PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on June 7, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JUNE 7, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (29-30) vs. Iowa Cubs (33-27)

HOME: 15-17 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 14-13 (28-44 in '07) vs. Iowa: 2-4 (10-6 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Omaha Royals host the Iowa Cubs in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. and the 1st 1,500 fans receive a Mike Sweeney statue - selected by fans in an online poll at www.oroyals.com as their favorite Omaha Royal of the 1990's - courtesy of Bellevue University. Plus, the ZOOperstars! perform during the game, presented by PayPal, Radio Disney and The Big O 101.9 FM, WOWT and The City Weekly! Royals players and coaches will also put on a FREE youth clinic on the field at Rosenblatt, starting with registration at 3:00 p.m. The pre-game show is on the air at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

FRIDAY: Iowa swept a doubleheader, winning the opener 9-2 and romping to a 13-2 victory in the nightcap. Josh Kroeger smacked 3 home runs on the night, including a pair of homers in the 1st game to drive in 3 runs. Rich Hill (2-2) got the win in the opener, allowing just 1 unearned run on 1 hit - and working around 7 walks - in 5.0 innings to run his career record vs. Omaha to 4-0. Brandon Duckworth (2-5) took the loss, yielding 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, including 2 homers, in 5.0 innings. In the nightcap, the Cubs batted around in the 1st inning, scoring 4 runs, and never looked back. Casey McGehee and Luis Figueroa each drove in 3 runs, while Eric Patterson and Jason Dubois scored 3 runs apiece. Randy Wells (5-1) tossed 5.0 scoreless stanzas to get the "W". Tyler Lumsden (2-7) allowed 8 runs (7 earned) on 10 hits over 4.2 innings. The Royals avoided a shutout when Chris Lubanski belted a 2-run homer with 2 away in the bottom of the 7th.

ROYALS REPORT: The Royals have lost 4 straight games at home, dropping doubleheaders each of the last 2 Fridays. Oklahoma swept Omaha in a twinbill last Friday at Rosenblatt. The Royals were also swept in a doubleheader at home on May 11 vs. Tacoma. The Royals have split a pair of twinbills with Albuquerque, one here at home and the other at Isotopes Park, giving Omaha a record of 0-3-2 in doubleheaders. *** Angel Berroa, the 2003 American League Rookie of the Year with KC, was traded yesterday, along with cash, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league infielder Juan Rivera. Berroa hit .291 with 10 home runs and 27 RBI in 51 games with Omaha this season. Rivera, a 21-year old from the Dominican Republic, was 7-for-29 (.241) with 3 RBI in 10 games this year with the Great Lake Loons of the Midwest League and will report to the Burlington Bees in the same circuit. *** Catcher Brayan Pena joins Omaha today. He was claimed by KC off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on May 30. The 26-year old switch-hitter is a .228 hitter in parts of the past 4 seasons with the Braves, including this season when he was 4-for-14 (.286), all as a pinch-hitter. He is a career .303 hitter with 15 homers and 222 RBI in 572 minor league games. Pena, who was born in Havana, defected from Cuba in 2000. *** Mike Aviles picked up his 1st 2 Major League hits last night - both doubles and both off New York starter Darrell Rasner - in the Royals' 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium. Former Omaha right-hander Kyle Davies (2-0) got the win with 6.2 innings of 1-run ball, lowering his ERA to 1.54 in 2 starts with KC. *** Over his last 6 games, Lubanski is 8-for-21 (.381) with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. *** Omaha's loss in last night's 2nd game was the most lopsided defeat for the team since last July 15, when Iowa also blitzed the Royals 13-2 at Rosenblatt. *** The 3 hits for the Royals in Friday's lid-lifter matched their season-low, while the 7 walks they received equaled their season high, set on May 22 vs. Iowa. The Royals went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position in yesterday's opener, stranding 9 runners on base, and were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in game 2. On the year, Omaha is batting .261 with RISP, 10 points below the team's overall average on the season. *** Brian Buchanan was 1-for-3 in the nightcap, extending his hitting streak to his season-best 7 games. He's batting .348 (8-for-23) during the string, with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored. *** Jason Smith was 0-for-6 with 3 K's in Friday's twinbill. Entering the day, he had a 5-game hitting streak and was batting .342 (26-for-76) over his previous 20 tilts. *** Royals relievers John Foster and Roberto Giron combined to give up 10 earned runs in 4.1 frames yesterday. That jumped the Omaha bullpen ERA from 4.15 to 4.51.

STARTERS: RH Justin Berg (1-2, 6.31) vs. RH Carlos Rosa (2-1, 4.71)

Rosa makes his 5th Triple-A start, his 2nd vs. the I-Cubs. The 23-year old prospect's last start was last Sunday at Oklahoma; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals won 5-2 (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR). Rosa got the win vs. Iowa on May 22, as Omaha won 8-3 (7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). Since allowing 5 runs in the 1st inning of his 1st start for Omaha on May 17 at Albuquerque, Rosa has surrendered just 6 earned runs in his last 20.0 frames for a 2.70 ERA. He began this season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, going 4-2 in 8 starts and leading the Texas League with a 1.20 ERA. In 45.0 innings, he gave up just 30 hits and 7 walks, 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 REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Sun., 1:35 p.m.: LH J.R. Mathes (2-3, 2.86) vs. TBA

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 7, 2008


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