Royals on the Farm 7/3

If you would have offered me a bet of nearly any amount last season on if Aaron Crow would be an MLB all-star in 2011, I would have taken it with thoughts that it was a sucker bet for you to even offer it. Today I'd be paying up. He went from a 5-point ERA in the freakin' Carolina League in 2010 to the Royals' lone all-star (unless Alex Gordon makes it) in 2011. Crazy. Of course, I still don't like the idea that the Royals spent the 12th overall pick in 2009 on a reliever, but it's better than a washout. Here's hoping it's only leads to bigger and better things for him.

AAA - Omaha: Albuquerque 2, Storm Chasers 0

2B Giavotella 1-4, K -- .327
LF Lough 0-4 -- .305
SS Aviles 1-4, E (2) -- .333
1B Robinson 1-4 -- .325
RF Cain 1-4 -- .308
DH Ka'aihue 0-3, BB, K -- .299

Suppan 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 7-5, 4.72 ERA, another quality start
Tejeda 2 IP, 2 K -- 2.18 ERA

* The Chasers couldn't piece together a run as they fell victim to a shutout by the Isotopes. Jeff Suppan left the bases full in the 2nd and Omaha stranded 2 in the 3rd. All the damage came on a 2-run homer by 1B Russ Mitchell in the 5th. Omaha stranded a runner in each of the last 5 innings. The Chasers are 46-38. A 3-game set at the New Orleans Zephyrs (39-45, AAA Marlins, and I'm sure this time) starts Monday. No announced starter on the team site.

AA - NW Arkansas: Corpus Christi 16, Naturals 3

C Theriot 3-4, HR (4), RBI (15), RS -- .246
3B Lisson 1-4, RBI (30) -- .250
CF Robinson 1-3, BB, OF assist at second -- .266
DH Colon 0-3, S, K -- .254
RF Myers 0-4, 2 K, E (3) -- .288
SS Bianchi 0-4, K -- .264

Osuna 2 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 5 H, 3 K, 2 HRA -- L, 6-4, 7.89 ERA
Lebron 3 2/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 2 H, 4 BB, 5 K -- 3.98 ERA
Rollins 2 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, HRA -- 4.34 ERA
Romak IP, K -- 0.00 ERA

* The Hooks put up a 6-spot in the 1st and didn't look back Sunday. Edgar Osuna was the victim as C Chris Wallace hit a 1st inning grand slam as part of the rally. Another homer in the 2nd made it 7-0 Hooks. Willy Lebron gave up a run in the 3rd and Ben Theriot led off the bottom of the inning with his 4th homer of the season. Heath Rollins entered the game with 2 out and the bases loaded in the 6th and it was DH J.D. Martinez's turn to rip a grand slam to make it 12-1. Mario Lisson hit an RBI single and a double play scored a run in the 7th. The Hooks were angered, and scored 4 more runs in the 8th off Rollins. NW Arkansas is 2-8. Game 2 is Monday as Manauris Baez makes a spot start.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: suspended with the Rocks up, 4-2, in the 5th

* The game will be finished Monday before the regular game. I'll recap 'em both then. Noel Arguelles will start the regular game, which will be shortened to 7 innings.

A - Kane County: Cougars 2, Quad Cities 1

LF Fletcher 1-4, 2B (15), RBI (31), K, CS (3) -- .333
CF Eibner 0-3, BB, 2 K, RS -- .219
RF Geulin Beltre had an assist at the plate.

Billo 7 IP, UER, 6 H, BB, 6 K -- W, 6-1, 1.49 ERA
Byrne 2 IP, 3 H, 2 K -- SV, 6, 3.20 ERA

* Greg Billo pitched well again and the Cougars took down the River Bandits. Brian Fletcher hit a 2-out RBI double in the 1st and, after Billo stranded 2 in the 2nd, the Cougars scored on an error in the 2nd to make it 2-0. A 2-out walk and error in the 7th were followed by an RBI single, but Geulin Beltre came up big by gunning down a runner at the plate to keep the tying run from scoring. Chas Byrne survived 2 singles in the 9th to pick up his 6th save. Kane County is 7-3. Game 2 is Monday as Yordano Ventura will start.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden 3, Chukars 2 (Sat.)

SS Martinez 2-4, RBI (3), K, RS -- .250
1B Espy 2-4, 2B (3), K, RS, E (3) -- .273
DH Moreno 2-4, K -- .255
RF Davis 1-4, 2B (5), RBI (6), 2 K -- .417

Peacock 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 10 K, HRA, WP -- L, 0-1, 3.60 ERA, nice start anyway, gotta like 10 Ks
Brooks 3 IP, H, 3 K -- 2.45 ERA

* Brian Peacock fell victim to one Ogden rally as the Raptors took Saturday's game. Richard Espy doubled and scored on an Adrian Martinez single in the 2nd. Peacock had a 1-hit shutout going into the 5th when an RBI double and 2-run homer swung the momentum Ogden's way. Runey Davis hit an RBI double in the bottom of the inning but IF stranded 2 in the 6th and left a couple more runners on late.

