Royals on the Farm 6/30

Anybody else hear the rumors about the Soria and Francoeur for Hamels deal? I don't know how much, if any, stock to put in it, but I'd take it. The Royals pitching staff has been an abyss this season.

AAA - Omaha: Storm Chasers 18, Albuquerque 13

2B Giavotella 3-5, BB, 2B (23), HR (6), 3 RBI (56), 3 RS -- .327
DH Ka'aihue 2-4, BB, HR (6), 4 RBI (37), K, 3 RS -- .312
CF Cain 2-3, BB, HBP, HR (9), RBI (43), 3 RS, SB (8) -- .303
SS Aviles 2-5, BB, HR (8), RBI (14), 2 RS -- .333
1B Robinson 2-5, 2 2B (21), K, RS, CS -- .331
LF Orlando 1-5, 3 RBI (26), RS, E (4) -- .233
RF Falu 1-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI (22), 2 RS -- .306, quietly gets it done, and they have him hitting 9th
3B Zawadzki 1-5, RBI (32), K, RS, E (9) -- .255

Mazzaro 4 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 6 BB, 3 K, 2 HRA -- 4.97 ERA
Pucetas 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, K, 2 HRA -- W, 5-4, 5.55 ERA
Hardy 2/3 IP, UER, 2 BB, K -- 7.14 ERA
Tejeda 1 1/3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K -- 2.41 ERA
Sisk IP, 3 K -- 1.42 ERA, nice

* An 8-run 6th propelled the Chasers to the shootout victory. Vin Mazzaro stumbled out of the gate as the Isotopes scored 4 in the 1st. Omaha got a 2-run homer from Kila Ka'aihue in the 1st for his 2nd straight AB with a homer and his 6th of the season. Paulo Orlando hit an RBI groundout in the 2nd and an error scored another run to tie it. Lorenzo Cain went deep in the 3rd for his 9th homer of the season to make it 5-4 Omaha. Johnny Giavotella then touched 'em all in the 4th for a 3-run shot for his 6th of the season. Mazzaro and Pucetas got hammered in the 5th for 6 runs as Albuquerque took a 10-8 lead. Pucetas then gave up a 2-run homer in the 6th to make it 12-8 'Topes. Mike Aviles got the Chasers started in the 6th with a solo homer for his 8th at AAA, and Ka'aihue hit a 2-run single, Orlando hit a 2-run single, and Irving Falu put the exclamation point on the rally with a 3-run homer for his 1st of the season. Albuquerque scored a run in the 7th, but Omaha scored 2 in their half on a Lance Zawadzki groundout and a run-scoring error. Brandon Sisk struck out the side in the 9th. Omaha is 44-37. Game 2 is Friday as Mike Montgomery starts.

AA - NW Arkansas: San Antonio 8, Naturals 2

RF Myers 1-3, BB, 2 RBI (18), K, picked off -- .289
SS Colon 1-4, 2B (7), K, SB (12) -- .253
CF Robinson 1-4, K, RS -- .256
2B Bianchi 0-3, K -- .272
C S. Perez 1-3 -- .263
3B Navarro 0-3 -- .000, NWA debut

Dwyer 1 2/3 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, K, 2 WP, balk -- L, 2-8, 6.16 ERA, he's having a lost season
Lebron 3 1/3 IP, H, 3 BB, 3 K -- 3.54 ERA
Rollins 2 IP, 2 H, BB -- 3.57 ERA
Chapman IP, 3 K -- 0.71 ERA
Barrera IP, ER, H, HRA -- 4.50 ERA

