KC Royals - KIDS Edition

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Yordano Ventura demoted Surprise Arizona

Bob Dutton is reporting that Ventura is being sent down to Arizona. The young righthander left his last start with a undisclosed injury and this could be tied to that.

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Duffy pitches today, in what is expected to be his only start in Omaha before returning to the 6 person rotation in KC. Davies needs to go away.

Cardinals in town for four

SPRINGDALE, AR - Before their next scheduled off day on Aug. 9, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals will play on 26 consecutive days, each of those games against a North Division opponent. In a quirk of Texas League scheduling, nearly half of those games will be against the Springfield Cardinals, who return to Arvest Ballpark for a four-game series beginning on Thursday night.
The Naturals and Cardinals will play 12 times before that off day, including eight games in Springdale and another four at Hammons Field, Springfield's home park. For the Naturals, this series presents an opportunity to continue their success against the Cardinals this season, as the team posted a 10-6 record against Springfield in the first half.

Over the last two weeks, the Naturals put their seven-game losing streak of late June behind them. In 12 games against the Corpus Christi Hooks and San Antonio Missions, the team went 6-6, posting identical 3-3 marks at home and on the road. At this point, the Naturals' 7-11 second-half record puts them in a tie with Springfield for third place in the North, four games behind the first-place Travelers. Though there is still plenty of baseball to be played over the season's final two months, a decisive series win could give the Naturals the necessary momentum to make up that ground.

The Naturals' offense struggled to generate runs during that losing streak; at one point, the team was shut out three times in a four-game span. But on this last road trip, the Naturals put up 10 runs on three different occasions. The offense allowed Jake Odorizzi to win his first Double-A start in the opener against San Antonio, supported Will Smith in one of the southpaw's best outings of the year and helped the team come from behind at Corpus Christi on Sunday night. Jamie Romak blasted a couple of home runs to raise his team-leading total to 13, while Derrick Robinson (.383) and Nick Francis (.364) have hit the cover off the ball in July, success that they hope will spread to the rest of the team going forward.

Smith pitches tonight.

Stovall Provides Blue Crew With Walk-Off Double In 10th

Wilmington, DE - At the end of the day, no one asks how, but rather how many. The Wilmington Blue Rocks were very thankful for that fact on Wednesday night. Despite committing a season-high tying four errors, the Blue Crew earned a 5-4 walk-off win over the Frederick Keys courtesy of Ryan Stovall's run-scoring double in the 10th inning at Frawley Stadium.
The Rocks let three separate advantages slip away thanks to porous defense. After Yem Prades put Wilmington on top, 2-0, in the second courtesy of his two-out two-run homer to left, the Keys tied the game with a pair of unearned runs in the third.

An errant throw on a stolen base attempt by Jose Bonilla and another botched toss by third baseman John Whittleman, helped the Keys tie the game.

Whittleman atoned for his miscue in the fourth when he opened the inning with one of the most impressive shots of the season from a Blue Rock batter. Whittleman sent a Bobby Bundy pitch soaring deep into the Wilmington night, well past the right field fence for a solo homer that gave the Blue Crew a 3-2 lead.

Mariot gets the start tonight.

KC goes down 0-4.

Royals Prevail in One-Run Win at Princeton

Princeton, WV- The Burlington Royals took game two of the three game series against the Princeton Rays on Wednesday night in West Virginia, 3-2. Tyler Graham earned his second win, while Nick Graffeo recorded his third save for the Royals. Lucas Irvine received the loss for the Rays, his first.
Cam Connor led off the game with a walk, then, with Justin Trapp at the plate, stole second, and then took third after catcher, Jake Depew tried to catch Connor off second. Trapp would bring Connor home with a ground out to make it 1-0 Burlington.

Princeton would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, as Joel Caminero's RBI triple would tie the game. The next batter, DePew, would double to centerfield, scoring Caminero, and give Princeton the lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Royals would answer back. Derek Hamblen would reach on a fielder's choice. He would steal second, then move up to third on a groundout by Trapp. The next batter, Steven Brooks, would reach on an error from first baseman, Cameron Seitzer, that would allow Hamblen to score and tie the game at two runs apiece.

Ridings starts this evening.

Chukars Reverse Fortune, Win 5-4

The Chukars finally got on the board in the sixth, as Espy continued his recent power surge with a 2-run home run to left-center field to make the score 4-2. Espy, who leads the team with four homers and 13 RBI on the season, has now hit three blasts in his last five games.


Idaho Falls finished the comeback in the seventh as they took advantage of a Brewers error to score three runs and go up 5-4. Catcher Edul Escobar started the frame with a base knock to right and one out later right fielder Runey Davis doubled to right to put two men in scoring position with just one out. Left fielder Tyler Chism would drive in the first run with a ground ball that turned into a error by Rivera, Davis would then score on a balk by Helena reliever David Goforth, and Chism would come in on an RBI single from second baseman Daniel Mateo.


The Chukars would actually finish the night with only eight hits to the Brewers nine, but timely hitting led by Espy's 1-3 night with his 2-run homer and Mateo's 2-4 evening with an RBI led the Chukars to victory.


