PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 20, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 20, 2008, 6:35 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (19-23) vs. Iowa (21-22)

HOME: 11-12 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 8-11 (28-44 in '07) vs. Iowa: 0-1 (10-6 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals host the Iowa Cubs at Rosenblatt Stadium in game 2 of a 4-game home stand. Iowa leads the series 1-0. It's $2 2uesday - general admission tickets to the game and brats are only $2, courtesy of Valpak, Z-92 and The Reader! 1st pitch is 6:35 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 6:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Iowa right fielder Andres Torres took advantage of a stiff wind blowing out towards right field, going the opposite way with both a 1st inning triple and a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning, helping the Cubs to a 5-4 victory. Torres led off the game with his triple to right-center and scored on a ground out to give Iowa the early 1-0 lead. After the Royals scored 3 runs in the 2nd to take the lead, Torres quickly erased it with his 3-run homer to right. Matt Murton also went the other way with a home run to right leading off the 5th, driving home the deciding run off Royals starter Tyler Lumsden (1-5), who allowed 5 runs on 9 hits over 7.0 innings. Angel Berroa cut the deficit to a run with his opposite fielder homer leading off the bottom of the 7th, but that was the only hit given up by Iowa reliever Mike Burns in 3.0 innings. Cubs starter Kevin Hart (1-0) got the win, yielding 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits in 5.0 frames. Neal Cotts worked a perfect 9th, striking out southpaw swingers Jason Smith and Mike Stodolka to pick up his 1st save.

ROYALS REPORT: The Royals have lost 7 of their last 9 and 14 of the past 19 games overall. Omaha is also riding a season-high, 5-game losing skid at home. *** Lumsden has lost 4 consecutive starts, although he has posted a 4.88 ERA over that stretch to drop his ERA on the year from .9.56 to 6.75. He surrendered 2 more home runs last night, giving him 10 gopher balls - tied for 2nd-most in the PCL - over 40.0 innings this season. *** Over the past 6 tilts, Mike Aviles is hitting .130 (3-for-23), dropping his average 31 points to .337. In the previous 24 games, he batted at a .390 clip (41-for-105) with 4 homers and 18 RBI. *** Berroa has homered twice during his current 3-game hitting streak (.455, 5-for-11, 3 RBI, 3 R). *** Chris Lubanski has hit in 5 straight, going 6-for-17 (.353) with 2 RBI. *** On the heels of his 19-game hitting streak, when he hit at a torrid .363 clip (29-for-80) with 4 home runs and 13 RBI, Mitch Maier is 1-for-9 over the last 3 contests. *** In Omaha's past 6 games, Brian Buchanan is batting .455 (10-for-22) with 2 RBI and 7 runs scored. *** Smith went 7-for-14 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI in the just-completed series at Albuquerque, but was 0-for-3 with a walk and 3 strikeouts here last night. On the season, Smith is batting .230 with 3 taters, 11 RBI and 28 K's in 74 at-bats at home, while hitting .278 with 7 dingers, 16 RBI and 20 whiffs in 72 AB's on the road. *** Roberto Giron tossed 2.0 innings of hitless relief last night. In his previous 3 relief outings in May, Giron was 0-2 with a 20.78 ERA, surrendering 10 earned runs on 12 hits over 4.1 frames. *** Boston's Jon Lester fired a no-hitter last night vs. KC, a day after the Royals beat Florida 9-3 and collected 14 hits - the final one delivered by catcher Matt Tupman in his 1st Major League at-bat. Tupman was optioned back to Omaha prior to last night's game at Fenway Park, as John Buck returned to the parent club after his wife delivered twin boys last week. Buck was not in KC's lineup last night. Miguel Olivo started behind the plate and went 0-for-3 with 2 of Lester's 9 strikeouts. KC had only been no-hit only once before - by Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan in 1973, when he was pitching for the California Angels. KC's staff has authored 4 no-hit gems in 40 seasons: 2 by Steve Busby in 1973 and 1974 and one each by Jim Colborn in 1977 and Bret Saberhagen in 1991.

STARTERS: RH Randy Wells (2-1, 3.38) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (2-1, 5.00)

Duckworth makes his 4th consecutive start, after opening the season in Omaha's bullpen and making 6 relief appearances. The 32-year old right-hander took the rotation spot of Mike Maroth, who was released by KC after going 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA in 3 starts for Omaha. Duckworth's last outing was last Tuesday vs. Tacoma; he was not involved in the decision in a 4-1 loss (7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). In that start, the Royals took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th, but Duckworth surrendered a solo homer to Victor Diaz in the top of the 7th, tying the game at 1-1. In 2007, Duckworth made KC's Opening Day roster after being a non-roster invitee at Spring Training, and was 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA and 1 save in 26 games (3 starts). The sinker-baller allowed just 3 home runs in 46.2 innings. Duckworth tore his left oblique last June 13 vs. St. Louis and was placed on the D.L. the next day. He made rehab stints with Wilmington and Omaha, combining for 20 strikeouts and 3 walks in 19.0 innings. One of his 3 rehab starts for Omaha was on August 15 vs. Iowa here at Rosenblatt, when he took the loss in a 6-3 defeat (2.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). He was activated by KC September 1. After opening the 2006 season with the Pirates' Triple-A club, Indianapolis, Duckworth was acquired by KC in exchange for cash on June 10. He went 1-5 with a 6.11 ERA in 10 games (8 starts) for KC, but his ERA jumped from 4.85 to 6.11 in his final 2 appearances, both in relief, before he underwent season-ending elbow surgery on August 15. Duckworth has spent at least parts of the last 7 seasons in the Majors with the Phillies, Astros and Royals. He struck out the 1st 6 batters of the game in his start for the Phillies on August 5, 2002 vs. the Dodgers, becoming the 1st big league pitcher to fan that many batters to begin a game since Jim Deshaies struck out a Major League record 8 in a row on Sept. 23, 1986, also vs. the Dodgers. Duckworth was originally signed by the Phillies as a non-drafted free agent on Aug. 13, 1997, after pitching collegiately at Cal State Fullerton.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Wed., 6:35 p.m.: RH Justin Berg (0-2, 11.81) 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 20, 2008


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