Royals Game Notes
April 19, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
APRIL 19, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (9-5) vs. New Orleans (9-7)
HOME: 5-2 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 4-3 (28-44 in '07) vs. New Orleans: 0-0 (8-6 in '07)
TONIGHT: The Royals open an 8-game home stand at Rosenblatt Stadium, hosting the Zephyrs in the 1st game of a 4-game series. Omaha is coming off a 4-3 trip to Memphis and Nashville. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. today and the 1st 1,500 fans receive a David Cone statue, courtesy of ExpressJet, 1620 The Zone, WOWT and The Reader! After the game, all fans will be invited to take part in a paper airplane contest, with five fans winning a round-trip airline ticket from ExpressJet. First pitch is 7:05 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420-AM KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST GAME: The Royals and Sounds were rained out last night in Nashville. On Thursday, night, Shane Costa continued his red-hot hitting with 3 more hits, knocking in 2 runs and scoring 1, leading the Royals to a 6-5 victory. Costa had an RBI single in the midst of a 3-run 2nd inning to give Omaha an early 3-0 lead. His home run leading off the top of the 4th made it 5-0. Royals starter Tyler Lumsden (1-1) picked up his 1st win, although he surrendered a 3-run homer to Laynce Nix in the 5th as Nashville closed to within a run at 5-4. Jason Smith hit a solo shot in the 7th off former Royal Jason Shiell to make it 6-4. The Sounds scored an unearned run in Brandon Duckworth's 2.0 innings of relief to make it 6-5 after 7, but Jeff Fulchino shut the door with 2.0 hitless frames for his 1st Triple-A save.
ROYALS REPORT: Costa is riding a 10-game hitting streak, 2nd-longest in the PCL both on the season and currently. He's hitting .405 (17-for-42) during the streak, raising his average on the year to .362, which ranks 10th in the league. Costa has also opened the season by reaching base in all 14 games, equaling the longest on-base streak in the PCL this season. Costa's home run Thursday was his 2nd of the year and he also collected his 9th double, tied for most in the league. *** Smith has homered in back-to-back contests, after not going deep in the previous 7 games. Smith, who hit 3 homers in the 1st 5 games of the season, has a team-leading 5 round-trippers - tied for 3rd in the PCL. *** Fulchino has a 0.00 ERA in 3 relief appearances for Omaha. The 28-year old right-hander began this season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, posting a 5.40 ERA and 1 save in 2 relief outings. *** Omaha's bullpen has 6 saves in as many chances and is 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA. *** After issuing 8 walks in 7.2 innings over his 1st 2 starts this season Lumsden did not walk a batter Thursday night. *** Prior to KC's game in Anaheim Thursday night, starter John Bale was placed on the D.L. with shoulder fatigue and reliever Joel Peralta was recalled from Omaha. Bale was 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA in 3 starts for KC. Peralta was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 10.0 innings over 4 Triple-A outings. *** Following Thursday night's win, the Royals are 3-1 in 1-run games this season. *** Angel Berroa was 2-for-4 Thursday, upping his average to .373 (19-for-51), which ranks 8th in the PCL. *** Mike Aviles picked up his team-best 14th RBI Thursday, tied for 3rd-most in the loop. *** Matt Tupman produced his 3rd 2-hit game of the season Thursday. The Royals catcher has hit in 3 straight tilts (.417, 5-for-12), jumping his average 91 points to .281. *** Damon Hollins picked up just his 2nd walk in the last 5 games Thursday night, after he had coaxed 12 free passes in Omaha's 1st 9 games. With 14 walks on the season, Hollins is still the PCL's co-leader in that department.
STARTERS: RH Tony Armas (0-1, 3.94) vs. RH Matt Wright (0-0, 5.40)
Wright makes his 3rd start of the season. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was last Sunday at Memphis; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 7-5 (4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K). Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to last season and turned in a solid campaign with Omaha. He went 10-5 and his 4.06 ERA ranked 7th in the PCL. In 21 starts, he went 7-3 with a 4.01 ERA, while he was 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 7 relief outings. In 4 starts vs. New Orleans last season, Wright was 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Wright pitched well in tight spots last season, holding opponents to a .216 average with runners in scoring position and .193 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. He won 6 of his 7 decisions at Rosenblatt Stadium. Following the season, he was a member of the gold-medal winning USA Baseball Team at the World Cup in Chinese Taipei, going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 2 games (1 start). Prior to 2007, Wright spent his 1st 7 professional seasons in the Braves organization. He was named to the Carolina League All-Star team in 2004, when he ranked 6th in Atlanta's system with 133 strikeouts for Myrtle Beach. Wright was selected by the Braves in the 21st round of the 2000 draft out of Robinson High School in Texas.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Sun., 1:35: RH Ruddy Lugo (2-0, 2.84) vs. TBA
Mon., 6:35: RH Jose Diaz (0-2, 3.12) vs. LH Mike Maroth (0-0, 6.75)
Tue., 11:05: RH Brian Stokes (2-1, 1.50) vs. RH Kyle Davies (1-1, 1.38)
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