Royals on the Farm 6/19 -- Naturals pop corks, er, pull tabs

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 10, Round Rock 4

CF Lough 2-5, 3B (6), HR (6), 3 RBI (27), K, RS -- .278, sufficiently recovered from slow April
DH Thorman 2-4, 2B (14), RBI (38), RS -- .253
LF Gordon 1-5, 2 RBI (32), K, RS -- .349
1B Ka'aihue 1-5, 2B (13), 2 RBI (43), RS -- .330
2B Lucas 1-3, BB, HR (3), 2 RBI (14), RS, E (4) -- .346, note the position
SS Falu 1-4, BB, 3 RS -- .289
RF Parraz 0-4 -- .258

Baez 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, K, HRA -- 7.71 ERA, yes, that's Manauris, making what I assume is a spot start
Castaneda 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 3-0, 2.88 ERA, showing why KC plucked him out of Mex League
Rupe IP, H, K -- 1.99 ERA

* Omaha fired up the offense and won another over Round Rock. Manauris Baez was brought up from Wilmington to make the start and allowed a run in the 1st before the O-Royals picked him up with 2 in the 2nd on a 2-run Ed Lucas homer (his 3rd). Baez left 2 in scoring position in the 2nd and David Lough launched a 3-run homer in the 3rd (his 6th) to make it 5-1 Omaha. Baez was chipped for another run in the 3rd and then gave up a 2-run homer in the 5th before getting pulled an out shy of qualifying for the win. Omaha regained control in the 8th as Kila Ka'aihue hit a 2-run double followed by a Scott Thorman RBI double to make it 8-4. Alex Gordon put it on ice with a 2-run single in the 9th. Express SP Shane Loux allowed 5 runs (4 ER) over 6 IP to drop to 2-3. Four Express batters had 2 hits. Omaha is 37-30 and maintains at least a share of first place. RP Barry Bowden has also been promoted to AAA from Wilmington. OF Rick Ankiel aggravated his quad injury and has returned to KC. That deal is already turning up aces for Dayton Moore. One thing is apparent, Dayton needs to shuttle some guys to make room for AG and Kila in KC, and if David Lough and Ed Lucas keep it up they'll be knocking on the door too. Lucas hasn't hit like this at AAA before, but I don't think it's that much of a fluke. And that doesn't even bring the streaky Jordan Parraz into the equation. Or Irving Falu. Or Mike Moustakas, who's a whole 'nother story. Bryan Bullington is set to start Sunday's game 3.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 11, Springfield 8

LF Seratelli 3-4, HBP, 2B (3), 4 RBI (17) -- .291
3B Moustakas 2-5, 2 2B (19), 3 RBI (62), 2 RS -- .347
RF Van Stratten 2-5, 3 RBI (25), RS, SB (8), OF assist at home -- .287, Pipeline favorite keeps getting it done
2B Giavotella 3-3, BB, S, RBI (21), 3 RS, SB (9), E (8) -- .281
1B C. Robinson 3-3, 2 BB, 2B (25), 3 RS, E (8) -- .294
CF D. Robinson 1-6, K, CS (11) -- .294
DH Smith 1-4, BB, K -- .299
NWA stranded 11.

B. Johnson 6 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, K, WP -- W, 1-1, 6.75 ERA, not often you get a win with a 9.00 ERA on the night
Sisk 2 2/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K -- 2.11 ERA, nice K night
Chavez 1/3 IP, H, K, 2 WP -- 5.40 ERA

* The Naturals clinched the first-half title with a late offensive outburst. Blake Johnson continued his struggles as Springfield scored a run in the 1st but Nick Van Stratten hit a 2-out RBI single in the 1st and Anthony Seratelli took a bases-loaded HBP to make it 2-1 as NWA left 'em loaded. The lead didn't last a half-inning as Johnson allowed 3 runs in the 2nd. The Cards added 2 in the 4th to make it 6-2. Seratelli hit an RBI single in the 5th to trim the lead to 3 and NWA broke out for 5 in the 6th on a 2-run Mike Moustakas double, a Van Stratten RBI single and, again, a big hit by Seratelli as a 2-run double made it 8-6 Nats. Johnny Giavotella executed a successful squeeze bunt in the 6th followed by a Moustakas RBI double and Van Stratten RBI force out to make it 11-6. Things got a little nerve-wracking in the 9th as the first 2 Cardinals got into scoring position but Van Stratten turned a flyout into a key DP with an assist at the plate. Clint Robinson made a run-scoring error and Chris Chavez gave up an RBI double before finishing off the title-clinching victory. Cards SP Gary Daley took the loss with 7 ER over 5 1/3 IP to fall to 3-8. CF Daryl Jones and DH Tyler Henley had 3 hits for Springfield. Two others had 2 hits. The Nats are 40-27. The series wraps Sunday evening.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 4, Winston-Salem 3 (10)