Ogden 5, Chukars 2 (today)

LF Davis 2-4, RBI (7), K, CS -- .425, no complaints thus far
2B Piterson 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (4) -- .462
CF Chism 1-5, RS, SB (2), picked off -- .260
DH Espy 1-4, K -- .271

B. Martin 7 IP, ER, 5 H, 4 K -- 2.57 ERA
Middendorf 2 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- BS, 1, L, 0-1, 9.00 ERA

* Brennon Martin had a good start go to waste as a 4-run Ogden 8th got them the win Sunday. Luis Piterson put the Chukars up early with an RBI double in the 3rd and Martin worked around a triple in the 4th. Runey Davis hit an RBI single in the 6th and the Raptors finally got a run off Martin in the 7th. David Middendorf came on to protect the 2-1 lead in the 8th and.....he didn't. Two singles, a double and 2 walks along with a 2-run error by SS Adrian Martinez gave Ogden a 5-2 lead. The Chukars stranded 2 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th. IF is 6-8. The series ends Monday as Kellen Moen is set to start.

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 5, Danville 1

LF Conner 3-4, 2B (2), HR, RBI (3), RS -- .250
CF Bonifacio 2-4, HR (3), 2 RBI (6), K, RS -- .289
1B Watts 2-3, 2 BB, K -- .260
2B-SS Trapp 1-4, BB, HR (4), RBI (11), 2 RS, SB (4), E (4) -- .240
SS Antonio 0-3 -- .333
C Shin 1-5, 4 K, RS -- .219

Ridings 5 2/3 IP, ER, H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 1-2, 4.80 ERA, first pro win in solid start
Graffeo 2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 3 K -- 1.64 ERA
Graham IP, K, E -- 0.79 ERA

* Matt Ridings and two relievers combined on a 2-hitter as the Royals won their 3rd game Sunday. Ridings gave up a solo homer in the 2nd, and Danville's only other hit came in the 7th. In the meantime, the Royals got a 2-run homer from Jorge Bonifacio (his 3rd) in the 4th, a leadoff homer from Cameron Conner (his 1st) in the 5th, and a solo homer from Justin Trapp (his 4th) in the 7th. Trapp scored on a passed ball in the 9th and Nick Graffeo and Tyler Graham polished it off for Ridings. Burlington is 3-10. The teams will play one more in Burlington on Monday.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 10, Angels 7 (Sat.)

SS Arteaga 3-5, 2 RBI (3), RS, SB -- .263
1B Gaylord 2-4, BB, HR, RBI (3), 2 K, RS, E (2) -- .237, first pro homer
2B C. Garcia 2-4, S, RBI (7), 2 RS, SB -- .189
LF Gray 2-4, 2B, RBI, K, 2 RS -- .333
RF Howard 2-3, RS -- .556
DH Lane 1-4, BB, 2 RBI (10), K -- .407
CF Gore 1-4, RBI (2), RS, SB (3) -- .182
3B Cuckovich 1-4, BB, RBI (6), 3 K, RS, CS (2) -- .400
C David 1-4, HBP, RBI (2), K, RS, E -- .130

Lumpkins 2 2/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, BB, K -- 7.36 ERA
Witt 1/3 IP, K -- 43.88 ERA
Avinazar 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, BB, WP -- BS, 1, 20.25 ERA
J. Morales 2 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, 2 K -- W, 1-1, 4.15 ERA
C. White IP, ER, H, BB, K -- 9.00 ERA, 2011 debut
N. Johnson 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K, pickoff -- SV, 2, 2.00 ERA

* The Royals took and lost a 5-run lead and then had to keep the offense rolling to get past the Angels on Saturday. Nick Cuckovich got it started with an RBI single in the 1st, Kevin David took a bases-loaded HBP, Travis Lane hit a 2-run single and Carlos Garcia hit an RBI groundout to make it 5-0 Royals. Stephen Lumpkins held the line in his 2nd pro start but allowed a run and got pulled for Christian Witt in the 3rd. A David throwing error scored another run before the inning was over with the Royals still up, 5-2. Willian Avinazar took over in the 4th and the Angels tagged him for 3 runs and chased him from the game after 1 out. Anthony Howard was thrown out at the plate to end the Royals 5th. Terrance Gore hit an RBI groundout and Humberto Arteaga singled in a run in the 6th to make it 7-5, but Julio Morales allowed a run in the bottom of the inning to trim it back to 1. Brian Gaylord hit a 2-out solo homer in the 7th for his 1st professional dinger, and the Angels got the run back again off Cole White. Gabe Gray hit an RBI double in the 8th and Arteaga added another RBI single. This time, Nathan Johnson worked around 2 doubles in 2 innings of work. The Royals are 3-7. They play the Dodgers tonight.