Royals on the Farm 8/2

Can more than 1 Royals starter function at a high level at one time? When Zack is on, nobody else is, although Meche wasn't awful at the start of the season. Then Zack stays good, but the offense sucks, and Hochevar is on fire. Then Hochevar cools and Bannister steps up the last couple starts. Now Zack gets rocked versus the Rays. The Royals can never get all the different areas firing at the same time consistently. Pitching good? Offense stinks. Offense actually pushes some runs home? Bullpen blows a gasket.

AAA - Omaha: Memphis 5, O-Royals 4

DH Hulett 2-3, BB, HR (9), 2 RBI (45), RS, SB (6), CS -- .316, on homer binge lately
RF Parraz 2-4, 2B (3), K, RS -- .333
3B Lisson 2-4, 2B (12), K -- .249
CF Raines 0-4, SF, RBI (12), K -- .211
2B Metcalf 0-2, 2 BB, RBI (47) -- .225
LF Lubanski 0-3, BB, K, RS -- .272
no Ka'aihue again....

Duckworth 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K -- 5.32 ERA
Waechter 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 K, WP -- BS, 2, 4.82 ERA
V. Marte 2/3 IP, UER, BB, 2 K -- L, 0-4, 3.03 ERA

*** Omaha's bullpen was back to its old tricks Sunday as the Royals blew a 2-run lead in the 8th and lost in the 9th. Travis Metcalf hit an RBI fielder's choice in the 2nd to give Omaha the lead but Memphis tied it off Brandon Duckworth in the 4th. Tug Hulett went deep in the 6th for a 2-run homer (his 9th) to give Omaha a 3-1 lead. Duckworth allowed a run in the 6th but Tim Raines Jr. hit a sac fly in the 7th to restore the 2-run lead. Hulett was caught stealing third to end the Omaha 8th (great decision) and Doug Waechter had a man on first and 2 out in the Memphis 8th when a single and 2-run double tied the game. Omaha left 2 in scoring position in the 8th and, much like in the Redbirds 8th, Victor Marte had 1 on first and 2 out in the 9th and made a throwing error on a steal of second that allowed the winning run to come all the way around to score and end it. Redbirds RP Josh Kinney pitched a scoreless 9th for the win to move to 2-1 with a 4.34 ERA. Starter Trey Hearne allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and a walk with 2 K to move his ERA to 4.85. SS Tyler Greene was 3-3 with a walk, 2 SB (21) and 3 RS to move to .306. Two other Redbirds had 2 hits. 1B Mark Hamilton had the big 2-run hit in the 8th to move his RBI total to 10.

The O-Royals are 44-63. Gil Meche is making a rehab start tonight in game 3 versus Redbirds righty Adam Ottavino (3-10, 4.81).

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 5, Springfield 4

1B C. Smith 2-3, BB, 2B (22) -- .257
CF Lough 1-4, BB, RBI (19), K, RS -- .339
LF Dyson 1-5, RBI (9), 2 K, CS (2) -- .264
C V. Wilson 1-4, HBP, RBI (21), K -- .328
SS J. Johnson 1-2, 2 BB, 2B (3), RBI (9), RS -- .198
3B Mertins 1-4, K, RS, E (12) -- .282
RF Duarte 0-4, K -- .252

B. Johnson 7 IP, 3 UER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP, pickoff -- 4.85 ERA
Hartsock 2 IP, ER, 2 H, HRA -- W, 2-1, 3.69 ERA

*** NWA pieced together a big 4-run rally in the 9th to get a comeback win. Vance Wilson was thrown out at home to end the Nats 1st with a bang and Springfield got 3 runs in the 2nd on 4 singles, a wild pitch and Kurt Mertins error. Josh Johnson hit a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the 2nd to cut into the lead but the game stayed 3-1 into the 8th. Aaron Hartsock was greeted by a leadoff homer by DH Steven Hill (his 18th and it seems like half have been against NWA) in the 8th to make it 4-1 Cards. NWA stranded 2 in the 8th but RP Francisco Samuel walked the bases loaded to start the 8th and was pulled for RP Chuckie Fick. David Lough hit a 1-out RBI single and Jeff Howell scored on a passed ball before Jarrod Dyson hit an RBI fielder's choice to tie it and Lough scored on a Wilson fielder's choice to end it. Fick blew his 1st save and took the loss to fall to 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA as the run he was credited with was unearned. Starter Lance Lynn worked 6 IP of an ER allowed on 6 hits with 5 Ks to move his ERA to 3.19. Three Cards had 2 hits, including Hill, who improved to .273 and drove in his 53rd RBI, and RF Tyler Henley, who improved to .323.

