Royals on the Farm 9/1

Once again, I gotta point to Royals Authority, when it comes to Dayton Moore.....they say it well.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 7, Iowa 3

RF Aldridge 2-4, 2B (16), RBI (68) -- .312
DH Gordon 1-4, HR, 2 RBI (3), K, RS -- .262
3B Thorman 1-4, HR (20), 2 RBI (59), RS -- .285
SS Lisson 1-4, HR (11), RBI (38), K, RS -- .228
C House 1-3, BB, RBI (51), K, RS -- .254
1B Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, RS -- .254

Phillips 7 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA -- W, 8-7, 5.14 ERA
Rosa IP, 2 H -- 4.63 ERA
Hamulack IP, H -- 5.22 ERA

*** The Royals lost a lead but finished with 4 unanswered runs to earn at least a split with the Cubs. Scott Thorman and Mario Lisson hit back-to-back HRs in the second for their 20th and 11th of the season, and Thorman's was a 2-run job so the Royals took a 3-0 lead. Heath Phillips' only damage came on a 3-run homer in the 5th but Omaha answered with 2 in the inning on a J.R. House RBI single and Cory Aldridge RBI double. Alex Gordon finished the scoring with a 2-run homer in the 7th for his 1st AAA longball.

The O-Royals are 61-77. Game 3 is tonight as Chris Nicoll (1-1, 8.36) is set to face Iowa righty Jeff Samardzija (6-4, 3.53). IF Ben Tschepikow has been added to Omaha's roster after struggling at rookie Burlington. P Jason Godin was sent back to AA and P Ray Liotta was activated from the DL.

AA - NW Arkansas: Arkansas 6, Naturals 5

SS Bianchi 2-4, 2 2B (17), RBI (39), RS, CS (4) -- .315
LF Lough 2-4, 2B (12), RBI (31), RS, OF assist at second -- .329
1B C. Smith 1-4, 2B (28), 2 RBI (86), K, E (20) -- .248
3B Lucas 1-3, BB, RBI (50), RS, picked off -- .293
CF Dyson 1-3, BB, 3B (4), 2 RS -- .270

Kniginyzky 6 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K -- L, 5-10, 5.48 ERA
B. Wood 2 IP, ER, 4 H, BB -- 5.52 ERA

*** NWA almost mounted a comeback in the 9th but ended up leaving the tying run at second in the loss. Jarrod Dyson tripled and scored on a Jeff Bianchi double in the 1st but Arkansas matched the run, then added 5 more runs over the middle innings. Arkansas SP Marco Albano held them scoreless through 7, but the Naturals would get to the pen in the 9th. Ed Lucas and David Lough hit RBI singles and Corey Smith added a 1-out, 2-run double to cut the lead to 6-5, but Vance Wilson struck out and Jeff Howell popped out to end the game.

The Naturals are 34-30 and back in a tie with Tulsa for first. Game 2 is tonight as Anthony Lerew (9-6, 4.19) takes on Arkansas righty Amalio Diaz (3-6, 3.81).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 4, Myrtle Beach 3

2B Giavotella 2-4, GW RBI (49) -- .257
3B Moustakas 2-4, 2B (31), RBI (86), K -- .255
DH Fontaine 2-3, BB, 2 RBI (14) -- .304
C Eigsti 2-4, K, RS -- .203
CF D. Robinson 2-5, RS -- .245
1B C. Robinson 0-4, K -- .290
RF Van Stratten 1-3, HBP, K, 2 RS -- .283

Caldera 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 7 K, HRA -- 4.99 ERA
Bowden 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K -- 3.52 ERA
Coleman IP, ER, 2 H -- BS, 3, W, 3-1, 1.46 ERA

*** Louis Coleman blew another save but the Rocks picked him up in the 9th. Chase Fontaine hit an RBI single in the 2nd and turned the trick again in the 4th to make it 2-0 Rocks. Myrtle Beach got a solo homer off Alex Caldera in the 5th but the Rocks got the run back on Mike Moustakas' RBI single. Barry Bowden allowed a run in the 8th and Coleman came in to pitch the 9th. Two doubles tied the game to keep the Pelicans alive but Johnny Giavotella hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the frame to end it.

