Royals on the Farm 6/18 -- Moustakas goes deep twice, Montgomery goes to DL again

AAA - Omaha: O-Royals 5, Round Rock 1 (11)

C Clark 2-3, BB, S, HR (2), 3 RBI (14), K, RS -- .207
3B Lucas 3-4, BB, 2B (7), K, RS -- .346, looks like it's finally clicking for Dartmouth man Ed in Omaha, much to the chagrin of Cornell man Nard Dog
RF Parraz 2-5, 2 2B (15), K, RS -- .263
DH Thorman 1-5, HR (10), RBI (37), K, RS -- .249
CF Miller 1-5, RBI (27), 3 K -- .236
LF Gordon 1-4, BB, K, RS -- .353
1B Ka'aihue 1-4, BB, K -- .333

Humber 7 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K -- 4.70 ERA, shrugs off line drive to face well
B. Hardy 2 IP, 2 H, BB, K, WP -- 1.76 ERA
Herges 2 IP, 3 H, BB -- W, 3-2, 4.70 ERA

* In an odd pattern to repeat, the Royals went to extras then won with a 4-run rally, just like Thursday. Omaha left the bases full in the 3rd and Phil Humber allowed the Express' only run in the 3rd as he showed some great resilience coming back from injury. Jai Miller hit a 2-out RBI single in the 6th to tie it but neither team could rally again through the 9th. Matt Herges stranded 2 in the 10th and Scott Thorman broke the tie with his 10th longball in the 11th. Cody Clark put an exclamation point on it with a 3-run homer with 2 out for his 2nd homer of the season. Herges allowed a couple hits in the 11th but closed the door for the win. In a funny peculiar twist, former KC RP Brad Thompson, who just decided to become a free agent rather than go to Omaha and had signed with the Astros, took the loss with the 4 ER in 1 IP to drop to 0-2. Former Royals farmhand Andy Van Hekken allowed an ER over 7 IP in the start for Round Rock. RF Andrew Locke had 3 hits and 3B Chris Johnson had 2 hits for the Express. Omaha is 36-30 and now tied for first in the division with Iowa. Everett Teaford was to start Saturday but got demoted instead.

AA - NWA: Naturals 8, Springfield 7 (10)

RF Van Stratten 3-5, 2B (11), HR (2), RBI (22), K, 2 RS -- .284
3B Moustakas 2-5, BB, 2 HR (17), 2 RBI (59), 2 K, 2 RS -- .346, just keeps impressing
1B C. Robinson 2-6, GW RBI (47), 2 K, RS -- .286
C Howell 2-4, HBP, 2B (7), RBI (14), K -- .247
LF Orlando 2-4, BB, 2B (9), K, RS -- .298
2B Giavotella 1-5, BB, HR, RBI (20), 2 RS -- .272
DH Mejia 1-4, RBI (34) -- .262
CF D. Robinson 1-5, BB, K, CS (10) -- .297
NWA stranded 12.

Santiago 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, BB, 7 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 2.77 ERA
Swaggerty 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K, WP, balk -- 3.79 ERA
Keating 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K -- W, 1-0, 3.24 ERA

* Mike Moustakas led the Naturals to a key win as they need only 1 more win to clinch the TL North first-half title. Johnny Giavotella and Moustakas went back-to-back in the 1st for their 1st and 16th homers of the season, respectively. Mario Santiago gave the runs back in the 2nd on a solo homer and RBI double as the Cards answered. Santiago served up a 2-run homer in the 4th but Jeff Howell stroked an RBI double in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-3. Santiago allowed another run in the 5th but Nick Van Stratten kept it close with his 2nd homer of the season in the 5th. Springfield kept control with 2 in the 7th off Ben Swaggerty but Moustakas greeted RP Casey Mulligan with his 17th homer and 2nd of the game to start the bottom of the inning. Ernesto Mejia singled in a run and Van Stratten scored on a wild pitch as the Nats came back to tie it at 7. The Naturals stranded 2 in the 9th and Patrick Keating held the Cardinals off the board for 3 innings. Giavotella drew a 2-out walk in the 10th, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Clint Robinson walkoff single. RP Blake King took the loss with an ER over 1 2/3 IP. Starter Nick Additon allowed 4 ER over 5 IP. Four Cards had 2 hits as LF Aaron Luna struck for his 11th homer and 2 RBI (38). The Naturals are 39-27. As noted above, Everett Teaford was demoted to take Mike Montgomery's place in the rotation as Montgomery was put back on the DL with a forearm strain. RP Louis Coleman has been added to the TL North all-star team.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 7, Winston-Salem 1 (completed game)

