Royals on the Farm 8/28

Giving Dayton Moore an extension after the steaming pile this season has been is another nail in the coffin for my Royal fanhood, if they do it.

Gotta put out another reminder about fantasy football, I know people are reading, but nobody is getting involved here. Gimme your e-mail and I'll shoot you an invite. Nothing to lose here....

Keeping it short today, off to a late start...

AAA - Omaha: New Orleans 4, O-Royals 3

1B Thorman 3-5, RS -- .283
CF Raines 2-4, HR (7), 2 RBI (23), RS -- .236
RF Falu 2-5, 2 K -- .271
DH Aldridge 1-4, BB, RBI (64), 2 K -- .307, has earned Sept. call-up, I bet he doesn't get it
3B Gordon 0-4, BB, 3 K -- .265, drawing walks, but not hitting
SS Lisson 1-5, 2B (19), 2 K, SB (7) -- .231, watch him get a call-up when he has no business getting one
* Omaha stranded 14.

Nicoll 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K, HRA -- 8.36 ERA, 83 pitches
Chavez 4 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K, HRA, WP -- L, 0-2, 2.45 ERA
Marte IP, H, 2 K -- 2.35 ERA

*** Chris Nicoll got battered somewhat but it was an 8th inning solo homer that gave the Zephyrs the win off Chris Chavez.

The O-Royals are 58-76. Game 5 is tonight as Mike O'Connor (1-2, 5.70) faces New Orleans righty Clay Hensley (7-4, 4.05). Kila Ka'aihue is day-to-day after colliding with a baserunner at first Thursday and hurting his arm.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 3, Springfield 2 (7/G1)

2B Lucas 2-3, 2B (18), RBI (47), K, RS -- .295
LF Dyson 2-3, RS, 3 SB (32), CS (6) -- .273, better SB threat than D. Robinson
SS Bianchi 1-3, 2 K -- .311
CF Lough 0-3, RS -- .326

R. Hardy 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K, 2 HRA -- W, 4-3, 2.75 ERA
Abreu IP, H, BB, K -- SV, 4, 4.40 ERA

*** The Naturals rallied in the 6th to get a comeback win. Ed Lucas hit an RBI double in the 1st but the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead into the 6th. A bases-loaded balk by RP Eduardo Sanchez tied the game and a 2-out wild pitch allowed David Lough to score the go-ahead run. Juan Abreu stranded 2 in the 7th for his 4th save.

Naturals 5, Springfield 2 (7/G2)

SS Bianchi 1-3, HR (4), 3 RBI (37), RS -- .311, HR was big
1B C. Smith 1-2, BB, RBI (79), K, RS -- .249
DH Howell 1-3, 2B (9), RBI (20) -- .264
CF Dyson 1-3, K -- .274
LF Lough 1-2, BB, 2B (11), RS, SB (12) -- .328

Lerew 6 IP, ER, 7 H, 4 K -- W, 9-6, 4.19 ERA, has pitched well of late
Hartsock IP, ER, 2 H, K -- 3.15 ERA

*** Jeff Bianchi's 3-run blast keyed a 5-run 6th as that inning was magic for NWA again in the nightcap. The Cards scored a run in the 1st and starter Nick Additon was cruising with a 2-hit shutout with 1 on and 1 out in the 6th when Kurt Mertins doubled and Bianchi launched his 3-run longball for his 4th of the season to give NWA the lead. Corey Smith and Jeff Howell added 2-out RBI and Aaron Hartsock allowed a run in the 7th but closed the door.

The Naturals are 32-28 and now back in a first-place tie with Tulsa. That makes the 3-game final home series of the season with the Drillers (32-28, AA Rockies) crucial as it begins tonight. Blake Johnson (7-8, 4.81) will face Tulsa lefty Brandon Durden (7-2, 2.79) in game 1. After this set, the Naturals finish the season with 7 road games. NWA is 10-12 versus the Drillers.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Salem 0 (7/G1)

LF Orlando 2-3, RBI (34), 2 SB (19) -- .262
3B Moustakas 1-3, 2B (29), RBI (84), RS -- .255
RF Van Stratten 1-3, RBI (11), RS -- .288, after slow start, has adjusted well to Advanced A ball
CF D. Robinson 1-4, K -- .243
2B Giavotella 1-4, 2B (23), K, RS -- .255
1B C. Robinson 1-3, K -- .296

Gutierrez 6 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- W, 1-0, 1.65 ERA
Sisk IP, 2 K -- SV, 19, 2.04 ERA

*** Danny Gutierrez held the Red Sox in check and Brandon Sisk finished off the game 1 shutout. All 3 Rocks runs came in a 4th inning rally.

