Royals on the Farm 7/20

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 7, Iowa 2

1B Ka'aihue 3-5, 2B (23), 3 RBI (40), K, 3 RS -- .259
DH House 3-5, K, 2 RS -- .259
LF Thorman 2-4, HBP, 3B (2), 2 RBI (43), K, OF assist at home -- .284
SS Lisson 2-4, BB, RBI (22), K -- .251, have to give him his due, has hit .301 over last 25 games
2B Falu 2-6, RS -- .259
CF Maier 1-6, K -- .341
3B Metcalf 0-4, SF, RBI (42) -- .225
* Omaha stranded 13.

Randolph 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 6 BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 5-3, 5.90 ERA, not good night for WHIP, tho
V. Marte 3 IP, H, BB -- 3.75 ERA
C. Hayes IP, nothing -- 3.20 ERA

*** The O-Royals riddled Iowa starter J.R. Mathes to win the opener. Kila Ka'aihue hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 1st and scored on a Mario Lisson single before the Royals stranded 2. Stephen Randolph stranded 2 Cubs in the 1st and Omaha tacked on 2 runs in the 3rd on a Scott Thorman RBI single and Travis Metcalf sac fly but stranded 2 more. Randolph left the bases full in the 3rd but Omaha pushed the lead to 7-0 in the 4th as Ka'aihue hit an RBI single and Thorman ripped an RBI triple. Iowa got to Randolph in the 5th on a 2-run homer by DH Jason Dubois for his 10th of the season, but Thorman nailed a runner at the plate to end the inning and the Cubs would get no more runs. Victor Marte and Chris Hayes finished off the win. Mathes allowed 5 ER on 8 hits and a walk over 3 IP to fall to 8-5 with a 4.05 ERA. 2B Nate Spears was 3-3 with his 17th double to move to .257, Dubois' 2 RBI gave him 46 on the season, and SS prospect Darwin Barney was 0-4 to continue his AAA struggles at .158.

The Royals are 38-56. Game 2 is ongoing as Kyle Davies (3-1, 2.28) started versus Iowa righty Esmailin Caridad (4-9, 4.47).

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 7, Arkansas 6

2B Mertins 2-4, BB, RBI (39), RS, SB (9) -- .284
SS Bianchi 2-5, RBI (13), 2 K, RS -- .300
CF Dyson 2-4, BB, 2 RS, 3 SB (12) -- .278
1B C. Smith 2-4, RS, SB (10), E (15) -- .253
LF Lucas 2-4, 2 K, SB (11) -- .298
RF Lough 1-4, RBI (8), SB (5), OF assist at second -- .345
DH V. Wilson 1-4, HR (4), RBI (11), RS -- .338
3B Maddox 1-4, HR, RBI (2), RS -- .250

Kniginyzky 6 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 11 H, BB, 5 K, HRA, 2 WP, pickoff -- 5.40 ERA
Orvella 2/3 IP, H -- 3.60 ERA
Swaggerty 1 1/3 IP, ER, H, K, balk -- W, 3-1, 5.00 ERA
Abreu IP, 2 BB, K -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA

*** A seesaw game ended up in NWA's favor as 4 Travelers errors helped the Naturals' cause. The teams took turns stranding runners until Arkansas scored 3 in the 3rd on 4 hits and a Corey Smith error. David Lough cut the rally short with an assist at second, then came through with a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning to cut it to 3-1. Smith stole home on a double steal and the lead was cut to 1. The Naturals moved ahead in the 4th as Vance Wilson led off the inning with his 4th homer of the season and, two batters later, Marc Maddox went yard for his 1st homer of the season to make it 4-3. The lead held into the 6th, when Matt Kniginyzky gave up a 2-run homer to RF Jeremy Moore (his 1st) to flip the lead around before stranding 2. Jarrod Dyson created a run to tie it in the 6th as he singled, stole second and scored on 2 Travs errors on the play. Chad Orvella got 2 outs in the 7th but left after only 9 pitches. Ben Swaggerty gave up the go-ahead run in the 8th as NWA manager Brian Poldberg was ejected in the inning. A Dyson single started a 2-out rally in the 8th as he stole second and scored on a Kurt Mertins single before Jeff Bianchi singled home the go-ahead run. Bianchi tried to score on the play as Arkansas made an error but was thrown out at the plate. Juan Abreu stranded 2 in the 9th for his 1st AA save. RP Ryan Aldridge got his 1st blown save and the loss for Arkansas with 2 ER allowed over an inning of work to fall to 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA. Starter Tim Kiely worked 5 IP of 4 ER allowed on 9 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.62. Four Travelers had 2 hits as Moore was 2-3 with a HBP, the HR, 2 RBI (4), and 2 RS to move to .222. C Hank Conger was 1-4 with a walk, K, RS and 2 E (9) to fall to .296.

The Naturals are 14-8 and 1 1/2 games up on first again. Game 2 is tonight as Rowdy Hardy (0-1, 7.20) faces Travs righty Amalio Diaz (1-5, 4.71).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: off day

The Rocks are 11-12 and 4 1/2 games back. A 3-game set at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (12-12, A-Adv. Braves) starts tonight with Eduardo Paulino (3-5, 4.87) facing Pelicans lefty Jose Ortegano (3-5, 3.82). The Rocks are 6-8 versus the Pelicans.

