PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 18, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 18, 2008, 2:35 p.m. DH: OMAHA ROYALS (18-21) at Albuquerque (21-19)

HOME: 11-11 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 7-10 (28-44 in '07) vs. Albuquerque: 3-3 (5-11 in '07)

TODAY: The Royals visit Isotopes Park for the final 2 contests of a 4-game trip to Albuquerque. The doubleheader is being played to make up for Thursday night's rainout. This series is tied 1-1 and the season series is even 3-3. 1st pitch of the opener is 2:35 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 2:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: The Isotopes gave Omaha starter Carlos Rosa a rude welcome to Triple-A, scoring 5 runs in the 1st inning en route to an 11-4 victory. Rosa (0-1), who led the Texas League with a 1.20 ERA after 8 starts with Northwest Arkansas, surrendered hits to all but 1 of the 1st 7 Albuquerque batters who came to the plate in the 1st inning. Rosa wound up lasting just 3.0 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits, with no walks and 4 strikeouts. Roman Colon was battered for 9 more hits and 6 runs in 3.0 stanzas, with most of that damage coming in a 5-run 6th inning that made it 11-1. Chris Barnwell and Paul Hoover each had 4 of Albuquerque's 20 hits, while John Gall and Dallas McPherson had 3 RBI apiece. Chris Seddon (3-2) posted the win, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits over 7.0 innings.

ROYALS REPORT: Saturday night marked the 1st time a Royals foe had banged out 20 hits in a game since July 25, 2006 at Las Vegas, when the 51s had 24 hits in a 20-8 pasting of the Royals. *** Prior to last night's contest, opposing clubs had batted around 5 times in the Royals' 1st 38 games. The 'Topes did it twice last night. *** Rosa's ERA stands at 15.00 after 1 Triple-A start, while Colon's ERA jumped from 1.29 to 6.30 after his 3rd relief appearance for Omaha Saturday night. *** Mitch Maier delivered 1 hit last night, with his 6th inning single extending his team-best hitting streak to 19 games. It's the longest current streak in the PCL and the 2nd-longest in the league this season (Andres Torres of Iowa had a 24-gamer). During the streak, Maier is hitting .363 (29-for-80) with 4 home runs, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored. *** Mike Aviles went 0-for-4 last night for the 3rd consecutive game. Prior to the past 3 games, he was hitting at a scorching .406 pace (41-for-101) over the previous 24 contests, with 4 homers and 18 RBI. *** Brian Buchanan had 3 of Omaha's 9 hits last night. The Royals DH has hit in 4 straight tilts, going 7-for-15 (.467) to raise his average from .306 to .353. *** Jason Smith also collected 3 hits Saturday night, including his 9th home run of the year. It was his 1st round-tripper in his last 12 games, after he mashed 8 taters in his 1st 25 contests. *** Shane Costa also went deep last night, hitting his 8th homer of the season. Costa is batting .371 with 5 home runs in 17 road games; he's hitting .256 with 3 homers in 20 contests at Rosenblatt. *** Ironically none of Albuquerque's 20 hits last night were home runs. The 'Topes lead the PCL with 59 homers, while the Royals are tied for 2nd at 56. *** Devon Lowery tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless relief for the Royals last night, allowing 3 hits and striking out 3 batters. His ERA dipped to 0.73 after his 6th relief outing with Omaha. *** Damon Hollins is 12-for-his-last-82, a .146 average. *** Saturday night's crowd of 12,068 at Isotopes Park was the largest that the Royals have played in front of on the road this season.

GAME 1: RH Matt Wright (0-1, 4.41) vs. RH Bobby Keppel (5-2, 6.42)

Wright makes his 8th start of the season. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was last Sunday, in game 2 of doubleheader vs. Tacoma. He was in line to pick up his 1st win of the year, being lifted after 6.0 innings with the Royals leading 2-0. But the Rainiers rallied in the top of the 7th for a 3-2 win, with Shawn Garrett smacking a 3-run homer off Neal Musser. The outing marked Wright's 1st quality start of the season (3 H, 0 BB, 3 K). He has faced Albuquerque once this season, making his 1st start of the year vs. the Isotopes at Rosenblatt on April 5 in game 2 of a twin bill; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 6-3 in 9 innings (4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to 2007 and spent the entire campaign with Omaha, going 10-5 and ranking 7th in the PCL with a 4.06 ERA. In 21 starts last season, he was 7-3 with a 4.01 ERA; he went 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 7 relief appearances. In 4 games (2 starts) vs. the Isotopes last season, Wright was 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA. He gave up 10 home runs in 19.1 innings vs. the 'Topes, with 6 of those homers coming in his August 18 start in Omaha. 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 last year, although his ERA was actually better on the road than at home (3.89 to 4.24). 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.

GAME 2: RH Jeff Fulchino (1-1, 4.07) vs. RH Dallas Trahern (0-3, 9.37)

Fulchino makes his 4th consecutive start, after his 1st 5 appearances with Omaha came in relief. The 28-year old right-hander took the rotation spot of Jorge De La Rosa, after he was traded by KC to the Colorado Rockies. His last outing was last Monday vs. Tacoma, when he took the loss in the Royals' 6-4 defeat (4.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K). That rough start jumped his ERA from 2.66 to 4.07. Fulchino was signed by KC as a minor league free agent on February 7, 2008 and opened this season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In 2 relief outings for the Naturals, he had no record, a 5.40 ERA and 1 save. Prior to this season, Fulchino spent the 1st 7 years of his professional career in the Marlins organization, pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque in each of the last 3 years. Today marks his 1st appearance vs. his former team. In 2007, Fulchhino was 6-2 with a 5.83 ERA in 16 starts for the Isotopes, before being placed on the disabled list July 2 and missing the rest of the season with a right shoulder strain. He has seen one "beam of moonlight" in the big leagues, working one-third of an inning in his only relief appearance for the Marlins on June 22, 2006 at Baltimore. He entered that game in the 8th inning with 2 runners on base and, after walking Kevin Millar to load the bases, he snared a Ramon Hernandez line drive to end the inning. Four days later, he was optioned back to Albuquerque. In 2005, Fulchino set an Isotopes franchise record with 11 wins, tied for 2nd-most in the PCL. Fulchino was selected by the Marlins in the 8th round of the 2001 draft out of U-Conn.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES VS. IOWA:

Mon., 6:35 p.m.: RH Kevin Hart (0-0, 2.53) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (1-4, 6.82)

Tue., 6:35 p.m.: RH Justin Berg (0-2, 11.81) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (2-1, 5.00)

Wed., 6:35 p.m.: LH Rich Hill (1-2, 3.38) vs. RH Kyle Davies (5-2, 2.09)

Thur., 6:35 p.m.: LH Sean Marshall (0-0, 1.50) vs. RH Carlos Rosa (0-1, 15.00)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 18, 2008


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