On the mound, Idaho Falls starter Aaron Brooks received a no-decision after allowing four runs, only one earned, over his five innings. Instead it was reliever Jose Sanchez (2-1) who earned the victory, as the left-hander tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three. Goforth (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits over just 2/3 of an inning. Chukars closer Edwin Carl earned his second save of the year by getting the final five outs of the game, giving up two hits and striking out three.

TBD

AZL won 7-3, DSL won 5-4.

[SubGod22]

The Starting 9

Week of July 3 thru July 9

Our weekly look at the top performers in the Royals Minor league system.

Pitchers haven’t taken many of the top spots on The Starting 9 but Greg Billo’s performance this week and on the season as a whole proved to be too good to pass up. Along with Billo the Royals centerfielder of the future Lorenzo Cain makes his usual appearance on the list as does Jake Kuebler whose 3 home run game helped him to an excellent week.

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Royals top 40 at the break. I'm going to go ahead and copy a few over. The link will provide the rest.

1- OF Wil Myers- I know the numbers don’t show the progress fans wanted but I watch this guy play and I see a star. He has a terrific approach at the plate and his swing is so fluid and quick that I feel like I am watching a young Chipper Jones. He is not a switch hitter but I remember watching Chipper when he first came up and he just had that old school swag about him. He should be the AAA RF in 2012 and a big league call up in 2012 is not out of the question.

3-3B-Cheslor Cuthbert- What can I say an 18 year old from Nicaragua from a great family background has been the best story in Royals baseball this season. He won’t be 19 until November and he is absolutely owning the midwest league with a .342/.383/.520/903 clip while playing stellar defense and is on page for 24 HR based on a full season. I have comped him to Gary Sheffield and JJ Picollo has thrown out Adrian Beltre. The glove is so much better than I thought . He will be a blast to watch the next 3 seasons before he makes his big league debut in 2013 or 2014.

6-LHP-John Lamb- I have no issues at all placing Lamb in the top 6 in this organization. He is not going to pitch again until the 2nd half of 2012 and it should give him a chance to compete for a big league job at 2013 ST. More than likely he will make his debut in 2013 as a 23 year old. This surgery might actually have been a good thing for John. The reason I say that is sometimes you have to fail to truly succeed and I know John will reflect on this time and become a better pitcher for it.

13- CF- Brett Eibner- Power from the right side of the plate is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered by scouts all over the world. For whatever reason it has just become that one spot that everyone covets. Eibner has a chance to be a special player. He is charismatic, has a terrific arm, plays a solid OF, and can hit a ball 500 feet. But, he will struggle with consistency at times before hopefully rewarding fans with a clutch jack. The one thing about Eibner that makes him more special than others is the Royals fall back option they have with him. He is a terrific P with 94 MPH heat and a valuable secondary power off speed pitch. If and when the Royals decide to move Eibner to the bump I believe has already been discussed. But, at the same time you have to develop that bat.

21- RHP- Tim Melville- I thought we would see Tim get to AA this season but a recent move to put him in the pen (to limit innings) had me scratching my head. Tim has terrific stuff but to this point in his young career has been unable to find consistent movement or outings. He is a candidate that makes you think he is a late bloomer but with his fastball/curve combo maybe he is a future reliever…I don’t think so and I look forward to him continuing to figure out what will make him succesful.

37- LHP-Justin Marks- I really liked Marks at Louisville and when i saw his name in the Dejesus trade I thought they got a good one. But, then I looked at his numbers and they were not good. He also was not good to start out his Royals career but about a month or so ago he went back to throwing his bread and butter pitch in his slider and he has begun to look like the guy that pitched so well as a freshman at Louisville.

39- RHP- Greg Billo- With the numbers Greg is putting up and with his new found velocity you can make an argument that Billo should be higher. But, I need to see him at Wilmington and continuing to develop. He is, arguably, the smartest P in the organization so the added velocity is like giving Megan Fox a brain.

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Storm Chasers drop series opener, losing late lead in Duffy's return to Omaha

Duffy, 22, used just 78 pitches in a tune-up start before he makes his expected return to the Kansas City rotation next week. He allowed four runs on seven hits in his six innings of work, striking out five without walking a batter. The lefthander now has a 48-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 42.0 innings this season with the Storm Chasers.

Up 5-4, reliever Kevin Pucetas (5-5) came within one strike of getting out of the seventh, but a looping double to right-center off the bat of Joe Thurston tied the game at 5-5. After a walk to Vinny Rottino, Mike Cervenak doubled to the left-center gap, plating both runners and giving the Zephyrs their winning margin. In the previous inning, Duffy got two quick outs before Matt Dominguez took him deep to left, trimming the Omaha lead to 5-4.

Six Omaha hitters put on multi-hit performances in this one, including David Lough (3-for-5) and Lorenzo Cain (3-for-4). As a team they collected eight singles, five doubles and a triple, including one apiece from Lough, but they were just 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position and grounded into three double plays. The Chasers have now hit into 20 twin-killings in 11 July games, including 10 in their last four contests.

Monty throws tonight. Hopefully he picks up where he left off before the break.

