Royals on the Farm 9/8

AA - Wichita: Wranglers 7, Tulsa 6 (Wichita wins best-of-5 series 3-1)

3B Gordon 2-4, BB, 2 HR (2), 2 RBI (3) -- .278, hopefully can carry hot streak over into CS
RF Butler 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI -- .400, welcome back, Billy
CF Maier 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 RS -- .235
2B Murphy 2-4, RBI, K -- .500, one consistent factor during series, which was nice to see
LF Lubanski 0-5, 2 K, RS, OF assist at home -- .167, guess maybe that '05 playoff Lubanski isn't showing up in AA
DH D. Brown 1-2, BB, HBP, RS -- .429 on series
SS Sanchez 1-4, 2 RBI, E (1) -- .294

Hochevar 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB, 7 K -- W, 1-0, 3.38 ERA, very nice AA debut for first organization win
Musser 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 2 H, 2 BB, K -- 6.75 ERA
DeHoyos 2 IP, ER, H -- 2.25 ERA
Lowery IP, 2 H, K -- SV, 3, 0.00 ERA, 3 for 3 in saves vs. Tulsa

*** Fortunately for Wichita, they brought the bats in fine force Friday in game 4 vs. the Drillers. Unfortunately, the bullpen almost failed to do its job but the Wranglers pulled out a 7-6 win to move on. Alex Gordon homered in his first AB to give Wichita a 1-0 lead in the 1st. Mitch Maier hit an RBI single and Dee Brown smacked a 2-run single in the 3rd to make it 4-0 as Luke Hochevar held Tulsa hitless through 5 in his AA debut. Gordon homered again in the 4th to make it 5-0 and Billy Butler homered to lead off the 5th in only his second game back from Team USA duty. Donnie Murphy continued his fine play in the series with an RBI single to make it 7-0 Wichita, also in the 5th. Tulsa finally (somewhat) figured out the Hochevar riddle in the Driller 6th with a 1-out triple and RBI single and manager Frank White pulled Hochevar for Neal Musser. An Angel Sanchez error allowed another run in the inning and Drillers 3B Ian Stewart added an RBI double to make it 7-3. Wichita stranded the bases loaded in the 6th and, after 2 walks in the 7th, Musser was pulled for Gabe DeHoyos, who allowed a 2-run triple and sac fly before getting out of the inning with Wichita clinging to a 7-6 lead. Remember the Giants-Marlins NLDS in '03 where Florida nailed a runner at the plate to end the series? Devon Lowery came in to pitch the 9th and gave up a leadoff single before a sac bunt and K left Tulsa with the tying run at second and 2 out. Tulsa SS Jonathan Herrera singled to left and Chris Lubanski came up throwing to nail pinch runner Jordan Czarniecki at home to end the game and the series. The Wranglers move on to a best-of-5 with Corpus Christi starting Monday with games 1 and 2 in Wichita. Tulsa got 3 1/3 IP of 1-hit, 2-walk relief from Alberto Arias that was crucial to keeping them in the game, Herrera was 3-5 with a triple and 3 RBI to finish the series at .467, Stewart was 1-4 with a double and RBI to finish at .222 for the series, and 1B Joe Koshansky was 0-3 with his only RBI of the series to finish at a dismal .062. CF Joe Gaetti also finished at .062.

As noted, the TLCS starts Monday in Wichita. If you're a Royals fan, you've gotta love this quote from Hochevar in the MiLB story on the game: "It was my first time getting sprayed down with champagne," Hochevar said. "That stuff gets in your eyes a little bit, but it was awesome to celebrate like that. It's kind of different, because I hadn't been with the club. I just came in a week ago and I'm pitching in a game of this magnitude." What a way to get your first MiLB win. That would have been an awesome game to see in person -- had to be one of the best games in Wrangler history. Here's Lubanski's reaction from the Eagle: "You can't finish a game better than that," he said. "It was awesome. I just wanted to catch the ball cleanly. Ever since I was little, my dad told me when a ball is hit to the outfield, it's your job to catch it cleanly. I didn't want to bobble it. I made sure I caught the ball, made sure I took my time and made a good, strong throw."

