PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 25, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 25, 2008, 2:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (23-24) at Round Rock (19-29)

HOME: 13-13 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 10-11 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 5-0 (9-9 in '07)

TODAY: The Royals visit the Dell Diamond, facing the Round Rock Express in game 3 of a 4-game set. Omaha leads the series 2-0 and is 5-0 vs. Round Rock this season. 1st pitch is 2:05 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 1:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Mitch Maier and Chris Lubanski each had 3 hits, 2 RBI and scored 2 runs, and Mike Aviles had 2 hits including a 3-run homer as the Royals defeated Round Rock 8-3. Maier led off the contest with a double and scored on Shane Costa's sacrifice fly to put Omaha ahead 1-0 after a half-inning. In the top of the 2nd, the Royals staged a 2-out rally to score 5 runs - the final 3 coming on Aviles' 8th home run of the season. Omaha starter Tyler Lumsden (2-5) picked up the win, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits over 6.1 innings. Devon Lowery and Roberto Giron combined to blank the Express over the final 2.2 frames. Josh Miller (3-2) took the loss for Round Rock, giving up 6 runs on 10 hits over 5.0 innings.

ROYALS REPORT: The Royals have won 4 straight games, 1 shy of the longest win string of the season. Omaha is also riding a season-best, 3-game road winning streak. Dating back to last season, the Royals have been the victors in 9 straight meetings vs. Round Rock. ***

Lumsden's effort last night marked the 5th straight quality start for Omaha's rotation. Over the last 5 games, Royals starters have combined to go 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA (13 ER in 32.0 IP). *** Lubanski's 3-hit game last night was his 2nd of the season, matching his single-game high. In the 1st 2 games of this series, he's 5-for-8 with a double, triple, home run, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. *** Maier has hit in 5 straight games, going 10-for-23 (.435) with 3 doubles, 5 RBI and 5 runs scored. *** Angel Berroa, who had 2 hits Saturday night, is riding a 7-game hitting streak. He's batting .423 (11-for-26) over the streak, with 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 7 runs scored. *** Aviles' 3 RBI last night give him 8 RBI over the last 7 games. Prior to that stretch, he had knocked in only 1 run over a span of 8 contests. Saturday marked Aviles' 23rd multi-hit game and 8th game with more than 1 RBI this year. His 67 hits are tied for 2nd-most in the PCL and his 38 RBI are tied for 4th. Aviles leads the league with 34 extra-base hits and ranks 5th with 38 runs scored. *** Brian Buchanan was 0-for-4 last night and is 1-for-21 (.048) over the last 5 games, after going 10-for-22 (.455) in the 6 previous contests. *** Jason Smith has hit in 5 straight games, going 6-for-22 (.273) with a home run and 4 RBI. *** Giron has not allowed a run in 4.0 innings over his last 3 relief appearances, dropping his ERA from 7.54 to 6.41. *** Lowery's 1.2 scoreless stanzas last night trimmed his ERA 13 points to 1.13 after 8 relief outings with Omaha. He opened the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, posting a 0.69 ERA in 9 outings for the Naturals. Between the 2 clubs, Lowery is sporting a combined ERA of 0.93 (3 ER in 29.0 IP). *** Last night's win improved Omaha to 15-9 when scoring 1st in games this season and 13-6 when scoring in the 1st inning. *** Damon Hollins is in a .113 funk (6-for-53) at the plate, lowering his average from .209 to .167.

STARTERS: RH Brandon Duckworth (2-2, 4.93) vs. RH Runelvys Hernandez (3-2, 4.74)

Duckworth makes his 5th 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. Iowa, when he took the loss in the Royals' 8-2 defeat (6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HR). The sinkerballer has surrendered 7 home runs in 42.0 innings this season, after allowing just 3 homers in 46.2 innings for KC last year. 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). He tore his left oblique last June 13 vs. St. Louis and was placed on the D.L. the next day. Duckworth had 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 26 vs. Round Rock at Rosenblatt; he pitched 7.0 scoreless innings (4 H, 0 BB, 6 K), but was not around for the decision as the Royals needed 13 innings to win, 2-1. 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. He 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:

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 25, 2008


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