Royals game notes
Published on June 22, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
JUNE 22, 2006, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (28-44) @ Iowa Cubs (33-38)
HOME: 16-19 (35-37 in '05) AWAY: 12-25 (37-35 in '05) vs. Iowa: 0-1 (8-8 in '05)
TONIGHT: The Royals continue their 17-game road trip, facing Iowa in game 2 of the series at 7:05 p.m. Omaha is 0-1 in the series and 3-6 on the trip. Air-time is 6:45 p.m. on Magic 1490 and at www.Oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: Rich Hill and Michael Wuertz combined on a 4-hitter, striking out 15 while not walking an Omaha batter, as Iowa took the series opener 1-0. Hill (4-1) gave up all 4 hits and notched 10 strikeouts over the first 7.0 innings. Wuertz finished with 2.0 perfect frames, striking out the 1st 5 batters he faced, and picked up his 5th save. Mike MacDougal (0-1), making a rehab assignment start for Omaha, pitched 1.0 inning and did not allow a hit but surrendered a leadoff walk to Ryan Theriot, who stole 2nd, went to 3rd on an error and scored on Michael Restovich's sacrifice fly.
ROYALS REPORT: Hill's gem last night lowered his ERA to 2.12, 2nd in the PCL. Justin Hampson of Colorado Springs leads the ERA race at 2.11. Hill's 86 strikeouts also rank 2nd in the league, 6 behind Tacoma's Francisco Cruceta. The 15 K's for Omaha batters was a season high and Hill's 10 whiffs set a new season mark for opposing hurlers. In fact, Hill became the 1st opposing pitcher to strike out 10 Royals in a game since August 15, 2005, when Hill himself struck out 10 Royals in Iowa's 9-3 win at Rosenblatt. Meanwhile, Wuertz became the 1st opposing pitcher to fan 5 consecutive Omaha batters since May 4, 2002, when Oklahoma's Joaquin Benoit did it in the RedHawks' 9-4 victory at Rosenblatt. *** The Royals have been shutout 6 times this season. All 3 of their shutout losses in June have been 1-0 defeats, 2 in 9-inning games and the other in 10 innings. Omaha's team batting average for June is .209. The Royals have scored just 52 runs in 19 games (2.74 average) this month, going 6-13, despite posting a team ERA of 3.81. *** Chad Allen had 2 of Omaha's 4 hits last night, including his 14th double (tied for the team high). Allen is hitting at a .408 pace (31-76) over his last 20 games, raising his season average to .335, 5th in the PCL. Of Allen's 54 games, 20 have been multi-hit contests, tops on the club. *** Justin Huber's 5th inning double last night ended an 0-for-14 slide. *** Paul Phillips, who was 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts last night, is 0-for-11 with 5 K's in his last 3 games and is 3-for-his-last-27 (.111). *** Shane Costa, who went 3-for-7 in his 1st action with Omaha during Monday's doubleheader at Memphis, was also 0-for-4 with 3 K's last night. *** Last night's game was the shortest 9-inning affair of the season (2:08).
STARTERS: RH Denny Bautista (0-1, 5.00) vs. LH Ryan O'Malley (3-3,3.94)
Bautista makes his 3rd start for Omaha. The 25-year old right-hander's last outing was last Friday at Memphis, when he took the loss in a 9-4 defeat (3.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K). Bautista opened this season with KC, appearing in 8 games (7 starts), going 0-2 with a 5.66 ERA. In 2005, Bautista made KC's Opening Day roster, winning his Royals debut at Los Angeles on April 8, tossing 8.0 innings of 1-run ball with a career-high 8 strikeouts. He wound up going 2-2 with a 5.80 ERA in 7 starts for KC, before being placed on the disabled list on May 14 with right shoulder tendinitis. Bautista was with Omaha on a rehab assignment from June 22-July 3 before going back on the DL. He rehabbed again with Omaha from Aug. 27-Sept. 25. He made 6 starts over the 2 rehab stints, going 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Bautista was ranked by Baseball America as KC's 2nd-best prospect prior to last season. He was acquired by KC in exchange for Jason Grimsley on June 21, 2004. He was originally signed by the Marlins as a non-drafted free agent on Apr. 11, 2000 and was traded by the Marlins to the Orioles along with RH Don Levinski on Aug. 31, 2003 in exchange for former Omaha and KC Royal Jeff Conine.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Fri., 7:05: RH Seth Etherton (1-1, 6.30) vs. LH Les Walrond (7-2, 3.46)
Sat., 7:05: RH Runelvys Hernandez (3-4, 5.53) vs. RH Jerome Williams (2-3, 4.14)
Sun., 1:05: RH Luke Hudson (2-0, 2.30) vs. RH Jae-Kuk Ryu (2-6, 3.79)
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 22, 2006
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- 'Birds blank 'Topes, 2-0 - Memphis Redbirds
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- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Independence Day festivities highlight next 'Topes homestand - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Royals game notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
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- Dressendorfer Stepping Down - Round Rock Express
- Shabala's blast gives Grizzlies victory over Sky Sox - Fresno Grizzlies
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