Royals on the Farm 7/8 -- Crow throws 7-inning whitewash, Myers notches 4 hits

On a side note, it's not every day you see a superstar in any sport, but especially basketball, basically admit he can't carry a team. Of all the choices Lebron had, I thought Miami was the worst option, followed by Cleveland at 1A. Wait, I take that back, New Jersey was the worst option, but Miami was a close 2nd. There's still only 1 basketball to go around, and the cap hit from those 3 guys is gonna put Pat Riley to the biggest test of any GM. I'm also not convinced of Bosh's greatness, and mark my words, injuries are bound to happen. I'm far from a Knicks fan, but I thought that was the best choice. A huge market ripe for a basketball superstar, he could (have) own(ed) the town with a good run with the Knicks. Too bad the team has a bad owner and not much better front office. I was hoping the hype all day was just a floated canard and Lebron would drop a bombshell, but I don't think he's that crafty. Jordan wouldn't have gone Miami. Hell, I agree with what Simmons wrote today on ESPN, Kobe wouldn't have gone Miami. I know Lebron probably cares nothing about measuring up to Kobe and only a couple notches more about Jordan, but I think he had a shot to move his image either way tonight, and I don't think it got better. He gained a lot more haters tonight than fans, I'd bet. They were showing people in Cleveland burning his jersey before the show was even done. Brutal.

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 4, Albuquerque 1

3B Thorman 2-3, HR (15), 3 RBI (54), K, RS -- .281
1B Ka'aihue 2-3, BB, HR (17), RBI (57), 2 RS -- .310
RF-CF Lough 0-4 -- .266
CF Ankiel 1-3, 2B (5), picked off -- .297
RF Parraz 1-1 -- .272
LF Gordon 0-3, BB, RS -- .310
C Pina 0-3, K -- .333

Hernandez 6 1/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K, WP -- W, 6-5, 5.82 ERA, and 0 HRA!
Herges 2/3 IP, H -- 5.15 ERA
B. Hardy IP, 2 H, 2 K -- 1.80 ERA
Rupe IP, 2 K -- SV, 3, 2.05 ERA

* Gaby Hernandez had his best start in many a moon and the O-Royals took out the 'Topes. Kila Ka'aihue led off the 2nd with his 17th homer of the season and Hernandez took a no-no into the 5th. He stranded 2 in scoring position in the 6th and, after 2 2-out walks, Scott Thorman slammed a 3-run homer for his 15th homer of the season in the bottom of the 6th to make it 4-0. Matt Herges came in with 1 on and 1 out in the 7th and gave up an RBI double for Albuquerque's only run. Blaine Hardy stranded 2 in the 8th and Josh Rupe finished it. Isotopes SP Jesus Castillo allowed 4 ER over 6 IP to fall to 0-3. C Lucas May had 2 hits. Omaha is 46-39. Phil Humber and Federico Castaneda start in Friday's double dip.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 8, San Antonio 0 (5-hitter)

DH Mejia 2-4, SF, 2B (17), HR (11), 3 RBI (48), K, 2 RS -- .273
1B C. Robinson 2-5, HR (16), 2 RBI (57), RS -- .318
2B Giavotella 2-5, 3B (4), RBI (33), 2 K, RS -- .287
RF Orlando 2-4, HBP, RBI (36), K -- .323
CF D. Robinson 1-3, BB, SF, RBI (32), 2 RS -- .303
LF Smith 1-4, K -- .295
* No Moustakas, he left for the Futures game with Jamie Romak temporarily taking his spot.

Crow 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K -- W, 6-6, 5.67 ERA, focus on the 7 scoreless, not the 1 BB/2 K in 7 innings
Sisk IP, K -- 2.82 ERA
Keating IP, H, 2 K -- 1.96 ERA

* The Naturals backed Aaron Crow with plenty of run support and Crow responded with his best start in a while to pick up his 6th win. Johnny Giavotella hit an RBI triple before Ernesto Mejia launched his 11th homer in the 1st for a 3-0 Nats lead. Derrick Robinson added a sac fly in the 4th and the Naturals added 2 in the 5th on a Clint Robinson 2-run homer (his 16th) as the hot hitting continues for Clint. Crow stranded 2 in scoring position in the 7th for the Missions as that was their best chance. Mejia hit a sac fly and Paulo Orlando hit an RBI single in the 9th to polish it off. Starter Wynn Pelzer took the loss for SA with 6 ER over 5 IP to drop to 6-8. Five Missions had a hit each. The Naturals are 11-2 and 3 games up on first. Game 2 is Friday.

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

DH Myers 4-5, 4 RBI (6) -- .438, nothing like tripling your RBI total in one game
LF Ortiz 4-5, 2B (13), RBI (26), 2 RS -- .308
3B-1B Frost 3-5, 2B (3), 2 HR (3), 3 RBI (6), 3 RS, E (3) -- .233, nothing like tripling your HR total in one game
CF Dyson 3-6, 2B (5), RBI (7), K, 3 RS, SB (4), OF assist at home -- .333, sweet night for the Rocks
SS Colon 2-6, K, RS, E (3) -- .162
1B Hosmer 2-5, 2B (27), RBI (50), K -- .354
C S. Perez 0-4, SF, RBI (29), PB (9) -- .251
RF Norris 2-5, 2 K, RS, E (6) -- .237
The Rocks stranded 10.