Four! Naturals walkoff Cardinals in ninth

SPRINGDALE, AR - Down three runs in the ninth inning, the Naturals scored four, finished by Jamie Romak's RBI single to give Northwest Arkansas its second consecutive walkoff home win in a row, a 7-6 final against Springfield on Thursday at Arvest Ballpark.
With Springfield holding a 6-3 lead, hard-throwing reliever Jorge Rondon (1-4), who tipped the Arvest Ballpark radar gun at 99 MPH with his first pitch of the night, entered to close things out in the ninth. Wil Myers worked a walk to start the inning and Jeff Bianchi followed with a double to put runners at the corners and bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Nick Francis followed with an RBI single and Rondon then walked Anthony Seratelli to load the bases.

Salavdor Perez followed with an RBI fielder's choice scoring Bianchi and getting an out at second base making the score 6-5. A double by Rey Navarro tied the score 6-6 and moved the winning run to third base. Jamie Romak then looped a single into shallow right field scoring the winning run giving the Naturals (8-11, 43-43) the walkoff victory.

Miner starts tonight.

TWO MORE ERRORS HELP LEAD TO BLUE CREW LOSS

Wilmington, DE - Sloppy defense finally caught up to the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Thursday night at Frawley Stadium. After committing six errors but earning consecutive wins in their last two games, the Rocks failed to overcome two defensive miscues that led to a pair of unearned runs in the first inning of the Frederick Keys' wire-to-wire, 6-2 victory on Thursday.
John Whittleman threw errantly to first on Jonathan Schoop's one-out bouncer to first in the opening inning. The 19-year-old Frederick infielder then stole second and moved to third on a wild toss by Wilmington catcher Jose Bonilla. The extra out allowed Jacob Julius to send a two-out two-run bomb over the right-center fence one batter later. The long ball gave Frederick a 2-0 lead it would never relinquish.

Arguelles starts.

KC loses 1-3.

Princeton Downs Burlington in Series Finale

Princeton, WV- In the final game of the series, the Burlington Royals fell to the Princeton Rays, 7-3. The Royals, who won the last series between these two teams, fall to 8-15, while Princeton improves to 13-10. Matt Ridings takes the loss for the Royals, while Jeff Ames earned the win.
Burlington again was able to get on the scoreboard in their first at bat, as Justin Trapp would score on a single from Jorge Bonifacio, who extended his hitting streak to 17 games. The Rays would answer back in the bottom of the inning on a two-RBI double from Cameron Seitzer to make it 2-1 Rays. Princeton would add a run in the second inning on Joshua Sale's third home run of the year.

The Royals put up a run in the top of the sixth on Lane Adams' first home run of the year. Princeton would counter in their next at bat before the Rays would pull away in the seventh scoring three times, with the help of three doubles, and take a 7-2 lead heading into the eighth. A two-bagger from Adrian Bringas would bring in the Royals' third run, but that's as close as Burlington would come to a comeback, falling 7-3.

Baez gets the call tonight.

Chukars Defense Falters in 9-6 Loss

The Chukars slammed four home runs in the game and Idaho Falls relievers Spencer Patton and Nathan Johnson combined to retire the last 10 Brewers they faced, but the Chukars fielding was once again their Achilles Heel in the loss. Errors in the second, third and two in the sixth inning pushed the Chukars season error total to 56, and the four unearned runs put that season total at a lofty 44 in just 24 games.


The Chukars came out swinging against Brewers starter Andrew Moye, scoring a run in the first with a Daniel Mateo RBI single to go up 1-0. After Helena answered with an unearned run in the top of the second inning, the Chukars exploded for three runs, all on solo-homers, in the bottom of the frame to go up 4-1. Catcher Edul Escobar and right fielder Runey Davis kicked off the slugfest with back-to-back shots over the right field wall and were followed one out later by center fielder Tyler Chism who also put a solo shot over right field.

TBD

AZL goes down 10-14. DSL gets shutout, loses by one.

[SubGod22]

Two-Out Troubles Return for Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. - For the second-consecutive night, the Omaha Storm Chasers jumped out to an early lead in the first four innings behind a talented, 22-year-old lefthanded starting pitcher. And for the second-consecutive night everything fell apart late, this time in a 9-2 loss Friday to the New Orleans Zephyrs. The Zephyrs have outscored the Chasers 13-0 after the fourth inning in the first two games of the series, with all 13 runs crossing the plate with two outs.
Things looked a little brighter early on, as the Storm Chasers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first two innings and Mike Montgomery retired the first nine batters in order, flashing a dominant three-pitch mix. Clint Robinson and Irving Falu delivered RBI singles, while New Orleans' starting and eventual winning pitcher Tom Koehler (6-6) labored to get outs.

SOS pitches today.

Cards rough up Miner in loss

SPRINGDALE, AR - Wil Myers put on a veritable laser show in a 4-for-4 night, but the Naturals had only one hit with runners in scoring position as they fell 8-2 to the Springfield Cardinals Friday night at Arvest Ballpark.
Myers had three hits and a double, but didn't score a run as Northwest Arkansas (8-12, 40-50) plated two in the second but didn't get back on the board after that point. Already down 3-0, Nick Francis led off with a single and stole second before Anthony Seratelli worked a walk from Springfield starter Shelby Miller (5-1). Salvador Perez followed and reached on an error to load the bases.

