Royals on the Farm 8/14

Another Zack scoreless start wasted. How can a team put up 14 runs just a few nights ago and look so pitiful last night? If nothing else, this season has proven that Dayton's time spent beefing up the pitching staff has been at the detriment of having any offense, 95 percent of the time. Not to make an obvious statement, but it really seems to me he has no eye for hitting talent, and the evidence is abundant. Letting TPJ hit like a pitcher for 2 seasons before being forced, basically, to give Aviles a chance. Guillen's contract, Bloomquist, Jacobs (with Ka'aihue, who could be argued has better plate tools, in the minors), the beat goes on....

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Portland 0 (3-hitter)

SS Hernandez 3-4, 2 RBI (19), K -- .320
DH Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, HR (15), RBI (48), 2 RS -- .262
CF Raines 0-3, SF, RBI (16), K, OF assist at second -- .216
2B Hulett 1-3, BB, K, SB (7) -- .300
3B Lisson 0-2, 2 BB, RS -- .234
* LF Scott Thorman also had an OF assist at second.

O'Connor 7 IP, 3 H, 6 K -- W, 1-0, 3.72 ERA, revenge on the team that let him go
Rosa 2 IP, 3 K -- 5.02 ERA

*** The O'Royals (sounds funnier that way) couldn't have asked for a better debut from Mike O'Connor as he combined with Carlos Rosa for the team's 15th shutout of the season. Kila Ka'aihue gave O'Connor the lead with a leadoff homer in the 5th (his 15th) and O'Connor was perfect through 5. The perfecto and no-hitter were broken up in the 6th but O'Connor held the line, and Omaha added 4 runs in the 7th on a Tim Raines Jr. sac fly, run-scoring wild pitch, and 2-run Luis Hernandez single in his return from a leg injury to make it 5-0. The last 7 Beavers went down as Rosa pitched 2 perfect innings of relief. Beavers SP Aaron Poreda took the loss with 5 ER allowed on 5 hits and 6 walks with 4 Ks over 6 2/3 IP to fall to 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA, although his ERA actually dropped in the losing effort. Three Beavers had a hit each.

The O-Royals are 49-69. Game 2 is tonight as Lenny DiNardo (7-5, 3.31) faces Beavers righty Josh Geer (2-2, 4.71). Omaha's 15 shutouts are the most for the O-Royals since 1977, which ties the third-best team mark. The second-place mark is 16 in 1971 and the team record is 19 in 1972. What's amazing is that the team has done this with no great pitching prospects really at the level. Bannister, Hochevar and Davies have all been in Omaha and gone this season. DiNardo's been involved in a third of the shutouts. It's peculiar. Also, Brian Buchanan has been activated from the DL.

AA - NW Arkansas: Midland 7, Naturals 6

C V. Wilson 1-3, S, HR (7), 2 RBI (23), RS -- .288
CF Lough 1-4, BB, HR (7), RBI (25), RS -- .336
3B Maddox 1-3, HBP, 2B (6), RBI (11), K -- .193
1B C. Smith 0-4, RBI (77), 2 K -- .258
SS Bianchi 1-4, K, RS, SB (8) -- .323
LF Dyson 1-4, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (22), OF assist at home -- .250
2B Mertins 1-4, RS -- .279
* RF Ed Lucas had an OF assist at home but also committed his 12th error.

Teaford 2 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, K, WP -- 6.00 ERA, has been up and down in AA
Godin 2 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, K -- 3.09 ERA
Farnsworth IP, K -- 0.00 ERA, only 7 pitches needed
Castaneda 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- L, 0-2, 3.21 ERA
Swaggerty IP, BB, 2 K -- 3.60 ERA, bullpen got a workout Friday

*** The Naturals climbed out of a 6-0 hole but Midland salvaged the series finale with the win. An Ed Lucas error in the 1st helped the RockHounds get out to a 1-0 lead but Lucas redeemed himself by helping the cause by gunning down a runner at the plate to end the Midland 2nd. Everett Teaford and Jason Godin were knocked around for 5 runs in the Midland 3rd as the Hounds opened up a 6-0 lead. Marc Maddox doubled home a run in the 3rd to get NWA off 0, but it wasn't until the 6th that the Nats were able to mount a rally. David Lough led off that inning with his 7th homer of the season, Corey Smith hit an RBI groundout and Vance Wilson blasted a 2-run homer for his 7th of the season to cut the lead to 6-5. The Naturals left the bases loaded in the 7th but Lucas scored on a wild pitch in the 8th to tie the game. Federico Castaneda gave up an RBI double in the 9th, however, and RP Jared Lansford (Carney's son) pitched a perfect 9th for Midland for his 9th save. RP Steven Sharpe blew his 4th save but got the win with an ER allowed in an inning of work to move to 7-1 with a 4.05 ERA. Starter Arnold Leon was on top of his game to go 5 IP of an ER allowed on 2 hits with 3 Ks to make his ERA 3.88. 1B Shane Peterson had 3 hits and his 3rd SB to go with 2 RBI (19) to move to .302. SS Corey Wimberly had 2 hits for the RockHounds and C Raul Padron drove in 2 runs (14). LF Chris Carter had his 92nd RBI.

