Royals on the Farm 7/21

Nothing spells Royals futility like a doubleheader headlined by Sidney Ponson and Bruce Chen. Really? Ponson is so vital to this organization that KC brings him up rather than Kyle Davies? Not that Davies is great....I know the Royals don't have anything other than Chen, really, unless you want to give Lenny DiNardo a shot (not last night, but in coming weeks) or resort to Brandon Duckworth again. I'm just ready for the time when the Royals don't have to drag out deadwood for the last 2 rotation slots.

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 4, O-Royals 3

RF Hulett 2-4, 3B (2), 2 RS -- .295
2B Falu 2-4, RS -- .262
LF Thorman 1-3, SF, RBI (44), 2 K -- .285
C House 0-3, S, RBI (34) -- .256
SS Lisson 1-4, K -- .251
CF Maier 0-5, 2 K -- .306
1B Ka'aihue 1-2, 2 BB -- .261

Davies 5 2/3 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP -- L, 3-2, 2.16 ERA
Hughes 2 1/3 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 3.68 ERA

*** Two Travis Metcalf errors helped 3 of Iowa's 4 runs be scored as unearned as Kyle Davies had a second straight so-so start. Davies stranded 2 in the 1st, and after Omaha did the same in the 2nd, Iowa got on the board on a Metcalf throwing error. Davies stranded 2 in the 5th and Omaha surged ahead with 2 in the 6th on a Scott Thorman sac fly and run-scoring Iowa error. With 2 out in the Cubs 6th, Davies allowed 3 singles to score 1 run, then another Metcalf throwing error scored 2 runs on another single to make it 4-2 Iowa. Tug Hulett tripled and scored on an error in the 8th and Omaha had 2 baserunners in the 9th but couldn't cash in as Iowa escaped with the win. Iowa RP Vince Perkins picked up his 1st save and starter Esmailin Caridad allowed 2 unearned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 7 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 5-9 with a 4.22 ERA. Three Cubs had 2 hits as RF Matt Camp drove in his 32nd RBI.

The O-Royals are 38-57. Game 3 is tonight as Heath Phillips (5-7, 5.77) faces Iowa righty Jose Ascanio (2-2, 2.01).

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 5, Arkansas 1

SS Bianchi 3-4, 2 RBI (15), RS, E (4) -- .317, Royals' minor league hitter of year at this point?
DH Strait 2-3, 2B (22), 3 RBI (37) -- .284
3B Maddox 2-3, 2B, RS, E -- .333
2B Mertins 2-4, 3B (3), K, 2 RS -- .287
CF Dyson 0-4, K -- .263
RF Lough 0-4 -- .323
C Clark 0-3 -- .316

R. Hardy 8 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 pickoffs -- W, 1-1, 2.77 ERA, Rowdy of old! vintage Rowdy!
Castaneda IP, ER, H, 2 BB -- 9.00 ERA, AA debut

*** Rowdy Hardy had his best AA start to date and the Naturals thundered past Arkansas for another win. Kurt Mertins hit a 1-out triple off Amalio Diaz in the 1st and scored on a Jeff Bianchi single to put the Nats on top early. Hardy allowed all 4 of his hits in the first 3 innings as he stranded 2 in the 2nd and picked off the other 2 baserunners. Cody Strait came up in the 4th and hit a big 2-out, bases-loaded, 3-run double to make it 4-0 Naturals. A Bianchi RBI single made it 5-0 in the 5th and Hardy retired 10 in a row at one point. Federico Castaneda spoiled the shutout by allowing a run in the 9th but closed the door. Diaz took the loss with 5 ER allowed on 7 hits and a walk with a K in 5 IP to fall to 1-6 with a 5.01 ERA. Five Travs had a hit each and Halos prospect C Hank Conger was 0-2 with 2 BB to fall to .294.

