Royals on the Farm 8/20

AAA - Omaha: Storm Chasers 3, Tacoma 1 (Fri.)

CF Cain 1-4, clutch 2B (26), 2 RBI (69), 2 K, assist at second -- .305
DH Robinson 1-3, HBP, HR (20), RBI (86), K, RS -- .320

Mazzaro 6 2/3 IP, ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP -- 4.51 ERA
Miner 1 1/3 IP, K -- W, 2-1, 1.65 ERA
Herrera IP, 3 K -- dominant SV, 4, 0.87 ERA, Absolute Zero on top of his game Friday

* Omaha had more late-inning magic for the Rainiers on Friday. Clint Robinson led off the 2nd with his 20th homer of the season to give the Chasers a 1-0 lead. Vin Mazzaro stranded the bases full in the 2nd but allowed the tying run in the 4th. The 1-1 lead held intact into the 9th, when Lorenzo Cain greeted RP Shawn Kelley with a 2-run double to break the game open. Kelvin Herrera then struck out the side in the 9th for his 4th save.

Nashville 4, Storm Chasers 1

2B Zawadzki 1-2, 2 BB, RBI (40), K -- .244
CF Cain 1-5, K -- .304
1B Robinson 1-3, 2 BB, 2B (31), K -- .320
DH Ka'aihue 1-3, BB, K -- .277
Omaha stranded 12.

Montgomery 7 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, BB, 6 K -- L, 5-8, 5.33 ERA
Sisk 1 2/3 IP, 2 BB -- 1.42 ERA
Tejeda 1/3 IP -- 3.55 ERA

* The Storm Chasers returned home from their west coast swing and couldn't survive a rough 1st on Saturday. Mike Montgomery gave up 4 runs in the 1st and the Sounds put the game on SP Josh Butler's shoulders. Lance Zawadzki hit an RBI single in the 2nd to get Omaha on the board. The first 2 Chasers reached in the 3rd but a Clint Robinson flyout turned into a triple play, and the Chasers left the bases loaded in the 4th. Omaha left 'em loaded again in the 8th and left one more on in the 9th. Omaha is 71-56. Game 2 is Sunday. Luis Mendoza will start.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 6, Midland 3

RF Myers 2-3, BB, 2 2B (20), 2 RBI (40), 2 RS -- .259
SS Colon 2-3, BB, 2 2B (13), RBI (56) -- .259
1B Seratelli 2-4, RBI (59), K, RS -- .293
LF Orlando 1-3, BB, 3B (7), RBI (18) -- .324
3B Navarro 0-3, SF, RBI (16), K -- .286

W. Smith 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, BB, 5 K, pickoff -- W, 12-8, 4.18 ERA
Ed. Garcia 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K -- SV, 4, 2.96 ERA

* The Naturals came back from down, 3-1, to win the game. The Nats stranded 2 in the 1st and Will Smith allowed 2 Midland runs in the 2nd. Wil Myers doubled and scored on a Rey Navarro sac fly in the 2nd to cut the lead in half. Midland added a run in the 5th but the Naturals' offense exploded in the inning for 5 runs on a Christian Colon RBI double, Anthony Seratelli RBI single, 2-run Myers double and Paulo Orlando RBI triple. Edgar Garcia worked a relatively quiet 3 innings in relief for his 4th save. The game was halted by a rain delay at one point. NWA is 30-24. Game 2 is Sunday as Jeremy Jeffress starts. OF Tim Smith was activated from the DL as OF Nick Francis has run afoul of the organization and been placed on the suspended list for violating organizational policy. He has gone through a drug suspension previously and, if I remember correctly, had missed some games in at least one prior season for off-the-field behavior toward coaching staff as well.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 3, Salem 2 (7/G1)

SS Liberto 1-2, RBI (2), K, RS, SB, E -- .182
DH Testa 1-3, RBI (32), CS (5) -- .266
2B Merrifield 0-1, 2 BB, RS -- .258
C Dyer 1-1, BB, 2B, RS -- 1.000, Rocks debut
RF Nick Van Stratten had an assist at third.

Mariot 5 IP, UER, 6 H, 4 K -- W, 8-3, 3.34 ERA
Keck IP, ER, 3 H, BB -- 4.32 ERA
Paukovits IP, BB, K -- SV, 6, 3.60 ERA

* The Rocks made the most of their 5 hits on Saturday to take game 1 of 2 with the Red Sox. Mike Liberto hit an RBI single in the 3rd and a Carlo Testa single later in the inning scored 2 thanks in part to a Salem error. Mike Mariot didn't avoid baserunners in any of his 5 innings of work, and a Liberto error helped Salem plate a run in the 5th. Jon Keck allowed another run in the 6th but Nick Van Stratten came up big with an assist at third on the play to end the inning abruptly. Bryan Paukovits got a double play to end it in the 7th.

