Royals on the Farm 5/5 -- Montgomery gets first AA win

AAA - Omaha: Oklahoma City 9, O-Royals 2

C Clark 2-3, BB -- .176
LF Gordon 1-4, HR (2), RBI (2), K, RS -- .333
RF Parraz 1-3, BB, RBI (10), K -- .176
DH Lough 1-4, K -- .262
CF Miller 0-4, 3 K -- .175

Mendoza 2 IP, ER, 2 H, K, HRA -- L, 0-1, 3.60 ERA
Castaneda IP, 5 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- 9.00 ERA, that kinda came out of nowhere
Bl. Johnson 3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, WP, balk -- 9.00 ERA
Herges 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K -- 3.46 ERA

* It wasn't a good day for at least 2 of the 4 Omaha pitchers used Wednesday. Luis Mendoza started and gave up a 2-out solo homer in the 1st and then Federico Castaneda pitched a forgettable (for him) 3rd that saw OKC score 5 runs on 5 hits and a walk, including a 3-run homer. Omaha loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd but Alex Gordon grounded into an inning-ending DP. OKC scored a run off Blake Johnson in the 5th and then 2 more in the 6th to make it 9-0. Omaha loaded the bases again with 1 out in the 7th and Irving Falu grounded into an inning-ending double play this time. Gordon cracked a solo homer for his 2nd of the season in the 8th and Jordan Parraz hit a 2-out RBI single but the next 4 Royals went down to end it. RedHawks SP Michael Kirkman pitched 5 scoreless innings for his 4th win. Five Hawks had 2 hits, as CF Brandon Boggs was 2-5 with his 4th homer and 4 RBI (12). 2B Hernan Iribarren drove in 3 runs (13). Omaha is 13-13. Bryan Bullington pitches Thursday's series finale. According to the game notes from Tuesday, apparently Alex Gordon made a couple of unsuccessful diving catch attempts in his LF debut. Kila Ka'aihue and Bullington were named the Omaha player and pitcher of the month for April. The Royals traded OF Buck Coats to the White Sox for a PTBNL after he hit .315 in 15 games for Omaha.

AA - NWA: Naturals 3, Springfield 1

3B Moustakas 1-2, 2 BB, HR (6), RBI (17), RS -- .420, all of a sudden taking walks...
CF D. Robinson 0-4, BB, 3 K, picked off -- .333, not a good day
1B C. Robinson 1-2, 2 BB, RS, picked off -- .281
RF Van Stratten 0-3, BB, K -- .284
NWA stranded 10, as they were a mighty 0-11 with RISP.

Montgomery 5 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 8 K, balk -- W, 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 97 pitches
Coleman 2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 3 K, WP -- 3.07 ERA
B. Hardy IP, BB -- SV, 2, 0.00 ERA

* Mike Montgomery showed his stuff in his official AA debut and the Nats won despite a middling offensive day. Montgomery worked around a walk and HBP to strike out the side in the 1st and Clint Robinson walked and scored on a wild pitch in the 2nd. Springfield tied it in the 3rd but Montgomery struck out 2 in the inning. Nick Van Stratten hit into a bases-loaded double play in the 3rd and the Nats stranded 2 in the 4th. They loaded the bases again in the 5th and got another run-scoring wild pitch but left 2 in scoring position. Mike Moustakas provided the only Naturals RBI with a solo homer in the 7th for his 6th of the season. Louis Coleman stranded 2 in the 8th and Blaine Hardy pitched the 9th for his 2nd save. Cards SP Shaun Garceau took the loss with 2 ER over 5 IP. He walked 9. Three Cards had a hit each. NWA is 17-8 and 4 1/2 games up on first. Everett Teaford starts Thursday. Derrick Robinson and Edgar Osuna were named NWA's player and pitcher of the month for April.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Salem 11, Blue Rocks 3

LF Walton 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI (3), 2 K, RS -- .100
2B F. Garcia 0-4, RBI (4) -- .190
1B Hosmer 1-3 -- .407
CF Ortiz 1-4, K -- .303
C S. Perez 1-3, BB, RS -- .323
SS Navarro 1-4 -- .125
The Rocks did turn 4 double plays.

Cuevas 1 1/3 IP, 8 ER, 6 H, BB, K, 3 HRA -- L, 2-3, 8.06 ERA, not good day for ERA or WHIP
Baez 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 K -- 4.43 ERA, Rocks pitchers didn't offer much resistance Wed.
Baumann 3 IP, H, 3 BB, 5 K -- 1.53 ERA, Buddy did OK tho

* A 10-run 2nd helped Salem keep the Rocks' woes going. It was a quiet 1st but then the Salem 2nd went walk, 2-run homer, homer, single, flyout, HBP, 2-run triple, RBI single, 2-run homer (in comes Manauris Baez for Jairo Cuevas), walk, double, RBI groundout, RBI single, K (mercifully). Wow. Jamar Walton led off the 2nd with his 1st homer of the year, but at that point, 1 run was a drop in the bucket. Salem added a run off Baez in the 6th. Fernando Garcia hit a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the 7th and Walton hit an RBI double in the 8th but that was it. Sox SP Stolmy Pimentel allowed an ER over 5 1/3 IP for the win. Five Sox had multiple hits. Four had multiple RBI. Wilmington is 10-16 and in the cellar of the division. Eric Hosmer and Montgomery were named Wilmington's player and pitcher of the month for April. Apparently Juan Rivera isn't on the DL. Tim Melville will try to regroup on the mound for the Rocks Thursday.

A - Burlington: Kane County 6, Bees 1

C Graterol 1-4, 2B (2), RBI (3), K -- .188
DH Myers 0-2, 2 BB -- .238
CF Richardson 0-3, S, 2 K -- .227

Herrera 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 4 K -- L, 2-1, 2.97 ERA
Dennick 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 9.64 ERA

* It seems like the Bees always have trouble with Kane County. The Cougars roughed up Kelvin Herrera a little and the Bees' offense went nowhere. Kane County scored 1 in the 2nd and the Bees left 2 in scoring position in the 4th. Salem added a run in the 5th and 2 in the 6th on 4 doubles. Ryan Dennick then gave up a run in the 7th and another in the 8th. Juan Graterol hit an RBI double in the 7th to spoil the shutout but the Bees didn't threaten again. KC SP Ian Krol pitched 6 scoreless for his 1st win of the season for the Cougars. Three Cougars had multiple hits. The Bees are 10-17. IF Ryan Stovall was placed on the DL to make room for Ryan Wood. Can't find who Burlington's player and pitcher of the month for April were. I assume maybe Herrera and Myers or Carlo Testa?