PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on April 9, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


APRIL 9, 2008, 6:35 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (4-2) vs. Round Rock Express (3-3)

HOME: 4-2 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 0-0 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 2-0 (9-9 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals host Round Rock in game 3 of a 4-game series at Rosenblatt Stadium, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Omaha leads the series 2-0. All kids EAT FREE, receiving vouchers for free meals at the SUBWAY concession stand, courtesy of SUBWAY, Star 104.5 and The Omaha Newspapers! Air-time is 6:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420-AM KOTK and at www.Oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: The Royals won their 3rd straight, edging Round Rock 2-1. After Round Rock plated a run on 2 hits in the 1st inning off Omaha starter Jorge De La Rosa, the Royals tied it in their 1st at-bat on a solo home run by Mike Aviles - his 1st round-tripper of 2008. With 1 away in the bottom of the 3rd, Shane Costa doubled off the left field wall. Aviles followed with a double down the left field line off Express starter Josh Muecke (1-1), who gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 4.0 innings. De La Rosa wound up lasting only 4.2 innings, but veteran right-hander Brandon Duckworth (1-0) fired 4.0 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. After Duckworth issued a 2-out walk in the 9th, Neal Musser retired lefty-swinging David Newhan on a grounder to 2nd base to pick up his 1st save.

ROYALS REPORT: Last night marked the 5th straight game where the 1st Royals reliever out of the bullpen has gone 3.0 innings or more, as no starter has gone more than 4.2 frames over that span. On the season, Omaha's bullpen is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 2 saves. *** The Royals have scored in the 1st inning in 5 straight contests, winning 4 of them. *** The Royals entered last night's tilt with a PCL-leading .321 team average, but were held to just 5 hits. That dropped the team average to .303, which still ranks 4th in the PCL. Omaha's 9 home runs are tied for most in the league, while the Royals' 38 runs ranks 3rd. *** Omaha's team ERA improved from 5.02 prior to Tuesday's game to 4.33 following the contest. *** Aviles' 2 extra-base hits last night give him 6 on the season, tied for most in the PCL with teammate Jason Smith and 2 others. Aviles, who had 50 extra-base hits last season, has 3 doubles, 2 triples and a home run so far in '08. *** Smith doubled in his last at-bat in the 6th inning last night, extending his season-opening hitting streak to 6 games. Omaha's 3rd baseman leads the PCL with 9 RBI and is tied for 1st in home runs (3) and extra-base hits (6), while ranking 3rd in slugging (.957). *** Angel Berroa, who singled in 3 at-bats Tuesday, has also hit in all 6 tilts in 2008. He's hitting .364 (8-for-22) with 2 RBI and 5 runs. *** Damon Hollins was 0-for-1, but collected 3 more walks last night. Hollins leads all of affiliated Minor League Baseball (not counting the Mexican League) with 10 walks. Hollins, who played in Japan last season, coaxed only 19 bases-on-balls in 121 games with Tampa Bay in 2006. His single-season high for walks in his 16-years professional career is 45. The Royals single season record for most walks is 128, set by Ken Phelps in 1980. Billy Butler and Joey Gathright tied for the team lead in walks in 2007, with 43. *** Mike Stodolka, who had collected 2 hits in each of his 1st 3 games at Triple-A, had the streak halted last night, going 0-for-3. *** Last night's victory evens the Royals record in 1-run games at 1-1. *** Round Rock stranded 10 runners on base last night, a season-high for an Omaha opponent.

THE FIELD STAFF: Mike Jirschele is managing Omaha for a 6th consecutive season and 9th overall, having also skippered the club from 1995-1997. In eleven seasons as a minor league manager, "Jirsch's" teams have posted a record of 768-712 (.519). His eight Omaha clubs have gone a combined 555-596 (.482). He was selected to manage the Pacific Coast League All-Star team in the 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game. Tom Burgmeier returns for a 3rd season as Omaha's pitching coach. Burgmeier pitched for Omaha from 1970-1973 and enjoyed a 17-year big league career, compiling a career record of 79-55 with a 3.23 ERA and 102 saves. Terry Bradshaw, who was an outfielder with Omaha in 1998, rejoins the team for a 5th season as its hitting coach - his 9th season as a hitting coach in KC's organization. Drew Van Dam joins the Royals organization as Omaha's trainer and Justin Annin is back for season #2 as Omaha's strength coach.

STARTERS: RH Jared Gothreaux (1-0, 7.36) vs. RH Luke Hochevar (0-1, 4.76)

Hochevar makes his 2nd start of 2008. The 24-year old right-hander started Omaha's season opener last Friday vs. Albuquerque, taking the loss in a 7-6 defeat (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R-3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR). Hochevar, who was selected by KC with the 1st overall pick of the 2006 draft, is in his 3rd professional season. He began the 2007 season with Wichita and wound up in the Majors. Hochevar was 3-6 with a 4.69 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) for Wichita. He started the Texas League All-Star Game and pitched for the U.S. team in the Futures Game on July 8 in San Francisco. He led the Texas League with 94 strikeouts at the time of his promotion to Omaha on July 11. In ten starts for the O-Royals, he went 1-3 with a 5.12 ERA. Hochevar was recalled by KC on September 4 and made his big league debut on September 8 in relief vs. the Yankees, tossing 3.0 shutout innings. He owned a 0.93 ERA (1 ER in 9.2 IP) in 3 relief appearances before starting KC's season finale vs. Cleveland on September 30, when he took the loss, allowing 2 runs in 3.0 innings. In 2006, Hochevar became KC's 1st-ever #1 pick overall in the June draft and signed on August 4. In 2005, he was 15-3 with a 2.26 ERA as a junior at the University of Tennessee, helping lead the Volunteers to the College World Series and winning the Roger Clemens National Pitcher of the Year Award. He was selected in the 1st round of the 2005 draft by the Dodgers, but did not sign. Hochevar's father, Brian, played pro basketball with the Denver Nuggets in 1979.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Thur., 11:05: RH Jack Cassel (0-1, 7.20) vs. RH Kyle Davies (0-0, 3.00)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 9, 2008


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