Blue Rocks 6, Salem 2 (7/G2)

3B Whittleman 2-3, 2B (22), HR (20), 3 RBI (63), 2 RS, E (24) -- .235
LF Testa 2-2, BB, 2B (24), RBI (33), RS -- .271
2B Merrifield 2-3, BB, K, RS -- .261
C Jul. Rodriguez 2-3, 2B (4) -- .261
SS Batista 2-3, K, 2 RS, SB (4) -- .209

Melville 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, BB, 7 K, HRA -- W, 9-9, 4.32 ERA
Odenbach IP, BB, K -- 3.13 ERA

* Wilmington had a strong 1st and went on to sweep Saturday's double dip. John Whittleman hit a 2-run double and scored on an error in the 1st as the Rocks staked Tim Melville to a 3-0 lead. Whittleman led off the 3rd with his 20th homer and Melville finally allowed a run in the 4th, though a wild pitch scored a run for Wilmington that inning to make it 5-1. Melville gave up a solo homer in the 6th but the Rocks matched it again as Carlo Testa singled in a run. Wilmington is 21-32. The teams play two once more on Sunday as Justin Marks and Elisaul Pimentel will start.

A - Kane County: Cougars 7, Clinton 1

DH Beltre 3-5, 2B (14), RBI (34), 2 RS -- .254
LF Fletcher 2-5, 2 2B (28), K, RS -- .342
C David 2-5, 2B (6), 2 K -- .232
1B Kuebler 2-5, 2B (16), K -- .223
CF Eibner 1-4, BB, HR (12), 3 RBI (31), 2 K, RS -- .221
3B Cuthbert 1-3, 2 BB, HR (8), 2 RBI (48), K, 2 RS -- .293
SS Calixte 1-4, BB, RBI (28), 2 K -- .213
The Cougars stranded 10.

L. Perez 5 IP, 3 H, 5 K -- W, 7-11, 3.23 ERA, consistency has turned his fortunes, 5 straight wins
Rivers 2 IP, ER, H, 2 K, HRA -- 1.32 ERA
Rogers 2 IP, BB, 2 K -- 2.25 ERA

* The Cougars supported another strong start from Leondy Perez to take the opener from Clinton. Cheslor Cuthbert popped a 2-run homer (his 8th) in the 1st to start the Cougars on the right foot. Perez worked out of a minor jam in the 2nd and the Cougars added 3 runs in the 5th on a 3-run homer by Brett Eibner (his 12th). Geulin Beltre singled in a run in the 6th to give Perez a 6-0 lead, which he handed to Alex Rivers that inning. Rivers lost the shutout with a leadoff homer in the 7th but Orlando Calixte singled in a run in the 9th and Nick Rogers polished off the last 2 innings. KC is 32-22. Santiago Garrido starts game 2 Sunday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 10, Great Falls 9 (Fri.)

RF Davis 2-4, 3 RBI (35), K -- .336
LF Chism 3-5, 2B (8), 2 RS -- .263
CF Sandford 2-4, RBI (16), RS, SB (23) -- .243
3B Threlkeld 1-4, 2B (13), 3 RBI (28), 2 K, RS -- .267
1B Moreno 2-4, BB, 2B (14), RBI (30), 2 K, 2 RS -- .282
2B Piterson 1-5, RBI (11), K, RS -- .286
SS DelGuidice 1-4, E (2) -- .350

E. Diaz 4 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K, HRA, WP -- 6.75 ERA
Avinazar IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, balk -- 10.24 ERA
Penny 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, HRA -- W, 3-4, 10.16 ERA
Carl 2 IP, 5 K -- SV, 4, 1.24 ERA, that makes it 3 BB/63 K in 29 IP, can we see what he can do higher than the rookie leagues, perhaps? He does turn 23 in 11 days.

