Royals Game Notes
Published on May 24, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
MAY 24, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (22-24) at Round Rock (19-28)
HOME: 13-13 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 9-11 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 4-0 (9-9 in '07)
TONIGHT: The Royals visit the Dell Diamond, facing the Round Rock Express in game 2 of a 4-game set. Omaha leads the series 1-0 and is 4-0 vs. Round Rock this season. 1st pitch is 7:05 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: The Royals rallied from a 2-0 deficit, scoring twice in the 6th inning and 3 more runs in the 7th, to beat the Express 5-2. Mitch Maier went 3-for-5 and plated the Royals final 2 runs of the night. Jason Smith scored the go-ahead run earlier in the 7th inning when Round Rock starter Chad Reineke made a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Stodolka. Reineke (2-6) took the loss, yielding 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits over 6.1 innings. He surrendered a leadoff homer in the 6th inning to Chris Lubanski, which ignited Omaha's 2nd come-from-behind win in its last 3 games. Matt Wright (1-2) finally earned his 1st win of the year, limiting the Express to 4 hits and 2 runs in 6.0 stanzas. Jeff Fulchino worked 3.0 innings of scoreless relief to collect his 2nd save.
ROYALS REPORT: The Royals' 3rd straight win last night was their 9th comeback victory of the campaign. *** Maier has hit in 4 straight games, going 7-for-18 (.389) with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. He's hitting .373 on the road and .323 at home this year. *** Wright's 1st win of 2008 came in his 9th start. In 2007, he picked up 2 wins in his 1st 4 relief appearances by April 20, but his 3rd win - and 1st as a starter - last season didn't come until his 6th start on May 31. He wound up as a 10-game winner in 28 games (21 starts). *** Lubanski's home run last night was his 1st round-tripper in his past 16 games, dating back to April 24. He belted 4 dingers in his 1st 19 contests. It was also Lubanski's 1st home run on the road this season, as his previous 4 long balls were all launched out of Rosenblatt. *** Angel Berroa was 2-for-4 and scored a run Friday night, extending his hitting streak to 6 games. He's batting .409 (9-for-22) with 2 homers, 4 RBI and 6 runs scored during the hit string. Last night's effort marked Berroa's 14th multi-hit game of the season. *** Smith was also 2-for-4 with a run scored last night and, for just the 2nd time in his last 13 games, he did not strike out. Entering last night's tilt, Smith had whiffed 21 times in his last 42 at-bats. He's on a 4-game hitting streak, going 5-for-17 (.294) with a home run and 4 RBI. *** Brian Buchanan was 0-for-5 last night and matched a team-high with 4 K's in a game. Over the last 4 contests, Buchanan has gone 1-for-17 (.059) at the plate. In the 6 games prior to that, he went 10-for-22 (.455). *** Shane Costa was 2-for-4 with an RBI Friday night, recording his 13th multi-hit effort of the year and boosting his average back up to .301. It had dipped below .300 for the 1st time since April 9 when he went hitless Thursday night in 5 at-bats vs. Iowa. In that game, Costa struck out 3 times for the 1st time in an Omaha uniform since July 19, 2006 in a game vs. Nashville. *** Fulchino's strong effort last night out of the Royals bullpen lowered his ERA as a reliever to 2.84 in 6 appearances. He owns a 5.03 ERA in his 4 starts. *** Damon Hollins is in a .113 funk (6-for-53) at the plate, lowering his average from .209 to .167.
STARTERS: LH Tyler Lumsden (1-5, 6.75) vs. RH Josh Miller (3-1, 5.86)
Lumsden makes his 9th start of the season. The 25-year old lefty has lost 4 consecutive starts, although he has posted a 4.88 ERA (13 ER in 24.0 IP) over that stretch, dropping his ERA on the season from 9.56 to 6.75. Lumsden's last outing was last Monday's 5-4 loss vs. Iowa (7.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR). He is 0-2 with a 8.10 ERA in 4 starts at home, while going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in 4 starts on the road. On the season, he has surrendered 54 hits, including 10 home runs, in 40.0 innings, with 21 walks compared to 15 strikeouts. Lumsden was acquired by KC along with right-hander Daniel Cortes from the White Sox in exchange for Mike MacDougal in July 2006. He spent all of the 2007 season with Omaha, going 9-6 with a 5.88 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) during his 1st year at the Triple-A level. In 4 starts vs. Round Rock last year, he was 1-2 with an 8.64 ERA. Following the season, Lumsden pitched for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League and was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 7 relief appearances. He was ranked by Baseball America as KC's #13 prospect entering 2008, after being rated #5 prior to 2007. The same publication named him as having the Best Slider in the White Sox organization entering the 2006 season. In '06, he was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts for the White Sox Double-A club, Birmingham. Following the trade to KC, he finished the '06 campaign at Wichita, going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 7 games (6 starts). He missed the entire 2005 season after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. Lumsden was selected by the Chisox as a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds (34th overall) of the 2004 draft after compiling a 17-7 record in 3 seasons at Clemson. He graduated from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Virginia, where he lettered all 4 years in baseball and basketball and was a hoops teammate of J.J. Redick, who went on to star at Duke. Out of high school, Lumsden was selected in the 5th round of the 2001 draft by the Marlins, but did not sign.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
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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