Royals on the Farm 4/25

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Albuquerque 3

3B Lucas 2-4, 2B, RS -- .250, back from early season DL stint
DH Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, HR (5), 2 RBI (15), K, RS -- .274
2B Maddox 1-4, 2B, RBI (8), K -- .233
CF Duarte 1-3, RBI (3), K -- .231, still doing better than first shot at AAA
LF Lough 0-4, K -- .230
RF Parraz 0-3, BB -- .167

Bullington 8 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 4 K, HRA -- W, 1-0, 2.08 ERA, only 79 pitches
Marte 1/3 IP, H -- SV, 1, 3.48 ERA

* Bryan Bullington had a great start but the O-Royals had to hold off the Isotopes in the 9th for the win. Both teams had early chances but neither struck until Omaha got a leadoff triple from Scott Thorman in the 4th and Kila Ka'aihue followed with a 2-run homer for his 5th of the season to spot the Royals a 2-0 lead. Marc Maddox laced an RBI double in the 5th to make it 3-0 and Jose Duarte hit an RBI single in the 6th to make it 4-0 as Bullington retired 12 in a row at one point. The lead held into the 9th before Bullington gave up a leadoff homer and put 2 in scoring position with 2 out. Victor Marte was brought in and gave up a 2-run double before getting the final out with the tying run at second. Starter Josh Lindblom took the loss for Albuquerque with 4 ER allowed over 7 IP. Two Isotopes had 2 hits. Omaha is 8-10. IF Mike Aviles may miss a few games after taking a HBP on the left elbow Saturday. IF Chris Getz is to begin a rehab assignment in Omaha Monday. Righty Federico Castaneda got the call to Omaha and will start Monday. Wilson Betemit has been placed on the DL with a groin injury. Also in Royals injury news, 3B Josh Fields will have hip surgery and perhaps miss all of the 2010 season.

AA - NWA: Arkansas 8, Naturals 7

2B Giavotella 3-4, BB, 2B (2), 2 RS -- .362
1B C. Robinson 2-3, 2 BB, 2B (4), RBI (7), RS -- .275
3B Mertins 2-5, 2 2B, RBI (8), 2 RS -- .278
CF D. Robinson 2-5, 3B (4), RBI (4), K, SB (8) -- .306
LF Orlando 1-5, 2 RBI (9), RS -- .239, OF assist at home
C Pina 0-4, BB, RBI (12) -- .326
RF Van Stratten 1-4, BB, RBI (5) -- .275
DH Moustakas 0-4, BB -- .471
NWA stranded 11.

Teaford 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, BB, 6 K, 2 HRA -- L, 3-1, 4.34 ERA
Coleman 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 3.86 ERA
Sisk 2 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- 2.70 ERA

* It was NWA coming from behind but falling short in today's AA game as they split the series with Arkansas. NWA did take the early lead Sunday as Clint Robinson hit an RBI single in the 1st and Paulo Orlando hit an RBI groundout in the 2nd to make it 2-0 Naturals. Everett Teaford was perfect through 2 2/3 IP but the Travs rallied for 3 runs in the inning to take the lead. The Nats stranded 2 in the 3rd and Arkansas extended the lead with 2 in the 5th as 2B Ryan Mount clubbed his 2nd 2-run homer of the game to make it 5-2 Arkansas. Louis Coleman came in for the 6th and gave up another 2-run homer - this one to 1B Efren Navarro - to make it 7-2 Arkansas. NWA answered with 2 in the 6th on an Orlando RBI single and Derrick Robinson RBI triple. The Nats scored 2 more in the 7th as Kurt Mertins ripped an RBI double and Nick Van Stratten hit an RBI single to trim the lead to 7-6. Brandon Sisk gave up a solo homer in the 8th and that was the difference as Manny Pina took a bases loaded walk in the 8th but the Nats left the bases full. Travs RP Amalio Diaz retired all 4 he faced for his 2nd save. Starter Tim Kiely got the win despite 4 ER allowed over 5 2/3 IP. Four Travs had 2 hits led by Mount's 2-5 day with 2 HR (3) and 4 RBI (10). The Naturals are 9-7. A 4-game set at the first-place Springfield Cardinals (11-5) starts Monday. Eduardo Paulino starts for NW Arkansas. SP Blake Johnson was activated from the DL to replace Castaneda on the roster.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Winston-Salem 8, Blue Rocks 6

