Royals on the Farm 8/9 and 8/10

Here's the drill for today. I'm gonna list the pertinent offensive guys for the Sunday games, then sum up the game in 5 words or less....

AAA - Omaha: Reno 1, O-Royals 0 (1-hitter, Sun.)

C House 1-3 -- .246

DiNardo 8 IP, ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K -- L, 7-5, 3.31 ERA
Marte IP, K -- 2.67 ERA

*** DiNardo deals, offense doesn't = loss.

Reno 5, O-Royals 0 (Mon.)

1B Ka'aihue 1-4 -- .261
2B Hulett 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .302
3B Lisson 0-3, 2 K -- .246
LF Lubanski 1-3, K, picked off -- .240
DH Aldridge 1-4, 2 K -- .306

Hughes 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, HRA -- L, 1-3, 4.00 ERA
Rosa 3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 5.19 ERA

*** Billy Buckner K'd 10 O-Royals to do his part for a second straight Reno shutout. Omaha stranded 2 in the 4th and a 2-out Chris Lubanski single in the 5th broke up the no-hitter. Reno scored 3 off Dusty Hughes in the 6th and Omaha stranded 2 in the 7th. Reno got 2 off Carlos Rosa in the 9th and that was it. Buckner got the win with 4 hits and 2 walks allowed with 10 Ks over 7 IP to improve to 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA. Three Aces had 2 hits, including former Royal DH Ruben Gotay, who clubbed his 9th homer and drove in 2 (49) to move to .274. 1B Brandon Allen, who was the payoff in the Tony Pena trade for Arizona, also drove in 2 runs (25) with his 11th homer of the season. He's hitting .315.

The O-Royals are 47-68. Game 3 is tonight as Heath Phillips (6-7, 5.47) faces Aces righty Tony Barnette (10-7, 6.25). Sir Sidney Ponson has been released.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 7, Arkansas 3 (Sun.)

SS Bianchi 2-4, 2 RBI (29), 2 K, RS -- .333
RF Lucas 1-3, SF, 3 RBI (39), K -- .287
CF Dyson 1-4, BB, RBI (11), K, RS -- .258
LF Duarte 0-2, 2 BB, 2 RS, SB (18) -- .251

Kniginyzky 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 9 H, BB, 4 K -- W, 5-9, 4.85 ERA
de la Vara IP, ER, 2 H, K -- 5.48 ERA
Abreu IP, 2 BB, K -- 1.93 ERA

*** Bianchi, Lucas produce, Kniginyzky wins.

Arkansas 5, Naturals 4 (Mon.)

CF Lough 3-4, 2B (5), RBI (21), CS (4) -- .336
LF Duarte 2-3, 2B (13), RBI (34), RS -- .255
3B Maddox 1-4, RBI (9), RS -- .200
2B Mertins 0-2, S, SF, RBI (47) -- .275
DH Bianchi 0-4, 2 K -- .326

R. Hardy 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, 3 BB -- 2.61 ERA
Castaneda 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 K, HRA -- BS, 1, L, 0-1, 3.00 ERA
Hartsock 2/3 IP, 3 BB, K -- 3.34 ERA

*** Arkansas came back in the 8th off Federico Castaneda and Aaron Hartsock to win. Marc Maddox hit an RBI groundout in the 2nd and Jose Duarte and David Lough hit RBI singles to give NWA a 3-0 lead. The Travelers got 2 runs thanks in part to an NWA error in the 3rd but Kurt Mertins hit a sac fly in the 5th to make it 4-2 Naturals. Rowdy Hardy allowed a run in the 5th but handed a 4-3 lead over to Castaneda in the 7th. NWA stranded 2 in the 8th and Arkansas 1B Mark Trumbo went long for the 13th time this season off Castaneda in the 8th to tie it. Hartsock came in with 1 on and 1 out and walked in the go-ahead run before leaving the bases full. The Nats didn't really threaten in the 9th as RP Bobby Cassevah got his 3rd save. RP Fernando Rodriguez pitched a scoreless 8th for the win to move to 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA. SP Tim Kiely worked 7 IP of 4 ER on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks to move his ERA to 4.64. Four Travs had 2 hits as SS Wilberto Ortiz drove in 2 runs (30) and Trumbo drove in his 71st RBI.