Rey Navarro's ensuing groundout scored Francis to cut the Springfield lead to 3-1, and Jamie Romak followed with an RBI single to make it 3-2. But Derrick Robinson bunt popped out in foul territory for the second out, and Miller uncorked a wild pitch with Christian Colon at the plate. Perez attempted to score but was tagged out on the basepaths for the third out.

Dwyer goes tonight.

ARGUELLES CHASED EARLY AS ROCKS FALL

Wilmington, DE - Noel Arguelles turned in his shortest outing of the season as the Wilmington Blue Rocks watched the Frederick Keys jump out to an early five-run lead and then hold on down the stretch for a 6-4 victory on Friday night at Frawley Stadium.
It was clear right from the first pitch that it would not be Arguelles' night. The left-hander issued walks to the first two batters of the game. He was able to escape the jam unscathed by inducing a 5-4-3 double play, but he would not be so fortunate an inning later.

The Cuban native took the hill in the top of the second with a 1-0 lead and promptly retired two Frederick batters. Michael Flacco changed everything though when he laced a double into the left-field corner. From that point forward the floodgates opened and Wilmington's hopes were sunk.

The next five hitters reached safely. Bobby Stevens legged out an infield single to short and Justin Dalles drove in a run with his line-drive single to left. Steve Bumbry and Jonathan Schoop each followed with their second walks of the night. That set up Manny Machado's bases-clearing double to the right-center field alley.

That was the last straw for Wilmington manager Brian Rupp, who pulled Arguelles after he allowed five runs on four hits and four walks in only 1.2 frames.

Sample takes the hill.

KC loses 2-3. Still has 1 game lead.

Sac Fly Gives Royals Walk-Off Win

Burlington, NC- Burlington came away with a walk off win on Friday night to defeat the Danville Braves in 11 innings, 2-1. Adrian Bringas' sacrifice fly brought home Michael Antonio for the game-winning run. Nick Graffeo earned the win for the Royals, while Dan Jurik took the loss for Danville. Burlington is now 9-15, 8-6 in July, while the Braves fall to 11-13.
Danville opened the scoring in their first at bat when, with two outs, Brandon Drury, who walked, would score on an RBI single from Sam Munson to make it 1-0. Burlington tied the game in the fourth when Murray Watts would homer to right. The long-ball is the 10th of the season for Watts, which leads the league.

Cantrell starts today.

Idaho Falls K a season high 19 times while dropping rubber game

The Idaho Falls Chukars looked like they had put their free swinging ways behind them of late, as the club had more than doubled their home run output in the past week while raising their team batting average to near the top of the Pioneer League. The Helena Brewers had no trubble missing Chukar bats Friday night however, as Idaho Falls struck out a season high 19 times while dropping the rubber game againgt the Brew Crew 9-2.

Eight of the nine Chukars batters struck out at least once, with six of those eight striking out multiple times. The main villain for the birds was Brewers reliever Tyler Cravy, who fanned 12 batters while giving up two runs on three hits in five innings pitched.

When the Chukars weren't swinging and missing they managed only five hits and needed the help of three wild pitches to score their two lone runs.

Moen starts today.

AZL goes down 2-15. DSL wins 7-1

[SubGod22]

Chasers Turn Tables on Zephyrs, Rally for Win

OMAHA, Neb. - The Storm Chasers flipped the script from the first two games of their four-game series with New Orleans, coming back to beat the Zephyrs 9-5 Saturday night at Werner Park. Mike Aviles was the hitting hero for Omaha, belting three doubles and driving in four runs in the winning effort.
After starting and winning pitcher Sean O'Sullivan spotted New Orleans three quick runs in the top of the first inning, the Chasers began chipping away. Jarrod Dyson chopped a single over the mound leading off the bottom of the first, and one out later Aviles ripped an RBI double past a diving Joe Thurston in left, bringing home Dyson on the play. Aviles tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth on a two-run gap shot, and later drilled an RBI double to center to extend the lead to 9-4. The four runs batted in matched a season high for the 30-year-old shortstop.

O'Sullivan (2-1) settled down, finishing seven strong innings despite a triple-digit heat index. He allowed four runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out five in 105 pitches. He was particularly effective with his breaking pitches, consistently getting his curve ball over for strikes. O'Sullivan then gave way to Kevin Pucetas, who allowed a run in two innings of relief duty.

Soup is on the mound for Omaha today.