Salem 1, Blue Rocks 0 (7/G2)

DH Fontaine 2-2, BB -- .317
CF D. Robinson 1-3, picked off -- .243
2B Giavotella 1-3, CS (9) -- .255
3B Moustakas 0-2, BB, K -- .254
1B C. Robinson 0-3, K -- .294
RF Van Stratten 1-3, E (2), OF assists at second and home -- .289

Santiago 6 IP, UER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- L, 6-13, 4.30 ERA, hard loss to take

*** The Rocks managed only 5 hits, all singles, stranded 2 a few times, had a couple baserunners cut down, and couldn't string anything together in taking the shutout loss.

The Rocks are 40-21 and 3 games up on first. Game 3 with the Sox is tonight as Eduardo Paulino (9-6, 3.68) faces Salem righty Kyle Weiland (6-9, 3.49).

A - Burlington: rainout

The Bees are 30-29 and 6 1/2 games out of first but 4 games up on a playoff spot. The rainout with Beloit will be made up Sunday. The series will instead start tonight with Sam Runion (4-10, 6.82) taking on Snappers righty Brad Tippett (8-7, 3.16).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 6, Chukars 4

1B Lewis 2-4, RBI (6) -- .289
C W. Myers 2-3, BB, 2 RS, PB (2) -- .400
SS Alfaro 2-4, CS (5) -- .241
2B Franco 2-5, RS -- .264
RF Aparicio 1-3, BB, 2B (13), RBI (17), K -- .218
DH S. Perez 0-3, SF, RBI (30) -- .308
CF Llanos 0-5, 2 K -- .209
3B Stovall 1-3, BB, RS, E (6) -- .289
LF Pickett 0-4, K, E -- .000

Dwyer 2 IP, UER, H, 3 BB, 3 K -- 2.45 ERA, kept on short pitch count
Arias 3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- 4.46 ERA
Halliman 3 IP, 3 H, BB -- 6.27 ERA, and even that ERA # is markedly improved from last year
Shimek 0 IP, 2 ER, H, BB -- 9.22 ERA
Folmer IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 4.78 ERA

*** The Owlz took a 4-1 lead, saw Idaho Falls tie it in the 8th, then came back to win in the 9th. A Joey Lewis RBI single in the 2nd tied the game at 1 but the Chukars were down, 4-1, in the 8th when Salvador Perez hit a sac fly, a 2-out error scored a run and Julio Aparicio hit an RBI double to tie the game. Scott Shimek allowed the first 2 Owls to get in scoring position in the 9th and Richard Folmer allowed a 2-run double to seal IF's fate as the Chukars went down in order in the 9th.

Idaho Falls is 15-9 and 6 games back. Game 2 is tonight as Bryan Paukovits (2-2, 5.13) faces Owlz righty Garrett Richards (2-1, 1.91).

Rookie - Burlington: suspended by rain in 5th

The B-Royals are 22-41. The game with Greeneville is being completed tonight before the regularly scheduled game, which will be shortened. Greg Billo (2-1, 1.99) will start the regular game versus Astros righty Jose Cisnero (3-2, 3.99).

Rookie - AZL: Royals 11, Rangers 9

CF Polonia 3-4, BB, HR (2), 2 RBI (18), RS, 4 SB (18), CS (7), OF assist at second -- .225, little bit of everything from Juan on Friday
LF S. Cabrera 3-5, 2 2B (5), 3 RBI (17), K, 3 RS -- .220
DH G. Baldwin 2-3, HBP, BB, 2 RS -- .251, nice way for Geoff to end first pro season
2B-SS A. Martinez 2-5, RBI (20), 2 K, 2 RS -- .220
SS Trapp 0-1, BB, SF, RBI (19), K, SB (12), E (16) -- .262
2B Henriquez 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (3), K -- .267
3B Piterson 1-4, SF, RBI (16), 2 K, RS -- .311
C E. Escobar 0-5, RBI (9), K, RS, PB (10), 2 pickoffs -- .266
RF Howard 1-4, BB, 2B (5), K, RS -- .191

L. Santiago 6 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 12 H, 9 K, HRA, pickoff -- W, 1-3, 5.40 ERA
Yambati 3 IP, 3 UER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA, WP -- SV, 1, 8.89 ERA

*** The Royals scored in every inning from the 2nd through the 7th and held off the Rangers in the 9th to end the season on a positive note. The Rangers scored twice in the 1st but the Royals answered with 4 in the 2nd on an Adrian Martinez RBI single, run-scoring error and sac flies by Luis Piterson and Justin Trapp. The Rangers tied it in their half but the Royals scored 3 in the 3rd on a 2-run Santos Cabrera double and Juan Polonia RBI single. Again the Rangers scored 2 to cut the lead to 1 but the Royals added single runs in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th on a Geoff Baldwin single that scored a run thanks to an error, an Edwin Henriquez RBI groundout, a Cabrera RBI double and Polonia's 2nd homer of the season. Robinson Yambati gave up 3 runs in the 9th including a 2-run homer, but got out of the inning with the victory intact.

The Royals finished the season 10-17 in the second half and a league-worst 20-35 overall. More on the team tomorrow....