The Naturals are 26-18 and 2 games up on first. They have tonight off.

Adv.-A - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 6, Potomac 4 (Sun.)

RF Van Stratten 3-3, BB, 2B (3), RBI (5), RS -- .254, 11-game hit streak
SS Seratelli 2-3, BB, 2B (12), RS, SB (15), CS (8) -- .289
1B C. Robinson 2-4, 2B (23), 2 RS -- .296
3B Moustakas 1-5, RBI (69), RS -- .251
DH Hosmer 1-4, RBI (8) -- .209
LF Walton 1-4, 2B (5), RBI (26) -- .257
CF D. Robinson 0-4, S -- .235
2B Giavotella 1-4, BB, 2B (18), RS -- .257

Liotta 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, BB, K, pickoff -- 3.78 ERA
Z. Peterson 1 2/3 IP, nothing -- W, 2-0, 0.73 ERA
Sisk 2 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 14, 2.19 ERA

*** Eighth inning rally, Rocks victorious

off day (Mon.)

The Rocks are 26-15 and 1/2 a game up on first. They start a 3-day, 4-game home set with the Winston-Salem Dash (21-19, Adv.-A ChiSox) tonight as Mike Montgomery (1-0, 2.25) faces Dash righty Jacob Rasner (3-3, 3.66). The Rocks are 8-7 versus the Dash. SP Mario Santiago is suffering from a tired arm.

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 11, Bees 8

RF Francis 4-5, 2B (19), RBI (53), RS, E (8) -- .256, feast or famine with Nick
LF Griffin 3-5, RBI (12) -- .314
CF Ortiz 2-5, 2B (2), 3 RBI (11) -- .181
2B F. Garcia 2-5, 2B (10), 2 RBI (19), 2 RS -- .265
1B D. Wood 2-5, HR (7), RBI (47), RS, picked off -- .258
SS Y. Molina 2-3, BB, RS, E (5) -- .244
DH Bonilla 0-4, BB, 2 K, RS -- .228

Lehmann 3 IP, 7 R (6 ER), 10 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA, WP -- L, 4-5, 5.18 ERA
C. White 3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 WP -- 4.15 ERA
Odenbach 2 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 BB -- 3.38 ERA
Bowden IP, 2 H, K -- 2.45 ERA

*** Lehmann rocked, late rally insufficient.

Bees 7, Quad Cities 5

2B F. Garcia 2-4, BB, 3B (5), 3 RS -- .269
DH Griffin 2-4, 2 2B (9), RBI (13), RS -- .321
3B Morales 2-4, RBI (2), CS, E (2) -- .273
1B D. Wood 1-2, BB, SF, 4 RBI (51), RS -- .259
LF Ortiz 1-5, RBI (12), K -- .182
RF Francis 1-4 -- .256
C Bonilla 0-3, BB, PB (10) -- .226
SS R. Wood 1-4, K, RS -- .143
CF Norris 1-3, BB, RS, E (2), OF assist at home -- .248

Baez 4 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 8 H, BB, 3 K, WP -- 3.83 ERA
R. Pena 2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 4 K, WP -- W, 2-2, 4.30 ERA
J. Garcia 1 2/3 IP, H -- 4.62 ERA
Bowden IP, H, 2 K -- SV, 9, 2.40 ERA

