Royals on the Farm 9/9 -- Good game 1s across the board

well well well, three wins in a row for the Royals, and Billy keeps his hot hitting going....the fact the Tigers lead the division says a lot about the AL Central.

AAA - Omaha: OF Cory Aldridge was named the Omaha Player of the Year by the organization Thursday after winning the team triple crown. P Lenny DiNardo was also an undisputed Omaha Pitcher of the Year after leading the team in several pitching categories.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 6, Springfield 0 (2-hitter, Nats lead best-of-5, 1-0)

1B C. Smith 2-4, RS -- .500
SS Bianchi 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K, RS -- .250
CF Dyson 1-4, BB, RBI, 2 RS, SB -- .250
3B Mertins 1-4, SF, RBI -- .250
LF Lough 1-3, BB, K -- .333

Lerew CG, 2 H, 4 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, only 73 pitches, what a start...

*** Anthony Lerew was locked in and the Naturals' offense did more than enough to secure a game 1 win over the Cardinals. Jarrod Dyson singled and scored on a wild pitch in the 1st to get NWA off on the right foot and a 2-run bases-loaded Cards error in the 2nd sparked a 5-run rally as Kurt Mertins hit a sac fly and Jeff Bianchi hammered a 2-run homer to make it 6-0. Lerew allowed the only 2 Springfield baserunners on singles in the 4th but obviously stranded both. Otherwise he was perfect.

Game 2 of the series is tonight as Blake Johnson (8-8, 4.57) faces Cards righty Lance Lynn (11-4, 2.92). OF David Lough was named the NWA Player of the Year today after hitting .331 with 9 HR and 31 RBI in 61 games and also excelling at Wilmington. P Ben Swaggerty was named NWA's Pitcher of the Year, as he posted a 4.33 ERA with the Naturals and also started 2009 pitching well for the Blue Rocks. Wednesday's win marks the first ever NWA playoff victory as the Naturals were swept by Arkansas in last year's first round.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 7, Lynchburg 1 (Blue Rocks lead best-of-5, 1-0)

SS Seratelli 3-4, 3B, RBI, K, 2 RS, E -- .750
CF D. Robinson 2-5, 2 RBI, K, RS -- .400
3B Moustakas 2-4, HBP, 2B, RBI, E -- .500
LF Walton 2-3, RBI, RS -- .667, left in 6th with leg injury
2B Giavotella 1-5, 2B, RBI, 2 K, RS -- .200
1B Hosmer 1-5, RBI, K, RS -- .200
DH C. Robinson 0-4, BB, 2 K -- .000
RF Van Stratten 0-5, 2 K, RS -- .000

Paulino 6 1/3 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA -- W, 1-0, 1.42 ERA
Coleman 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA
Bowden IP, K -- 0.00 ERA

*** The Rocks rallied twice to put down the Hillcats in game 1 of the best-of-5. The first rally came in a 4-run 2nd as Jamar Walton hit an RBI single, and Anthony Seratelli, Derrick Robinson and Mike Moustakas added RBI singles to make it 4-0 Rocks. Eduardo Paulino's only blemish came on a solo homer in the 6th and the Rocks finished the win with 3 in the 9th on a Derrick Robinson RBI single, Johnny Giavotella RBI double and Eric Hosmer RBI fielder's choice. Louis Coleman and Barry Bowden finished off the victory on the mound for Paulino.

Game 2 is tonight in Lynchburg as Danny Duffy (9-3, 2.98) faces Hillcats lefty Rudy Owens (1-1, 3.86). 3B Mike Moustakas was named Wilmington's Player of the Year after hitting .250 with 16 HR and 86 RBI at age 21. He finished third in the Carolina League RBI race, and it's his second straight organizational player of the year award after winning the Burlington (A) award last year. P Brandon Sisk was named Wilmington Pitcher of the Year after posting a 1.92 ERA and 21 saves in 24 chances. He was 15-15 in saves in the second half. Wednesday's win snapped a 7-game Rocks playoff losing streak and marked the team's first playoff W since returning to the Royals as an affiliate.