The Naturals are 22-14 and 2 games up on first. The series is ending tonight as Everett Teaford (3-4, 4.99) is getting slammed versus Cards lefty Nick Additon (0-1, 14.73).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: rainout

The Rocks are 21-14 and 2 1/2 games out. The game with Salem will be made up in late August. A 3-game set at the Winston-Salem Dash (19-15, A-Adv. ChiSox) starts tonight and the Rocks are rolling behind Alex Caldera (3-8, 5.36). Righty Greg Infante (1-0, 4.91) started for Winston-Salem. Eric Hosmer has struck his 1st level homer and Derrick Robinson made it 2 longballs in 2 days after going nearly 2 years without 1. The Rocks are 6-7 versus the Dash this season. The Wilmington paper has a feature on Hosmer.

A - Burlington: Dayton 7, Bees 1

RF Francis 2-4, HR (12), RBI (51), K, RS -- .256
2B F. Garcia 1-1, 2 BB, 3B (4), SB (25) -- .252
CF Norris 0-4 -- .246
LF Ortiz 0-4, K -- .192
3B Taylor 0-4, E (10) -- .255
C Bonilla 1-3, BB -- .229
DH Griffin 1-4, 2 K, picked off -- .329
SS R. Wood 0-3, 2 E -- .143
* The Bees turned 5 DPs in the loss.

Runion 3 IP, 7 R (6 ER), 8 H, BB, 2 HRA -- L, 3-8, 6.88 ERA, sigh
Odenbach 3 IP, 3 H, 2 K -- 4.32 ERA
B. Hardy IP, H, 2 K -- 2.30 ERA
Bowden IP, K -- 2.62 ERA

*** It was more of the same from starter Sam Runion and the Bees offense couldn't keep up. CF Josh Fellhauer hit his 5th homer of the season to lead off the game and 1B Humberto Sosa led off the 2nd with his 2nd homer of the season to help spark a 5-run rally on 4 more hits, a walk and hit batsman. Two Ryan Wood errors in the 3rd helped the Dragons score again to make it 7-0. The Bees' only damage came on a Nick Francis solo homer (his 12th) to lead off the 7th. A Fernando Garcia triple was squandered in the 8th and Dayton finished taking 2 of 3 in the series. Dragons SP Mark Serrano worked 5 scoreless IP of 2 hits and a walk allowed with 4 Ks to improve to 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA. Four Dragons had 2 hits and 3B Carlos Mendez hit his 4th triple and drove in 2 runs (43) to improve to .294. Fellhauer also drove in 2 runs (17). He and Sosa both scored twice.

The Bees are 15-20 and 5 games out. A 4-game set at the Clinton LumberKings (16-19, A Mariners) starts tonight. Tim Melville (3-5, 3.92) started versus Clinton righty Kenn Kasparek (7-5, 2.53). The Bees are 2-5 versus the 'Kings.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden 11, Chukars 1 (2-hitter)

LF Aparicio 1-3, HR (2), RBI (8), RS -- .190
2B Franco 1-4 -- .220
SS D. Batista 0-3, BB -- .306
CF Testa 0-2, 2 BB, CS (2) -- .301
C S. Perez 0-3, BB, K, picked off runner -- .270
DH Stovall 0-3, K -- .167

Paukovits 4 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K, WP -- L, 2-2, 5.00 ERA
Hodge 0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, WP -- 8.31 ERA, he and Runion were 2 of top 4 Royals picks in '07 draft
Toribio 2 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, 3 K, WP -- 2.77 ERA
Arias 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 K, HRA, 2 WP -- 5.95 ERA
Morgan IP, K -- 5.19 ERA

*** The Royals ended the first half by getting steamrolled by Ogden. Angel Franco led off the IF 1st with a single but the Chukars wouldn't have another hit after a Julio Aparicio solo homer (his 2nd) in the 3rd. Ogden took the lead off Bryan Paukovits with 2 runs in the 4th, then scored 4 in the 5th off Mitch Hodge before he was pulled without getting an out. Aneidy Toribio came in and struck out 3 to get out of the jam but then gave up 2 runs in the 6th as Ogden made it 8-1. The last 3 runs came in the 8th and, without another hit, the Chukar offense didn't do much. Ogden SP Matt Magill got the win with 5 IP of an ER allowed on 2 hits with 3 walks and 6 Ks to improve to 3-1 with a 4.62 ERA. Five Raptors had multiple hits led by a 4-hit game from DH Chris Jacobs, who hit his 4th homer and drove in 2 runs (13) to improve to .311. C Gorman Erickson had 3 hits and 5 RBI (23) to improve to .352 and 3B Brian Ruggiano also had 3 hits to improve to .360. Two others had 2 RBI for Ogden.