Bats sluggish in Saturday loss

SPRINGDALE, AR - Chris Dwyer struggled to find his control and the Naturals weren't able to hold onto an early lead as they fell 7-3 to the Springfield Cardinals on Saturday evening at Arvest Ballpark.
Scoreless after two innings, Springfield (9-12, 41-50) struck first in the top of the third as Chris Swauger belted a solo homer to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Joe Kelly had retired the Naturals (8-13, 43-45) in order for the first two innings with three strikeouts but the Naturals were able to break through for a pair in the bottom of the frame and take a 2-1 lead. Kelly walked Rey Navarro to start the frame, then plunked Mario Lisson before a sacrifice bunt from Ben Theriot moved runners to second and third. Paulo Orlando also drew a walk to load the bases. Christian Colon then laced a two-run single up the middle to give the Naturals the lead. Wil Myers followed by bouncing into a double play to end the inning. The Cardinals came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth as Zack Cox doubled, Jose Garcia singled and Jermaine Curtis lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to even the score at two.

Odorizzi takes the hill next.

KEYS TAKE THREE OF FOUR FROM BLUE CREW

Wilmington, DE - Tyler Sample surrendered five runs in just five innings and the Wilmington offense continued to falter with runners in scoring position as the Blue Rocks fell to the Frederick Keys on Saturday night, 5-2. The loss was Wilmington's third in its four-game series at home with the first half Carolina League Northern Division champions.
Sample appeared to bring his "A" game in the opening inning when he fanned three and yielded just a one-out walk. But the Keys nickled and dimed him to death with single tallies in the second, third and fourth innings and then two runs in the fifth.

Off day today. Marks starts tomorrow.

KC goes down 3-9.

Royals Capture Second Strait One-Run Win

Trailing by a run in the home half of the sixth inning with runners on second and third, and ball off the bat of Trapp dribbled down the third base line. The throw would not be in time, Burlington would tie the game. The next batter, Michael Antonio would walk, bringing up Murray Watts with the bases loaded. Watts would single to right field, but the right fielder, Sam Munson, would have the ball go through his legs all the way to the fence, clearing the bases, and allowing Watts to reach third. The four-run inning would double up the Braves, making it 6-3.

Danville would respond in their next at bat. With two men on, William Beckwith drive a ball to deep center that went off the glove on Lane Adams, who laid out on the warning track. Beckwith brought in two runs, while he went to third, and would later score on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at six.

To lead off the home-half of the inning, Jin-Ho Shin would double to left, and be moved to third on a sacrifice fly from Adrian Bringas. With the infield in, the next batter, Jose Rodriguez, hit a groundball to second, where Fernando De Los Santos would take the out at first, and allow Shin to score. The Royals led 7-6. Tyler Graham would strand the tying run on second in the eighth and on first in the ninth on the way to his second save.

Burlington starter Eric Cantrell went four innings, giving up three runs on six hits, walking two and fanning seven. Mitchell tossed three innings, surrendering three runs on three hits, while Graham allowed one run in his two innings.

Jason Mitchell gets the start tonight.

Idaho Falls starter Kellen Moen strikes out 8, earns win

Chukars starting pitcher Kellen Moen (2-0) got his first win as a starter, as the Juneau Alaska native went five innings giving up three runs on five hits and eight strikeouts. The Idaho Falls bullpen also brought their "A" game to the ballpark, as relievers David Middendorf and Cody Fassold combined to throw four strikeout innings.


Each team kicked off the offense in the first, with the Osprey scoring once on a double from third baseman Ryan Court and an RBI single from first baseman Jon Griffen. The Chukars would respond with a single by left fielder Darian Sandford who then proceeded to steal both second and third base before being driven in on an RBI double from second baseman Michael Liberto to tie the score at 1-1.


The Chukars would break the score open in the next inning, scoring four more runs on four hits to take a 5-1 lead. The big blast of the frame would come from Runey Davis, as the right fielder smoked a 2-run homer over the right field wall. The other two runs would come on an RBI single from Liberto and an RBI triple from third baseman Mark Threlkeld, who entered as a defensive replacement for Daniel Mateo in the top of the inning.

AZL lost 4-8. DSL won 5-4

[SubGod22]

Giavotella Powers Chasers Past Hometown Zephyrs

OMAHA, Neb. - Second baseman Johnny Giavotella had a career day against the New Orleans Zephyrs Sunday at Werner Park, going 4-for-4 with two home runs in a 7-4 Omaha victory that gave the Chasers a three-game lead over second place Memphis in the American Conference Northern Division.
The Jesuit High School (New Orleans) and University of New Orleans alumnus homered in the first, doubled in the third, homered again in the fourth and singled and scored in the seventh. His performance raised his batting average to .334 for the year with nine home runs, 64 RBI, 56 runs scored and 28 doubles, while raising his batting average to .394 since June 1st.

Giavotella's big afternoon helped veteran righthander Jeff Suppan to his team-leading eighth win of the year. Suppan (8-5) went seven innings, allowing four runs, staying in long enough to take advantage of the Storm Chasers' three-run seventh spurred by Giavotella's fourth hit of the game. The Zephyrs had rallied with two runs to tie the game at 4-4 in the top half of the frame.

Clint Robinson belted a towering two-run home run in the third inning to make it 3-1 at the time, snapping a drought of 129 plate appearances and 31 games since his last long ball. Robinson had five RBI and reached base seven times in the last three games of the series, pushing his batting average up to .325 after bottoming out at .315 on July 6. The three home runs by the Storm Chasers also snapped a five-game homerless streak for the team.

