to 5.14. 1B Jeff Flagg had 3 hits and 2 other Mets had 2 hits. Flagg and 3B Gered Mochizuki drove in 2 runs each and both stole a base. Mochizuki also made his 4th error.

The B-Royals are 4-6 and 3 games back. Game 2 is tonight as John Lamb (0-1, 4.00) faces Mets lefty Angel Cuan in his Kingsport debut.

Rookie - AZL: Indians 4, Royals 3

DH Stovall 3-4, HR (2), RBI (10), RS, 2 CS -- .342
CF Llanos 2-4, HR, RBI (6), RS, E (2) -- .297, first pro homer
1B G. Baldwin 1-2, HBP, RBI (4) -- .258

Amador 5 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K -- 7.07 ERA
Castaneda 1 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K -- BS, 1, L, 0-1, 10.13 ERA
E. Diaz 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- 4.50 ERA

*** The Royals blew a 3-1 lead in the 6th as the Tribe came back to win. Ezequiel Amador allowed an Indian run in the 1st but Geoff Baldwin hit an RBI single in the 2nd to tie it. Amador stranded 2 in the 4th and Ryan Stovall gave the Royals the lead in the 5th with his 2nd pro homer. Alex Llanos went long in the 6th for his 1st homer as a pro to make it 3-1 Royals. Federico Castaneda came on for the 6th and, with 1 on and 2 out, gave up an RBI triple and RBI single to tie the game. Castaneda gave up another triple in the 7th and a sac fly made it 4-3 Indians. Santos Cabrera was thrown out at home in the 8th and Stovall was caught stealing second in the 9th to end it. RP Daniel Jimenez pitched 4 innings with an ER allowed to win and move to 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA. Starter Joe Colon went 4 IP of an ER allowed on 3 hits with 2 Ks to move his ERA to 1.59. 2B Argenis Martinez was 3-3 with a triple to move to .303. SS Dan DeGeorge also had 2 hits.

The Royals are 4-6 and 2 1/2 games back. They play the 6-3 Angels tonight.