Royals Take on RedHawks
June 30, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
TONIGHT: The Royals host the Oklahoma RedHawk in a 6:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's the opener of a 4-game series. Omaha began the homestand by winning 2 of 3 vs. New Orleans. Fans will be treated to the Bucket Boys first-ever performance at Rosenblatt, presented by Thrivent Financial, WOWT-Channel 6 and 1620 The Zone! Air-time is 5:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: New Orleans starter Brian Lawrence hurled a complete game to lead the Zephyrs to 4-1 victory. Lawrence (5-4) scattered 6 hits and did not walk a batter, while striking out 5. He lost his shutout bid when rehabbing big leaguer Ross Gload led off the 9th inning with a home run to right field. Lefty John Bale (0-1), also on a rehab assignment, took the loss after giving up an unearned run in 1.2 innings. Ben Hendrickson followed Bale to the hill and worked 5.1 frames, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, including Anderson Hernandez' 4th homer of the season.
ROYALS REPORT: The Royals took the season series vs. New Orleans, winning 8 of 14 meetings. Omaha was 5-2 vs. the Zephyrs at Rosenblatt, with both losses facing Lawrence, who allowed just 2 earned runs over 16.0 innings in his 2 starts here. Last night, Lawrence became the 3rd opposing pitcher to toss a 9-inning, complete game vs. the Royals this season, joining Chris Narveson of Memphis and Iowa's J.R. Mathes. Dennis Tankersley owns the last 9-inning, complete game for Omaha, recorded on August 19, 2005 at New Orleans. *** Gload had 2 of the Royals' 6 hits last night and flied to deep center in another at-bat. *** Mike Aviles had a hit last night, running his hitting streak to 5 games. He was also denied of 2 other possible hits on fine defensive plays by Z's 3rd baseman Fernando Tatis, including a diving stop of his smash down the 3rd base line following Gload's homer in the 9th. Aviles has 9 RBI in the past 9 games. *** Chris Lubanski, who was a Texas League All-Star for Wichita, was 0-for-3 with 2 strikeouts last night in his Triple-A debut. The 22-year old prospect hit .295 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI in 64 games this season with the Wranglers. *** Mitch Maier has hit in 4 consecutive contests, going 5-for-15 (.333) with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. *** Thad Markray worked around 3 hits and 2 walks to record 2.0 scoreless innings Friday night. In his previous 3 games, he was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA (7 ER/7.0 IP). *** The Royals are 7-5 vs. Oklahoma this season and 4-0 vs. the âHawks at home, having swept a 4-game series here May 21-24. *** Congratulations to UNO baseball coach Bob Herold, who was named today by the Omaha World-Herald as its Midlands College Coach of the Year. Herold's Mavs made their 1st trip to the Division II World Series this year. Herold played 7 seasons in the Royals' organization and later managed for 8 seasons in KC's farm system. He was Omaha's hitting coach in 1992 and 1999.
STARTERS: LH Mark Redman (1-3, 6.06) vs. RH Billy Buckner (7-2, 3.86) Buckner makes his 7th straight start, following 11 relief appearances for Omaha. The 23-year old right-hander's last outing was Monday at Oklahoma, when he got the win in a 7-1 victory (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 K). Buckner won all 3 of his starts on the College World Series road trip, posting a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in the process. In his 6 starts with Omaha, Buckner is 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA; he's 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA as a reliever. In 4 appearances (1 start) vs. Oklahoma, he's 1-0 and has a 0.87 ERA (1 ER/10.1 IP). He opened this season with Double-A Wichita, going 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 4 games (3 starts). Buckner was named as the 9th-best prospect in KC's organization by Baseball America entering this season. He split the 2006 season between High Desert and Wichita, compiling a 12-4 record with a 4.24 ERA in 29 starts combined. He was 7-1 with a 3.90 ERA in 16 starts for High Desert, earning a spot on the California League's mid-season All-Star team. He was promoted to Wichita on July 1 and went 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 13 starts for the Wranglers. Buckner pitched at Young Harris (GA) College in 2002-2003. He was selected by Tampa Bay in the 9th round of the 2003 draft, but did not sign. Instead, he attended the University of South Carolina in 2004 and helped lead the Gamecocks to the College World Series, going 7-2 with a 3.32 ERA. He was KC's 2nd round pick in the 2004 draft.
PROBABLES FOR REAMINDER OF SERIES: Sun., 1:35: RH Eric Hurley (0-1, 7.20) vs. RH Leo Nunez (0-0, 1.50) Mon., 7:05: RH Alfredo Simon (3-6, 6.41) vs. RH Matt Wright (5-3, 3.58) Tue., 6:05: LH John Koronka (6-4, 4.41) vs. RH Scott Elarton (2-2, 4.18)
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