A - Burlington: Bees 12, Kane County 7 (Bees lead best-of-3, 1-0)

LF Ortiz 4-5, 2 2B, RBI, RS, SB -- .800
1B Taylor 3-4, BB, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 RS -- .750
3B Morales 3-3, BB, HBP, RBI, 2 RS -- 1.000
CF Norris 2-4, SF, 2 RBI, 2 K, 2 RS -- .500
DH Griffin 1-5, RBI, 2 K -- .200
C Bonilla 1-5, HR, RBI, 2 RS, PB -- .200
SS R. Wood 1-4, BB, 2B, RBI, RS -- .250
PH-2B Molina 1-2, RBI, K -- .500

Hodgson 6 IP, 2 UER, 3 H, BB, 7 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA
J. Garcia 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, BB -- 135.00 ERA, yowza
Thompson 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB -- 0.00 ERA

*** Ivor Hodgson made a good start and the Bees' offense churned out 6 early runs en route to the 12-7 win. Jason Taylor got it started with a 2-run homer in the 1st and Jose Bonilla led off the 2nd with a HR to kickstart a 4-run rally as Ryan Wood hit an RBI double, Patrick Norris hit an RBI single and Adrian Ortiz hit an RBI double to make it 6-0 to chase KC starter Kenny Smalley. RF David Wood made a 2-out, 2-run error in the 4th to get the Cougars on the board but the Bees got 3 runs that inning on a 2-run Taylor double and Shawn Griffin RBI single. Patrick Norris hit a sac fly in the 5th and Jason Morales hit an RBI single in the 6th to make it 11-2 Bees. Justin Garcia came on to pitch the 7th for Burlington and got hammered for 5 runs, including one allowed by James Thompson, as Kane County cut it to 11-7. Yeldrys Molina added an RBI single in the 8th for some insurance and Thompson didn't cruise but got the game finished. He loaded the bases with 1 out in the 9th but got out of the jam with a double play to end the game.

Game 2 is tonight in Kane County as Tim Melville (7-7, 3.79) makes his first career playoff start versus Cougars righty Murphy Smith (2-2, 4.75). OF Nick Van Stratten was named Burlington's Player of the Year after hitting .318 with 1 HR and 38 RBI in 69 games and earning a late-season callup to high A. P Mike Montgomery was named Burlington's Pitcher of the Year after posting a 2.17 ERA and .206 OAV in 58 IP to get bumped up a level in late July.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Casper 6, Chukars 5

C Myers 2-3, SF, RBI, 2 RS, PB (5) -- .419
3B Culver 2-4, 3 RBI, K -- .250
SS Alfaro 1-4, BB, RBI (26), K -- .251
LF D. Rodriguez 0-4, BB, RS -- .333
2B Franco 1-4, BB, RS, picked off, E (11) -- .301
RF Stovall 1-3, BB, 2B (15), RS -- .323
DH Lewis 0-4, 2 K -- .292
CF Pickett 0-4 -- .222

Wooley 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 4.78 ERA
Halliman 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 5.59 ERA
Hodge 3 IP, UER, H, 3 K -- L, 0-2, 4.22 ERA

*** Idaho Falls tied the game in the 8th but Casper got a walkoff single in the 9th. The Chukars left 2 in scoring position in the 2nd and Casper took the lead with 2 runs off Nick Wooley. IF tied it in the 3rd as J.D. Alfaro hit an RBI single and Wil Myers hit a sac fly. Casper regained the lead in the 5th off Pernell Halliman but Malcom Culver hit a 2-out RBI single to drive in his 1st run for the Chukars in the 6th. The tie didn't last long as Halliman served up a 2-run triple in the 6th and was pulled for Mitch Hodge. Culver came through again in the 8th with a 2-out, 2-run single to tie the game at 5. An Angel Franco 2-out error in the 9th allowed the batter to reach second and Hodge allowed the walkoff single to end the game.

IF is 22-14. Game 3 of the set is tonight as, again, Santiago Garrido (2-3, 5.06) is the starting pitcher on the team site versus an unnamed Casper SP. IF Deivy Batista was named the Chukars' Player of the Year after hitting .270 with 13 HR and 55 RBI for IF. P John Lamb continued his early pro comeback from injury by being named the Chukars' Pitcher of the Year. He started in Burlington (R) before coming to IF and slapping together a 3.70 ERA. He made a couple great starts for IF this year, so it's a deserved award.

Rookie - Burlington: OF Luis Del Rosario was named the B-Royals' Player of the Year after hitting .268 with 3 HR and 17 RBI and getting a late callup to Wilmington. P Greg Billo was rightfully named the B-Royals' Pitcher of the Year after posting a 1.81 ERA and 51 Ks in 54 2/3 IP.

Rookie - AZL: OF Alex Llanos was named the rookie Royals' Player of the Year as he hit .311 with 3 HR and 16 RBI in 31 games before getting moved up to Idaho Falls. P Claudio Bavera was a good choice as rookie Royals' Pitcher of the Year as he posted a 0.44 ERA and 21 Ks in 20 2/3 IP.

Rookie - DSL: On a rare Dominican note on this blog, C Rainier Bello was named the Dominican Royals' Player of the Year as the 17-year-old hit .293 with 8 doubles and 25 RBI this summer. P Jonathan Rodriguez was named Dominican Royals' Pitcher of the Year with a 0.80 ERA and 36 Ks in 45 IP as mostly a reliever. He's 20.