Here's a link to the Eagle story -- it's got a couple good Frank White quotes, too:

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/baseball/minor_league/wranglers/15477657.htm

High-A - High Desert: Lake Elsinore 8, Mavs 6 (Storm win best-of-3 series 2-1)

3B E. Lucas 3-5, 2B (3), 2 RBI (3), K -- .500, had great series
2B Gaffney 2-5, 2 RS, E (1) -- .462
LF Tomlin 2-4, 3B, 3 RBI -- .417, another standout
DH Stodolka 0-5, K -- .000, had to have hit a wall late in season, understandable but unfortunate
SS Falu 1-3, 2 BB, RBI, 2 RS -- .308

Nicoll 1 2/3 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K -- L, 0-1, 21.60 ERA, just didn't have it Friday
Rowe 1 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB -- 6.00 ERA
Blake Johnson, C. Rosa, Hicklen and de la Vara 5 IP, 1 UER in relief

*** As one organization team's season continues, another's ends. The High Desert Mavericks' season came to a close Friday as Lake Elsinore scored 7 runs over the first 3 innings and held the lead. Chris Nicoll got the start for HD and got the first 2 outs without too much problem before giving up 2 run-scoring singles for 3 runs thanks in part to a Mike Gaffney error. Juan Senreiso was ejected after grounding out to end the top of the 2nd and the game continued downhill for HD. Nicoll was pulled with 2 out and 2 on in the 2nd and Adam Rowe gave up a 2-run single to make it 5-0. Ed Lucas came through with a 2-run, 2-out double in the 3rd to cut the lead to 3 but the Storm got the runs right back on two more 2-out RBI base hits to make it 7-2 in the 3rd. Irving Falu drew a bases-loaded walk in the 4th to cut it to 7-3 and, as the bullpen held LE scoreless, the Mavs rallied in the 7th. James Tomlin had a big hit with a bases-loaded 3-run triple with 2 outs that inning to cut the lead to 7-6. Carlos Rosa came in with 1 on and no out in the 7th and allowed an RBI single to give the Storm some breathing room. The Mavs couldn't mount a rally, but the team site reports Rusty Brown's game-ending fly ball to the warning track that would have tied the game had it been a homer would have been a roundtripper in most parks, but not LE's with deep power alleys. Storm LF Adam Bourassa was 3-4 with a double and RBI to move to .600, RF Nick Crosta was 2-5 with 3 RBI to move to .286 on the playoffs and 1B Tim Brown was 2-4 with 2 RBI to finish the series at .385.

It will be interesting to see how the Mavs' roster shakes out in 2007. I figure Ed Lucas and Irving Falu will be easy decisions to move to AA with Mike Stodolka either starting in Wichita or playing at first in HD again before moving up. Juan Senreiso may also be a candidate for Wichita, as with Carlos Rosa. All in all it was a decent season for HD.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Chukars 6, Orem 2 (IF leads best-of-3 series 1-0)

LF Bigler 4-4, 2B, RBI, RS, SB -- 1.000, what a playoff debut
2B Mertins 3-4, K, RS, SB, CS, E -- .750
CF Dickerson 1-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI, RS -- .333
DH Maddox 0-4, 2 K -- .000
1B Turner 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI, K -- .500
SS McConnell 0-4, K -- .000
RF Gonzalez 2-4, RS -- .500

B. Wood 4 2/3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K -- ND, 1.93 ERA, decent start
Fisher 4 1/3 IP, 8 K -- W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, unreal, 8 Ks and no hits over 4 1/3 IP, he's a phenom

*** A 5-run 3rd helped IF shock Orem in the series opener versus Owlz ace Sean O'Sullivan. The Chukars stranded 2 in the 1st and Orem scraped together a run off Blake Wood in the 2nd to make it 1-0. A Kurt Mertins throwing error helped Orem to another run in the 3rd but Idaho Falls broke out in the bottom of the 3rd. Brett Bigler hit an RBI single and Joe Dickerson followed two batters later with a 2-run double. With 2 outs, Jase Turner cranked a 2-run homer to left center for a 5-2 IF lead. Bigler hit a run-scoring double in the 4th that was aided by an Orem error but Bigler was thrown out trying to get to third on the error. With 2 out and 2 on in the 5th, Brent Fisher came in and went to work with a K to end the inning, 2 more Ks in a 1-2-3 6th, another K in a 1-2-3 7th, 2 Ks in a 1-2-3 8th and another 2 Ks in a 1-2-3 9th. Needless to say, he dominated. Hope they don't need him the rest of the series. Wood and Fisher limited Orem to 4 hits with 12 Ks in the game. Orem CF Peter Bourjos was 1-3 and RF Luis Rivera was 1-3 with an RBI and an error.

Game 2 of the set is Saturday night. Everett Teaford pitches for IF. Missoula beat Billings, 6-4, in the opener of the other playoff series.