CF Norris 3-5, 3B (3), 2 RBI (7), K, RS, SB (6) -- .279, has thrived in 2 slot
DH Prasch 2-4, BB, 2B (2), 2 RBI (4), K -- .417
RF Ortiz 2-4, S, 2B (4), RS -- .250
2B F. Garcia 2-3, HBP, 3B, RS -- .282
C Graterol 0-3, SF, RBI (2) -- .000
1B Hosmer 0-4, BB, K, RS -- .426

Melville 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 3 BB, K -- L, 1-2, 10.66 ERA, what to say...
Baez 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- 5.06 ERA

* A 4-run 7th wasn't enough to get the Rocks back in the game as Winston-Salem took 1 of 3 in the set. Eddie Prasch was thrown out at home to end the Rocks 2nd and Tim Melville got beaten around for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on 3 hits, a walk and HBP. The Dash plated 3 more in the 3rd as they had 2 hits, 2 walks and another HBP. The Rocks got off ground zero as Juan Graterol hit a sac fly in the 4th but Winston-Salem had 3 hits to score another run to chase Melville in the 4th. Patrick Norris hit an RBI single in the 5th but Adrian Ortiz and Norris were both thrown out trying to score in the inning. Manauris Baez gave up 2 runs in the 6th to make it 8-2 Dash. The Rocks mounted a rally off Dash RP Santos Rodriguez in the 7th as Norris hit an RBI triple, scored on a wild pitch, and Prasch hit a 2-run single to cut it to 8-6. The Rocks left 2 in scoring position in the 8th and Dash RP Greg Infante sat them down 1-2-3 in the 9th for his 1st save. Starter Nathan Jones allowed 2 ER over 6 IP for the win. The 3-7 hitters in the Dash lineup all had multiple hits led by a 4-5 day from C Luis Sierra, who had 2 doubles (4) and 3 RS. The Rocks are 8-9. A 3-game set at the Salem Red Sox starts Monday as Ivor Hodgson starts the opener.

A - Burlington: Cedar Rapids 7, Bees 6

DH Stovall 3-4, 2 2B (5), RBI (8), K, RS -- .220
3B F. Cruz 2-4, RS -- .157
1B Lewis 1-4, 2B (4), 3 RBI (14), K -- .237, not getting a lot of hits, but making them count
SS D. Batista 1-4, SF, RBI (7), E (10) -- .262
C Myers 0-5, RS -- .224
CF Testa 0-4, K -- .289

Sample 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K, WP -- 5.12 ERA
Odenbach 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K -- L, 1-1, 4.91 ERA
Mozingo 2/3 IP, ER, H, HRA -- BS, 3, 6.23 ERA
Hodge IP, BB, WP -- 2.79 ERA

* Cedar Rapids took command for good in the 8th, but the Bees did take 2 of 3 in the series. The Kernels scored 2 runs off Tyler Sample in the 1st and then plated another in the 2nd to make it 3-0. The Bees loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd and a Deivy Batista sac fly was followed by a 3-run Joey Lewis double to give the Bees a 4-3 lead. A Sample wild pitch scored a run in the 4th to tie the game at 4 but Ryan Stovall hit an RBI double in the 6th to give the Bees a 5-4 lead. Dusty Odenbach was pulled with 2 on and 1 out in the 8th and Harold Mozingo served up a 3-run homer to the first batter he faced, DH Casey Haerther, to give the Kernels a 7-5 lead. Fernando Cruz scored on a passed ball in the 9th and Wil Myers flew out with runners at the corners to end it. Starter Patrick Corbin allowed 5 ER over 7 IP to get the win to move to 3-0. The 7-8 hitters in the Kernels' lineup each had 2 hits as Haerther's 3 RBI gave him 6 for the season. The Bees are 6-12. A 3-game home set with the Beloit Snappers (A Twins) starts Monday. OF Hilton Richardson has had hamstring issues to force him from the lineup recently.