Royals on the Farm 8/5 -- Long live the Giavotella era

Yamaico Navarro gets demoted and, finally, it's Johnny Giavotella time in KC. AND, he goes 2-3 with a walk and double and his 1st major league SB and RBI. Good to start the report with some good news. Otherwise, it's gonna be brief.

AAA - Omaha: Sacramento 2, Storm Chasers 1

C Clark 2-3, 2B (8), RBI (10), K -- .287
3B Arias 2-4, K -- .226
LF Lough 1-3, HBP -- .314
RF Cain 0-4, K -- .314
1B Robinson 0-4 -- .306
DH Perez 1-4 -- .278

Montgomery 7 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 6 K, HRA, pickoff -- L, 4-7, 5.20 ERA
Sisk IP, H, K -- 1.40 ERA
Pucetas IP, BB, K -- 5.29 ERA

* The Chasers couldn't catch the Cats on Friday. Mike Montgomery gave up runs in the 2nd and 5th Omaha stranded 2 in the 3rd. Cody Clark singled in a run in the 7th but Omaha left 2 in scoring position, and didn't get a runner on in either of the last 2 innings. Omaha is 62-51. The series ends Saturday. Jeff Suppan will start.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 6, Arkansas 2

RF Myers 2-4, HR (5), 3 RBI (34), 2 RS, SB (7) -- .250
LF Francis 2-3, BB, RBI (20), RS, SB (12), CS (4) -- .271
C Eigsti 2-2, BB, RBI (4), picked off -- .458
CF Orlando 2-4, RBI (14) -- .385
2B Colon 1-4, K, E (15) -- .254

Dwyer 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 10 K, 2 WP -- W, 6-9, 5.77 ERA, turned it around of late
Ed. Garcia 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K -- SV, 2, 3.45 ERA

* Chris Dwyer tied the franchise record with 10 Ks and Wil Myers had the big hit in a Naturals win. Ryan Eigsti got the Naturals off 0 with an RBI single in the 2nd and Myers hit a 2-out, 3-run homer in the 3rd for his 5th of the season to make it 4-0 for Dwyer. Dwyer's only damage came on a 2-out RBI single and Christian Colon throwing error on the play that allowed another run to cross the plate. Paulo Orlando hit an RBI single in the 6th and Nick Francis singled in a run in the 8th. Edgar Garcia retired the last 7. NWA is 22-19. Game 2 is Saturday as Jake Odorizzi starts.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Lynchburg 9, Blue Rocks 4

C Bonilla 2-4, 2B (11), RBI (26), K, RS -- .210
2B Merrifield 2-4, HBP, 2 K, RS, CS (12) -- .262
DH Ferguson 2-4, K, RS -- .230
SS Hall 1-3, HBP, 2B (6), RBI (13), E (10) -- .247
RF Van Stratten 1-5, RBI (16), K -- .293
CF Yem Prades had an assist at third.

Arguelles 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, K -- L, 4-5, 3.36 ERA
Odenbach 3 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB, K, 2 HRA -- 3.51 ERA
Dennick 2 IP, H, 3 K -- 3.57 ERA

* Noel Arguelles had a rough night as the Hillcats took the series opener. Jose Bonilla hit an RBI single in the 2nd to give Arguelles a 1-0 lead but the Hillcats scored 3 in both the 2nd and 3rd to make Noel's outing a short one. Dusty Odenbach gave up a 2-run homer in the 4th to make it 8-1, then served up a solo homer in the 6th. Gerard Hall and Bonilla hit run-scoring doubles and Nick Van Stratten hit an RBI single in the 7th, but that was it. Wilmington is 15-25. Game 2 is Saturday as Elisaul Pimentel returns to his starting role.

A - Kane County: Beloit 4, Kane County 3 (12)

3B Franco 2-5, BB, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI (17), 2 RS -- .244
DH Pickett 3-5, RS -- .313
1B Kuebler 2-5, 2 K -- .217
CF Eibner 0-5, 2 K -- .214
2B Fletcher 1-5, 2 K -- .339

Billo 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, HRA -- 1.56 ERA
Rogers 2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K -- 2.12 ERA
Boruff 3 IP, ER, 3 H, 4 K, WP -- BS, 3, 2.01 ERA
Byrne 2/3 IP, ER, 2 H -- L, 3-2, 3.42 ERA