The Naturals are 28-19 and 2 games up on first. A 3-game home set with the Frisco RoughRiders (24-23, AA Rangers) starts tonight with Matt Kniginyzky (5-9, 4.85) facing Frisco righty Blake Beavan (2-4, 4.54). NWA is 4-2 versus the 'Riders. RP Gilbert de la Vara was put on the DL to make room for newest Natural righty John Bannister.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Potomac 8, Blue Rocks 1

1B Hosmer 2-3 -- .207
2B Giavotella 1-4, 2B (20), RS -- .262
3B Moustakas 0-4, 2 K, E (21) -- .252
CF D. Robinson 0-4 -- .234
DH C. Robinson 0-3 -- .285
RF Van Stratten 0-3, 2 K -- .273
* LF Paulo Orlando had OF assists at second and home.

Santiago 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA, WP -- L, 6-12, 4.32 ERA
Coleman 2 IP, H, K -- 0.00 ERA, has been lights out as a pro
Liotta 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 2 BB -- 3.93 ERA, has never regained former prospect form with organization

*** Just like last time the Rocks faced P-Nats starter Tom Milone, the offense was held in check and Potomac got a big win. Mario Santiago had a rough night as the Nationals scored a run in the 1st then churned out 4 in the 2nd to get all the support Milone needed. The Rocks got their only run in the 4th on an Eric Hosmer single aided by an error that scored Johnny Giavotella. Fifteen of the last 16 Rocks went down, and the Nationals poured on 3 runs in the 9th. Milone allowed only an unearned run on 4 hits with 6 Ks over 7 IP to move to 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA. RF Michael Burgess and 3B Tim Pahuta had 3 hits each and C Devin Ivany had 2 hits. Burgess drove in his 68th RBI as he improved to .238, and Pahuta hit his 12th double and 7th HR with 2 RBI (32) and 2 RS to move to .274. 2B Mike Martinez also had 2 RBI (15) and his 3rd error.

The Rocks are 29-17 and only 1 1/2 games up on first at this point. Game 2 with Potomac is tonight as Danny Duffy (8-3, 3.51, coming back from lower back stiffness) faces P-Nats righty Brad Peacock (1-1, 6.60). The two consecutive losses mark the first time that's happened to Wilmington since July 19 and 21.

A - Burlington: Peoria 10, Bees 3

LF Ortiz 3-4, 2 2B (5), RS -- .204
1B D. Wood 1-4, RBI (52) -- .259
RF Francis 1-4, 2B (22), RBI (60), K, RS -- .269
DH Griffin 0-3, SF, RBI (14) -- .300
2B F. Garcia 1-3, K, RS, E (15) -- .263
3B Taylor 0-4, 3 K -- .232, seems to be another high draft misfire, but he's only 21
SS R. Wood 0-4, K -- .128
C Bonilla 0-3, K -- .220

Pena Jr. IP, ER, H, BB, K -- L, 0-1, 9.00 ERA
Lehmann 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 7 BB, 3 K, HRA, 2 WP -- 5.65 ERA
Odenbach 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 K -- 4.11 ERA
Bowden 2/3 IP, K -- 2.37 ERA
R. Pena IP, ER, BB, K, 2 WP -- 4.45 ERA

*** Tony Pena Jr. took the loss despite facing only 5 batters as Peoria ripped the Bees to take 3 of 4 in the set. Pena didn't do poorly but allowed a run in the 1st on a walk and hit. The Bees stranded 2 in the 4th and the Chiefs responded with 4 runs off Mike Lehmann on a grand slam by DH Junior Lake (his 7th HR) to make it 5-0. Lehmann gave up 2 more runs in the 5th. David Wood got the Bees on the board with an RBI single in the 7th and Nick Francis hit an RBI groundout to cut it to 7-2. Three doubles scored 2 runs off Dusty Odenbach in the 7th and Riquy Pena allowed a run in the 8th. Francis doubled and scored on a Shawn Griffin sac fly in the 9th to account for the Bees' other run. RP Alberto Cabrera went 3 IP for his 1st save. Starter Chris Archer got the win with 6 IP of 2 ER on 4 hits and 7 Ks to improve to 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA. 3B Jovan Rosa was 3-3 with a walk, 2 doubles (13) and 2 RBI (30) to move to .313. Lake's 4 RBI gave him 33 on the season. RF Kyler Burke scored 3 runs and 1B Rebel Ridling had 2 hits and 2 RS.