Mendoza takes the hill for Omaha today.

Romak leads balanced attack in win

SPRINGDALE, AR - The Naturals drew ten walks to go along with their nine hits as they came back from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Springfield Cardinals 7-5 Sunday night at Arvest Ballpark.
The scorching hot bat of Jamie Romak struck again as his two-out solo homer in the seventh inning, a moonshot clocked to left-center, put the Naturals up 6-5 in the seventh. That completed a comeback that started after the Northwest Arkansas (9-13, 44-45) allowed five unanswered runs to give Springfield a 5-1 lead.

The Naturals would be the first to score Sunday evening as Derrick Robinson led off the bottom of the first inning with a bunt single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk, Wil Myers lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Robinson for a 1-0 lead.

Baez starts tonight.

Wilmington had an off day. Marks starts.

KC went down 4-6.

Beckwith's Grand Slam Powers Braves Past Royals

Burlington starter Matt Murray pitched four innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits. Culver tossed two innings in relief allowing two runs on five hits, while in Pizziconi's two innings, he gave up four runs, three earned, and two hits. Cory Hall allowed a run on a hit with two walks in the ninth.

Yambati pitches tonight. His ERA is down to 18.00

Missoula Mashes in 16-8 Win Over Chukars

The Chukars offense meanwhile was no slouch, as they were only out-hit by two with 11 knocks of their own. Five of the 11 Idaho Falls hits went for extra bases, including 2-run homers by right fielder Tyler Chism and designated hitter Henry Moreno. The difference in the game came in the fact that the Chukars left 12 men on base, compared to only five stranded runners for the Osprey.

Brooks gets the call.

AZL went down 4-8, DSL won 5-2.

Jovan Pickett Promoted to Kane County

Burlington, NC- Burlington outfielder Jovan Pickett has been promoted to Kansas City's Single-A affiliate, the Kane County Cougars. Pickett has hit .304 in 22 games with the B-Royals this season, and has stolen six bases. A native of Leeds, Alabama, he was signed as a free agent by Kansas City in 2009 after playing a year at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Pickett is in his second stint with Burlington, where he played in 2009, before playing 2010 with the Idaho Falls Chukars.
In 88 games of his minor league career, Pickett is batting .277 and has stolen 24 bases. He has played all three outfield positions in his time in the Kansas City System, and has six errors and four assists. He is the second Burlington Royal to be moved up this year, joining pitcher Nick Rogers on the Cougars.

[SubGod22]

The Starting 9

Week of July 10 thru July 16

Our weekly look at the top performers in the Royals Minor league system.

Rookie leaguers dominate the top of the list this week with impact power performances by D’Andre Toney and Dean Espy followed by a Royal minor league prospect that is flying up the charts in Jorge Bonifacio. It was a tough week for most of the pitchers in the system but a couple Chasers found their way on the list as well as Lorenzo Cain who week in week out is the most steady performer in the minor leagues this season.

Mike Giovenco and Paul Krebs added to Kane County roster

Illinois native Mike Giovenco has been added to the Kane County roster from Idaho Falls along with 2011 free agent signee Paul Krebs.

Giovenco pitched 11 innings for Idaho Falls allowing 2 earned runs while striking out 16.

[SubGod22]

Clock Strikes Midnight; Mendoza's No-Hitter Stands

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Luis Mendoza fired the first Omaha no-hitter in 23 years Monday night, but the prevailing story was the back-and-forth ruling that left observers unsure of how to mark his achievement. Controversy notwithstanding, Mendoza pitched a 4-0, no-hit, complete-game, nine-inning shutout over the Memphis Redbirds, walking four batters and striking out seven in the contest. It was his second-career Pacific Coast League no-hitter, one of 10 pitchers in the 109-year history of the league to accomplish the feat and one of just five hurlers to throw two of the nine-inning variety. He joins Tacoma's Dick Estelle (1964-65) as the only PCL pitchers to throw two nine-inning no hitters in the past 95 years.
Moments after celebrating his historic performance, Mendoza was notified that a ninth-inning error by leftfielder David Lough had been changed to a hit, and his no-hitter was no more. One hour later it was back to a no-no, this time apparently for good. The reversal and subsequent "un-reversal" left Storm Chasers players, coaches, management and fans riding a rollercoaster of emotions, with nobody sure of how to react.

Mazzaro starts today.

Naturals blast past Travs Monday

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - With the help of home runs from Christian Colon and Jamie Romak, the Naturals scored seven consecutive runs in the middle innings of Monday's game, cruising to an 8-2 victory over the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park.
The Naturals (10-13, 45-45) trailed after two innings, as Clay Fuller singled home Alberto Rosario with one out in the bottom of the second for the game's first run. Starter Manauris Baez worked through the rest of the frame without allowing any further damage and then became the recipient of plenty of run support.

The offensive push began in the third, when Paulo Orlando singled and Derrick Robinson walked to begin the frame. Colon then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to push the runners to second in third with one out, setting up Jeff Bianchi, who ripped a single up the middle to score both runners and give Northwest Arkansas a 2-1 lead.

Will Smith takes the hill.