* Chris Dwyer had another poor start as the Missions ran roughshod over the Nats. The Missions got it started with 2 in the 1st and added 5 in the 2nd off Dwyer on 3 doubles, 3 walks and a hit batsman. Wil Myers hit a 2-run single in the 6th but that was all the Nats would get. The Naturals are 1-6. Game 2 is Friday. Zach Miner is set to start. C Salvador Perez was 0-2 in the TL All-Star Game Wednesday, 2B Anthony Seratelli was 1-2 with a double and K, Jeff Bianchi was 1-2 with an SB and RF Wil Myers was 0-2. Buddy Baumann pitched a scoreless inning with 2 Ks and Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect inning.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Salem 5, Blue Rocks 3

LF Ferguson 2-4, RBI (24), K, SB (7) -- .204
1B Lewis 2-4, 2B (9), RBI (13) -- .230
RF Van Stratten 2-4, 3B, 2 K, RS, SB, OF assist at first -- .500, good first game back in A-Advanced
CF Prades 1-4, RBI (8), 2 K -- .293
2B Merrifield 0-3, S -- .263
DH Testa 0-4, 3 K -- .258

Odorizzi 6 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 8 H, 6 K, HRA -- L, 5-4, 2.87 ERA, 4 straight Ls
Odenbach 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- 1.93 ERA

* Jake Odorizzi's woes continued as Salem dealt him another loss. A 3-run homer did most of the damage in the 1st, but Yem Prades and Tim Ferguson hit RBI singles in the Rocks 1st to keep them close. Salem scored another run in the 2nd, but Odorizzi settled down from there. The offense didn't help him out, tho, and Salem added a run in the 6th in Odorizzi's final inning of work. Joey Lewis doubled in a run in the 6th to cut it to 5-3 but the Rocks stranded 2 and the last 10 went down in order. The Rocks are 3-5. The series ends Friday. Justin Marks and Tyler Sample will piggyback it. IF Kurt Mertins has also been sent to Wilmington. Odorizzi has been reported as heading to AA soon, so maybe his next start will be in Naturals colors.

A - Kane County: Cougars 4, Beloit 3

CF Eibner 2-4, BB, clutch HR (6), 3 RBI (12), RS, OF assist at home -- .227, despite the low BA, starting to hit his stride last couple games
DH Aparicio 1-2, BB, RBI (12), K, RS -- .170
3B Cuthbert 1-4, 2 K, E (3) -- .307

Adam 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, BB, 2 K, HRA -- 4.11 ERA
Caldwell 3 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 2-0, 1.74 ERA
Rogers IP, 2 K -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA, KC debut

* Brett Eibner had perhaps his biggest hit as a pro as the Cougars got a comeback win Thursday. Eibner started the game with a good defensive play as he gunned down a runner at the plate to end the Beloit 1st. Neither team scored until Beloit got a solo homer off Jason Adam in the 5th and a 2-out RBI single made it 2-0 Snappers. Julio Aparicio responded with an RBI single in the 5th. The Cougars caught a runner stealing home in the 7th but Beloit added a run in the 8th to make it 3-1. Eibner came up with 2 on and 1 out in the 8th and came up big with a 3-run homer for his 6th of the season. Nick Rogers pitched a perfect 9th in his Cougars debut for his 1st save. KC is 6-1. Leonel Santiago pitches game 2 Friday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Casper 4 (6/Wed.)

3B Threlkeld 2-2, SF, HR, 3 RBI (5), RS, CS -- .250, first pro homer
CF Sandford 1-3, 3B (2), RBI (6), RS -- .267
C T. Smith 0-3, RBI, K, RS -- .000, Chukar debut
2B Mateo 1-3, 2B (3), RBI (5) -- .407
LF Chism 1-3, RS -- .323

Patton 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 3.12 ERA
Moen 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 2 K, WP -- W, 1-0, 27.00 ERA, not pretty, but his first pro win

* The Chukars used an early onslaught to gain the advantage and got some help from Mother Nature as Kellen Moen got his first victory as a professional. Mark Threlkeld took the Casper starter deep in the 1st for a 2-run homer to notch his first as a pro. The Chukars added 4 in the 2nd on a Darian Sandford RBI triple, a Tyler Smith RBI fielder's choice, a Daniel Mateo RBI double and a Threlkeld sac fly that made it 6-0. Spencer Patton got a bases-loaded double play to escape trouble in the 3rd but the Ghosts scored 2 in the 4th. Moen came on for the 5th and allowed a triple as Casper scored, then added a run in the 6th. After that inning, rain claimed the rest of the game. IF is 5-5. Game 3 is tonight as Jonathan Dooley starts. The game is tied at 3 in the 7th.

