PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

June 5, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JUNE 5, 2007, 2:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (30-28) @ Portland Beavers (25-32)

HOME: 22-10 (31-41 in ‘06) AWAY: 8-18 (22-50 in '06) vs. Portland: 2-1 (1-3 in '06)

TODAY: The Royals visit PGE Park, facing the Portland Beavers in a 2:05 p.m. game. It's the final game of the series and road trip. Omaha is 2-1 in the series and 4-3 on the trip. Air-time is 1:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Portland 1st baseman Brian Myrow made the Royals pay for Omaha 1st baseman Craig Brazell's error in the bottom of the 9th, delivering a game-winning RBI single to give the Beavers a 3-2 victory. Neal Musser retired the 1st 2 batters in the 9th, before yielding a single to Vincent Sinisi. Craig Stansberry hit a pop-up towards Brazell, which dropped for an error, sending Sinisi to 3rd. Myrow then lined a single to right-center to score Sinisi with the game-winning, unearned run. Musser (2-1) took the loss, allowing just that 1 unearned run on 2 hits over 2.1 innings. Leo Rosales (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win, which snapped Portland's 5-game losing streak and the Royals' 4-game win string.

ROYALS REPORT: After last night's late loss, the Royals are now 24-4 when leading after 6 innings. It was the 1st time in 5 games that were tied after 7 stanzas that Omaha had lost. The Royals are now 7-6 in games decided in the final at-bat. *** The run was just the 2nd scored off Musser in 28.0 innings over his 15 relief outings with Omaha and both have been unearned. He has given up just 16 hits and 7 walks, while striking out 22 batters, in those 28.0 frames. *** Billy Butler is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and is just 2-for-26 over the past 7 contests, dropping his average from .326 to .285. *** On the other hand, Joey Gathright was 2-for-4 last night. He's hitting .409 (27-66) over the past 17 games, with 14 runs scored and 7 RBI. Gathright picked up his PCL-leading 21st stolen base last night and is 13-for-13 in steal attempts over that 17-game stretch. *** Brazell is 4-for-9 with 4 doubles in this series. He has not hit a home run over the past 10 contests, following a 5-game span where he smacked 8 homers. *** Matt Tupman went 2-for-3 with a double, 2 RBI and his 2nd stolen base of the season last night. The Royals catcher had gone 3-for-20 (.150) with no RBI in his previous 6 tilts. *** Mitch Maier owns a 6-game hitting streak and has hit in 10 of the past 11 games in which he's had an at-bat. Over that 11-game stretch, he's hitting .342 (13-38) with 9 RBI and 7 runs scored. *** The Beavers stole 4 bases Monday, a season high for an opposing club.

STARTERS: RH Matt Wright (3-2, 3.10) vs. RH Mike Thompson (1-5, 9.73) Wright makes his 7th start and 12th appearance of the season. The 25-year old right-hander's last outing was in a starting role last Thursday at Tacoma, when he got the win in a 4-1 victory (6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K). It was his 1st decision in his 6th start. Ironically, he opened the season by getting the decision in 4 straight relief outings. Wright has allowed just 2 runs in 19.1 innings over his last 3 starts, for a 0.93 ERA. Overall in his 6 starts, he's 1-0 with a 2.59 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 1-2 despite posting a 1.66 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 SERIES VS. NASHVILLE:

Thur., 7:05: RH Yovani Gallardo (8-1, 2.14) vs. RH Ben Hendrickson (5-3, 5.01)

Fri., 7:05: LH Zach Jackson (6-3, 5.07) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (5-3, 5.17)

Sat., 6:05: LH Adam Pettyjohn (0-1, 5.40) vs. RH Billy Buckner (4-1, 4.18)

Sun., 1:35: RH Tim Dillard (3-3, 3.68) vs. RH Jason Shiell (0-2, 2.93)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 5, 2007


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