A - Burlington: Bees 2, South Bend 1

RF Francis 2-3, BB, K, RS -- .267
1B D. Wood 1-4, RBI (35) -- .259
C Bonilla 1-3, S, RBI (23), K -- .220
3B Taylor 0-3, HBP, RS, E (8) -- .284

Montgomery 6 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 7 K -- 2.17 ERA, wow
Basurto 2 IP, 3 K -- W, 1-1, 0.77 ERA
Bowden IP, H, 2 K -- SV, 7, 2.52 ERA

*** Mike Montgomery was on top of his game and the Bees took the lead for good in the 9th. Montgomery had a no-hitter through 5 innings but Burlington only had 1 hit and had stranded 2 in the 4th. The Silver Hawks finally got to Montgomery in the 6th for a run on 3 hits before he got out of the jam. The Bees responded as David Wood hit an RBI single in the 7th but they left the bases loaded. Nick Francis led off the 9th with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on a Jose Bonilla single to make it 2-1 Bees. Barry Bowden worked around a 2-out double in the 9th for his 7th save. RP Victor Capellan took the loss for South Bend with an ER allowed in 2 2/3 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 1.23 ERA. Starter Taylor Sinclair worked 6 1/3 IP of an ER allowed on 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 3.26. Four Hawks had a hit each. DH Alfredo Marte hit his 20th double and drove in his 45th RBI.

The Bees are 10-13 and 5 1/2 games back. They have today off before starting a homestand.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Missoula 3, Chukars 2

2B Franco 2-5, 2B (3), RBI (12), K -- .213
C Theriot 2-4, K, RS -- .303
CF H. Richardson 0-4, RBI (7), K -- .351
3B D. Batista 0-5, 3 K, SB (5), E (7) -- .289
DH S. Perez 1-3, BB -- .303
* IF stranded 10.

Marimon 4 IP, ER, 5 H, 2 BB, K -- 7.00 ERA
Lafferty 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 K, HRA, WP -- L, 1-1, 3.52 ERA

*** Missoula slipped past the Chukars in the 9th to earn at least a split of the set. Sugar Ray Marimon stranded 2 Osprey in the 3rd but gave up a run on 2 hits and 2 walks in the 4th before leaving the bases loaded. Hilton Richardson got IF on the board with an RBI groundout in the 5th and Angel Franco followed with an RBI single to make it 2-1 Chukars. Brendan Lafferty lost the lead with a triple and run-scoring wild pitch in the 6th and IF stranded 2 in the 6th. Lafferty left the bases full in the 7th and Idaho Falls stranded 2 in the 8th. Lafferty served up a solo homer to OF Bobby Stone (his 6th) in the 9th to make it 3-2 Osprey and the Bees squandered a Franco double in the 9th. RP Adam Worthington pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings to win and move to 3-1 with a 0.73 ERA. Starter Enrique Burgos worked 4 2/3 IP of 2 ER allowed on 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 9.90. Four Osprey had 2 hits. 3B Raywilly Gomez was 2-3 with a walk, his 2nd triple and a RS to move to .314.

The Chukars are 15-9 and tied for first. The series ends tonight as Nick Wooley (1-0, 5.02) faces an unannounced Osprey SP. OF Jordan Parraz is gonna rehab with the Chukars.

Rookie - Burlington: Elizabethton 6, B-Royals 4 (13)

1B Kuebler 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI (5), K, RS -- .194
3B Culver 2-5, RBI (9), K -- .267
LF Pickett 2-6, K, picked off -- .190
RF Del Rosario 2-6, 3 K, RS, SB (10) -- .361
C F. Cruz 2-4, BB, 2B (5), RS, PB (4) -- .243
SS Espinal 0-6, K -- .253

Hayenga 3 IP, BB, 2 K -- 3.42 ERA
Hentges 2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, WP -- 6.00 ERA
B. Richardson 1 2/3 IP, H, K -- 6.23 ERA
Dennick IP, H, BB, K, WP -- 2.84 ERA
Kelley 4 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K -- 1.65 ERA, looking good
Hudnall IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, HRA -- L, 0-3, 12.86 ERA

*** The Royals rallied in the late innings to tie it but couldn't get over the hump as the losing streak continued. The Twins broke a scoreless tie with a 4-run 5th on 4 hits, a walk, wild pitch and Victor Soto error as Chase Hentges took the damage. The Royals broke out in the 8th as Jake Kuebler hammered his 1st homer of the season for a 3-run shot to cut the lead to 4-3. Malcom Culver came through with a game-tying RBI single in the 9th but the Royals left the bases full. Jaeson Hudnall came on for the 13th and gave up a 2-run homer to LF Reggie Williams (his 2nd) to break the tie. The Royals couldn't rally back as RP Ben Tootle got his 1st save. RP Kane Holbrooks pitched 3 scoreless frames for the win to move to 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA. Starter Tom Stuifbergen worked 5 scoreless innings of 3 hits and a walk allowed with 5 Ks to drop his ERA to 3.16. Three Twins had 2 hits as Williams hit his 5th double, the HR and drove in 2 runs (10) to improve to .266.

The Royals are 7-19. They start a 3-game home set with the Bristol (White) Sox (11-16) tonight as John Lamb (1-2, 5.31) faces Sox righty Andre Rienzo (0-1, 7.94). The Royals are 1-2 versus the Sox. The Sox roster features Chicago '09 draftees 2nd round lefty David Holmberg, fourth round righty Matt Heidenreich, and others, including 45th rounder OF Harold Baines Jr. (only .342 OPS in 11 games). Former Royals reliever Ryan Braun is rehabbing with the Sox. 19th round OF Brady Shoemaker leads Bristol in OPS at 1.104 in 85 ABs.

Rookie - AZL: off day

The Royals are 7-17 and 7 games back. They play the 11-13 Dodgers tonite.