* The Cougars blew a 9th inning lead and lost it in 12 Friday. Angel Franco had a big night as he hit a 2-run homer in the 5th and, after the Snappers had tied it with runs off Greg Billo in the 5th and 6th, Franco led off the 8th with his 3rd homer of the season to make it 3-2 KC. Chase Boruff got the first 2 outs without ado in the 9th but a single, wild pitch and RBI single cost him his 3rd blown save. Chas Byrne gave up a 2-out walkoff double in the 12th to finish it. KC is 24-16. Friday was KC's first loss after leading in the 8th. A 4-game home set with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (16-24, A Brewers) starts Saturday with Yordano Ventura pitching.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Casper 14, Chukars 2

CF Chism 3-5, K -- .289
2B Piterson 2-5 -- .270
DH Moreno 2-4 -- .264
RF Elder 2-4, RS -- .316
SS Martinez 2-4 -- .235
LF Davis 1-4, RBI (26), K, RS -- .315

Peacock 2 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, K -- L, 2-4, 4.14 ERA
Cuevas 3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, 3 WP -- 5.27 ERA
N. Johnson 3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 5 H, BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 4.97 ERA

* No Chukar pitcher was safe on the mound Friday as Casper put it away quick. The Ghosts scored 5 runs off Brian Peacock in the 2nd on nothing stronger than singles, then added 5 in the 3rd off Gary Cuevas. Nathan Johnson gave up 3 runs in the 6th and the Ghosts continued to pour it on with a run in the 7th. IF stranded 2 in the 4th but otherwise didn't pose much of a threat. They did score 2 in the 9th on a Runey Davis RBI single and a double play ball that scored a run as they spoiled the shutout. IF is 2-4. Game 2 is Saturday.

Rookie - Burlington: Pulaski 7, B-Royals 4

SS Antonio 3-5, 2B (7), RS, CS (4) -- .301
CF Adams 2-2, 2 BB, SF, 2B (6), HR (3), 3 RBI (8), RS -- .295
RF Bonifacio 2-4, HBP, SB (4), OF assist at home -- .292
LF Conner 2-4, 2 K -- .277
C Swab 1-5, RBI (6), K -- .214
2B Trapp 0-5, 2 K -- .286
The Royals stranded 12.

Graffeo 4 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 K -- 1.51 ERA
Culver 2 IP, ER, H, 3 BB, pickoff -- 7.11 ERA
A. Gonzalez IP, 4 ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K -- L, 0-1, 10.80 ERA
Graham 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K, WP -- 3.03 ERA

* A 4-run 8th blew open a close game for the Mariners. Pulaski scored 2 in the 1st but Burlington had the answer as Lane Adams led off the 1st with his 3rd homer and Kenny Swab tied it with an RBI single. Adams gave the Royals the lead with an RBI double in the 4th but the Mariners tied it off Malcom Culver in the 5th. The Royals left the bases full in the 6th, then stranded 2 in the 7th. Abel Gonzalez and Tyler Graham faltered in the 8th as Pulaski scored 4 runs on 3 hits, a walk and wild pitch. Lane Adams hit a sac fly in the 8th but it was too little, too late. Burlington is 17-27. A 3-game home set with the Kingsport Mets (21-23) starts Saturday.

Rookie - AZL: Angels 5, Royals 4

2B DelGuidice 2-4, 2 2B (15), 2 RBI (24), RS -- .403, arguably the cream of the 2011 crop thus far
LF Allen 2-4, RBI (7), K, RS -- .216
3B Morales 2-4, K, RS -- .379
RF Blanco 0-1, BB, SF, RBI (20) -- .284
CF Toney 0-5, K -- .341
DH Gallagher 0-4 -- .188

S. Rosario 5 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 7 K -- 6.19 ERA
A. Williams 3 IP, 2 ER, H, 3 BB, 2 K -- 4.68 ERA
Stueve 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, WP -- BS, 1, L, 1-2, 2.16 ERA

* The Royals let it slip away late versus the Halos. The Angels scored first in the 3rd but Nick DelGuidice hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 4th and Jerrell Allen hit an RBI single to make it 3-1 Royals. Jerico Blanco hit a sac fly in the 7th and the Royals took a 4-1 lead into the 8th. The Angels scored a run in the 8th off Ali Williams but Williams was pulled after a leadoff walk in the 9th. Andrew Stueve allowed an RBI double and a game-tying single before a walkoff double ended it. The Royals are 15-22.