Royals on the Farm 6/29 -- Colon debuts with 0-fer

Woo-hoo! Royals draftee Whit Merrifield had the national championship-winning hit in tonight's game 2 of the CWS title series for South Carolina. Let's carry that kind of performance over to your pro career, Whit. Nice job throughout the CWS. Plus some face time postgame tonight.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Oklahoma City 0

DH Thorman 2-4, HR (13), 3 RBI (46), RS -- .275, man, he's keeping it up with the bat
SS Mertins 2-4, 3B (2), HR (4), 2 RBI (19), RS -- .243
C Bellorin 2-4, K -- .164
LF Lough 1-5, K, 2 RS -- .273
1B Ka'aihue 0-4 -- .307, BA slipping, slipping
2B Lucas 1-4 -- .331
RF Parraz 1-4, K, OF assist at home -- .267

Baez 6 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 4.02 ERA, Manauris gets first AAA win in style, just ignore the BB/K
Herges IP, nothing -- 4.71 ERA
B. Hardy 1 1/3 IP, H, 2 K -- 1.89 ERA, I predict he's the next O-Royal to get the call
Rupe 2/3 IP, 2 H, K, WP -- 2.36 ERA

* Manauris Baez led four Omaha pitchers in an 8-hit shutout of the RedHawks. Kurt Mertins slammed a 2-run homer in the 1st for his 4th of the season to get Omaha a 2-run lead before the Royals made an out. RF Jordan Parraz kept the shutout intact early with an OF assist at the plate to end the 2nd. Scott Thorman put 3 more runs up with one swing of the bat in the 5th as his 3-run homer (his 13th) made it 5-0 Omaha. Baez stranded 2 in the 6th and handed it off to the bullpen in the 7th. Josh Rupe left 2 in scoring position in the 9th. RedHawks SP Elizardo Ramirez allowed 5 runs (4 ER) over 5 IP to drop to 4-3 with a 5.53 ERA. C Jarrod Saltalamacchia and DH Ryan Garko had 2 hits for OKC. The Royals are 41-36. Omaha has Wednesday off.

AA - NWA: all-star break

* The Nats-driven TL North team takes on the TL South Wednesday.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Frederick 2

LF Ortiz 4-5, 2B (12), HR, 2 RBI (23), RS -- .305
2B Navarro 2-3, HBP, 2B (5), RBI (19), RS, SB (4) -- .242
3B Romak 2-4, picked off, E (6) -- .292
RF Francis 2-4, K, RS, SB (2) -- .261
1B Hosmer 0-2, 2 BB, K, picked off -- .351
SS Colon 0-5, 2 K -- .000, can only go up from here, right?
C S. Perez 0-3, BB -- .255

Lamb 4 IP, UER, 6 H, BB, 7 K, E (2), WP -- 1.77 ERA
Hodgson 4 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- W, 4-6, 4.97 ERA
Mozingo 1/3 IP, H -- SV, 2, 4.71 ERA

* Christian Colon's debut probably wasn't as he hoped but the Rocks did get the win. Colon's first pro AB, you ask? Grounded into a 5-4-3 DP. The Keys used a John Lamb error to score a run in the 1st but Lamb struck out the side after a leadoff single in the 2nd. Adrian Ortiz clubbed a 2-run homer in the 3rd for his 1st of the season to give Wilmington a 2-1 lead. Colon followed with a K in his 2nd AB. Lamb got 2 key Ks with the bases loaded to finish out the 3rd and Rey Navarro hit an RBI double in the 4th to make it 3-1 Rocks. In Colon watch, he grounded out in his 3rd AB in the 5th. A 7th inning Colon forceout ended the inning and he K'd to end the Rocks 9th. Ivor Hodgson stranded 2 in the 8th and Harold Mozingo allowed an RBI single in the 9th before closing it out for his 2nd save. Keys SP Oliver Drake allowed 3 ER over 7 IP to fall to 2-3. RF Ronnie Welty and 3B Billy Rowell had 2 hits for Frederick. Rowell also had 2 errors (19). The Rocks are 4-2. Tim Melville starts the first of 3 at home Wednesday versus the Lynchburg Hillcats (4-2, A-Adv. Reds).

A - Burlington: Bees 5, Peoria 3

RF Oriental 2-4, 2 RBI (29), K, RS, OF assist at first -- .243
3B F. Cruz 2-4, 2B (8), RBI (11) -- .232
DH Aparicio 1-4, RBI, K, RS, CS -- .250
C Myers 0-3, BB, RS -- .289
1B Lewis 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS -- .257
LF Testa 0-4, 2 K -- .263

Odenbach 5 IP, 2 H, 4 K, WP -- W, 3-5, 5.09 ERA, between he and Baumann, the relievers are inheriting the rotation
Encarnacion 2 IP, ER, H, BB, 2 K -- 5.33 ERA
Sirrett 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, HRA -- 5.71 ERA
Runion 1 1/3 IP, 2 K -- SV, 1, 8.31 ERA, wow, nice outing

