PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on May 26, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


MAY 26, 2008, 12:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (23-25) at Round Rock (20-29)

HOME: 13-13 (45-27 in ‘07) AWAY: 10-12 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 5-1 (9-9 in '07)

TODAY: The Royals visit the Dell Diamond, facing the Round Rock Express in the finale of a 4-game set. Omaha leads the series 2-1 and is 5-1 vs. Round Rock this season. 1st pitch is 12:05 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 11:45 a.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

SUNDAY: Former Royals right-hander Runelvys Hernandez pitched Round Rock to a 4-2 victory. Hernandez (4-2) allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 7.0 innings, walking 2 and striking out 4. Ray Sadler corked a 2-run homer off Brandon Duckworth (2-3) in the 2nd inning to give the RedHawks an early 2-0 lead. The only run off Hernandez came in the 4th, when Jason Smith led off that frame with his 12th home run of the season. Nick Gorneault and David Newhan hit solo shots off Brad Salmon in the home 6th and 7th, respectively. Facing Chad Paronto, the Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the 9th, but Nick Regilio relieved and after allowing Angel Berroa's sacrifice fly, retried Chris Lubanski on a fly out to right. Pinch-hitter Matt Tupman flied to left to end the game as Regilio earned his 4th save.

ROYALS REPORT: Sunday's loss was the Royals 1st in their past 10 meetings vs. Round Rock. It also ended Omaha's 4-game winning streak - 1 shy of the longest of the year - and the team's season-high, 3-game road win string. *** Duckworth failed to make it 6 straight quality starts for a Royals pitcher, as he only lasted 5.0 innings, surrendering 2 earned runs. Over the past 6 games, Omaha starters are 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA (15 ER in 37.0 IP). *** Smith's 12 home runs are tied for 3rd-most in the PCL. Albuquerque's Dallas McPherson leads the league with 15 homers, while Oklahoma's Nelson Cruz has mashed 14 taters. Smith's blast yesterday ran his hitting streak to 6 games. During the string, he's hitting .280 (7-for-25) with 2 homers and 5 RBI. *** Sunday's game marked the 1st time Smith batted cleanup this season. It was also the 1st time that Berroa hit 5th and Lubanski batted in the #6 hole. Berroa was 0-for-3, halting his hit streak at 7 games. He's still batting .379 (11-for-29) over the past 8 games, with 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 7 runs scored. *** Mitch Maier was hitless in 4 at-bats yesterday, ending his 5-game string. Over the past 6 tilts, he's still hitting .370 (10-for-27) with 3 doubles, 5 RBI and 5 runs scored. *** Mike Aviles singled twice on Sunday. His 69 hits on the season rank 2nd in the PCL. He also scored his 39th run, which ranks 5th. *** After going 0-for-2 with a walk yesterday, Damon Hollins was pinch-hit for in the 9th by the lefty-swinging Tupman. Hollins is 6-for-his-last-55 (.109), dropping his average 45 points to .164. Tupman's fly out makes Royals pinch hitters 0-for-4 with no RBI on the season. *** Shane Costa has hit in all 3 games of this series, going 5-for-12 with 2 RBI. His average on the road has climbed to .360 with 6 homers and 17 RBI in 22 away games. He's batting .253 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI in 24 contests at Rosenblatt. *** The 3 home runs yielded by Omaha pitchers yesterday raised the staff's gopher ball total to 65 - most in the PCL. Salmon has given up 4 dingers in 9.0 innings over his last 4 outings, after not allowing a home run in 21.1 innings over his 1st 11 games of the year. *** Neal Musser tossed a perefect 8th inning yesterday. Musser has not allowed an earned run in 6.2 frames over his last 4 games, shaving his ERA from 4.58 to 3.42. During that stretch, he has issued only 2 walks, after handing out 13 free passes in 19.2 innings over his 1st 14 appearances.

STARTERS: RH Kyle Davies (5-2, 2.17) vs. LH Josh Muecke (3-3, 3.20)

Davies makes his 10th start of the season and his 1st vs. Round Rock. The 24-year old right-hander's 2.17 ERA is tied for 2nd in the PCL. His last outing was last Wednesday vs. Iowa; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals needed 12 innings to win 4-3. Davies is 4-1 over his last 6 starts and 2-0 in his last 3 outings, while posting a 1.45 ERA (3 ER in 18.2 IP). He's 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 4 starts at home, while going 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 5 road assignments. Davies was acquired by KC from Atlanta in exchange for reliever Octavio Dotel on July 31, 2007. He began last season with the Braves and was 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 starts. Following the trade, he went 3-7 and posted a 6.66 ERA in 11 starts for KC. Davies made his KC debut last August 4 at Yankee Stadium, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits in 3.0 innings and surrendering Alex Rodriguez' 500th career home run. He earned a win in his Kauffman Stadium debut vs. Minnesota, firing 6.2 shutout innings in a 1-0 victory. In 2006, he opened the season in the Braves starting rotation, but underwent surgery to repair a torn right groin on May 19 and was on the D.L. until September 1. Davies began his big league career with Atlanta in 2005 by recording 14.0 straight scoreless innings, the most by a Braves rookie starter to open his career since Larry McWilliams (14.1) in 1978. In 2004, he was named the Phil Niekro Award Winner as the top pitcher in the Braves organization and was selected to Baseball America's minor league All-Star 2nd team. Davies was selected by Atlanta in the 4th round of the 2001 draft out of Stockbridge High School in Georgia. Kyle is his middle name - his given name is Hiram.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES VS. OKLAHOMA:

Tue., 6:35 p.m.: RH Eric Hurley (2-3, 5.93) vs. RH Carlos Rosa (1-1, 7.20)

Wed., 6:35 p.m.: LH A.J. Murray (2-2, 4.17) vs. RH Matt Wright (1-2, 5.24)

Thur., 6:35 p.m.: RH Robinson Tejeda (1-1, 2.18) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (2-5, 6.41)

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: RH Dustin Nippert (2-1, 5.27) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (2-3, 4.79)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 26, 2008


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