LF Ortiz 3-5, 2B (9), RS -- .291
1B Hosmer 2-4, BB, 3B (6), RBI (39), RS -- .360
3B Romak 2-3, 2 HBP, 2 RS -- .273
SS Navarro 1-4, HR (2), 3 RBI (15), K, RS -- .236
2B Frost 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K -- .400
DH Walton 1-3, HBP, SF, RBI (14), K, RS -- .176
The numbers for this game are all goofy because it was a suspended game.

Dwyer CG, ER, 10 H, 13 K -- W, 4-3, 2.95 ERA, that's why the Royals drafted him, altho maybe not for 10 hits allowed, but hey, pretty good start

* The Rocks picked up where they left off with a 6-0 lead as Chris Dwyer had perhaps his best start as a pro. Jamar Walton hit a sac fly and Rey Navarro ripped a 3-run homer in the 1st. Adam Frost ripped a 2-run double in the 3rd and play was suspended after 3. It picked up tonight in the 4th and Eric Hosmer provided an RBI triple that inning to make it 7-0. Winston-Salem scored a run in the 5th but Dwyer held them in check. He struck out 2 in the 7th and 4 of the last 5 batters he faced to finish strong in the 9th. Dash SP Charles Leesman took the loss with 6 ER over 3 IP to fall to 7-3. SS Eduardo Escobar and 3B Jon Gilmore had 2 hits for the Dash.

Winston-Salem 10, Rocks 4 (7/reg. Fri. game)

1B Romak 3-3, 2B (17), HR (6), 2 RBI (43), RS -- .286
RF Francis 2-4, picked off -- .300
CF Norris 1-3, 2B (9), RBI (21), K -- .226
C S. Perez 0-2, SF, RBI (23) -- .259
DH Hosmer 1-3, BB, K, 2 RS -- .354
LF Ortiz 1-4 -- .295

Melville 5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HRA, WP -- L, 2-7, 5.93 ERA, when he's off, he's off
Thompson IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, K -- 9.30 ERA
Basurto IP, 2 K -- 3.46 ERA

* The shoe was on the other foot in the 7-inning game 2 as the Dash took it to the Rocks for 6 late runs. Jamie Romak clubbed a 2-run homer for his 6th of the season in the 1st and Patrick Norris hit an RBI double in the 2nd. The Dash fought back with 2 HR for 4 runs in the 3rd but the Rocks got it tied on a Salvador Perez sac fly. Tim Melville's rough line came down to 3 pitches he gave up a 2-run homer in the 5th to make it 6-4 Dash. It became carnage when James Thompson gave up 4 runs in the 6th. Wilmington didn't threaten after the 5th. Dash SP Nathan Jones allowed 4 ER over 5 IP but got the win to move to 5-2. DH Logan Johnson had 3 hits, a walk, his 3rd double, 3rd HR and 6 RBI (14). Gilmore and LF Ozzie Lewis had 2 hits. The Rocks are 30-38. Buddy Baumann starts Saturday's game for Wilmington.

A - Burlington: Bees 2, Cedar Rapids 0 (susp./3)

* Rene Oriental provided some O with a 2-run homer before rain blew in during the 3rd inning. The game will be finished Saturday before the regular game.