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Royals Game Notes

August 8, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1) - Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


AUGUST 8, 2007, 12:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (59-59) vs. Tucson Sidewinders (61-55)

HOME: 38-20 (31-41 in '06) AWAY: 21-39 (22-50 in '06) vs. Tucson: 1-2 (1-3 in '06)

TODAY: The Royals host the Tucson Sidewinders in a 12:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's the finale of a 4-game series, which Tucson leads 2-1. Omaha is 5-2 on the homestand. Enjoy ½-price burgers, courtesy of Omaha Steaks! Air-time is 11:45 a.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Mike Aviles and Craig Brazell homered, while Matt Wright combined with 2 relievers on a 5-hitter in the Royals' 5-2 victory over Tucson. Aviles' 2-run homer - his 15th of the season and the 1st of his 3 hits on the night - came in the 3rd and put Omaha on top 2-1. With 2 outs in the 5th, the Royals strung together 3 straight hits off Casey Daigle (9-3), capped by Brazell's 3-run shot off the batter's eye in center. Wright (8-3) gave up 4 hits and 5 walks in 6.2 innings, but only 2 runs, to pick up another win. Roberto Giron and Neal Musser blanked the Sidewinders over the final 2.1 frames, with Musser recording his 6th save.

ROYALS REPORT: Aviles' home run last night eclipsed his career high of 14 long balls, set in 2005 with Double-A Wichita. He has racked up 23 RBI over the last 19 games and his club-leading 70 RBI are just 10 shy of his career-best, also set in the '05 campaign. Over his last 21 games, Aviles is batting .368 (32-87) with 7 homers and 23 RBI. *** Brazell's blast Tuesday night was his 1st home run in 65 at-bats, since he went deep on July 17 at Albuquerque. He leads the minors with 33 taters, 26 of them coming in 81 games with Omaha. Brazell has hit in 8 of the past 9 contests, going 13-for-33 (.394) with 6 RBI. *** Wright has won 5 consecutive decisions, including each of his 2 starts in this homestand. He hasn't lost since June 11 at Iowa. He also remained undefeated at Rosenblatt last night, improving to 6-0 with a 3.43 ERA in 13 games (9 starts) at home. Wright was able to work around a season-high 5 walks - his previous high was 3 - to trim his ERA to 3.86, which ranks 7th in the PCL. *** In his last 11 relief outings, Giron has allowed just 2 earned runs in 25.0 innings for a 0.72 ERA. That stretch has seen his ERA plummet from 6.00 to 4.03. *** Musser's scoreless stanza of relief last night kept his 0.00 ERA intact. In 43.2 innings at Triple-A this season, Musser has yielded just 2 unearned runs on 24 hits. *** Shane Costa doubled in the 3rd inning in front of Aviles' home run. That extended his on-base streak to 45 games, longest in the league this season. Costa has scored 20 runs over the last 21 contests. *** Ryan Shealy went 0-for-4 last night, striking out 3 times. Shealy, whose rehab assignment is due to expire today, is 11-for-his-last-31 (.355), hitting 4 homers and driving in 13 runs over that 8-game span. *** Justin Huber, who hasn't played the last 2 games, has smacked 4 home runs in his last 5 contests and is riding a season-long, 11-game hitting streak. He's batting .386 (17-44) with 5 dingers and 14 RBI during the string. *** Chris Lubanski was 0-for-3 last night, halting a 4-game hit streak. He's still 6-for-his-last-13 with an RBI and 5 runs scored.

STARTERS: RH Yusmeiro Petit (7-4, 4.09) vs. RH Billy Buckner (8-6, 4.07)

Buckner makes his 14th start and 25th appearance of the season. The 23-year old right-hander's last outing was last Friday vs. Las Vegas, when he came within 2 outs of his 1st career complete game, but settled for combining with Jason Shiell on a 6-hitter in a 2-0 win (8.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K). It was Buckner's 1st win since June 25. In his 6 starts between that win and last Friday, he was 0-4 with a 5.65 ERA. Since moving into Omaha's rotation in late May, Buckner is 4-5 with a 4.20 ERA, after going 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA as a reliever. He's 4-3 with a 4.46 ERA at home, while also 4-3 with a 3.78 ERA on the road. Buckner began this season with Double-A Wichita, going 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 4 games (3 starts). Entering this season, he was named as the 9th-best prospect in KC's organization by Baseball America. In 2006, Buckner pitched for 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. After being promoted to Wichita on July 1, he 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 SERIES AT MEMPHIS:

Fri., 7:10: RH Ben Hendrickson (10-5, 5.03) vs. RH Mike Smith (10-10, 4.90)

Sat., 6:10: RH Luke Hochevar (1-2, 7.18) vs. LH Randy Keisler (8-8, 4.38)

Sun., 2:10: LH Tyler Lumsden (7-5, 6.32) vs. RH Blake Hawksworth (3-12, 5.49)

Mon., 7:10: RH Matt Wright (8-3, 3.86) vs. TBA


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