PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 22, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


TONIGHT: The Royals host the Iowa Cubs at Rosenblatt Stadium in the finale of a 4-game home stand. Iowa leads the series 2-1. It's Thirsty Thursday with $1 beer and Cokes during the game, courtesy of 96.1 The Brew, Action 3 News and The City Weekly! Following the game, enjoy live music with Dan Colehour in concert, presented by Two Fine Irishmen! 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: Seems only fitting that a game featuring a pitch stuck in a catcher's chest protector -- and 3 ejections - would end with the Royals scoring the tying and winning runs on what appeared to be a double play grounder, as Omaha staged 2 comebacks to beat Iowa 4-3 in 12 innings. With 1 out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th and the Cubs leading 3-2, Brian Buchanan hit a grounder to Iowa 2nd baseman Eric Patterson, who flipped to Andres Blanco for the out at 2nd base. However, his relay throw to 1st was in the dirt and was only knocked down by Bobby Scales. Running hard from 2nd base, Mike Aviles scored the game-winning run. The Royals were down 2-0 until Jason Smith tied it by smacking a 2-run homer to left off Andy Cavazos with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. Brad Salmon (3-1) got the win, allowing just 1 hit in 3.0 innings, although it was Eric Patterson's 4th hit of the game - an RBI double in the top of the 12th that snapped the 2-all tie. Hector Carrasco (1-1) pitched the bottom of the 12th, took the loss and absorbed Iowa's 2nd blown save of the game.

ROYALS REPORT: Prior to last night's comeback win, the Royals had been 0-17 this season when trailing after 8 innings and 0-7 in games decided in the final at-bat. *** Matt Tupman and Mike Jirschele were both ejected in the 9th inning last night for disputing plate umpire Dan Bellino's call that a pitch from Neal Musser got stuck in the catcher's chest protector. It was ruled a dead ball, with Casey McGehee awarded 2nd base. The next inning, Musser was ejected following a balk call that moved Eric Patterson into scoring position with the potential go-ahead run. Aviles erased that threat later in the 10th when he made a diving stop of Matt Murton's sharp grounder to short and threw Patterson out at the plate. It was the 2nd web gem of the night for Aviles, who sprinted into left-center field in the 1st inning to catch a fly ball and rob Felix Pie of a hit. *** Smith's game-tying home run was his club-leading 11th of the season. In his other 4 at-bats, he struck out, giving him a team-high 53 K's in 155 at-bats. On the year Smth is averaging 1 homer every 14.1 AB's and 1 strikeout every 2.9 AB's. *** Omaha batters whiffed a total of 12 times Wednesday night, matching the team's season high for a game. *** Last night's victory snapped the Royals 6-game losing skid at home. It was the longest skein since Omaha lost 6 consecutive home contests in August of 2006. *** Kyle Davies allowed 2 runs over 6.2 innings last night, posting his 4th quality start of the year and 3rd in a row. Over his last 3 outings, he's 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA. Davies' ERA on the season inched up last night from 2.09 to 2.17; he went from leading the PCL in ERA to 3rd (Tacoma's Ryan Feierabend and Round Rock's Jack Cassel are tied for the league lead at 2.15). *** Since taking the loss in 3 straight appearances earlier this month, Musser has fired 4.1 stanzas of scoreless relief over his last 2 outings. *** The win for Salmon last night was his 1st since he picked up W's in each of his 1st 2 appearances this season - April 5 vs. Albuquerque and April 7 vs. Round Rock. His 3.0-inning effort last night matched his longest stint of the season, accomplished in each of his 1st 3 games. *** Catcher Damaso Espino, who replaced Tupman in the 9th inning last night, drew a crucial walk in the bottom of the 9th to set the stage for Smith's dramatic round-tripper. Espino then led off the home 11th with a single; it was his 1st hit in his last 10 at-bats. *** Dave Matranga was hitless in 5 at-bats Wednesday night and is mired in a 1-for-21 (.048) slump, dropping his average from .367 to .235.

STARTERS: LH Sean Marshall (0-0, 1.50) vs. RH Carlos Rosa (0-1, 15.00)

Rosa makes his 2nd Triple-A start, after beginning this season pitching for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The 23-year old right-hander had a rocky Triple-A debut last Saturday at Albuquerque, taking the loss in an 11-4 defeat after giving up 5 1st inning runs (3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K). With Northwest Arkansas, Rosa was 4-2 in 8 starts and led the Texas League with a 1.20 ERA. In 45.0 innings, he allowed just 30 hits and 7 walks, while striking out 42 batters. The native of the Dominican Republic is in the 6th season of his professional career, after being signed by KC as a non-drafted free agent on November 29, 2001. Entering this season, Rosa was ranked by Baseball America as the #7 prospect in the Royals' organization. In 2007, he opened the season with Class-A Wilmington and was 2-1 with a 0.39 ERA in 4 starts before being promoted to Double-A Wichita. He went 6-6 with a 4.36 ERA and 1 save in 21 games (17 starts) with the Wranglers. He struggled for Wichita early, but was 3-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts after the All-Star break, posting a 0.83 ERA in 4 August starts. After missing the entire 2005 season following Tommy John surgery, Rosa bounced back in 2006 to be named the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the Burlington (IA) Pitcher of the Year. He went 8-6 in 24 starts for the Bees and his 2.53 ERA was 4th in the Midwest League. He was promoted to High Desert for 3 starts at the end of the '06 season. He resides in San Francisco de Macoris, D.R.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES AT ROUND ROCK:

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: RH Matt Wright (0-2, 5.59) vs. RH Chad Reineke (2-5, 6.69)

Sat., 7:05 p.m.: LH Tyler Lumsden (1-5, 6.75) vs. RH Josh Miller (3-1, 5.86)

Sun., 2:05 p.m.: RH Brandon Duckworth (2-2, 4.93) vs. RH Runelvys Hernandez (3-2, 4.74)

Mon., 12:05 p.m.: RH Kyle Davies (5-2, 2.17) vs. LH Josh Muecke (3-3, 3.20)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 22, 2008


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