*** The Bees scored 6 unanswered runs to take the finale from the Bandits. Fernando Garcia tripled and scored on a David Wood RBI groundout in the 1st but the Bandits came back with 2 off Manauris Baez in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd made it 5-1 QC. Wood hit a sac fly in the 3rd and Jason Morales singled home a run in the 4th to cut it to 5-3. The Bees kept whittling away as Shawn Griffin hit a 2-out RBI double in the 5th but Burlington stranded 2. An Adrian Ortiz RBI groundout in the 6th tied it and Wood hit the go-ahead 2-run single to make it 7-5. The Bandits couldn't get back on the board off the Bees pen as Barry Bowden got his 9th save. RP Jonathan Gonzalez blew his 1st save and took the loss with 3 ER allowed in 1 IP to fall to 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. SP Eric Fornataro allowed 4 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks with a K over 5 IP to move his ERA to 9.72. C Jack Cawley had 3 hits and his 7th RBI to lead QC. Two others had 2 hits. 1B Xavier Scruggs continued to rake at the level with 2 hits, including his 4th double, and his 17th RBI to move to .548.

The Bees are 19-24 and 6 games out. A 4-game set at the Peoria Chiefs (25-18, A Cubs) starts tonight with Ivor Hodgson (1-1, 7.04) squaring off with Chiefs righty Justin Bristow (4-5, 4.31). The Bees are 2-5 versus the Chiefs. RP Craig Rodriguez went back on the DL and Justin Garcia was called back up to take his roster spot.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: off day Sunday

Chukars 5, Billings 4 (Mon.)

LF Testa 2-2, 2 2B (11), RBI (20), RS -- .305
1B Espinosa 2-4, 2B (10), RBI (15), RS -- .262
CF H. Richardson 2-4, K, RS, SB (14) -- .315
3B Alfaro 0-2, SF, RBI (11) -- .250
SS D. Batista 0-4, K, RS -- .285
C Theriot 0-3, K, RS -- .319
DH Llanos 0-3, K, CS -- .077, left his bat in AZL

Marimon 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 2-3, 6.38 ERA
Lafferty 4 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- SV, 3, 2.93 ERA

*** A 9th inning comeback wasn't enough for the Billings as Idaho Falls took the opener. Billings scored a run off Sugar Ray Marimon in the 1st but the Chukars scored 2 in the 2nd on a Tito Espinosa RBI double and J.D. Alfaro sac fly. Marimon worked out of a jam in the 3rd and IF added 2 more runs on a run-scoring Mustangs error and Carlo Testa RBI double, although Testa was thrown out at third on the play and didn't return to the field because of a dislocated pinky. Billings scored single runs in the 4th and 5th but the Chukars got another run on an error in the 5th to make it 5-3. Brendan Lafferty stranded 2 in the 6th and carried the lead into the 9th before giving up a solo homer to 3B Yen-Wen Kuo (his 1st). He left the tying run at second to finish his 3rd save. Billings SP Blair Carson took the loss with 6 IP of 5 runs (2 ER) on 5 hits and a walk with 4 Ks to fall to 0-3 with a 4.63 ERA. Four Mustangs had multiple hits as Kuo was 3-3 with a triple, the HR, and 2 RBI (14) to move to .280.

The Chukars are 3-4 and 3 games back. Game 2 of 4 with the Billings Mustangs (3-3, Rookie Reds) is tonight as John Lamb (0-1, 4.50) takes the mound versus Mustangs righty Leonardo Astorga (2-3, 4.53). '09 41st rounder C Joey Lewis has joined the IF roster. Billings' roster features Redleg prospect OF Yorman Rodriguez (.873 OPS, .283 BA in 14 G/53 ABs) and '09 Reds draftees 4th round C Mark Fleury, 9th round righty Brian Pearl, 12th round OF Josh Garton and others.

Rookie - Burlington: Princeton 10, B-Royals 3 (Sun.)

SS Espinal 2-4, HR (4), 2 RBI (12), 2 K, RS, CS (11) -- .218
LF Pickett 1-4, RBI (8), RS -- .287
RF Del Rosario 1-4, 2B (5), K -- .294
2B Tschepikow 0-3, BB, K -- .211

L. Perez 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 3 K, WP, pickoff -- L, 1-4, 4.36 ERA
Cuevas 3 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 4.85 ERA
B. Richardson IP, ER, 2 H, BB -- 5.09 ERA

*** All Rays after the 3rd.

Kingsport 6, B-Royals 4 (Mon.)

