Royals on the Farm 8/29

AAA - Omaha: Storm Chasers 4, Round Rock 3

RF Cain 2-4, RBI (77), RS, SB (15), assist at second -- .312
1B Robinson 1-4, 2 RBI (99), K -- .328
LF Lough 0-2, BB, SF, RBI (61) -- .313

Mazzaro 6 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K, WP -- W, 7-2, 4.29 ERA
Lebron 3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K -- SV, 1, 0.71 ERA

* Willy Lebron came up with 3 great innings of relief to back up Vin Mazzaro as Omaha pruned its magic number for the PCL playoffs to 3. Jarrod Dyson tripled and scored on a David Lough sac fly in the 1st but Round Rock scored 2 in the 3rd and another in the 4th to take a 3-1 lead. Lorenzo Cain singled in a run and Clint Robinson hit a 2-run single in the 5th to flip the lead to 4-3 Omaha. Mazzaro retired the last 5 he faced, and Lebron walked 2 over the last 3 innings but finished strong to lock down his 1st AAA save of 2011. Omaha is 77-59. Game 2 is Tuesday. Mike Montgomery will start. Robinson, Johnny Giavotella and Luis Mendoza made the 2011 All-PCL team as 3 of the 12-member team. Former Omaha players Jai Miller and Victor Marte also made the team, oddly.

AA - NW Arkansas: Tulsa 13, Naturals 9 (10)

C Theriot 4-4, 2 2B (8), 2 RS, PB (8) -- .300
2B Bianchi 4-5, 2 RS, SB (20) -- .262
1B Romak 3-4, BB, 2B (21), RBI (67), 2 RS -- .256
SS Colon 2-6, 2 RBI (59), K, 2 RS -- .255
DH T. Smith 2-3, BB, SF, 2B (11), 2 RBI (41), RS -- .294
RF Myers 2-5, 2 RBI (46), 2 K -- .260
LF Orlando 1-5, RBI (22), K, CS (3) -- .312

Baumann 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K, HRA -- 4.17 ERA
Volz 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K, HRA, WP -- 7.36 ERA, Naturals debut
E. Garcia 4 IP, 8 R (5 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, K, 4 HRA -- L, 1-3, 3.73 ERA, guess they didn't want to use another pitcher?

* The Naturals forced extras but Edgar Garcia was teeing 'em up for the Drillers. Tulsa got the first of its 6 HR with a 2-run shot in the 1st. Kendal Volz came in to strand 2 in the 3rd and the Naturals tied it on a Christian Colon RBI single and Tim Smith sac fly. Another 2-run homer helped make it 5-2 in the 6th but a Paulo Orlando single scored 2 runs in the bottom of the frame thanks to a Tulsa error. Tulsa got back-to-back homers in the 7th to make it 8-4. Colon and Smith hit RBI singles and Wil Myers hit a 2-run single to tie the game as the Naturals surged back once more. Tulsa scored a run in the 8th and Jamie Romak hit a clutch RBI double in the 9th to tie the game at 9. Garcia gave up a 3-run homer and solo homer in the 10th, however, as Tulsa drove a stake into the Naturals. The Nats stranded 1 in the 10th. The Naturals are 33-30 and their lead is only 1 game on the Drillers at this point. A 4-game home set with the Arkansas Travelers (28-35, AA Angels) starts Tuesday.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 2, Myrtle Beach 0 (4-hitter)

RF Van Stratten 2-3, S, RBI (26), CS (3) -- .290
CF Prades 2-4, RBI (24), CS (7) -- .303
2B Merrifield 0-3, BB, RS -- .258
LF Testa 1-4, RS, K -- .285

Caldwell 5 2/3 IP, H, BB, 6 K -- W, 2-0, 1.64 ERA
C. White 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- SV, 1, 0.00 ERA, Rocks debut

* Allen Caldwell and Cole White collaborated on a 4-hit gem Monday. Nick Van Stratten hit an RBI groundout in the 1st. Caldwell retired 9 in a row at one point but neither he nor White ever really coasted thereafter. They got the job done, tho. Yem Prades singled in a run in the 8th but the Rocks left the bases full. The pitching made that a moot point, however. Wilmington is 27-36. Game 2 is Tuesday. Tim Melville will start. Carlo Testa was named Carolina Lg Player of the Week for Aug 22-28. He hit .476 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in the week.

