Royals Game Notes
Published on June 9, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
TONIGHT: The Omaha Royals begin their annual 16-game, College World Series road trip, opening a 4-game series with New Orleans at Zephyr Field. The Royals have lost 4 straight games, after being swept in a home series by the Iowa Cubs. The Royals and Zephyrs split a 4-game series April 19-22 at Rosenblatt Stadium. Tonight's 1st pitch is 7:00 p.m., with the pre-game show on the air at 6:40 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
SUNDAY: Iowa won its 5th straight, completing the sweep of the 4-game series at Rosenblatt with a 5-3 victory. Horacio Ramirez, making his Omaha debut, gave up a home run to Eric Patterson on his 1st pitch of the contest. Three batters later, Jason Dubois' 2-run homer gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Following that blast, Ramirez (0-1) retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced and did not allow another hit until a 6th inning single by Micah Hoffpauir. Iowa starter J.R. Mathes (3-3) gave up 9 hits - but only 1 run - in 5.1 innings, as the Royals stranded 9 runners on base in the game, all over the 1st 6.0 frames. The Cubs scored 2 big insurance runs in the 7th off Neal Musser to take a 5-1 lead. Damon Hollins, who matched his season high with 3 hits in the game, blasted a 2-run homer off Jose Ascanio in the 8th to cut the deficit to 2 runs. But, Hector Carrasco retired the Royals in order in the 9th to notch his 1st save.
ROYALS REPORT: Hollins has been selected by the PCL as its Batter of the Week. For the week of June 2-8, he went 8-for-16 (.500), smacked 3 home runs and drove in 8 runs, while scoring 4 times. The 5-game stretch jumped Hollins' average from .168 to .204. He's the 2nd Omaha player to win a weekly award this season. Former Royals starter Jorge De La Rosa earned PCL Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending on April 20. Hollins is the 1st Royal to be selected as the PCL's Batter of the Week since Craig Brazell on May 28, 2007. *** Sunday's loss was the Royals' 6th straight at home, equaling their longest losing skid at Rosenblatt this season. On the other hand, Omaha has won 7 of its last 9 road contests. *** Catcher Brayan Pena made his O-Royals debut Sunday and was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. The 26-year old switch-hitter, who was claimed by KC off waivers from the Braves on May 30, had a .303 career average in the minors entering this season. *** The most surprising moment of yesterday's game - and possibly the season - came after Pena's single leading off the bottom of the 8th, with the Royals trailing 5-1. Jason Smith, who leads the team with 13 home runs, bunted on Ascanio's 1st delivery back to the pitcher, getting credit for a sacrifice bunt. Over his last 24 games, Smith is batting .318 (28-for-88) with 5 home runs and 20 RBI. *** Billy Butler has hit in 5 consecutive contests, going 8-for-19 (.421) with a homer and 5 RBI. *** Ryan Shealy returned to the Royals lineup on Friday, after missing almost a month with a strained left hamstring.. He was 0-for-4 in that 1st game back, but is 3-for-his-last-6 in 2 games since. *** Omaha right-hander Jeff Fulchino, who began this season in Double-A, had his contract purchased by KC yesterday and made his Royals debut at Yankee Stadium. He pitched a scoreless 8th inning in KC's 6-3 loss, walking 1 and striking out 1. Fulchino was 2-1 with a 3.99 ERA and 3 saves in 12 games, including 5 starts for Omaha. Until yesterday, the 28-year old Fulchino, who's in his 8th professional season, had appeared in just 1 Major League game. He faced 2 batters in a relief outing for the Florida Marlins in 2006. *** To make room for Fulchino, KC optioned reliever Joel Peralta back to Triple-A. Peralta was 0-2 with a 5.64 ERA in 18 appearances with KC. He opened this season with Omaha, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 4 relief outings, firing 10.0 scoreless innings. *** John Foster was the last reliever to take the mound for Omaha yesterday, working 2.0 shutout stanzas and retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced. In his previous 2 appearances, he had allowed 9 earned runs in 3.0 innings. **** Patterson's home run leading off Sunday's game was the 2nd of the season for an opposing batter. Round Rock's Reggie Abercrombie hit a leadoff homer - also on the 1st pitch he saw - off Mike Maroth on April 7 at Rosenblatt. The Royals rallied to win that contest, 7-5.
STARTERS: RH Matt Wright (1-2, 4.85) vs. LH Willie Collazo (3-2, 2.88)
Wright makes his 12th start of the season, his 2nd vs. New Orleans. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was last Monday at Oklahoma; he was not involved in the decision in the Royals' 7-5 loss (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR). Wright has surrendered 14 home runs this season, 2nd-most in the PCL. He faced the Zephyrs on April 19 at Rosenblatt, taking the loss in Omaha's 6-2 defeat (5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R-3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). Wright was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to 2007 and spent the entire campaign with Omaha, going 10-5 and ranking 7th in the PCL with a 4.06 ERA. In 21 starts last season, he was 7-3 with a 4.01 ERA; he went 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 7 relief appearances. Wright made 4 starts vs. New Orleans last season, going 2-0 and posting a 0.69 ERA. He won 6 of 7 decisions at Rosenblatt last year, although his ERA was actually better on the road than at home (3.89 to 4.24). He pitched well in tight spots in 2007, holding opponents to a .216 average with runners in scoring position and .193 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs. Following the season, he was a member of the gold-medal winning USA Baseball Team at the World Cup in Chinese Taipei, going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 2 games (1 start). Prior to 2007, Wright spent his 1st 7 professional seasons in the Braves organization. He was named to the Carolina League All-Star team in 2004, when he ranked 6th in Atlanta's system with 133 strikeouts for Myrtle Beach. Wright was selected by the Braves in the 21st round of the 2000 draft out of Robinson High School in Texas.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Tue., 7:00 p.m.: RH Brandon Duckworth (2-5, 4.87) vs. RH Ruddy Lugo (4-4, 3.71)
Wed., 12:00 p.m.: LH Tyler Lumsden (2-7, 7.15) vs. RH Brian Stokes (6-5, 4.56)
Thur., 7:00 p.m.: RH Carlos Rosa (2-1, 3.96) vs. RH Nelson Figueroa (2-0, 2.40)
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 9, 2008
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- Sounds open trip with loss to Redhawks - Nashville Sounds
- Angels recall O'Day - Salt Lake Bees
- Nine worthy organizations benefit from first round of grants - Portland Beavers
- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Grizzlies Kick off Eight-Game Homestand Tonight - Fresno Grizzlies
- Sidewinders Return Home to Host Sacramento and Colorado Springs - Tucson Sidewinders
- Hollins Wins Weekly PCL Honor - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Figgins Joins Bees for Rehab Assignment - Salt Lake Bees
- Royals Game Notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
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