PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

5/11 Royals Game Notes

Published on May 11, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 11, 2008, 1:35 p.m. DH: OMAHA ROYALS (17-16) vs. Tacoma (17-17)

HOME: 11-7 (45-27 in ‘07) AWAY: 6-9 (28-44 in '07) vs. Tacoma: 0-0 (2-2 in '07)

TODAY: Following last night's rainout, the Royals host the Tacoma Rainiers in a doubleheader at Rosenblatt Stadium to open a 4-game series. Omaha is 2-2 on the home stand, after splitting a 4-game series vs. Portland. Happy Mother's Day! As they enter the stadium gates, all moms will be invited to register for several prize drawings, with two lucky mothers winning a trip to Kansas City's Great Wolf Lodge! It's also Honor Roll Day: area middle school and high school students who made the honor roll earned a free ticket to today's game, courtesy of Nebraska Wesleyan University! It's U.S. Bank Family FUNday, with moms invited to run the bases after the game with their kids. All Royals Kids Club members receive a free ticket to every Sunday home game, courtesy of SUBWAY! 1st pitch of the today's opener is 1:35 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 1:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST GAME: The Royals scored 4 runs in the 1st inning and then chased Portland starter Cesar Ramos (3-3) with 3 more runs in the 2nd, on their way to a 9-5 triumph Friday and a split of the 4-game set. Mike Aviles and Brian Buchanan each collected a single and a double in the 1st 2 innings, with Aviles scoring twice and Buchanan knocking in 3 runs. Angel Berroa drilled a 2-run double to cap the 1st inning outburst that came with 2 outs and Damon Hollins chased Ramos with a 2-out RBI single in the 2nd. Kyle Davies (4-2) posted the win, working 6.0 innings and allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits, walking 3 and striking out 2. Devon Lowery finished with 3.0 innings, giving up a run on an Edgar Gonzalez homer in the 8th, but working around 4 walks to earn his 1st Triple-A save.

ROYALS REPORT: A night after Omaha starter Brandon Duckworth needed 70 pitches (31 strikes) to get through 2.0 innings Ramos threw 75 pitches (38 strikes) in just 1.2 frames Friday night for Portland. *** Davies' ERA dipped from 2.61 entering Fridays' contest to 2.43 afterwards, which ranks 4th in the PCL. *** Friday's win improves the Royals to 10-5 when scoring in the 1st inning. *** Mitch Maier entered Friday's action riding a 12-game hitting streak, but he was 0-for-2 in the 1st inning. Maier did collect a single in his 3rd at-bat for his only hit of the contest. His 13-game hit string is the 2nd-longest for a Royals batter this season, trailing Aviles' 15-gamer. During his streak, Maier is hitting .362 (21-for-58) with 3 homers and 8 RBI. *** Aviles delivered his 6th 3-hit game and 18th multi-hit tilt of the season Friday night, with 2 singles and a double. Aviles raised his average to .364, 8th-best in the league. He leads the PCL with 29 extra-base hits and is tops with 6 triples. Aviles scored 2 runs Friday, giving him 33 runs scored on the year, tied for most in the loop. He has hit in 20 of the past 21 games, batting at a .387 clip (36-for-93) with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs, 17 RBI and 22 runs scored over that span. *** Buchanan has only played in 8 games this season due to a couple of trips to the DL, but he's been productive in limited action, going 10-for-31 (.323) with 2 home runs and 9 RBI. He figures to see more action for awhile, since Ryan Shealy was placed on the DL Friday with a strained left hamstring. *** Jason Smith accepted 5 walks in the 4-game series vs. Portland, after picking up just 6 free passes in his 1st 27 games. *** Shane Costa drove in a run and scored once Friday, but was officially 0-for-4 to halt a 6-game hitting streak. He batted .320 (8-for-25) with 4 RBI and 4 runs scored during the streak. *** Lowery ran his scoreless streak since being promoted from Northwest Arkansas to his 1st 7.1 innings with Omaha, when he pitched a scoreless 7th inning Friday. The streak ended when he yielded Gonzalez' leadoff homer in the 8th. After 4 relief outings with the Royals, Lowery has a 0.96 ERA (1 ER/4 H/9.1 IP). *** 37-year old catcher Ken Huckaby was released yesterday by KC, while catcher Damaso Espino, who turned 25 on Thursday, was activated from the disabled list. *** Reliever Anthony Bradley was promoted from class-A Burlington (IA) to Omaha Friday. The 22-year old lefty was 1-2 with a 0.53 ERA in 8 relief appearances this season in the Midwest League.