A - Kane County: Cougars 5, Peoria 4

SS Calixte 3-4, K, RS, E (20) -- .207
1B Kuebler 1-4, 3B (2), 3 RBI (28), 2 K, RS -- .216
DH Pickett 0-3, BB, RBI (4), K -- .261
CF Eibner 0-3, BB -- .206
LF Fletcher 0-4, K -- .336
3B Cuthbert 1-3, BB, 2 K, 2 RS, E (13) -- .275

Adam 5 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 K -- 4.22 ERA
Giovenco 2 IP, H, 2 K -- 6.97 ERA
Graham IP, 2 H, 2 K -- W, 1-0, 4.91 ERA
Boruff IP, 2 ER, H, 3 BB -- SV, 7, 2.40 ERA

* The Cougars put together a 4-run 8th to get a nice comeback win on Monday. Kane County loaded the bases with 0 out in the 2nd but only got a Cheslor Cuthbert RBI walk. Peoria tied it in the 3rd, then took the lead in the 4th. The 2-1 lead held into the 8th, when the Cougars loaded the bases with 2 outs and Jake Kuebler ripped a 3-run triple and scored on an error on the play. Chase Boruff walked in a run and allowed another run to score before leaving the tying run at third in the 9th. KC is 34-29. Leondy Perez starts the series finale Tuesday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: off day

Rookie - Burlington: Johnson City 5, B-Royals 4

LF Conner 2-4, HR (2), RBI (11), 2 K, RS, CS (7) -- .256
RF Bonifacio 1-4, HR (7), 2 RBI (30), K, RS -- .284
2B Hamblen 0-3, RBI (2), SB (3), 2 E (6) -- .095
SS Trapp 1-2, 2 HBP, RS, 3 SB (31), E (22) -- .264

A. Baez 4 1/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 9 H, BB, 3 K, E (2) -- 7.09 ERA
A. Ferguson 2 2/3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K -- L, 0-3, 5.45 ERA
Middendorf IP, nothing -- 11.42 ERA

* A seesaw game went the way of the Cardinals, as usual. Lane Adams was thrown out at the plate in a busy but fruitless Royals 1st, and Angel Baez allowed a Johnson City run. The Royals took the lead on a 2-run homer by Jorge Bonifacio (his 7th) in the 4th, but the Cards tied it off Baez in the inning. Adrian Bringas doubled and scored on a Derek Hamblen groundout in the 5th but the Cards scored 2 that inning thanks in part to 3 Royal errors. Cameron Conner led off the 6th with his 2nd homer to retie it but the Cards scored the go-ahead run in the 7th and made it stick that time. The B-Royals are 24-43. They finish the season Tuesday.

Rookie - AZL: Royals 9, Mariners 2

LF Toney 3-4, 3B (5), HR (5), 3 RBI (29), 3 RS -- .347, ends season on high note
C Lane 2-4, RBI (22), RS, CS (3), PB (9) -- .260
3B Cuckovich 1-4, 2B (7), 2 RBI (19), K -- .302
1B Gaylord 1-4, 2B (11), 2 RBI (26), RS -- .200
SS Garcia 1-4, RBI (22), 2 RS, E (16) -- .272
DH Gallagher 1-4, K -- .141
2B Morales 0-2, K -- .323, ejected in 4th
CF Gore 0-2, BB, RS -- .340

Hodgson 2 IP, BB, K -- 0.00 ERA
Schulz 5 IP, 2 UER, 3 H, BB, 5 K -- W, 2-0, 0.00 ERA
Edelbrock 2 IP, 5 K -- 8.62 ERA

* The Royals ended the season in style by pounding the Mariners Monday. D'Andre Toney led off the 1st with a triple, scored on a Carlos Garcia single, and Travis Lane singled in Garcia to make it 2-0 Royals. Toney came back up in the 3rd and slammed a 2-run homer (his 5th) to make it 4-0. Clayton Schulz allowed a run in the 4th but Brian Gaylord hit an RBI groundout in the 4th to keep the 4-run lead intact. The M's scored a run in the 7th but the Royals put the game away that inning with 4 runs on a Gaylord RBI double, Toney RBI single, and 2-run Nick Cuckovich double. Casey Edelbrock retired all 6 he faced. The Royals finished the season 22-34 and 16 games back of the Rangers. The final stat rehash will come tomorrow.