Omaha used a solid pitching effort and a good offensive night from Anthony Seratelli to beat Salt Lake, 4-2. Seratelli hit a solo homerun in the 3rd inning that gave the Storm Chasers the lead and drove in a run in the team’s two-run 4th inning that re-gained the lead.

Sean O’Sullivan earned the win, as he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over five innings. Brandon Sisk and Tommy Hottovy followed up with two scoreless innings each.

KC Royals utility infielder Yuniesky Betancourt began his rehab assignment with NW Arkansas on Thursday night, but the Naturals lost 11-3. Yuni went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

The Naturals were not out-hit by Midland (10-10), but were just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Eric Duncan and Ryan Jenkins collected two hits.

Three Naturals relievers allowed eight runs (five earned) on eight hits and five walks over the final 3.2 innings. Starter Justin Marks wasn’t bad; he allowed three runs on two hits and five walks over 5.1 innings.

Andrew Dobies was reinstated from the DL and then released. Taking Dobies place is lefty Jon Keck, who was promoted from Wilmington. Keck was 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA over 11 appearances. I had seen him pitch five times this season.

The Blue Rocks had Thursday off, as they made their way to Myrtle Beach for a weekend series.

Kane County won the slugfest over Burlington 13-12 in walk-off fashion. After watching the Bees take the lead in the 8th inning and add insurance in the top of the 9th inning, the Cougars went to work in the bottom of the 9th inning.

It all started with Lane Adams striking out, but reaching base via a passed ball. Michael Antonio followed with a single. Orlando Calixte attempted to sacrifice the runners, but there was an error to load the bases. Up came Dean Espy, who cleared the bases with a double to give the Cougars the victory.

Espy finished with three hits, as did Justin Trapp. Daniel Mateo went 4-for-5 with three runs scored. Antonio and Jorge Bonifacio each had two hits, as Antonio hit a two-run homerun in the first inning.

The two teams combined for 32 hits and seven errors.

Omaha continues their winning ways, this time on the road in Memphis. The Storm Chasers beat the Redbirds, 3-2. David Lough hit an inside-the-park homerun in the 9th inning to break the 2-2 tie (his second HR of the game).

Sean O’Sullivan earned the victory with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief behind starter Will Smith (6.2 IP, 9H, 2R, 0BB, 2K).

Johnny Giavotella went 2-for-4 in the win. The Cardinals Allen Craig began his rehab assignment with Memphis and went 2-for-5.

NW Arkansas scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back in their 6-3 win over Springfield. Justin Marks earned his first Double-A victory, as he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings.

Wil Myers hit his 6th homerun of the season, as he went 3-for-4. Rey Navarro went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Kurt Mertins went 2-for-2 with two walks, Ryan Jenkins went 2-for-4, and Mario Lisson went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks scored the game’s first run, but Salem scored the next four runs to win 4-1. Whit Merrifield led off the game with a double (he went 2-for-4) and scored on Brian Fletcher’s double (he went 3-for-4).

Sugar Ray Marimon relieved Leondy Perez and pitched three shutout innings. He allowed just one hit while striking out five.

The Kane County Cougars collected just three hits in their 6-0 loss. Daniel Mateo had two of them. The Cougars complete their road series in Lansing Friday night.

Scott Alexander took the loss, as he allowed two runs on six hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three.

Omaha received another stellar pitching performance from Nate Adcock, as the Storm Chasers beat Nashville, 2-1. Adcock allowed one run on five hits and one walk over eight innings. He struck out five. Brandon Sisk pitched a perfect 9th inning to pick up his first save of 2012.

Both teams scored single runs in the first inning. Omaha took the lead in the bottom of the 7th inning on a Jarrod Dyson RBI infield single (he went 2-for-3). Terry Evans also went 2-for-3 and scored the winning run.

Arkansas put together two big innings, a three run 4th inning and a four run 7th inning to beat NW Arkansas 8-4. Lorenzo Cain began his rehab assignment and went 1-for-3 while playing centerfield.

Carlo Testa went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Chris Dwyer started for the Naturals and allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out three while dropping to 0-3 on the season.

After finally hitting the team’s first homerun of the 2012 season, Wilmington Blue Rocks first baseman Brian Fletcher hit another homerun on Sunday, a solo shot following Cheslor Cuthbert‘s first homerun of the season. However the rains came in the bottom of the first inning, halting the game. The two teams sat for a little over an hour before the game was suspended, with the continuation scheduled for June 8th. The Blue Rocks lead 3-1, as the Winston-Salem Dash have the bases loaded.

The Kane County Cougars and Lake County Captains were scoreless until the bottom of the 7th inning when the Cougars scored a run on Daniel Mateo‘s RBI double. The Cougars held on for the 1-0 win.

The Cougars collected seven hits, five coming from Lane Adams (2-for-3) and Mateo (3-for-4) at the top of the order. Edwin Carl earned the win, as he pitched seven shutout innings. He allowed five hits and one walk while striking out three. Nick Graffeo earned his fourth save with two shutout innings of relief.

Two of the KC Royals full season minor league affiliates played day games today, while the NW Arkansas Naturals had the day off (or used it as a travel day).

A three-run top of the first inning propelled the Omaha Storm Chasers to a 4-0 win over Round Rock. Two runs scored on back-to-back errors, with the third run scoring on a wild pitch.

That was more than enough for Omaha starter Ryan Verdugo, who allowed just one hit over 5.1 innings while striking out eight. He would have gone farther if not for the four walks. The bullpen was just as stingy. Roman Colon and Francisley Bueno combined to throw 3.2 shutout innings. They combined to strike out four.

Omaha collected just five hits and were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Clint Robinson added some insurance in the 6th inning with a solo homerun.

Jason Adam

How can a starting pitcher have a 0.51 ERA over three starts and not have a win? Trying asking Jason Adam of the Wilmington Blue Rocks that question. He lost for the first time today, 1-0 in the series finale to visiting Carolina.

Adam allowed an unearned run over 7.2 innings (his season-high). He gave up five hits and three walks while striking out five. His defense committed three errors behind him. He did credit his defense following the game, as they turned three double plays behind him. He even offered to buy dinner for shortstop Alex McClure and second baseman Whit Merrifield on Twitter.

Angel Franco got his second straight start, this time at third base, and he went 2-for-2 (two doubles). However, he also made two errors. The Blue Rocks had their chances to score, but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Kenny Swab grounded into a double play to end the game.

Check out the article on Adam’s outing on MiLB.com by Benjamin Hill.

The Kane County Cougars also lost their day game, 6-3 to Beloit. They out-hit the Snappers, 11-7, but were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Beloit wasn’t much better (just 3-for-15).

Daniel Mateo drove in two of the Cougars runs (he went 3-for-5). Justin Trapp and Edul Escobar each had two hits. Trapp scored two runs.