* Two big rallies helped the Chukars outlast the Voyagers. Great Falls scored a run in the 1st off Eric Diaz but the Chukars had more than an adequate answer with 4 runs in their half on a Henry Moreno RBI single, 2-run Runey Davis single and Darian Sandford RBI single. The Voyagers tied it in the 3rd off Diaz. Luis Piterson hit an RBI fielder's choice in the 4th but Willian Avinazar gave up 3 runs in the 5th to make it 7-5 Great Falls. The Chukars pieced together a key rally in the 6th as a wild pitch scored a run, the Royals loaded the bases, Mark Threlkeld cleared 'em with a 3-run double, and Davis singled home Threlkeld to swing the lead to 10-7 IF. Robert Penny promptly gave up a 2-run homer to cut the lead to 1, but the Chukars got it to Edwin Carl time in the 8th, and he did not disappoint. He struck out the side in the 8th, then "only" K'd 2 in the 9th to finish off his 4th save. IF is 8-11. The series is continuing tonight.

Rookie - Burlington: Kingsport 17, B-Royals 14

SS Antonio 3-5, BB, 2B (10), 2 HR (9), 5 RBI (36), K, 4 RS, 2 E (22) -- .280
C Swab 2-5, HBP, 2 RBI (14), K, RS, 2 E (5) -- .245
LF Howard 2-5, HR (3), RBI (5), 2 K, RS -- .164
3B Bringas 2-6, 2B (9), RBI (12), RS, E (19) -- .240
2B Trapp 2-4, BB, HBP, K, 4 RS, SB (24) -- .284
RF Bonifacio 1-5, BB, 2B (18), 2 RBI (26), 2 K -- .283
CF Conner 1-3, 3 BB, RBI (8), 2 RS, 2 SB (9), CS (6) -- .256
DH S. Brooks 1-4, BB, RBI (4), RS -- .245
PR-1B Watts 0-0, SF, RBI (38) -- .237
The Royals stranded 10.

Ridings 3 IP, 6 R (3 ER), 6 H, BB, 5 K -- 4.15 ERA
Culver 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K, HRA, WP -- 7.36 ERA
R. Brown 1/3 IP, 6 R (3 ER), 4 H, K, WP -- BS, 1, L, 1-3, 3.74 ERA
A. Gonzalez 1 2/3 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 3 H, BB, 2 K -- 6.87 ERA

* A slugfest went the way of the Mets thanks to a 7-run 7th. The Royals batted around in the 1st and scored 3 runs on a 2-run Jorge Bonifacio double and run-scoring error. They batted around again in the 2nd and scored 4 runs on a Mike Antonio RBI double, 2-run Kenny Swab single and Steven Brooks RBI single to make it 7-0 Burlington. The Mets matched the 4 runs in the 2nd off Matt Ridings thanks in part to 3 Royal errors in the inning. Antonio went deep in the 3rd for his 8th homer of the season as the 2-run shot made it 9-4 Royals. The Mets answered that salvo, too, to trim it to 9-6, then trimmed it to 9-8 with a 2-run 4th. Cameron Conner was caught stealing home in the 5th right before Antonio cranked another 2-run job (his 9th) to make it 11-8. Anthony Howard clubbed a homer in the 6th for his 3rd of the season to stretch it to 12-8. Rudy Brown came in to pitch the 7th and the Royals' momentum came to a screeching halt. Four singles, a sac fly and error later, Brown was gone for Abel Gonzalez, who allowed 3 more runs to score as the Mets flipped the lead to 15-12 in their favor. Murray Watts hit a sac fly in the 8th and Conner singled in a run to trim it to 15-14. The Royals couldn't get it tied, tho, and the Mets tacked on 2 insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. The Royals are 20-38. The series ends Sunday.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 5, Reds 1

LF Toney 2-5, 2 2B (10), RBI (23), K, RS -- .328
DH Llanos 1-5, RBI (2), 2 K, RS, SB -- .190
3B Cuckovich 1-4, BB, RBI (12), RS, 2 SB (19) -- .272
2B Garcia 1-4, RBI (21), K -- .295
C Gallagher 0-3 -- .145

A. Williams 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K -- 4.11 ERA
S. Rosario 4 1/3 IP, H, 2 BB, 6 K -- W, 1-2, 6.84 ERA
Stueve 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, BB, WP -- 2.21 ERA

* The Royals let a 3-hit shutout slip away in the 9th, but didn't let the win slip away. D'Andre Toney hit an RBI double in the 1st and a run-scoring Red error made it 2-0 Royals in the 2nd. A wild pitch scored a Royal run in the 4th and Carlos Garcia kept the offense chipping away with an RBI single in the 5th. Another error scored a run in the 7th to make it 5-0. Meanwhile, Ali Williams and Sergio Rosario combined to strike out 13 over 7 2/3 IP. Andrew Stueve came in to strand the bases full in the 8th and the Reds spoiled the shutout with a sac fly in the 9th before he shut the door. The Royals are 18-31.