The Bees are 20-27 and 8 games back. A 4-game home set with the Kane County Cougars (23-25, A A's, first-half division champs) starts tonight as Manauris Baez (5-5, 3.83) faces Cougs righty Murphy Smith (0-1, 2.75). The Bees are 4-10 versus KC.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Great Falls 13, Chukars 4

CF H. Richardson 2-5, 2B (9), 3B (2), RBI (13), K, 2 RS -- .331
RF Llanos 2-4, 2 K, RS -- .237
DH S. Perez 1-4, BB, RBI (25) -- .320
C Theriot 1-4, 2B (4), RBI (14), K, PB (3) -- .316
2B A. Franco 0-3, BB, S, RBI (16) -- .238
SS D. Batista 0-3, BB, HBP, E (12) -- .279

Garrido 4 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, K -- L, 1-2, 5.44 ERA
Morgan IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- 6.27 ERA
Shimek 3 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 K, 2 HRA -- 7.71 ERA
Hodge 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB -- 8.04 ERA

*** Great Falls walloped the Chukars in the series opener. Hilton Richardson got the Chukars off to a good start with a leadoff double in the 1st and scored on a Salvador Perez groundout to make it 1-0 IF. Santiago Garrido gave up a 2-out RBI double in the 2nd to tie it and then gave up 4 runs in the 4th to make it 5-1 Great Falls. IF stranded 2 in the 4th and Ryan Morgan gave up 2 runs in the Voyager 5th before leaving the bases full. The Chukars loaded the bases with none out in the 6th but managed to blow the scoring chance. The Voyagers added 6 runs in the late innings to coast. Richardson hit an RBI triple in the 7th and scored on an Angel Franco groundout, and Ben Theriot hit an RBI double in the 8th to account for the rest of the Idaho Falls scoring. Great Falls SP Terry Doyle worked 5 IP of an ER allowed on 3 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA. RF Jordan Cheatham was a HR short of the cycle at 4-5 with his 7th double, 1st triple, 6 RBI (26) and 2 RS to move to .343. DH Johny Celis had 3 hits, including 2 doubles (10) and his 5th HR, and his 33rd RBI with 3 RS to move to .312. Two others had 2 RBI and CF Kyle Colligan scored 3 runs.

The Chukars are 6-5 and 4 games out. Game 2 with the Voyagers is tonight as Sugar Ray Marimon (2-3, 6.38) faces an unnamed GF starter.

Rookie - Burlington: Danville 9, B-Royals 1 (2-hitter)

3B Culver 1-3 -- .223
2B V. Soto 1-2, BB -- .200
LF Pickett 0-3, BB, E (3) -- .275
RF Del Rosario 0-3, BB -- .302
2B Tschepikow 0-4, 2 K -- .194

L. Perez 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, WP -- L, 1-5, 4.53 ERA
Cuevas 3 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 7 H, 3 BB, 2 K, WP -- 5.79 ERA
B. Richardson 2 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K -- 4.87 ERA

*** A 6-run Braves rally did in the Royals yet again. Danville scored in the 1st but the Royals tied it in the 2nd on a 2-out Braves error before stranding the bases full. Leondy Perez labored again in the 2nd as the Braves scratched out another run to make it 2-1. The big Danville rally came off Gary Cuevas with 2 out in the 4th as the Braves scored 6 runs on 6 straight hits and a wild pitch before stranding 2. The last of Burlington's 2 hits came in the 5th. The last 14 Royals went down in order, and the Braves poured on an extra run in the 7th. Braves SP Tyler Stovall pitched 5 innings of an unearned run allowed on 2 hits and 4 walks with 3 Ks to move to 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Four Braves had multi-hit games. CF Cory Harrilchak and DH Robert Hefflinger had 3 hits each, and Harrilchak and LF Bobby Rauh drove in 3 runs apiece. The Braves were also 4-4 in SB off C Miguel Moctezuma and the Royal pitchers.

The B-Royals are 18-33. The Braves go for 10 straight over the Royals tonight with Braves ace lefty Matt Crim (8-0, 3.06) facing an unnamed Royals starter.

Rookie - AZL: off day

The 5-10 Royals play the 11-5 Angels tonight.


As announced recently on Baseball America and other outlets, the Royals have signed 3rd rounder C Wil Myers to a $2 million bonus, and 4th round LH Chris Dwyer on a $1.45M bonus, which is a 4th round record. Myers' bonus is the 4th highest out of the draft so far, behind 3 1st-rounders. Myers is being compared by some to Dale Murphy, according to BA. Nice comparison, hope it pans out.