Royals on the Farm 6/17

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 15, Albuquerque 12 (11)

1B Thorman 3-6, 2B (13), HR (9), 5 RBI (36), K, 2 RS -- .250
DH Ka'aihue 3-6, BB, 2 2B (12), HR (12), 2 RBI (41), K, 3 RS -- .335
3B Lucas 4-6, HR (2), 3 RBI (12), K, 2 RS -- .324
CF Miller 3-6, 2B (15) -- .237
RF Lough 3-6, RBI (24), 2 K, 2 RS, SB (6) -- .276
SS Falu 3-7, 3B (3), 2 RBI (22), K, 2 RS, E (14) -- .294
2B Mertins 2-7, 3B, 2 RBI (17), K, RS, SB -- .262
LF Gordon 0-5, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 RS -- .356

Hernandez 6 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HRA -- 5.36 ERA
Herges 1 1/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 2 H, 2 BB -- 4.95 ERA
Rupe IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- BS,
Holland 1 2/3 IP, 3 BB, 2 K -- 5.50 ERA
Castaneda

* 27-run games may be fun to watch from the crowd but they stink when doing this report. Omaha blew an 11-3 lead but recovered with a 4-run 11th to win. Kila Ka'aihue got the fireworks started with his 12th homer to lead off the 2nd but the Isotopes got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Ka'aihue hit an RBI double in the 4th before Scott Thorman went yard for a 2-run shot for his 9th of the season to make it 4-1. The Isotopes got a solo homer off Gaby Hernandez and a second run in the bottom of the frame to cut it to 4-3. David Lough hit an RBI forceout as the Royals rallied for 7 runs in the 6th with an Ed Lucas 2-run homer (his 2nd), a Kurt Mertins RBI triple, and a 3-run Thorman double that made it 11-3. Albuquerque quickly mounted a comeback with 2 solo homers in the 6th and then 5 runs in the 8th off Matt Herges and Josh Rupe. A 1-out solo homer off Rupe in the 9th tied it to send it to extras. Greg Holland walked the bases loaded but wriggled out of a jam in the 10th and Omaha went to work in the 11th as Lucas hit an RBI single, Irving Falu ripped a 2-run triple and Kurt Mertins singled him home to make it 15-11. Of course, the O-Royals couldn't make it easy as Federico Castaneda loaded the bases with 1 out in the 11th but got a pop out and plated a run with a bases-loaded HBP before inducing a game-ending fly out. RP and former Royal Scott Dohmann allowed 4 ER in 2 IP to fall to 0-2. Starter Claudio Vargas allowed an ER over 3 IP. Five 'Topes had multiple hits led by 3 hits from C Lucas May. The teams combined for 7 HR. Omaha is 35-30. A 4-game set at the Round Rock Express (30-38, AAA 'Stros) starts Friday with Phil Humber making his return from getting hit in the face by a line drive in his last start.

AA - NWA: Springfield 12, Naturals 9

3B Moustakas 3-5, 2B (17), 2 RBI (57), RS -- .344
1B C. Robinson 2-5, 2B (24), HR (10), 3 RBI (46), 2 RS -- .285
RF Van Stratten 2-4, BB, RBI (21), RS -- .274
CF D. Robinson 2-4, SF, 2B (10), RBI (24), K -- .299
2B Giavotella 1-3, 2 BB, RBI (19), RS -- .273
SS McConnell 1-4, BB, RBI (19), 2 RS, E (9) -- .253
DH Smith 0-4, 2 K -- .301, ejected in 6th

Osuna 4 IP, 9 ER, 9 H, BB, 5 K, 3 HRA, WP -- 2.76 ERA, ooooof
Chavez 2 IP, 2 H, K -- 5.50 ERA
Coleman 2 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, HRA -- L, 2-1, 2.40 ERA
R. Hardy 1/3 IP, nothing -- 6.33 ERA

* Edgar Osuna had a horrible start and the Nats came all the way back only to lose it late. Osuna served up a 3-run dinger to RF Tyler Henley in the 1st but Clint Robinson matched it with his 10th homer for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the inning. The 3-run homer derby continued in the 2nd as Osuna gave up another to CF Daryl Jones and then did it again as LF Aaron Luna hit a 3-run job in the 3rd to make it 9-3 Cardinals. Nick Van Stratten singled home a run in the 3rd to trim into the lead and Mike Moustakas hit an RBI double in the 4th to cut it to 9-5 before NWA stranded 2 in scoring position. NW Arkansas loaded the bases with 1 out in the 5th and Chris McConnell took a bases-loaded walk, Derrick Robinson added a sac fly, and Johnny Giavotella and Moustaks hit RBI singles to tie the game at 9. The scoring stopped for a while until the Cards scored a run on a Chris McConnell error in the 8th and Louis Coleman gave up a backbreaking 2-run homer to Luna (his 10th overall, 2nd of the game) in the 9th. RP Jason Buursma pitched 2 1/3 scoreless IP to pick up the win and move to 2-0. SP David Kopp allowed 5 ER over 4 IP. Henley and Luna led the way for Springfield with 3 hits each as Henley drove in 3 runs and Luna drove in 5 (36). Three others had 2 hits for the Cards. The Naturals are 38-27 and the magic # is still 3 to clinch the division. Mario Santiago starts game 2 Friday, when a win would cut that magic # to 1.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Salem 3, Blue Rocks 2

CF Norris 2-3, RBI (20), CS (8), OF assist at home -- .224
2B Frost 1-2, S, HR, RBI, RS -- .455
1B Hosmer 1-4, K -- .352
LF Ortiz 0-4, K -- .289
C S. Perez 1-3, RS, PB (7) -- .262

Lamb 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 6 H, BB, 6 K, WP -- 2.31 ERA, another good one
Mozingo 2 IP, UER, 2 H, K -- L, 1-1, 4.34 ERA

* Wilmington got it tied late but just as quickly saw Salem regain the lead for good. Patrick Norris nailed a baserunner at the plate to end the Salem 1st and the Red Sox took the lead on a run-scoring wild pitch in the 3rd. Eric Hosmer got thrown out at the plate to end the Rocks 4th and Salem tacked on another run in the 5th to make it 2-0. Adam Frost broke the goose egg with a leadoff homer in the 6th for his 1st as a Blue Rock and Norris hit a key RBI single in the 8th to tie it before the Rocks stranded 2. A Nick Francis error allowed the go-ahead run to score in the bottom of the 8th and the Rocks went down in order in the 9th. RP Kyle Fernandes blew his 2nd save but picked up the win to move to 3-1. SP Brock Huntzinger allowed an ER in 7 IP. 2B Oscar Tejeda had 2 hits. The Rocks are 29-37. The final series of the season starts Friday with a 3-day, 4-game set with the Winston-Salem Dash (42-23, A-Adv. ChiSox). The teams will finish up last weekend's suspended game with the Rocks up 6-0 in the 4th, then play the regular game. Chris Dwyer will start the suspended game and Tim Melville will start the regular game.

A - Burlington: off day

* The Bees are 21-45. The first half happily comes to an end with the first of 3 starting tomorrow at the Cedar Rapids Kernels (41-23, A Angels).