Rookie - Burlington: Bristol 10, B-Royals 6

SS Antonio 3-5, 2 2B (5), RBI (4), RS, E (2) -- .371
LF Rodriguez 2-5, RBI, 2 RS, SB -- .263
C Shin 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI, K -- .250
1B Watts 1-5, HR (5), 2 RBI (9), 2 K, RS -- .231
2B Trapp 1-3, 2 BB, HR (3), RBI (8), K, 2 RS, SB (3) -- .216

Pizziconi 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, HRA, WP -- 2.35 ERA
Cantrell IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, K, WP -- BS, 1, 12.60 ERA
Culver 1 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA, 2 WP -- L, 0-1, 5.14 ERA
Ferguson 1/3 IP, K -- 1.80 ERA

* The B-Royals blew a 6-2 lead as the Sox stormed back for the win. Justin Trapp led off the game with his 3rd homer and Jin-Ho Shin hit an RBI double to spot the Royals a 2-0 lead in the 1st. The Royals stranded 2 in the 2nd but got a 2-run homer out of Murray Watts (his 5th) in the 5th to make it 4-0. Italian Stallion Andrea Pizziconi worked 4 solid innings but got into trouble in the 5th as a 2-run homer cut the lead in half. Jose Rodriguez hit an RBI single and Mike Antonio doubled home a run in the 6th to get the runs back and make it 6-2. Eric Cantrell took over in the 6th and things soured quickly. An RBI single and then a 2-out, 3-run double by 1B Mike Schwartz tied the game. Malcom Culver gave up the go-ahead run in the 7th and the Sox added 3 in the 8th to polish it off. The B-Royals are 1-9. Game 2 is Friday. No announced starter on the team site.

Rookie - AZL: Reds 14, Royals 6

LF Cuckovich 2-5, 2 RBI (5), 3 K, 2 RS, 2 SB (8), E (2) -- .424
DH A. Howard 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI (3), 2 K, RS -- .500
C Bello 0-1, RBI (2) -- .154
CF Toney 1-3, HBP, K, SB (2), CS (5) -- .316
3B DelGuidice 1-3, HBP, K, RS -- .400

Witt 1 1/3 IP, 9 R (7 ER), 7 H, BB, K -- L, 0-2, 50.14 ERA, yikes
Bangs 1 2/3 IP, ER, 4 BB, 4 K, WP -- 2.84 ERA
N. Johnson 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 4 K -- 2.57 ERA
F. Cruz 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, K, WP -- 19.64 ERA, never good when your ERA is a 20th century year, but better than it being the year 5014

* The Royals were down, 10-0, about as quick as the game began, and couldn't recover. Christian Witt's second pro start didn't go any better than his first as, after the Royals stranded 2 in the 1st, the Reds tallied 3 in the 1st on 2 hits, a walk and error. Witt didn't survive the 2nd as the Reds plated 7 in the inning on 5 hits and a hit batsman off Witt, then 4 walks off Parker Bangs. Nick Cuckovich hit a 2-run single in the 3rd and scored on a passed ball as the Royals cut it to 10-3. Anthony Howard tripled and scored on a double play in the 4th, but the Reds scored a run off Nathan Johnson in the bottom of the inning. Howard hit an RBI double in the 6th but the Reds matched it again. Rainier Bello hit an RBI groundout in the 7th and the Reds finished it off with 2 in the 8th. The Royals are 2-6. They play the Cubs tonight. They are down, 2-1, in the middle innings.