The Chukars finished the first half 20-16. The second half starts tonight with a 3-game set at the Orem Owlz (20-18 first half, Rookie Angels). Santiago Garrido (1-1, 5.60) started versus Orem lefty Patrick Corbin (1-1, 5.06). The Chukars are 5-5 versus the Owlz. '09 draftee OF Chanse Cooper was sent down to the AZL while OF Alex Llanos got the call up from Arizona. Well-deserved for Alex.

Rookie - Burlington: Elizabethton 7, B-Royals 6

LF Pickett 2-4, S -- .297
CF G. Beltre 2-4, K, RS -- .228
3B Culver 1-4, GS (3), 4 RBI (13), K, RS -- .214
2B Tschepikow 1-3, HBP, RBI, K, RS -- .333, Burlington debut
RF Del Rosario 0-4, BB, RBI (13) -- .275
SS Espinal 0-3, 2 BB, K, 2 SB (10) -- .213
C F. Cruz 1-5, RS, PB (8) -- .277

L. Perez 4 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K, HRA, WP -- 3.96 ERA
Cuevas 3 IP, 2 ER, H, 3 BB, 3 K, WP, E -- L, 0-3, 3.76 ERA
B. Richardson IP, ER, H, BB, HRA -- 6.23 ERA

*** Three late-inning runs helped the Twins take down the Royals in the series finale. Ben Tschepikow took a bases-loaded HBP in his first B-Royal plate appearance in the 2nd and Malcom Culver followed with a grand slam for his 3rd pro homer to make it 5-0 Burlington. 3B Anderson Hidalgo took Leondy Perez long, however, in the bottom of the inning for his 3rd homer to cut the lead to 5-3. Perez gave up another run in the 4th to cut it to 5-4 and the score stayed there until the 7th, when Gary Cuevas allowed 2 runs on a hit, 2 walks and a wild pitch. Brett Richardson gave up a solo homer to LF Reggie Williams (his 4th) in the 8th to make it 7-5 Twins. Luis Del Rosario took a 1-out, bases-loaded walk in the 9th but Fernando Cruz hit into a 1-2-3 double play to end it as RP Tony Davis got his 4th save. RP Matt Tone pitched 2 hitless innings to get the win and move to 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA. Starter Miguel Munoz allowed 5 ER on 7 hits and a walk with 4 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 5.77. No Twin had more than 1 hit, and Hidalgo's 3 RBI gave him 16 on the season. He also made his 6th error.

The Royals are 11-28. They had today off.

Rookie - AZL: Angels 8, Royals 5

C Matos 2-4, RBI (6) -- .359
LF S. Cabrera 1-4, 2 RBI (8), RS, 2 SB (4) -- .212
3B Figueroa 1-4, 2B (4), RBI (21), K, E (6) -- .273
SS Trapp 1-5, RBI (11), 2 K, RS, 2 SB (7), E (6) -- .345
DH Llanos 1-5, 2B (6), 2 K, RS, SB (15) -- .311
CF Howard 0-4, K, OF assist at home -- .200
RF L. Adams 0-2, 2 BB, K, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .238

Peacock 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 8 H, 2 BB, K, HRA, WP -- L, 0-2, 4.50 ERA
Yambati 1 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 BB -- 11.57 ERA
Bavera 1 1/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, 2 K, 2 WP -- 0.71 ERA

*** The Angels took a 5-0 lead and held on to win. Brian Peacock gave up a run on 2 XBH in the 1st and then allowed 2 runs in the 3rd on 3 hits, a wild pitch and error, although Anthony Howard helped gun down a runner at the plate to end the inning. Peacock gave up a 2-run homer to 3B Ricky Alvarez (his 3rd) in the 5th to make it 5-0 as the Royals were no-hit through 5 2/3 innings by Angels SP Fabio Martinez Mesa. Santos Cabrera broke the ice with an RBI single in the 7th and Mauricio Matos added an RBI single to cut it to 5-2. Robinson Yambati allowed a run in the 7th but the Royals answered with 3 in the 8th on a run-scoring Angel error, Yunior Figueroa RBI double and Cabrera RBI fielder's choice to trim it to 6-5. Claudio Bavera allowed 2 runs in the 8th to help give the Halos some insurance and RP John Hellweg pitched a scoreless 9th for his 4th save for the Angels. Mesa allowed 2 ER on 2 hits and 2 walks with 7 Ks over 6 2/3 IP to improve to 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA. Alvarez was 4-5 with 2 RBI (28) and his 6th error to move to .287, CF Mike Trout had 3 hits, his 7th SB and 2 RBI (8) to move to .355 and RF Matt Long had 2 hits and his 16th RBI for the Angels.

The 2-5 Royals play the 5-1 Giants tonight.