PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 31, 2007 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 31, 2007, 8:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (26-27) @ Tacoma Rainiers (24-30)

HOME: 22-10 (31-41 in ‘06) AWAY: 4-17 (22-50 in '06) vs. Tacoma: 0-2 (0-4 in '06)

TONIGHT: The Royals visit Cheney Stadium, facing the Tacoma Rainiers in an 8:05 p.m. game. It's game 3 of a 4-game series, which Tacoma leads 2-0. Air-time is 7:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Tacoma starter Justin Lehr remained undefeated this season by firing 8.0 scoreless innings, as the Rainiers blanked the Royals 5-0. Lehr (6-0) allowed just 5 singles and a walk, while striking out 2, lowering his ERA to 2.34, 3rd-best in the PCL. Juan Sandoval gave up the Royals final hit in the 9th inning, but completed the 6-hit shutout. Royals 1st baseman Billy Butler made a fielding error with 2 outs in the 2nd, loading the bases, and Oswaldo Navarro followed with a double that scored 3 unearned runs off Zach Day (1-1), who took the loss. Day left with shoulder tightness after pitching just 1.0 inning. He'll be evaluated today.

ROYALS REPORT: Lefty John Bale, making his 2nd rehab assignment start for Omaha as he recovers from shoulder tightness, pitched 1 perfect inning. He recorded 1 strikeout, throwing strikes on 7 of his 8 pitches. Bale has tossed 2.0 perfect innings over his 2 Triple-A rehab starts, recording 2 strikeouts and throwing a total of 15 pitches. *** Last night marked just the 2nd time the Royals have been shutout this season and the 1st time since April 13. Omaha's pitching staff has also authored 2 shutout wins. *** The Royals have dropped 4 straight road games and have a PCL-worst 4-17 road record. The worst road winning percentage in team history was set just last season, when the Royals went 22-50 away from Rosenblatt for a .306 road win percentage. *** The Royals have hit .217 (15-69) in the 1st 2 games of this series, with no extra-base knocks among their 15 hits. The team is still hitting .297 in May. With just tonight's contest remaining, the Royals are 15-13 for the month. It will mark the club's 1st winning month since April 2006, when the Royals went 12-10. Amazingly, it will be the 1st winning May for Omaha since the 1999 season, when that club went 20-10 in May. In the 7 previous seasons this decade, Omaha has posted a combined May record of 82-126 for a mere .394 winning percentage. *** Thad Markray, the 3rd of 5 pitchers used in last night's game, allowed 2 runs on 6 hits over 3.0 innings. Over his last 6 appearances, including 1 start, Markray is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA (12 ER on 23 hits over 15.0 IP). *** Nate Hoelscher followed Markray to the mound and retired all 6 batters he faced. Gabe DeHoyos finished the game with a scoreless 9th, allowing 1 hit in his 1st appearance for Omaha this season. The right-hander opened the season with Wichita, going 2-0 with an 0.84 ERA and 2 saves. *** When Craig Brazell singled with 2 outs in the 9th inning last night, it was just his 2nd hit over his last 24 at-bats. That follows an amazing 20 at-bat stretch when he smoked 8 home runs. *** Jorge Padilla went 0-for-3 at the plate last night, snapping his season-best 7-game hitting streak. Over his last 8 games, he's still hitting .400 (10-25). Padilla recorded 2 outfield assists Wednesday, getting relay help from Richard Lewis in throwing out Jeremy Reed trying to stretch a double into a triple in the 3rd and nailing Reed trying to turn a single into a double in the 4th. *** Fernando Cortez and Lewis both own 6-game hit strings. Cortez is 9-for-24 (.375) with 4 RBI and Lewis is 7-for-19 (.368) during the streaks. *** Joey Gathright went 0-for-3 last night, halting his hit string at 5 games. However, he picked up his 34th walk, which ranks 2nd in the PCL. Over the past 12 tilts, Gathright is hitting .391 (18-46) with 10 runs, 6 RBI and is 9-for-9 in steals.

STARTERS: RH Matt Wright (2-2, 3.35) vs. RH Juan Done (NR) Wright makes his 6th start and 11th appearance of the season. The 25-year old right-hander's last outing was in a starting role last Saturday vs. New Orleans, when he hurled 7.0 innings of 1-run ball, but was not involved in the decision as the Zephyrs scored a run in the 8th for a 2-1 victory (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K). Wright has allowed just 1 run in 13.0 innings over his last 2 starts, both against the Z's. Overall in his 5 starts, he's 0-0 with a 2.88 ERA; he's 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 5 relief appearances. He's 2-0 with a 4.23 ERA at home, while going 0-2 despite posting a 1.76 ERA on the road. Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent in the off-season after spending the 1st 7 campaigns of his professional career in the Atlanta Braves organization. In 2006, Wright opened the season 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:

Fri., 9:05: RH Ben Hendrickson (4-3, 5.36) vs. LH Jake Woods (2-3, 6.15)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

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



Pacific Coast League Stories from May 31, 2007


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