The Naturals are 15-8 and 2 games up on first. Game 3 is tonight as Anthony Lerew (4-5, 5.10) hurls versus Travelers righty Tommy Mendoza (6-5, 3.33).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Myrtle Beach 1, Blue Rocks 0

2B Giavotella 2-4, 2B (12), SB (17) -- .251, fast track getting back on track?
1B Hosmer 1-4, K -- .250, A-Advanced debut
RF Van Stratten 1-3 -- .333, likewise
3B Moustakas 0-4, K -- .248, now 0 for last 27
CF D. Robinson 0-4, 2 K -- .228
DH C. Robinson 0-4, 2 K -- .275

Paulino 7 IP, ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 3-6, 4.57 ERA, tough loss
Villa IP, K -- 4.26 ERA

*** The Rocks couldn't get it together on offense versus Pelicans SP Jose Ortegano or 2 relievers and dropped a tough 1-0 game. Both teams had 5 hits but only 1 made a difference. Both teams left runners at third early and the game was scoreless going into the 6th, when Anthony Seratelli led off with a single but was caught stealing with 1 out before Johnny Giavotella hit a double that may have scored a run. The threat went for naught and Pelicans CF Cole Miles led off the bottom of the inning with his 3rd homer of the season for what would be the only run of the game. Kelvin Villa stranded 2 in the 8th but the Rocks couldn't rally back as RP Lee Hyde pitched a perfect 9th for his 1st save. Ortegano allowed 4 hits with 5 Ks over 6 IP to improve to 4-5 with a 3.49 ERA. Miles and RF Chris Shehan had 2 hits for Myrtle Beach. Miles also stole 2 bases (13).

The Rocks are 11-13 and 5 1/2 games back. Game 2 is tonight as Jason Godin (2-0, 1.93) faces Pelicans lefty Richard Sullivan (2-6, 3.88). Danny Duffy, who has to be the frontrunner for Royals minors pitcher of the year at this point, was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for July 13-19. He pitched a complete game win versus Frederick and is third in the league in Ks.

A - Burlington: off day

The Bees are 10-13 and 5 1/2 games out. A 3-game home set with the Great Lakes Loons (12-12, A Dodgers) starts tonight with Sam Runion (3-6, 6.37) facing Loons righty Jon Michael Redding (11-3, 4.47). The Bees are 3-0 versus the Loons thus far.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 13, Missoula 3

3B Morales 3-4, 2 2B (4), 3 RBI (9), 2 RS -- .280
SS D. Batista 3-4, SF, 3B (3), 2 RBI (23), RS -- .309
RF Parraz 2-4, 2 RBI, K, RS -- .500, rehabbing, also has shot at minors hitter of year for KC
LF Testa 2-4, BB, 2B (5), RBI (11), 2 RS -- .276, has produced in regular PT
CF Cooper 2-4, K, RS -- .175
DH S. Perez 1-5, HR (2), 4 RBI (14), 2 RS -- .296
2B Franco 1-5, RBI (13), 2 RS -- .213
C Theriot 1-4, BB, K, RS, CS -- .297

Wooley 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 2-0, 3.54 ERA, nice
Halliman 3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K, WP -- SV, 1, 4.15 ERA

*** Nick Wooley held the Osprey offense down and the Chukar lineup took care of the rest in an easy win. Both offenses were quiet until the Chukars ripped into Missoula SP Mike Belfiore for 5 runs in the 3rd on a Deivy Batista sac fly, Jordan Parraz RBI single and 3-run homer by Salvador Perez for his 2nd of the season. The Osprey also committed 3 errors during the rally. As Wooley cruised with a 1-hitter through 5, the Chukars added significant padding to the lead with a 7-run 5th on a run-scoring error after Deivy Batista tripled, a Carlo Testa RBI double, a 2-run Jason Morales double, and RBI singles by Angel Franco, Batista and Parraz. Wooley worked around 2 hits in the 6th and got an RBI double from Morales to make it 13-0 before giving way to Pernell Halliman in the 7th. Halliman ended up allowing 3 meaningless runs before closing out the win for an old-school 3-inning save. Belfiore took the loss by allowing 5 runs, all unearned, on 4 hits over 2 2/3 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 3.24 ERA. 3B Raywilly (great name) Gomez was 2-4 with his 7th error and 5th double to move to .322.

The Chukars are 16-9 and a game up on first. They have today off before starting a Utah road trip.

