PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on August 26, 2007 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


AUGUST 26, 2007, 1:35 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (68-67) vs. Round Rock Express (56-77)

HOME: 44-27 (31-41 in '06) AWAY: 24-40 (22-50 in '06) vs. Round Rock: 8-9 (5-11 in '06)

TODAY: The Royals host the Round Rock Express in a 1:35 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. Omaha leads the series 3-1 and is 6-6 on the final homestand of the season. Cox Communications presents Fan Appreciation Day with several prize giveaways for lucky fans! It's NASCAR Day presented by the Omaha World-Herald - your chance to win NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series tickets from Kansas Speeday. It's the final Fammily FUNday, brought to you by KGBI 100.7 FM, KPTM-Fox 42 and Just For Kids & Families! Plus, all Royals Kid Club members receive a free ticket to the game, courtesy of SUBWAY! Air-time is 1:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Fernando Cortez drilled a game-winning home run on Brian Gordon's 1st pitch in the bottom of the 10th, giving the Royals a 4-3 victory and a sweep of the doubleheader. Matt Tupman's 2-run single with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th had tied the game at 3-3. The homer by Cortez made a loser of Gordon (1-1) and a winner of Thad Markray (6-7), who tossed 2.0 scoreless innings, following 4.0 scoreless stanzas by Roberto Giron. The Royals won the opener, 5-2, with Mitch Maier going 3-for-4 and finishing a double shy of the cycle. Ryan Shealy delivered a 2-run single in the 4th to put Omaha on top to stay at 3-2. Paul Mildren (6-7) won his 1st decision with the Royals, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits over 5.0 innings. Neal Musser earned his 8th save with 2.0 scoreless frames.

ROYALS REPORT: Cortez' walk-off home run was the 4th of the season for the Royals, all of them coming in extra inning games. Chris Lubanski hit a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 11th to give Omaha a 6-4 victory over Iowa on August 16. Mike Aviles hit a walk-off homer in the 13th inning on May 8 vs. Sacramento, giving the Royals a 7-6 win. Justin Huber's solo homer in the 10th inning on April 29 vs. Nashville lifted the Royals to a 5-4 victory. Last night's round-tripper for Cortez was his 1st in his last 54 games. He had hit 3 homers in his 1st 19 games with Omaha, but had not gone deep since April 28. Cortez is 6-for-10 in this series. *** The Royals trailed in last night's opener 2-1 entering the bottom of the 4th and were down 3-0 before they batted in the 4th inning of the nightcap. By rallying to win both contests, the Royals now have 38 comeback wins this season. *** Last night marked the Royals' 3rd doubleheader sweep of the season. Omaha has been swept just once, while splitting 2 other twinbills. *** As he did Friday night, Mike Sweeney was again 1-for-3 with a single in Saturday's opener - his 2nd game on a rehab assignment following July 5 surgery on his right knee. *** Craig Brazell has put together a 10-game hit string. During the streak, he's batting .385 (15-39) with 4 home runs and 8 RBI. *** Shealy had 3 hits and 3 RBI in last night's action. Over his last 7 contests, he's 8-for-20 (.400) with 2 homers and 8 RBI. *** Maier's round-tripper last night was the 2nd leadoff homer in a game for the Royals this season. He also hit the other one, July 13 vs. Iowa, sending the Royals on the way to a 6-5 triumph. *** Musser, Giron and Markray combined to fire 10.0 scoreless innings of relief last night. For Giron and Markray, their efforts in game 2 were nice rebounds from their last outings vs. Albuquerque. Giron had taken the loss last Sunday, after allowing 4 runs in 3.0 innings and Markray had lost to the Isotopes Tuesday after surrendering 4 runs in just 1.0 inning. *** Billy Buckner was impressive in his Major League debut with KC last night. He allowed only 1 run on 7 hits over 5.0 innings of relief during the Royals' 9-4 loss to Cleveland, walking just 1 batter while striking out 3.

STARTERS: RH Chan Ho Park (6-13, 6.36) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (0-1, 6.75)

Duckworth makes his 3nd start for Omaha, continuing a rehab assignment for a strained left oblique. The 31-year old right-hander's last start was in game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader vs. Albuquerque; he did not factor into the decision as the Isotopes won 5-1 in 8 innings (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR). In his 1st Omaha start on August 15 vs. Iowa, he took the loss in a 6-3 defeat (2.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). Duckworth began the rehab process by making 2 starts for Wilmington, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. He has not pitched for KC since June 10. Prior to the injury, he was 2-3 with a 2.94 ERA and 1 save in 18 games (2 starts) for the parent club. Duckworth was acquired by KC from Pittsburgh on June 10, 2006 for cash considerations. He had opened the 2006 season with the Pirates' Triple-A club, Indianapolis, where he was 8-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 12 starts. With KC, he went 1-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 8 starts, before being moved to the bullpen. He was 0-1 with a 24.00 ERA (8 ER in 3.0 IP) in 2 relief outings, before going on the DL on July 31 with a right elbow strain. He underwent season-ending surgery on August 15. Duckworth spent parts of the past 6 seasons in the Majors with the Phillies, Astros and Royals. He was 17-26 with a 5.43 ERA in his big league career prior to this season. He was obtained by the Astros on November 3, 2003 from the Phillies with RHP Ezequiel Astacio and RHP Taylor Buchholz in exchange for LHP Billy Wagner. Duckworth was originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent on August 13, 1997. He attended the College of Southern Idaho and Cal State Fullerton.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES AT NASHVILLE:

Mon., 6:00: RH Matt Wright (9-4, 4.11) vs. RH R.A. Dickey (11-6, 3.74)

Tue., 6:00: RH Ben Hendrickson (10-5, 4.11) vs. RH Carlos Villanueva (0-0, 0.00)

Wed., 12:00: RH Luke Hochevar (1-3, 6.14) vs. LH Zach Jackson (10-10, 4.76)

Thur., 7:00: LH Tyler Lumsden (9-5, 6.04) vs. LH Adam Pettyjohn (11-4, 3.96)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 26, 2007


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