PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on June 19, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


HOME: 15-19 (45-27 in ‘07) AWAY: 18-19 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 6-3 (9-9 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals visit the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas for game 3 of a 4-game series. The Express lead this series 2-0, while the Royals lead the season series 6-3. Omaha is 4-6 on this 16-game road trip. 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: Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, Round Rock rallied to tie the contest and then won it 4-3 in the 10th on Edwin Maysonet's walk-off home run. Maysonet connected for his 4th homer of the season with 2 outs in the 10th off Devon Lowery (0-1), who had blown a save opportunity in the 9th by giving up a walk and Ray Sadler's RBI double. The Express scored unearned runs in each of the 1st 2 innings off Omaha starter Horacio Ramirez, who went 7.0 innings without allowing an earned run. Omaha scored a run in the 6th - its only run in 6 innings off Chad Reineke - and took the lead in the 7th with 3 hits off Dave Borkowski, including Shane Costa's 2-run double. Costa singled to lead off the 10th, but Jorge Sosa (1-0) got out of the inning unhurt and wound up picking up the win.

ROYALS REPORT: Last night marked the 2nd time in the Royals' last 3 games that they were ahead entering the bottom of the 9th, only to lose. Albuquerque rallied for 2 runs in the 9th and a 9-8 victory over Omaha on Monday night. Prior to that contest, the Royals had been 30-2 when leading after 8 innings. *** Wednesday night's defeat drops the Royals record in games decided in the final at-bat to 2-10. Omaha is now 7-9 in one-run games and 1-2 in extra-inning affairs. *** After yielding 3 runs in the 1st inning of his Royals debut on June 8, Ramirez has strung together 18.0 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run. He owns a 1.42 ERA after 3 starts this season. *** Omaha's Terry Bradshaw has been named as the hitting coach for the Pacific Coast League All-Star team. The PCL squad takes on the International League at Louisville Slugger Field on Wednesday, July 16 at 6:05 p.m. CDT. Bradshaw, in his 5th season as the Royals hitting coach, played with Louisville for parts of the 1994-1997 seasons. It will be his 1st trip back to that city since then and his 1st time participating in the Triple-A All-Star Game. *** Costa collected a season-high 4 hits last night, posting his 17th multi-hit effort this year. He's 6-for-9 with 2 RBI and a run scored in the 1st 2 games of this series, after going 2-for-18 (.111) in his previous 5 contests. *** Billy Butler was hitless in 4 at-bats Wednesday night, halting his hitting streak at 6 games. Over the past 15 tilts, he's still batting .397 (23-for-58) with 3 homers and 10 RBI. *** The Royals are on a 5-game losing skein, equaling their longest skid of the season, set June 6-9. Omaha is 6-11 this month. In June, the Royals' team ERA is 5.36. *** Maysonet's round-tripper last night was the 1st walk-off homer for an opposing batter since June 16, 2007, when Callix Crabbe hit a 2-run shot off Roberto Giron in the bottom of the 9th at Greer Stadium to give the Nashville Sounds a 7-5 win over the Royals. *** The Royals tied a season high last night by hitting into 3 double plays.

STARTERS: RH Matt Wright (1-4, 5.89) vs. RH Ron Chiavacci (1-1, 10.80)

Wright makes his 14th start of the season, his 2nd vs. Round Rock. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was at Albuquerque last Saturday, when he took the loss in the Royals' 7-0 defeat (5.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 4 K). Wright's only win this season came on May 23 at the Dell Diamond, when he helped the Royals to a 5-2 victory (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR). He has surrendered 15 home runs this season, tied for 2nd-most in the PCL. 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. He made 3 relief appearances vs. Round Rock last season, going 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA. Wright 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 batters 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:

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: RH Brandon Duckworth (3-6, 4.93) vs. RH Runelvys Hernandez (6-3, 3.82)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 19, 2008


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