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 3, Bristol 0 (4-hitter)

LF Pickett 3-4, 2B, 2 RS, SB (5) -- .239, best game yet
SS R. Wood 2-4, 2 RBI (5), K, RS, CS (3) -- .195
C F. Cruz 2-3, 2B (6), RBI (6), PB (5) -- .260
3B Culver 0-1, BB, 2 S -- .262

Lamb 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- W, 2-2, 3.95 ERA
Odenbach 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K -- SV, 2, 0.55 ERA

*** John Lamb and Dusty Odenbach combined on a 4-hit shutout as the Royals snapped a 9-game skid. Ryan Wood and Fernando Cruz had RBI singles in the 1st to spot Burlington a 2-0 lead. Lamb stranded 2 in the 4th but didn't allow more than a baserunner in any other inning. The Royals tacked on a Wood RBI single in the 8th and Odenbach finished the final 2 innings for his 2nd pro save. Sox starter Andre Rienzo took the loss with 2 ER allowed on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to fall to 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA. Four Sox had a hit each. LF Brady Shoemaker was 1-3 with a walk and K to drop to .420. He hasn't gone a pro game yet without a hit -- 22 games, now.

The B-Royals are 8-19. Game 2 of the set is tonight as Greg Billo (1-0, 2.75) faces Sox righty Charles Delk (1-3, 8.55). Lamb was promoted to Idaho Falls after the game while Odenbach is bound for A-ball in Burlington.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 19, Dodgers 7

2B Piterson 4-6, K, 3 RS -- .279
CF Llanos 3-5, HR (3), 3 RBI (15), K, 2 RS, SB (8), picked off -- .296
LF Lubanski 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K, RS -- .750, there he is, nice to see him back in game action
DH Trapp 3-5, BB, K, 3 RS, SB (2) -- .273
SS A. Martinez 2-5, 3B (2), 4 RBI (7), RS -- .198
3B Figueroa 2-4, HR, 3 RBI (17), 3 RS -- .270
1B G. Baldwin 2-3, BB, RBI (10), K, 2 RS -- .286
RF Polonia 1-3, BB, SF, 3 RBI (9), 2 K -- .259
LF L. Adams 1-2, RBI (2), K -- .200
C Howell 1-4, 2B, RBI, K, RS, PB -- .250, rehabbing
PH-3B Stovall 0-1, BB, RS -- .235
* The Royals were 12-21 with runners in scoring position.

Avinazar 4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- 5.70 ERA
Keck 1 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- W, 1-0, 4.91 ERA, first pro win
J. Adams 2 IP, BB, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
S. De La Rosa IP, 2 K, WP -- 4.50 ERA

*** Four multiple-run rallies fueled a Royal rout of the Dodgers. Chris Lubanski got his rehab started right with an RBI double in the 1st but Willian Avinazar allowed a run on 3 hits in the bottom of the inning before stranding 2. The Royals streaked ahead in the 2nd with 6 runs on an Adrian Martinez RBI single, 2-run Juan Polonia single, run-scoring wild pitch, Jeff Howell RBI double in his first rehab game, and a Geoff Baldwin RBI single to make it 7-1. The Dodgers got a 2-run shot from 3B Gabriel Martinez (his 1st) in the 3rd but the Royals responded with 4 runs in the 4th on a Lubanski RBI single and a 3-run homer by Yunior Figueroa for his 1st of the season. SS Casio Grider hit his 1st homer for a solo shot in the 4th and then the Dodgers got to Avinazar and Jonathon Keck for 2 runs in the 5th to cut it to 11-6. Juan Polonia hit a sac fly in the 6th and Alex Llanos cranked his 3rd homer of the season for a 3-run shot to make it 15-6. Keck allowed a run in the 6th but the Royals got a bases-loaded triple from Adrian Martinez in the 7th and Lane Adams hit an RBI single in the 8th to finish the scoring. Dodgers SP Rubby De La Rosa lasted only 1 2/3 IP and gave up 6 ER on 8 hits and a walk with 3 Ks to fall to 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA. Grider was 3-4 with a walk, a triple, HR, his 10th RBI and 3 RS along with his 6th error to move to .235. Three other Dodgers had 2 hits and two others had 2 RBI.

The Royals are 8-17 and 7 games back. They play the 12-13 Rangers tonight.