Royals on the Farm 5/9

AAA - Omaha: New Orleans 4, O-Royals 1

SS Betemit 3-4, 3B (2), SB -- .262
2B Falu 2-5, SB (5) -- .296
CF Miller 1-4, RBI (5), K -- .179
LF Gordon 0-3, BB, K -- .227
DH Lough 0-4, K -- .246
RF Parraz 1-1, 3 BB, 2B (5), RS -- .184
The Royals stranded 10.

Humber 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- L, 2-3, 3.93 ERA, quality start
Marte 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, HRA -- 5.28 ERA

* New Orleans bookended 2-run innings and Omaha had trouble generating much offense. Phil Humber gave up a 2-run homer in the 1st but allowed only 2 more hits and a walk over 7 innings. The Royals stranded 2 in the 1st and 2nd and got their only run on a Jai Miller RBI single in the 4th. Omaha left the bases juiced in the 6th and former Royal Donnie Murphy got to Omaha again with a 2-run homer in the 9th off Victor Marte to put some gravy on the lead. The Royals hit into double plays in both the 8th and 9th. Zephyrs SP Brad Stone allowed an ER over 5 IP to get his 1st win for NO. 1B Doug Mientkiewicz had 2 hits and Murphy and 3B Hector Luna each had their 2 RBI. The Royals are 14-15. Gaby Hernandez pitches Monday's series finale. I forgot Donnie Murphy never played for Omaha because he was around back in Baird's day when he didn't acknowledge AAA existed and everybody jumped from AA to the pros.

AA - NWA: Tulsa 9, Naturals 0

3B Mertins 2-3 -- .296
2B Giavotella 2-4 -- .303
DH Moustakas 1-4 -- .379
CF D. Robinson 1-3, BB, 2 K, OF assist at first -- .305
1B C. Robinson 0-4, K -- .276, ejected in 9th
RF Van Stratten 0-4 -- .305

Crow 5 IP, 7 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, HRA -- L, 1-2, 4.54 ERA, ungood
B. Hardy 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K -- 0.95 ERA, scoreless IP streak snapped
R. Hardy IP, H, BB -- 2.19 ERA

* Aaron Crow was battered and Tulsa got a great start from Bruce Billings for the shutout win. Crow stranded 2 in the 3rd and everything was fine until he served up a 2-run, 2-out homer in the 4th. The first 5 Drillers reached in the 5th as Tulsa rallied for 3 runs to make it 5-0. The Nats stranded 2 in the 6th and Crow was pulled with 2 on and 0 out in the bottom of the inning. Blaine Hardy allowed the inherited runners to score plus 2 more runs to make it 9-0 Tulsa. The Naturals stranded 2 in the 9th. Billings allowed 4 hits and 2 walks over 7 IP to move to 2-3. Three Drillers had multiple hits led by a 3-3 game from C Dayton Buller. DH Jeff Kindel had 3 RBI (18). NW Arkansas is 19-10.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Frederick 8, Blue Rocks 2

1B Hosmer 3-4, 2B (9), 2 RBI (20), K -- .415, had all 3 of Wilmington's hits
RF Ortiz 0-4, 2 K, RS, OF assist at home -- .279

Caldera 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA, WP -- L, 1-2, 4.09 ERA
J. Thompson IP, 5 ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- 11.17 ERA, may be time to bid Wilmington farewell
Bowden IP, H, 2 K -- 1.64 ERA

* There was no no-hitter drama but it may as well have been as the Blue Rocks got only 3 hits from Eric Hosmer and didn't break up the shutout until the 9th. Hosmer hit a 2-out single in the 1st and Alex Caldera and Keys SP Kenny Moreland had a scoreless duel going into the 4th. The Keys got a run in the 4th and Caldera served up a 2-run homer in the 5th to make it 3-0 Keys. Moreland retired 14 in a row at one point until Hosmer got the Rocks' second hit in the 7th. James Thompson was again ineffective after coming in for the 7th as Frederick got 5 runs including a solo homer and a 3-run homer. Hosmer hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 9th but couldn't carry the team as the only one hitting. Moreland allowed 2 hits and a walk with 10 Ks over 7 IP to move to 2-1. CF Kyle Hudson and 1B Joe Mahoney had 2 hits for Frederick. Former Orioles top-level prospect 3B Billy Rowell hit a 3-run homer for his 4th of the season and his 17th RBI. The Rocks are 11-19. A 4-game set with the Lynchburg Hillcats (14-16, A-Adv. Reds) starts Monday with Jairo Cuevas starting for the Rocks.

A - Burlington: Bees 5, Beloit 1

C Myers 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI (20), RS, SB (5) -- .255
DH Lewis 2-5, K -- .252
SS R. Wood 2-4, RS -- .263
CF H. Richardson 1-5, 2B (2), RBI (7), K, RS, SB (10) -- .202
LF Testa 1-4, SF, 2B (5), RBI (12), K -- .247
3B Frost 1-4, RBI (6), K -- .300
The Bees stranded 10.

Lamb 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K, pickoff -- W, 1-3, 1.91 ERA, another good start
Odenbach 3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, K, WP -- 3.57 ERA
Encarnacion IP, ER, H, BB, WP -- 9.82 ERA

* The Bees almost got a combined shutout from John Lamb and co. to even the series with the Snappers. Wil Myers singled home a run in the 1st and Lamb struck out the side for a nice start all-around for Burlington. Hilton Richardson hit a 2-out RBI double in the 2nd and Carlo Testa hit a sacrifice fly in the 3rd to make it 3-0 Bees. Lamb retired 10 of the last 11 he faced and handed the ball to Dusty Odenbach for the 6th. Myers hit an RBI single in the 7th and Adam Frost singled in a run in the 8th as the Bees carried a 5-0 lead into the 9th. Rodolfo Encarnacion gave up a run-scoring wild pitch in the 9th but stranded 2 to close it out. Beloit SP Peter Kennelly allowed 3 ER over 4 IP to lose and drop to 0-2. 3B Anderson Hidalgo had 3 doubles (8) to move to .343. The Bees are 12-19. A 3-game set at the Cedar Rapids Kernels (17-14, A Angels) starts Monday.