The Blue Rocks are 42-23 and still 2 1/2 games up on first. Game 3 with the Pelicans is tonight as Danny Gutierrez (1-0, 1.65) faces Pelicans lefty Richard Sullivan (2-12, 4.44). The magic # for Wilmington is 4.

A - Burlington: off day

The Bees are 32-31 and 4 games up on a wildcard playoff spot. The team they are up on, the Clinton LumberKings (27-34, A Mariners) come to town to start a 3-game set tonight as Ivor Hodgson (3-1, 4.50) faces Clinton righty Andrew Carraway (4-0, 2.57). The Bees are 4-7 versus Clinton.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden 6, Chukars 5 (12)

C Myers 3-5, BB, 2B (3), HR (2), 2 RBI (7), K, RS, SB -- .355, triple short of cycle
2B Franco 3-6, 3B (5), RBI (26), K, RS -- .292
SS D. Batista 1-4, 2 BB, 2B (7), RBI (50), 3 K, RS, SB (9), E (15) -- .280
CF Llanos 1-5, S, K, CS (3) -- .204
DH S. Perez 1-6, 3B (3), RS -- .307
3B Stovall 0-4, BB, S, 2 K, CS (3) -- .307
LF Pickett 1-4, 2 HBP, RS, OF assist at home -- .158
*IF stranded 13.

Lafferty 4 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 3.04 ERA
Wooley IP, K -- 4.80 ERA
Marimon 4 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- BS, 1, 6.39 ERA
Morgan 2 IP, 2 H, BB -- 5.01 ERA
Shimek 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H -- BS, 1, L, 0-3, 10.05 ERA

*** The teams combined to strand 25, as Wil Myers' 2nd homer of the season gave the Chukars a 12th inning lead but Ogden came back to win the game. Salvador Perez tripled and scored on a Myers double in the 2nd but the Chukars left the bases full and Brendan Lafferty gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning. Deivy Batista hit an RBI double and scored on an error in the 5th to make it 3-2 IF. Sugar Ray Marimon gave up the lead with a 2-run homer in the 6th but Angel Franco came through with an RBI single in the 9th to force extras. Alex Llanos was caught stealing in the 11th right before Franco tripled, which cost the Chukars a run. Myers led off the 12th with his longball to give IF a 5-4 lead but Scott Shimek gave up a 2-out, 2-run walkoff single to blow his 1st save.

The Chukars are 17-11 and 7 games out, so are nearing elimination from the playoff hunt. A 4-game home set with the Casper Ghosts (12-16, Rookie Rockies) starts tonight with no announced starters on the team site yet. The Chukars are 4-1 versus the Ghosts. Ten games remain on the IF schedule. I'm thinking Myers is the starting C in Burlington (A) next season.

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 8, Bluefield 7

2B Tschepikow 3-5, 3B (2), RBI (12), 2 RS -- .232
SS Espinal 3-5, 3B (4), K, RS, SB (20), 2 E (26) -- .246
DH F. Cruz 2-5, HR (3), 2 RBI (21), K, 2 RS -- .277
1B Kuebler 0-1, 2 BB, SF, RBI (14), E (15) -- .215
C Moctezuma 0-4, SF, RBI (7), RS -- .208
LF Soto 0-3, S, RBI (11) -- .183

Hayenga 6 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 K -- W, 4-7, 3.66 ERA
D. De La Cruz 3 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 4 H, BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, WP -- SV, 3, 4.12 ERA, not much of a "save"

*** The Royals almost blew an 8-4 lead in the 9th but salvaged the win to end the season on a good note. A run-scoring wild pitch gave Burlington the lead in the 3rd and Keaton Hayenga had a 1-hit shutout through 5. The Royals added 4 in the 6th on a 2-run Miguel Moctezuma sac fly aided by a Bluefield error, a Jake Kuebler sac fly and Victor Soto RBI groundout. Hayenga allowed a run in the 6th but the Royals added 3 in the 7th on a Ben Tschepikow RBI triple and 2-run homer by Fernando Cruz for his 3rd of the season to make it 8-1. Deybi De La Cruz served up a 3-run homer in the 7th and a 2-run homer in the 9th but escaped with the 8-7 win.

The B-Royals went out winners at 24-44 for the worst record in the Appy League. Stat wrap to come tomorrow....