Royals Game Notes
April 16, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
HOME: 5-2 (45-27 in â07) AWAY: 3-2 (28-44 in '07) vs. Nashville: 1-0 (7-9 in '07)
TODAY: The Royals visit Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville for game 2 of a 4-game series with the Sounds. Omaha leads the series 1-0 and is 3-2 on the trip. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 11:40 a.m. on News Talk 1420-AM KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: Luke Hochevar fired 6.0 scoreless innings and picked up the win after the Royals broke a scoreless tie by erupting for 4 runs in the top of the 7th. Hochevar (1-1) allowed 4 hits - all but 1 of them singles - walked 2 batters and struck out 5. Nashville starter Chris Narveson (0-3) lost his shutout in the 7th, after allowing a leadoff single to Damon Hollins and Angel Berroa's RBI double. Steve Bray came on in relief and was greeted by Brian Buchanan's 2-run homer to left-center. 2 outs later, Shane Costa capped the scoring with a solo shot. Roberto Giron notched his 1st save by allowing just 1 hit in 3.0 innings - Brad Nelson's leadoff homer in the 9th.
ROYALS REPORT: Hochevar last night became the 1st Royals starter to pitch 6.0 innings in a game and is the 1st Omaha hurler to turn in a quality start this season. In his 3 starts with Omaha, the #1 overall pick of the 2006 draft owns a 2.60 ERA. He has allowed just 11 hits in 17.1 innings, holding PCL batters to a .180 average, walking 6 and striking out 12. So far in 2008, both Hochevar and today's Omaha starter, Kyle Davies, are making the case for a promotion to KC. Last night in Seattle KC lefty John Bale gave up 5 runs on 7 hits over 3.0 innings, taking the loss in an 11-6 defeat. Bale has lost all 3 of his starts with KC, posting a 7.63 ERA in the process. *** Costa's 1st homer of the season was his 2nd hit of last night's contest. He's riding an 8-game hitting streak (.460, 13-for-33), tied for 2nd-longest in the PCL this season. He has also reached base in all 12 tilts, tied for the longest on-base streak in the league in 2008. *** Berroa's double Tuesday night was his 6th of the campaign, tied with Mike Aviles for 2nd-most on the club. Costa leads the team with 7 two-base hits. *** Buchanan's dinger last night was his 1st hit for Omaha, after starting out 0-for-7 since being activated from the DL. *** Jason Smith posted his 5th 2-hit effort of the season last night, with a single and his 4th double of the year. He hit 3rd in Mike Jirschele's batting order - Smith has hit in the #3 spot 5 times, as has Damon Hollins, while Costa has done it twice. *** The Royals' 4-run 7th was their biggest inning of the young season. *** Tuesday meant "turn two" again for Omaha's defense. With 3 double plays last night, the Royals' 12-game total is 19 twin-killings, 4 more than any other PCL team. *** Chris Lubanski was 0-for-4 last night and struck out 3 times. He's in a 3-for-29 (.103) skid with 14 K's . *** Ken Huckaby's 9th inning single last night snapped a season-opening 0-for-13 streak at the plate for the veteran catcher. *** Aviles was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks last night, halting a 4-game hit string that he put together to open this road trip. He had gone 7-for-18 (.389) with a home run and 5 RBI in the series at Memphis.
STARTERS: RH Kyle Davies (1-0, 2.25) vs. RH Richie Gardner (0-0, 0.00)
Davies makes his 3rd start of the season. The 24-year old right-hander's last outing was last Friday at Memphis, when he picked up the win in the Royals' 6-2 victory (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K). Davies was acquired by KC from Atlanta in exchange for reliever Octavio Dotel on July 31, 2007. He began last season with the Braves and was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 starts. Following his trade to KC, he went 3-7 and posted a 6.66 ERA in 11 starts. Davies made his KC debut August 4 at Yankee Stadium, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits in 3.0 innings and surrendering Alex Rodriguez' 500th career home run. He earned a win in his Kauffman Stadium debut vs. Minnesota, firing 6.2 shutout innings in a 1-0 victory. In 2006, he opened the season in the Braves starting rotation, but underwent surgery to repair a torn right groin on May 19 and missed 94 games before being activated from the 60-day DL on September 1. Davies began his big league career with Atlanta in 2005 by recording 14.0 consecutive scoreless innings, the most by a Braves rookie starter to open his career since Larry McWilliams (14.1) in 1978. In 2004, he was named the Phil Niekro Award Winner as the top pitcher in the Braves organization and was selected to Baseball America's minor league All-Star 2nd team. He was originally selected by Atlanta in the 4th round of the 2001 draft out of Stockbridge High School in Georgia. Kyle is his middle name - his given name is Hiram.
• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...
Pacific Coast League Stories from April 16, 2008
- Misch, Alfonso, lead Grizzlies to big win over Tacoma - Fresno Grizzlies
- Cubs top Zephyrs 6-4 - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Sidewinders shutout again - Tucson Sidewinders
- Power And Pitching Lead Isotopes Past Redbirds - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Meyer throws six no-hit innings in Cats 3-0 win on Wednesday - Sacramento River Cats
- Isotopes overpower Redbirds - Memphis Redbirds
- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Sky Sox Drop Third Straight With 5-1 Loss to Portland - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Beavers Make It Two In A Row Over Sky Sox - Portland Beavers
- Nix Grand Slam Highlights 9-3 Sounds Victory - Nashville Sounds
- Angels Recall Serrano, Option Willits to Salt Lake - Salt Lake Bees
- Season's First Fireworks Night Starts Isotopes Homestand With A Bang - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Royals Game Notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Sidewinders Blanked by Rivercats - Tucson Sidewinders
- Tacoma Makes it "Rain" in Series Opener - Tacoma Rainiers
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.
