Royals on the Farm 9/1 -- Crow dominates

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Round Rock 1

1B Thorman 3-4, 2B (30), HR (22), RBI (82), RS -- .282
SS Falu 2-4, 2 RBI (44), SB (14) -- .270
RF Parraz 2-2, BB, 2B (24), RS -- .254
3B Moustakas 1-4, HR (14), RBI (45), RS -- .297
CF Dyson 0-3, SF, RBI (18), K -- .277
LF Lucas 0-4, K -- .308

Bannister 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 2 K -- 3.68 ERA
Herges 2 2/3 IP, ER, 6 H, K, WP -- W, 8-4, 4.86 ERA
Coleman 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K -- 2.37 ERA
Castaneda IP, BB -- 3.69 ERA

* The O-Royals were outhit, 13-8, but held the Express off the scoreboard for the most part to get the win. Both teams wasted chances early and Matt Herges got a bases-loaded double play to end the Express 5th. Jarrod Dyson hit a sac fly in the 5th and Irving Falu hit a 2-run single to put Omaha on top. Louis Coleman allowed an inherited runner to score in the 7th but Mike Moustakas and Scott Thorman went back-to-back for their 14th and 22nd homers of the season in the 8th. Omaha is 77-62. Luke Hochevar starts the Rosenblatt finale Thursday. Gil Meche and Lucas May both got called up to the KC roster when rosters expanded Wednesday. Kila Ka'aihue was named Omaha's Player of the Year. Bryan Bullington was named Omaha Pitcher of the Year. No argument either way there.

AA - NW Arkansas: rainout

* The game will be made up as part of a Thursday twinbill. Josh Fields got the September call-up today. Clint Robinson was named the NWA Player of the Year with Everett Teaford being the NWA Pitcher of the Year. However, Mike Moustakas was named the organization's George Brett Hitter of the Year and John Lamb was named Paul Splittorff Pitcher of the Year. Again, no arguments all around.

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

CF Norris 2-4, 2B (19), RBI (40) -- .245
LF Ortiz 2-4, BB, K, SB (30) -- .287
3B Frost 2-4 -- .235
C S. Perez 1-3, BB, RBI (53) -- .283
2B Navarro 1-4, 2B (12), RBI (37), RS, E (20) -- .239
SS Colon 1-5, K -- .273
DH Myers 1-2, 2 BB, SB (2) -- .340
Wilmington stranded 11.

Crow 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, BB, 13 K -- W, 2-2, 4.81 ERA, wow, that's what we've been waiting for
Dennick IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 2 K -- 5.06 ERA
Baez 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, K -- SV, 3, 4.19 ERA

* Aaron Crow ruled the mound Wednesday to lead the Rocks to the win. The Rocks stranded 2 in the 1st but moved ahead with 3 in the 4th on a Salvador Perez RBI groundout, Rey Navarro RBI double and Patrick Norris RBI single. Crow struck out the side in the 1st to announce his presence with authority, stranded 2 in the 5th and struck out the last 2 he faced before getting pulled in the 7th. The Rocks left the bases full in the 6th. A 2-run error by Navarro in the 8th pulled the Pelicans within 1 and Manauris Baez stranded 2 in the 9th to tiptoe to his 3rd save. The Rocks are 34-30. Buddy Baumann starts Thursday's series finale. Chris Dwyer was named Rocks Pitcher of the Year while Eric Hosmer was named Rocks Hitter of the Year. OK by me.

A - Burlington: Cedar Rapids 15, Bees 3

RF Testa 2-3, HBP, HR (12), 2 RBI (49), picked off, OF assist at second -- .280, maybe he'll finally get to Wilmington in 2011
CF Merrifield 1-4, HR (4), RBI (21), RS -- .233
SS McClure 1-4, RS -- .239

M. Mitchell 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB -- L, 1-9, 5.69 ERA
Encarnacion 0 IP, 5 ER, H, 4 BB -- 8.31 ERA
De La Rosa IP, 6 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA -- 5.32 ERA
Morizio 2 IP, H, K -- 5.52 ERA
R. Wood IP, H, K -- 7.56 ERA

* It was not a pretty night for most of the Bees pitchers that took the mound as the Kernels rolled. The Bees were looking good early as Whit Merrifield led off the game with his 4th pro homer and Carlo Testa knocked a 2-run homer for his 12th of the season to make it 3-0 Bees. Cedar Rapids started quietly with a run in the 2nd then racked up 3 runs in the 4th. The wheels came off for the Bees in the 5th as Cedar Rapids scored 11 runs on 7 walks, 3 singles and a grand slam. The Bees' offense stopped after the 1st. The Bees are 21-41. Game 2 is Thursday. Wil Myers and Bryan Paukovits were the honorees of the season at Burlington. Man, the Royals are batting 1.000 with the picks this season.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden is up, 3-2, in the 6th

SS Trapp 1-3, 2B (11), RBI (16), K -- .243
LF Pickett 0-3, RBI, K -- .100
DH Watts 0-3, K -- .271
CF Conner 1-2, BB, 2B, SB -- .500
C Cornstubble 0-3 -- .291
3B Zebroski 0-2, 2 K -- .244
RF Juan Polonia had an assist at third.

Billo 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 4.68 ERA

* The Chukars trail in the middle innings. Greg Billo gave up a solo homer in the 1st but Justin Trapp hit an RBI double in the 3rd to tie it. Ogden scratched out a run in the bottom of that inning but Jovan Pickett hit an RBI groundout in the 4th to tie it once more. Billo gave up a leadoff homer in the 4th and the Chukars have yet to answer that tally. Ogden has pulled away in the 6th off Billo and Allen Caldwell, so it's now 6-2. Murray Watts and Mike Mariot reaped the IF season honors. Watts was an obvious pick. Mariot had his good moments in his first pro season.

Rookie - Burlington: Johnson City 8, B-Royals 4 (JC leads best-of-3, 1-0)

SS Liberto 3-5, 2B, RBI, K, RS, SB -- .600
1B Stovall 3-5, 2B, RBI, picked off -- .600
C Escobar 2-4, K -- .500
DH Jenkins 0-5, K -- .000
CF Llanos 0-4, 3 K, OF assist at third -- .000

Keck 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB -- L, 0-1, 54.00 ERA
D. Hernandez 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K, HRA -- 5.40 ERA
Lohden 3 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- 3.00 ERA
Leaper 2 IP, UER, 2 H, WP -- 0.00 ERA

* Johnson City jumped all over Jon Keck and Daniel Hernandez to take the upper hand in the Appy League semifinal series. In retrospect, maybe they should have saved Leonel Santiago for game 1. Keck loaded the bases with 0 out in the 1st, gave up an RBI single and bases-loaded walk before a 2-run single made it 4-0. Daniel Hernandez came in to finish the inning. Mike Liberto doubled and stole home in the bottom of the 1st but the Cardinals got a 2-run homer in the 2nd off Hernandez. Liberto singled in a run in the 3rd but the Royals stranded 2 in the 4th and the 6th. Cole Lohden and J.J. Leaper gave up single runs in the 7th and 8th, but the Royals scored a run on an error and Ryan Stovall hit an RBI single in the 9th before the rally finally tapered off. The Royals will travel to Johnson City to fight for their playoff lives in game 2 Thursday. Ryan Stovall and Crawford Simmons were named the top players for the B-Royals.

Rookie - AZL: Henry Moreno and Robinson Yambati were honored for the AZL Royals. I don't remember a year in which I had no problem with any of the picks.