PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals game notes

Published on July 22, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JULY 22, 2006, 4:05 p.m. DH: OMAHA ROYALS (40-59) vs. Round Rock Express (61-38)

HOME: 25-23 (35-37 in '05) AWAY: 15-36 (37-35 in '05) vs. Round Rock: 4-8 (10-6 in '05)

TODAY: The Royals meet the Round Rock Express in a 4:05 p.m. doubleheader at Rosenblatt Stadium. The Royals lead the series 1-0 and are 6-3 on the homestand. The Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest takes place outside the stadium gates and is free to fans, beginning at 1 p.m. The 1st 1,500 fans receive free seat cushions, courtesy of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, WOWT and 1620 The Zone. Air-time is 3:45 p.m. on Magic 1490 and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Quiet through 6 innings, the Royals rocked Chris Sampson in the 7th to post a comeback 4-3 victory, prior to Sawyer Brown rocking the crowd of 15,598. Sampson (10-2), who had not suffered a loss since his 1st start of the season, held the Royals to 3 hits and no runs over the 1st 6 stanzas. But, trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the 7th, the Royals reached Sampson for 4 runs on 5 singles, including RBI hits by Chad Allen and Mike Aviles. The decisive run scored on Sampson's 1st wild pitch of the season. Leo Nunez (2-2) got the win, allowing 1 run - on Brian Gordon's 2nd homer of the game - in 3.0 innings. Shane Loux finished with 2.0 scoreless innings, retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced, for his 2nd save.

ROYALS REPORT: Last night's game was the Royals 15th comeback win of the season, with 5 coming since July 1. Over Omaha's last 11 games, 8 have been decided by 1 run, with the other 3 settled by a 2-run margin. *** Outfiedler Shane Costa is being recalled by KC today, after the Royals placed Reggie Sanders on the disabled list yesterday. In 30 games with Omaha, Costa batted .381 and belted 8 home runs. He knocked in 19 runs and scored 24. Costa had hit in 18 of his last 19 games, batting at a .405 (30-74) clip. *** Allen's RBI single in the 7th inning last night gave him an 8-game hitting streak. He's hitting .387 (12-31) during the streak, with 3 doubles, a home run and 6 RBI. *** Ricky Bell had a 4-game hitting streak halted last night, as he was 0-for-4. Bell has gone 7-for-14 at the plate over his past 4 games. *** Jeff Keppinger, acquired from the Mets in the Ruben Gotay trade earlier this week, joins Omaha today. The former University of Georgia star was hitting .300 in 87 games for Norfolk and had more walks (28) than strikeouts (21). *** Mike Coolbaugh was 1-for-2 with a single and a walk and scored the deciding run last night. The former Round Rock slugger had been in a 2-for-24 (.083) slump. *** Justin Huber has missed the past 3 games with a tight right hamstring. Prior to the injury, he was riding his season-best 8-game hitting streak (.464, 13-28). Just before the hit string, Huber missed 7 contests due to a thumb injury. *** Lefty Andy Van Hekken has been picked up by KC and assigned to Omaha to take the rotation spot of Runelvys Hernandez, who posted the win last night in KC's 8-3 victory over the Angels. Van Hekken was pitching in the independent Atlantic League, where both Brian Boehringer and Donnovan Osborne had pitched this season (as well as David Elder in 2005).

GAME 1: RH Jason Hirsh (10-2, 2.18) vs. RH Adam Bernero (2-2, 3.20)

Bernero, who began this season with Omaha, re-signed July 14 with KC. The 29-year old right-hander makes his 9th start (13th appearance) for Omaha tonight. Bernero's return to Omaha began with a start vs. Nashville last Monday; he was not involved in the decision in a 5-4 victory (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K). Bernero asked for and was granted his release by KC on June 2 and signed with the Phillies less than a week later. He was solid in 4 starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (1-1, 1.88 ERA) and was called up by the Phillies. However, in his only big league start on June 30 at Toronto, he allowed 8 runs in 2.0 innings and was designated for assignment. Bernero again asked for his release and re-signed with KC. When he was with Omaha earlier this season, Bernero faced the Express once, taking the loss in a 4-0 defeat on May 7 at Round Rock (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K). In 2005, Bernero opened the season with Atlanta. In 36 relief outings for the Braves, he was 4-3 with a 6.51 ERA. He was 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA in his 1st 20 appearances, but went 1-3 and had an 11.57 ERA in his last 16 games. He was optioned to Richmond on July 14 and went 5-5 with a 3.40 ERA in 10 games (9 starts) in Triple-A. Prior to this season, 84 of his 87 minor league appearances came as a starter, with Bernero compiling a 30-30 record and 3.29 ERA. Bernero was signed by KC as a minor league free agent on November 21, 2005. He was originally signed by Detroit as a non-drafted free agent on May 21, 1999 out of Armstrong Atlantic State University (GA).

GAME 2: LH Wandy Rodriguez (0-0, 0.00) vs. LH Andy Van Hekken (0-0, 0.00)

Van Hekken had his contract purchased by KC from the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic (the same club that the Royals obtained David Elder from in 2005). The 26-year old lefty made 13 starts for Somerset, going 3-6 with a 5.56 ERA. In 81.0 innings, he allowed 91 hits, walking only 18 batters while striking out 64. Van Hekken began the 2005 season in the Braves' organization, after signing with Atlanta as a minor league free agent in December 2004. He made 4 starts for Triple-A Richmond (0-3, 9.16 ERA) and 3 for the Braves' Double-A club, Mississippi (0-0, 5.63). But, he spent most of the season in the Reds' system, pitching mostly in relief for Triple-A Louisville (1-0, 3.89 in 27 games, including 1 start). He also made 3 starts for Double-A Chattanooga (2-0, 3.24). Van Hekken pitched in the Major Leagues for Detroit in 2002, making 5 starts and going 1-3 with a 3.00 ERA. He was originally selected by the Mariners in the 3rd round of the 1998 draft, but was traded to the Tigers in June 1999 and remained in their organization through 2004.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Sun., 1:35: LH Mark McLemore (1-1, 2.05) vs. RH Kyle Middleton (0-3, 3.38)

Mon., 7:05: RH Ezequiel Astacio (4-2, 4.59) vs. RH Ryan Baerlocher (4-4, 3.82)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 22, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central