PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on April 28, 2007 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


APRIL 28, 2007, 6:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (9-13) vs. Nashville Sounds (13-8)

HOME: 7-3 (31-41 in '06) AWAY: 2-10 (22-50 in '06) vs. Nashville: 2-0 (7-9 in '06)

TONIGHT: The Royals host the Nashville Sounds in game 3 of a 4-game series, which Omaha leads 2-0. Gates open at 4:00 pm and the 1st 1,500 fans receive Bobbleheads of Alex "Gordn" in his Lincoln Southeast High School uniform (due to a manufacturers' error), as well as an "O" and a voucher redeemable after July 12 for a corrected bobblehead. Air-time is 5:45 p.m. at www.Oroyals.com. The game will also be tape-delayed and aired on News Talk 1420 KOTK following Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights hockey.

LAST NIGHT: The Royals pitching staff posted its 1st shutout of the season, as right-hander Zach Day and 2 relievers combined on a 4-hitter in Omaha's 6-0 victory. Day (1-0) allowed just 1 hit in 5.0 scoreless innings and had retired 12 of the 1st 13 Nashville batters before walking 3 Sounds in his final inning of work in the 5th. Jason Shiell followed with 3.0 dominant stanzas, giving up just 1 infield hit. Roberto Giron surrendered back-to-back singles with 1 out in the 9th, but worked out of the jam to preserve the shutout. Fernando Cortez belted his 2nd home run of the season - a 2-run shot in the 5th that put Omaha on top 4-0. Nashville knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (1-3) took the loss, after being charged with 5 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 5.0 frames.

ROYALS REPORT: Day has allowed just 2 unearned runs in his last 10.0 innings and is now sporting a 2.30 ERA as he rebounds from rotator cuff surgery last June. *** Cortez, whose season-high in home runs was 3 over his 1st 6 professional campaigns, has homered twice since April 14. His round-tripper last night was his 2nd in 35 at-bats, after going 632 at-bats between homers. *** The Royals' 4th consecutive win at Rosenblatt last night upped the club's home record to 7-3, while Omaha has gone just 2-10 on the road. The team is hitting .286 and averaging 5.3 runs per home game, while hitting .263 and scoring an average of 3.75 runs per road contest. The team ERA is down to 3.70 at home, compared to 4.93 away. *** Entering this series, Nashville pitchers had surrendered just 11 runs during the Sounds' 7-game winning streak. In the 1st 2 games of this set, the Royals have scored 14 runs on 23 hits. *** With 3 more hits last night, Mike Aviles recorded his 3rd consecutive multi-hit game. Over that span, he's 7-for-11 (.636) with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored, raising his season average from .284 to .333. *** Shane Costa's 4th inning single last night stretched his hitting streak to a club-best 13 games. During the streak, Costa is batting .442 (23-52) with 13 runs scored and 3 RBI. Costa, who leads Omaha in batting at .343, had the longest hit string on the club in 2006, putting together a 16-gamer. *** A bad-hop single in the 6th inning extended Billy Butler's hitting streak to 9 games. He's also hit in 12 of the past 13 contests, at a .383 (18-47) clip with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. Butler is 4th in the PCL in RBI (22) and tied for 4th in home runs (6). His RBI last night came on a sacrifice fly, joining Angel Berroa and Mitch Maier in plating runs with a sac fly. The team has collected 13 sac flies in its 1st 22 tilts. *** Royals catcher Matt Tupman went 0-for-1 with 2 walks and a run scored Friday, halting his hitting streak at 6 games.

STARTERS: RH Tim Dillard (0-1, 3.04) vs. RH Matt Wright (2-2, 3.71)

Wright makes his 1st start and 5th appearance of the season. The 25-year old right-hander is starting in place of lefty Tyler Lumsden, who is having this start skipped after going 1-3 with an 8.83 ERA in his 1st 4 starts of the campaign. Wright hasn't pitched in a game since April 20 vs. Round Rock, when he picked up the win in a 10-7 triumph (3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K). He posted wins in his last 2 appearances - both at home - after suffering losses in a pair of 1-run defeats on the road. Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent in the off-season after spending the 1st 7 seasons of his professional career in the Atlanta Braves organization. In 2006, Wright opened the campaign pitching for Double-A Mississippi, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.22 ERA in 15 games (14 starts). He was promoted to Richmond in mid-July and went 3-5 with a 5.77 ERA over 10 starts in his 1st action at the Triple-A level. Entering this season, Wright's minor league totals included a 46-47 record, despite a 3.68 ERA and 744 strikeouts in 743.2 innings. He was selected by the Braves in the 21st round of the 2000 draft out of Robinson High School in Waco, Texas.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Sun., 1:35: RH Chris Oxspring (2-1, 1.61) vs. RH Ben Hendrickson (2-1, 4.98)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 28, 2007


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