Baumann 4 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 6 H, BB, 6 K, WP -- 2.35 ERA
Cuevas 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 3-3, 6.32 ERA
Lowery IP, BB -- 0.00 ERA, comeback trail continues

* The Rocks broke out the bats for 21 hits and 11 runs to roll past the Hillcats Thursday. Wil Myers hit an RBI single in the 1st to start a great personal night but Lynchburg answered with 2 in the bottom of the 1st off Buddy Baumann. The Rocks took command for good with 5 in the 2nd on an Adam Frost RBI double, RBI singles by Adrian Ortiz, Eric Hosmer and Myers, and a Salvador Perez sac fly. Frost led off the 3rd with his 2nd homer for the Rocks. Lynchburg got that run back in the 4th but Jarrod Dyson and Rey Navarro teamed up to nail a runner at the plate to keep at least 1 run off the board. Frost led off the 5th with another homer for his 2nd of the game and 3rd of the season before Dyson hit an RBI double and Myers knocked a 2-run single to make it 11-3. Lynchburg had chances down the stretch but the Rocks kept them off the board. Starter Curtis Partch allowed 7 ER over 2 1/3 IP to fall to 3-7. 1B Neftali Soto had 3 hits and his 47th RBI and CF Felix Perez had 2 hits. The Rocks are 10-5. John Lamb pitches Friday's series finale. Jamie Romak was named the Carolina League Player of the Month for June after hitting .407 on the month.

A - Burlington: Bees 5, Cedar Rapids 4 (comp. of Wed. game)

2B Hall 3-5, HR (2), 2 RBI (30), 2 RS, E (21) -- .240, GW RBI
SS Alfaro 1-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (12), K, RS -- .186
DH Bonilla 1-4, RBI (15), 2 K -- .209
LF Testa 1-4, RS, SB (11) -- .254
1B Lewis 0-0, 4 BB -- .251, walktacular
C Robertson 0-3, S -- .182

M. Mitchell 2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K -- 4.95 ERA
Hayenga 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, WP -- 8.23 ERA
Encarnacion 2/3 IP, 2 UER, H, BB, 2 K, WP -- BS, 2, 4.97 ERA
Dennick 1 1/3 IP, 2 H -- W, 3-3, 4.29 ERA

* The Bees blew a 2-run lead in the 8th before rain suspended the game, but ended it in the 9th tonight. Gerard Hall got the scoring started with his 2nd homer of the season in the 3rd but Keaton Hayenga allowed a run in the 5th. A Hall error scored a Kernels run in the 6th but J.D. Alfaro clubbed a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning for his 3rd of the season. Jose Bonilla followed with an RBI single four batters later but the Bees squandered a chance at a bigger rally. Rodolfo Encarnacion came in for the 8th and CF Hilton Richardson made a key 2-run error to allow the Kernels to tie it. Fernando Cruz hit a leadoff single in the 9th and it was Hall who came through with a 2-out walkoff single to end it. RP Mike Kenney took the loss with an ER over 1 2/3 IP to fall to 2-1. Starter Fabio Martinez Mesa allowed 4 ER over 6 IP. Two Kernels had 2 hits, but one wasn't uber-emerging-prospect CF Mike Trout, who was 1-3, but he did have 2 SB (44) and his 9th CS. He's hitting .364.

Bees 5, Cedar Rapids 4 (reg. Thu. game)

SS Alfaro 2-3, BB, 2B (6), RBI (13), K, RS, CS (3) -- .200
2B Hall 2-5, 2B (20), K, 2 RS, E (22) -- .243
LF Testa 1-3, BB, RBI (29), K -- .255
DH Aparicio 1-3, BB, RBI (2) -- .300
RF Oriental 0-1, 2 HBP, SF, RBI (37), RS -- .253, actively trying to have 0 ABs Thursday, so close
1B Lewis 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .248

Marimon 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K -- 7.89 ERA
Hodge 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 5.49 ERA
Runion 2 2/3 IP, 3 H, K -- W, 2-1, 6.59 ERA, has been pristine of late
Encarnacion 1/3 IP, nothing -- SV, 3, 4.91 ERA

* Nope, not a repeat of Wednesday, but the Bees did come back once again to take down the Kernels. Cedar Rapids got a 2-run double off Sugar Ray Marimon in the 1st but Julio Aparicio singled in a run in the 2nd to cut the lead in half. Marimon gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the 3rd but Carlo Testa singled in a run to keep the Bees in the hunt in the inning. J.D. Alfaro took a bases-loaded walk in the 4th to cut it to 4-3 and it stayed that way until the 7th. Two singles started that inning for the Bees and a 1-out wild pitch scored Hall to tie the game before Rene Oriental hit a sac fly for the go-ahead run. Rodolfo Encarnacion came in with 2 on and 2 out in the 9th and shut the door for his 3rd save. RP Young-Il Jung allowed 2 ER in an IP to lose and fall to 0-1. Starter Ariel Pena allowed 3 ER over 6 IP. 1B Casey Haerther and LF Richard Cates had 3 hits for the Kernels and RF Matt Long had 2 hits. Trout was 0-1 but had 4 walks and 2 RS. The Bees are 8-5. The series wraps Friday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Orem 7, Chukars 6

