PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

5/23 Royals Game Notes

May 23, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 23, 2007, 6:35 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (21-24) vs. Oklahoma RedHawks (21-23)

HOME: 17-9 (31-41 in ‘06) AWAY: 4-15 (22-50 in '06) vs. Oklahoma: 3-2 (6-10 in '06)

TONIGHT: The Royals host the Oklahoma RedHawks in a 6:35 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's game 3 of a 4-game series, with Omaha leading 2-0. The 1st 100 kids eat FREE, with a pizza courtesy of SUBWAY and ValPak! Plus, it's Martial Arts Night, presented by the United States Karate Academy and Mark Goblowsky's Martial Arts! Air-time is 6:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Craig Brazell smacked 2 more home runs and Mike Aviles also belted a pair in the Royals 8-3 win over the RedHawks. Brazell's 1st round-tripper to deep right led off the 2nd inning and tied the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Aviles crushed a solo shot down the left field line to put the Royals ahead for good. The Royals staged a 3-run outburst with 2 outs in the 4th inning to chase Oklahoma starter Steve Rowe (2-1). Brazell's 2nd homer - a 2-run shot to left in the 5th - made it 7-1 and Aviles closed out the scoring with a solo bomb over the batter's eye in center in the 7th. Tyler Lumsden (3-3) allowed 3 solo homers in 6.2 innings, but no other runs, and got the win.

ROYALS REPORT: Brazell has homered twice in each of the 1st 2 games of this series, going 6-for-9 with 8 RBI and 4 runs scored. He's the 1st Royals batter to hit 2 home runs in back-to-back games since Mendy Lopez did it on June 10-11, 2004 vs. Memphis. After not hitting a home run in his first 2 games with Omaha, the 27-year old 1B/DH has blasted 9 taters in the past 11 contests and has 8 homers in the last 9 tilts. It's a home run stretch reminiscent of Calvin Pickering's zone early in the 2004 season, when that big lefty slugger mashed 10 long balls in 7 games. "Pick" went on to hit 35 home runs in 89 games with Omaha that year. Brazell, who began the season at Wichita and hit 7 homers in 30 games with the Wranglers, leads the minor leagues with his 16 homers and is already tied for 5th in the PCL after just 13 games with the Royals. Ironically, Brazell did not hit a home run in his last 7 games with Wichita and had just 2 in his last 18 games at Double-A. Brazell's average stands at .386 for Omaha and he's riding a 12-game hitting streak (.415, 22-53), which includes 4 straight multi-hit affairs (.550, 11-20, 5 HR, 11 RBI). The multi-hit game string has jumped his average up 89 points from .297. *** When Aviles hit his 2nd home run last night, it marked the 1st time that 2 Royals batters have gone deep twice in a game since June 10, 2004, when Lopez and Pickering each hit 2 homers in a 5-2 win over Memphis at Rosenblatt. Aviles had hit just 2 homers in his 1st 43 games this season. He has hit in 8 of his last 9 games, at a .375 pace (15-40), including 7 extra-base hits. *** Since being rocked for 5 runs in a 1.0 inning relief appearance on April 30 - which raised his ERA to 10.80 - Lumsden is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 4 starts. His ERA now stands at 5.74. *** Jason LaRue, on KC's disabled list since taking a foul tip off his left shoulder earlier this month, began a rehab assignment with Omaha last night. He went 0-3, but was hit by a pitch with 2 outs in the 4th that began a 3-run inning. *** Catcher Matt Tupman, who was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI last night, has put together a 6-game hitting streak, matching his longest of the campaign. He's batting .524 (11-21) during the streak to raise his average 59 points to .316 and has 7 RBI over those 6 contests. *** Coming off the trip to New Orleans where he went 1-for-19 at the plate, Andres Blanco is 3-for-7 with 2 RBI in the 1st 2 games vs. Oklahoma. *** Mitch Maier has hit in 5 straight (.273, 6-22) and in 11 of the past 12 games (.333, 1 HR, 6 RBI). *** Billy Butler has hit in all 6 games since coming back from KC and owns a 7-game hit string overall (.333, 8-24, 2 HR, 2 RBI) dating back to April 30.

STARTERS: RH Mike Wood (3-0, 2.32) vs. RH Jason Shiell (0-1, 2.32) Shiell makes his 3rd consecutive start. He began the season in Omaha's bullpen, making 8 relief appearances, before taking the rotation spot of Brian Bannister after he was recalled by KC. Shiell is 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA in his 2 starts, after posting a 2.11 ERA and 2 saves as a reliever. The 30-year old right-hander was signed by KC as a minor league free agent last November. In 2006, Shiell made 9 starts for Somerset in the Independent Atlantic League, going 3-2 with a 2.92 ERA. He was signed by the Atlanta Braves as a minor league free agent on June 22 and was sent to Triple-A Richmond, where he was 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 9 starts. He also made 4 appearances, including 3 starts, for Atlanta, going 0-2 with an 8.62 ERA. Shiell missed the entire 2004 and 2005 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Besides Atlanta, Shiell has pitched in the Major Leagues with Boston (2003) and San Diego (2002). He picked up his 1st Major League win as a member of the Red Sox vs. KC on May 1, 2003. Shiell was a shortstop at Windsor Forest High in Savannah, Georgia, but was drafted as a pitcher by the Braves in the 48th round of the 1995 draft.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Thur., 6:35: LH John Koronka (3-3, 5.40) vs. RH Zach Day (1-0, 2.93)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 23, 2007


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