LF Pickett 2-4, BB, K, RS -- .294
DH F. Cruz 2-5, K -- .271
2B V. Soto 2-4, 2 SB (11) -- .200
C Moctezuma 1-4, HBP, RBI (5), K -- .292
3B Culver 1-3, 2 BB, RBI (15), RS, E (13) -- .224
RF Del Rosario 1-3, 2 BB, K, SB (16), CS (7) -- .295
* The Royals stranded 12.

Hayenga 4 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- L, 2-5, 3.71 ERA
Dennick 3 IP, BB, 4 K, 2 WP -- 2.96 ERA
Sirrett IP, K -- 2.87 ERA

*** Two rallies got the Mets the win in the series opener. The Royals left the bases full in the 1st but scored 2 in the 2nd on 2 Mets errors. Burlington stranded 2 in the 3rd and the Mets got to Keaton Hayenga for 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk in the 4th. Hayenga and Ryan Dennick allowed 2 more runs in the 5th. Miguel Moctezuma took a bases-loaded HBP in the 9th and Malcom Culver took a walk to bring in another run but Diego Cruz grounded out to leave the tying run at second. Mets SP Armando Rodriguez got the win with 5 IP of 2 unearned runs allowed on 7 hits and 3 walks with 5 Ks to improve to 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA. DH Richard Lucas had 2 doubles (10) and his 17th RBI to move to .400. Two others had 2 RBI.

The B-Royals are 16-31. Game 2 of 3 with the Mets (17-25) is tonight with no announced starters on the team site. The Royals are 1-3 versus the Mets. RP Jaeson Hudnall was released.

Rookie - AZL: off day Sunday

Rangers 7, Royals 6 (Mon.)

3B Piterson 2-5, 2B (5), K, RS, E (5) -- .305
CF L. Adams 2-3, BB, 2B, K, RS, SB (9) -- .258
1B G. Baldwin 1-4, 3B (4), 3 RBI (21), RS, E (10) -- .278
LF S. Cabrera 1-4, RBI (11), 2 K, E (3) -- .220
2B A. Martinez 0-4, RBI (15), K, E (6) -- .229
SS Trapp 1-5, 2 K, RS, E (8) -- .291
C Matos 1-4, PB (3) -- .327

T. Pena Jr. 1 1/3 IP, 2 UER, H, K, WP -- 0.00 ERA
Avinazar 2 1/3 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K, pickoff -- 5.86 ERA
Keck 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 K -- L, 1-1, 6.52 ERA
J. Adams IP, H, 3 K -- 2.25 ERA

*** The Royals had 5 of the game's 9 errors as the Rangers won. The Royals made 2 errors in the 1st as the Rangers got a run off Tony Pena Jr. Santos Cabrera hit an RBI single in the 2nd before the Royals stranded 2. Another error led to a run off Pena in the 2nd to make it 2-1 Rangers. Geoff Baldwin hit an RBI fielder's choice in the 3rd and an Adrian Martinez RBI groundout made it 3-2 Royals. The Rangers surged ahead with 3 in the 4th off Willian Avinazar before Jonathon Keck stranded 2. The Royals scored a run on an error in the 5th to cut it to 5-4 but the Rangers got the run back to make it 6-4. Baldwin hit a 2-run triple in the 7th to tie the game but a 2-out RBI single off Keck gave the Rangers the lead in the bottom of the inning. The last 8 Royals went down after Baldwin's big triple. RP Kelvin Arrendell got his 5th save as RP Robert Wilkins got the win with 2 ER allowed over 3 IP to move to 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA. He also blew his 1st save. SP Ezequiel Rijo allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits and 2 walks with 3 Ks over 5 IP to move his ERA to 5.98. SS Edward Koncel had 3 hits and 2 RBI (23) for the Rangers.

The 5-8 Royals play the 9-4 Mariners tonight.






I failed to note in recent posts that the Royals inked 14th rounder P Crawford Simmons to a well-over-slot contract.