ROCKS ROUTED IN ROAD TRIP OPENER

Southpaw Justin Marks (5-7) failed to last five frames for the first time as a Blue Rocks starter. In fact, he only went 3.1 innings while allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks. The former Big East Pitcher of the Year saw the two unearned tallies cross in the third to disrupt a scoreless deadlock. A throwing error by Jose Bonilla opened the door for Jared Bolden's RBI fielder's choice and Zach Zaneski's run-scoring double.

Pimentel throws tonight.

KC wins 6-5

Blue Jays Too Much For Royals

The Royals sent eight men to the plate in the sixth. With runners on the corners, Bonifacio grounded into a double play, allowing Lane Adams to come home. Later in the inning, Watts would score on a single from Kenny Swab to pull Burlington within a single run.

In the home half of the seventh inning, Bluefield would add to their lead. Two RBI singles would make it a three run game. The Royals had just one base runner in the last two innings, and could not overcome the deficit.

Ridings get the call.

Idaho Falls doesn't have a story up yet, but they lost 8-9 last night. Peacock starts this evening before an off day tomorrow.

AZL went down 3-10 and DSL won 5-2

[SubGod22]

Naturals and Stormchasers flip Pitchers We'll see...

[SubGod22]

Redbirds Outlast Omaha in 14

Memphis, TN - Pete Kozma singled in the game-winning run with one out in the bottom of the 14th inning to finish a five-hour marathon and lift Memphis past Omaha, 6-5, Tuesday night in the second of a four-game set at Auto Zone Park. The Redbirds rebounded from being no-hit in the series opener to pull within three games of the American Conference North Division-leading Storm Chasers, who had a three-game win streak snapped.

Mario Santiago stranded two runners in the 12th and 13th innings but could not work himself out of trouble in the 14th. Matt Carpenter, who went 5-for-6, drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base on an Aaron Luna sacrifice bunt. Following an intentional pass to Bryan Anderson, the fourth time he walked in the game, Kozma delivered a base hit to left field that brought Carpenter home with the decisive marker. Kozma was 2-for-29 without an RBI against the Storm Chasers before coming through with the winning hit.

Monty pitches tonight.

Club tosses first no-no, turns first triple play in same game

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - History was made Tuesday night. Twice.

Will Smith and Kelvin Herrera combined on the first no-hitter in Northwest Arkansas Naturals' franchise history, a game that featured just one unearned run and also the first triple play turned by the Naturals as they topped their in-state rival Arkansas Travelers by the 1-0 final.

Nearly one year to the day that Smith, a former Travelers pitcher, was dealt in a trade to the Kansas City Royals' organization hours before a start against Northwest Arkansas, he faced the minimum number of his former teammates through his seven innings of work. Smith (8-7) retired the first 15 batters in a row before Clay Fuller and Orlando Mercado walked to begin Travelers' sixth.

What followed was a grounder off the bat of light hitting backstop Alberto Rosario to Naturals' third baseman Mario Lisson, who deftly stepped on third for the force on Fuller and flipped onto second baseman Jeff Bianchi, who relayed it to Jamie Romak just in time to get the slow-footed Rosario at first base, completing the Naturals' first ever triple play.

Smith, who fanned five, did not continue past the seventh, having tossed 101 pitches, tying a season high for the southpaw. He threw 62 of those pitches for strikes. Kelvin Herrera fanned two in his two frames for his team-leading seventh save to complete the no-hit bid for the Naturals (11-13, 46-45).

Jeffress starts for NWA tonight.

Walk-off Loss In 14 Innings Extends Losing Streak To Five

Myrtle Beach, SC - Only once did the Wilmington Blue Rocks (45-48, 9-15) trail on Tuesday night. Alas, the lone deficit came as the game went final. Carolina League All-Star Ryan Strousborger's only hit was his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot that cleared the bleachers in left field for a 6-4 Myrtle Beach win in 14 innings. While Wilmington lost its fifth straight game, the Pelicans (54-40, 14-11) won their sixth in a row and lifted their home record to a league best 32-12 (.727).

Mariot starts tonight.

KC had the day off.

Long Ball Lifts Royals Past Blue Jays

Bluefield, WV- The Royals needed 11 innings to get past the Bluefield Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Solo home runs from Adrian Bringas and Jin-Ho Shin helped propel Burlington to the 2-1 victory. Nick Graffeo earned the win, while Andrew Sikula is dealt with the loss.

Burlington struck first in the top of the second inning when Bringas homered to left. It's the fourth of the year for the former Cal State Chico Wildcat. In the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Graham came in for starter Matt Ridings, and gave up a single and two walks to load the bases, before walking Cody Bartlett to bring in Andy Fermin. In the bottom of the ninth with the game still tied at 1-1, Gustavo Pierre walked. He tried to steal second on a pitch that struck out Fermin, and was caught by Kenny Swab. The two outs retired the side with the game still tied.

Baez set to start this evening.

Here's yesterday's story. Wild Chukars Pass 9-8 Win to Osprey

The Idaho Falls Chukars seem to be inventing new ways to lose so far this season, as the grey-birds came back twice only to have the winning run score in the ninth inning on two passed balls and two wild pitches in a 9-8 loss to the Missoula Osprey.