SS Navarro 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (17), RS -- .242
3B Romak 2-4, BB, GW RBI (44), K -- .289
1B Hosmer 2-4, BB, 2B (24), 2 RS, key SB (10) -- .357
DH Walton 2-4, 2B (4), K, picked off -- .177
LF Ortiz 1-5, K -- .293

Baumann 5 IP, BB, 5 K -- 1.99 ERA, man, maybe move to rotation is in order
Barrera IP, 3 ER, 5 H, WP -- 18.00 ERA
Lafferty 4 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- W, 1-1, 4.44 ERA

* Wilmington came back to salvage some moral positivity for the first half with another win over the Dash. Buddy Baumann made the most of his first career start with 5 near-perfect innings. A run-scoring error got the Rocks on the board in the 3rd but the lead evaporated as Henry Barrera gave up a 3-run Dash 6th. Rey Navarro evened it up with a 2-run homer for his 3rd of the season in the bottom of the 6th and neither team could score again through 9. Eric Hosmer drew a 1-out walk in the 9th, stole second, and scored on a Jamie Romak walkoff single to end it. RP Greg Infante got 1 out with 1 ER to lose and fall to 1-2. Starter Charles Leesman allowed 3 runs (2 ER) over 5 1/3 IP. DH Ozzie Lewis had 2 hits and his 34th RBI for the Dash. The Rocks are 31-37. RP Starling De La Rosa was shifted to Burlington. Ivor Hodgson starts the final game of the first half Sunday.

A - Burlington: Bees 8, Cedar Rapids 6 (7/comp. of Fri. game)

3B F. Cruz 2-2, BB, 2B (6), RS -- .221
RF Oriental 1-3, BB, HR (4), 2 RBI (23), 2 K, 2 RS -- .236
CF Richardson 1-3, 2 RBI (22), RS -- .193
SS Hall 1-4, 2B (17), 2 RBI (25) -- .232
LF Testa 1-3, SF, RBI (20), K, RS -- .260
1B Lewis 0-4, RBI (36), K, RS -- .272
C Myers 0-3, BB, K -- .286

Sample 2 IP, BB, K -- 4.00 ERA, rain washed out start
Paukovits IP, 4 R (2 ER), 5 H, HRA -- 3.32 ERA
Odenbach 2 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, K, HRA -- 5.40 ERA
Dennick 1 1/3 IP, nothing -- W, 2-3, 5.08 ERA

* The Bees carried over a 2-0 lead from Friday and made it stand in a 7-inning victory Saturday. Rene Oriental smacked a 2-run homer in the 2nd before the rains came Friday. Bryan Paukovits picked it up in the 3rd for Tyler Sample and promptly allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and a 2-run Deivy Batista error at second. Hilton Richardson hit an RBI forceout in the 4th and Gerard Hall came through with a big 2-run double to make it 5-4 Bees. Richardson added an RBI single in the 6th but Dusty Odenbach allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on a homer and sac fly. Joey Lewis broke it back open with an RBI fielder's choice in the 7th and Carlo Testa added a sac fly as Ryan Dennick sat down all 4 Kernels he faced for the win. RP Manaurys Correa allowed 3 runs (1 ER) over 3 IP to fall to 1-1. Starter Garrett Richards allowed 2 ER over 3 IP. SS Jon Karcich had 2 hits for CR, as well as his 14th error.

Cedar Rapids 6, Bees 2 (7/reg. Sat. game)

RF Oriental 1-3, RBI (24), 2 K -- .237
LF Del Rosario 1-3, RBI (2), 2 K -- .286, not getting regular PT yet
DH Myers 0-1, 3 BB, SB (9) -- .285
CF Testa 1-2, 2 BB, 3B (8), K, RS -- .263

Hayenga 0 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 3 H, 3 BB, E -- L, 1-5, 8.56 ERA, he and Runion on same staff equals organization's Toxic Twins
Hodge 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K -- 6.06 ERA
Sirrett 2 IP, H, 4 K -- 5.52 ERA
Encarnacion IP, K -- 3.97 ERA

* A nightmare 1st resulted in a Kernels win as they clinched the first-half division title. Keaton Hayenga's outing went walk, walk, run-scoring Hayenga error, 2-run single, 2-run triple (batter scored on J.D. Alfaro error), walk (steal), RBI single, pulled. Mitch Hodge stranded 2. Carlo Testa led off the Bees 2nd with a triple and scored on a Luis Del Rosario single. Rene Oriental hit a bases-loaded RBI single in the 5th but Burlington left the bases full. That was their last, best chance. RP Mike Kenney pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to move to 2-0. Starter Fabio Martinez Mesa allowed 2 ER over 4 2/3 IP. LF Mike Trout and 3B Jeremy Cruz had 2 hits for the Kernels. The series and first half wrap up Sunday.