GAME 1: LH Ryan Feierabend (3-1, 1.70) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (1-3, 7.39)

Lumsden makes his 7th start of the season and his 1st career start vs. Tacoma. The lefty, who celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, lost his 2nd consecutive start in his last outing, a 2-0 defeat at Fresno on Monday (6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K). He has no record and a 12.38 ERA in 2 starts at home, while going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in 4 starts on the road. On the season, he has surrendered 41 hits, including 7 home runs, in 28.0 innings, with 16 walks compared to 10 strikeouts. Lumsden was acquired by KC along with right-hander Daniel Cortes from the White Sox in exchange for Mike MacDougal in July 2006. He spent all of the 2007 season with Omaha, going 9-6 with a 5.88 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) during his 1st year at the Triple-A level. Following the season, Lumsden pitched for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League and was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 7 relief appearances. He was ranked by Baseball America as KC's #13 prospect entering 2008, after being rated #5 prior to 2007. The same publication named him as having the Best Slider in the White Sox organization entering the 2006 season. In '06, he was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts for the White Sox Double-A club, Birmingham. Following the trade to KC, he finished the '06 campaign at Wichita, going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 7 games (6 starts). He missed the entire 2005 season after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. Lumsden was selected by the Chisox as a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds (34th overall) of the 2004 draft after compiling a 17-7 record in 3 seasons at Clemson. He graduated from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Virginia, where he lettered all 4 years in baseball and basketball and was a hoops teammate of J.J. Redick, who went on to star at Duke. Out of high school, Lumsden was selected in the 5th round of the 2001 draft by the Marlins, but did not sign.

GAME 2: RH Chris Jakubauskas (1-0, 0.00) vs. RH Matt Wright (0-1, 5.34)

Wright makes his 7th start of the season. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was last Tuesday vs. Portland; he was not involved in the decision in the Royals' 12-11 loss (6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR). In his 1st 6 starts this season, Wright has logged 28.2 innings and has allowed 37 hits and 14 walks, while striking out 18. Last season, he walked only 40 batters in 137.1 innings. Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to 2007 and spent the entire campaign with Omaha, going 10-5 and ranking 7th in the PCL with a 4.06 ERA. In 21 starts last season, he was 7-3 with a 4.01 ERA; he went 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 7 relief appearances. His one outing vs. the Beavers last season was a June 5 start at Portland; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 5-4 in 10 innings (4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R-3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). Wright pitched well in tight spots last season, holding opponents to a .216 average with runners in scoring position and .193 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. He won 6 of his 7 decisions at Rosenblatt Stadium last year, although his ERA was actually better on the road than at home (3.89 to 4.24). Following the season, he was a member of the gold-medal winning USA Baseball Team at the World Cup in Chinese Taipei, going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 2 games (1 start). Prior to 2007, Wright spent his 1st 7 professional seasons in the Braves organization. He was named to the Carolina League All-Star team in 2004, when he ranked 6th in Atlanta's system with 133 strikeouts for Myrtle Beach. Wright was selected by the Braves in the 21st round of the 2000 draft out of Robinson High School in Texas.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Mon., 6:35 p.m.: RH R.A. Dickey (1-4, 3.25) vs. RH Jeff Fulchino (1-0, 2.66)

Tue., 12:05 p.m.: LH Robert Rohrbaugh (3-2, 6.44) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (2-1, 6.04)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 11, 2008


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