LF Ferguson 3-5, RBI (6), 2 K, 2 RS, 2 SB -- .344
1B Kuebler 1-3, SF, HR (2), 3 RBI (11), RS -- .306
2B Espinal 1-4, BB, RBI (12), K, 2 RS, SB (4), 2 E (9) -- .311
SS Trapp 1-3, BB, S, K -- .259
RF Monger 1-4, 2B (4), K, RS, SB (6) -- .364
C Cornstubble 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .429

Mariot 5 IP, 5 R (2 ER), 6 H, BB, 6 K, HRA, E -- 1.99 ERA
Graffeo 3 IP, UER, 2 BB, 3 K -- BS, 1, 2.53 ERA
Morizio 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H -- L, 0-1, 0.87 ERA

* The Chukars dropped the opener with the Owlz (Rookie Halos). IF got out to a good start with 3 in the 1st on a Yowill Espinal RBI single and 2-run Jake Kuebler HR for his 2nd of the season. The Owlz got a 2-run dinger of their own off Mike Mariot in the 1st to dampen the good offensive start. Kuebler lifted a sac fly in the 3rd to make it 4-2 and an error scored a run in the 5th to make it 5-2 Chukars. Errors by Mariot and Espinal helped Orem tie it in the 5th but Tim Ferguson hit the go-ahead single in the 6th for IF. Another Espinal error factored into the Owlz tying it in the 6th and it was still tied at 6 when Matt Morizio took the mound in the 9th. Two singles started the inning and an infield fielder's choice (squeeze play perhaps?) ended up putting the game to rest. RP Dan Tillman pitched a scoreless inning to improve to 2-0. Starter Josh Blanco allowed 5 runs (4 ER) over 4 IP. By the way, IF won Thursday's game in 11 on a Travis Jones walkoff single. The Chukars are 10-8. The series wraps Friday.

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 4, Danville 2

C Jenkins 2-4, BB, 2B (6), RBI (5), RS -- .303
CF Llanos 1-4, SF, 2B (8), RBI (9), 2 K, E -- .297
RF Howard 1-4, RBI, 2 K, SB -- .250
2B Piterson 0-5, K, E (5) -- .370, great start has hit speedbump
3B Stovall 1-3, 2 BB, 3B (2), K, 2 RS -- .367
1B Baldwin 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K -- .102
SS McClure 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS, SB (2) -- .204

L. Santiago 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K, WP -- W, 4-0, 2.05 ERA, Bees bait?
Keck 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 0.00 ERA
Worrell IP, H -- 1.17 ERA
Bavera IP, H -- 0.00 ERA

* The Bees got another solid start from Leonel Santiago to overcome the Braves. Santiago stranded 2 in the 1st and got some support from a Ryan Jenkins RBI double in the 4th. Danville notched 2 runs in the 4th but the Royals tied it in the 5th on an Alex Llanos sac fly. They took the lead in the 6th as Ryan Stovall tripled and scored on a wild pitch and Anthony Howard hit an RBI single in his first game as a Chukar. Jonathon Keck and two other relievers didn't exactly cruise but finished the job from there. RP Matt Lewis took the loss with 2 ER over 2 1/3 IP to drop to 0-1. Starter Carlos Perez got 5 outs before getting pulled. The Royals are 10-7. Santiago was named Appy League Pitcher of the Week earlier in the day with 14 Ks and 3 hits allowed in 12 IP against Bluefield on the week.

Rookie - AZL: The Brewers are up, 8-3, on the Royals in the 7th. The Royals took out the Indians Wednesday.

2B Jos. Rodriguez 2-4, 2 K, RS, E (4) -- .268
DH Soto 1-2, BB, 2 RBI (4), SB -- .231
RF Costa 1-2, SF, RBI (2), K, RS -- .316
3B Cuthbert 1-3, K -- .310
C Shin 1-2, BB, K, RS, PB (2) -- .306
CF Conner 0-4, K -- .186
LF Blanco 1-3 -- .194
SS Liberto 0-3 -- .087

Yambati 1 2/3 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, BB, K -- 4.96 ERA, yowza
Lindsay 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K -- 2.25 ERA
Roualdes IP, H, 2 K -- 0.96 ERA
J. Sanchez 2 IP, 4 K -- 0.00 ERA

* The Brewers tanned Robinson Yambati and were on their way to a win late Thursday. Yambati allowed a run in the 1st but the Royals answered with a Victor Soto 2-run single to turn the lead around. The wheels fell off for Yambati in the 2nd as the Brew Crew cranked out 7 runs on 7 hits and a walk off the starter. Shane Costa added a sac fly in the 3rd but that's all the Royals have been able to get through 7 complete. The Royals were 9-4 entering play tonight.