They apparently have today's story written, but it links to yesterday's game. Somebody is dropping the ball over there. Chukars won 10-1 yesterday. I'll update if they ever get it fixed... They have today off.

AZL lost 3-7. DSL won 12-6

[RoyalShock]

Pete Kozma . . . . :(

[SubGod22]

What position group is the best in the organization?

Last season there was little to no discussion of what was the deepest position in the organization, it was left handed starting pitching and it wasn’t even close with the successful seasons of Montgomery, Lamb and Dwyer. That was prior to the difficult seasons this year by Chris Dwyer and Mike Montgomery at their new levels as well as injuries to John Lamb and Crawford Simmons weakening the group a tad. Combine the difficult season by the lefties and the Royals loading up elsewhere there are a couple new positions in the organization that have taken the focus off the lefties and become the new jewels of the system.

[SubGod22]

Memphis Moves Closer to Chasers

Omaha starter Mike Montgomery was removed after a leadoff walk to Andrew Brown and a double by Matt Carpenter to open the sixth. Kevin Pucetas took over and was greeted by Aaron Luna's two-run single that lengthened the hosts lead to 5-1. Montgomery suffered the loss after allowing those five runs on six hits while walking three, all of whom scored, and striking out two.

SOS takes the hill.

Colon's RBI key in fourth straight win

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR - Christian Colon singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth before Kevin Chapman slammed the door with a perfect home half of the inning, carrying the Naturals to a 4-3 win over the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park on Wednesday night.
With the score tied at three after eight innings, Paulo Orlando led off the top of the ninth by doubling to right off of reliever Jeremy Berg (0-1). After Derrick Robinson dropped down a sacrifice bunt to push Orlando to third, Colon singled past a drawn-in infield to score Orlando and put the Naturals (12-13, 47-45) ahead for good.

One-run lead in hand, manager Brian Poldberg called on Chapman to replace Willy Lebron (2-1) in the bottom of the ninth. The southpaw needed just 13 pitches to set the Travelers (13-12, 49-43) down in order. Chapman got Matt Cusick to line to second, fanned Darwin Perez and then induced a harmless fly to right off the bat of Luis Jimenez to end the game, giving Chapman his second save as a Natural.

Dwyer gets the call.

SKID SNAPPED, ROCKS ROLL IN MYRTLE BEACH, 6-3

Michael Mariot (6-2) logged his best start as a Blue Rock while tying his career-high for innings pitched. The Carolina League All-Star had struggled as a starter, beginning the day with an 0-2 record and an ERA of 9.00 in three prior nods. On Wednesday, he gave up just three runs (one earned) over seven frames, walked one and struck out three.

The Blue Rocks got only one run out of a bases-loaded one-out situation in the first inning on Ryan Stovall's groundout. The run went unearned on Wilfredo Boscan (3-7) thanks to an error by Jonathan Roof. Myrtle Beach promptly responded, hanging two unearned runs on Mariot in the bottom half of the inning. John Whittleman's 16th error of the year extended the inning, opening the window for successive two-out RBI singles by Zach Zaneski and Travis Adair.

Whit Merrifield hit a solo homer into the first row of the nearby left-field bleachers to tie the game in the fifth. The Pelicans again authored a rapid response, with Tuesday's hero Ryan Strousborger sending Leury Garcia home with a sacrifice fly the next half-inning to make it 3-2.

Arguelles gets the nod.

WHITECAPS LOSE 15-INNING MARATHON

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - After four hours and 44 minutes of baseball on Wednesday night, the West Michigan Whitecaps lost a marathon homestand-opener, 7-6, after 15 innings of play against the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Ballpark.
West Michigan (13-12, 45-49) overcame deficits of 4-0 and 6-3 to force extra innings before ultimately losing their third straight game. Kane County (15-10, 43-51) was aided by four Whitecaps errors that led to three unearned runs, including the decisive tally in the top of the 15th.

Santiago Garrido is expected to start today for the Cougars.

Royals Dominated By Blue Jays In Series Finale

Baez went just one inning, giving up six earned runs, seven total, on three hits, while walking three. Cory Hall pitched three and a third innings, gave up eight runs on seven hits. New Royal, Abel Gonzaez, surrendered a run on four hits, while striking out two in two thirds of an inning. Andrea Pizziconi went the final three innings, allowing just one hit.

Jaye tossed five shutout innings, scattering six hits, and striking out five. Aasron Sanchez gave up all five runs in an inning and two thirds, while Myles Duvall gave up a hit in one and two third innings of work. Kenllie Santana walked three, but allowed not runs or hits in the top of the ninth finishing our the Royals.

For Burlington, Lane Adams, Jose Rodriguez, and Cam Connor each went 2-for-4. Bringas finished 1-for-4 with his only hit being his fourth homer of the year.

Cantrell will start.

Yeterday's link still doesn't work. Hopefully they've figured things out with the off day. Brennon Martin starts today.

AZL won 5-4 (9-15). DSL won 4-3 (27-17).