* A 4-run 3rd was the key to the Bees' first win of the second half. The Bees left the bases full in the 2nd but loaded 'em up again with no outs in the 3rd before Rene Oriental hit a 2-run single, Fernando Cruz singled in a run and Julio Aparicio hit an RBI forceout to make it 4-0. Aparicio scored on an error in the 6th and, after Dusty Odenbach retired the last 8 he faced, Rodolfo Encarnacion lost the shutout with a run in the 7th. Onassis Sirrett gave up a solo homer in the 8th and then allowed another run before escaping the inning with a 1-run lead. Sam Runion was lockdown (did I just write that?) for the last 4 outs for his 1st save of the season. Peoria SP Nick Struck allowed 4 runs (2 ER) over 4 IP to drop to 2-8. 2B Matt Cerda had 2 hits for the Chiefs. The Bees are 1-4. C Juan Graterol was put on the DL with a fractured hamate bone (think that's a hand/wrist bone?).

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Casper 9, Chukars 1

SS Trapp 2-4, K, CS (2), E (2) -- .308
3B C. Figueroa 2-3, E (2) -- .333
C David 2-3 -- .294
DH Watts 1-4, HR (3), RBI (9), RS -- .267
LF Ferguson 1-4 -- .286

Alexander 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 0-2, 6.23 ERA
Graffeo 1 1/3 IP, 4 UER, 3 H, BB, 2 K, 2 WP -- 4.50 ERA
Graham 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 2.57 ERA

* The Chukars offense couldn't generate any runs as the Ghosts coasted to the win. The Chukars loaded the bases with 1 out in the 3rd but left 'em loaded. They would only strand 3 in the other 8 innings combined. Casper smacked Scott Alexander around for 3 runs in the 4th and 2 in the 5th as a Nick Graffeo wild pitch allowed 1 of the runs in to make it 5-0 Ghosts. Casper added a 2-run triple in the 6th as part of a 4-run rally to make it 9-0. Murray Watts led off the 7th with his 3rd homer of the season to account for the Chukars' only run. Starter Tyler Gagnon pitched 6 scoreless frames to get his first win for Casper this season. 1B Jordan Ballard and DH Robert De La Cruz each had 3 hits and LF Corey Dickerson had 2 hits. IF is 3-6.

Rookie - Burlington: Bluefield 5, B-Royals 1

CF Llanos 1-4, RBI (4), K -- .242
2B Piterson 0-4, K -- .520
3B Stovall 0-3, BB -- .304
1B Baldwin 1-4, K, E (5) -- .111
SS McClure 0-3, K -- .192

Giovenco 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 6 K, E, pickoff -- L, 0-2, 4.91 ERA
Bavera 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 K, balk -- 0.00 ERA
Mazur 2 1/3 IP, 2 UER, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 3.38 ERA

* The Royals only managed 3 hits in the loss to the O's. Bluefield plated 2 in the 3rd and Edul Escobar doubled and scored in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half. The Orioles scored another run in the 4th off Mike Giovenco and the Royals didn't have a hit after the 4th. Burlington stranded 2 in the 9th and the Orioles added 2 late runs. Orioles starter Angel Cespedes went 8 IP of an UER allowed to move to 2-0. RF Luis Ramirez had 3 hits for Bluefield and three others had 2 hits.

Rookie - AZL: The Royals scored 3 in the 9th to beat the Cubs Monday. A throwing error scored the first run in the 9th, Jose Rodriguez tied it with an RBI groundout and Jarrod Dyson hit a walkoff single. Dyson ended up with 3 hits.

The Royals are up, 6-4, on the Reds in the 8th

CF Dyson 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI (6), K, RS, OF assist at home -- .542, think he's ready to move up
DH Conner 2-3, K, RS -- .238
SS Mateo 1-4, RBI (3), K, E (6) -- .231
1B Moreno 2-4, 2B (5), RBI (8), K, 2 E (3) -- .464
3B Cuthbert 1-4, 2B, K, RS -- .231
C Shin 1-4, K -- .286
LF Blanco 0-2, S, SF, RBI (3), RS -- .227
2B Liberto 0-2, S, RS -- .182

Pimentel IP, ER, H, 2 BB -- 8.10 ERA
Y. Ventura 5 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA
Sanchez 2/3 IP, 2 H, K -- 0.00 ERA

* The Royals came back to take a 3-run lead but are fighting off the Reds in the 7th. Julio Pimentel had another rocky rehab outing as he allowed a run in his inning of work. Yordano Ventura endured 2 errors as the Reds added another run in the 2nd. Jarrod Dyson hit an RBI single in the 3rd and Henry Moreno hit an RBI double in the 4th to tie it. Dyson slapped a 2-run triple to break the tie in the 7th and Daniel Mateo followed with an RBI groundout to make it 5-2 Royals. Ventura was pulled with 2 on and 1 out in the 7th and Jose Sanchez allowed 2 runs before Dyson ended the rally with an OF assist at the plate. Jerico Blanco hit a sac fly in the 8th. I'll bring you the thrilling conclusion tomorrow, if there is a thrilling one. It may be a boring conclusion. Starter Jonathan Correa allowed 2 runs (1 ER) over 4 IP. Two Reds had 2 hits.