PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on July 5, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JULY 5, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (41-45) vs. Memphis (48-40)

HOME: 17-22 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 24-23 (28-44 in '07) vs. Memphis: 2-3 (8-8 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals host the Memphis Redbirds in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's game 2 of a 4-game series, which Memphis leads 1-0. The Redbirds lead the season series 3-2. The Independence Day celebration continues with a Werner Enterprises Fireworks show after the game, also presented by Q-98.5, WOWT and The City Weekly! The Royals will donate 50 cents from every ticket sold to aid in the flood relief for the four Minor League Baseball cities affected in Iowa: Burlington, Des Moines, Davenport and Cedar Rapids. The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Josh Phelps homered twice and Joe Mather also went deep as Memphis won the series opener 4-2. Phelps crushed a home run over the batter's eye leading off the 2nd inning to give the Redbirds an early 1-0 lead. He hit another leadoff shot to center in the 6th to make it 3-0. Both of Phelps' dingers came off Brandon Duckworth (3-8), who allowed 3 runs on 6 hits over 7.0 innings to take the loss. Mather's solo shot in the 8th made it 4-0, before the Royals rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning on 4 straight 2-out singles, including Jason Smith's 3rd hit of the game, plating both runs. Mike Parisi (6-1) avenged his only loss of the year, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits over 7.2 frames. Kelvin Jimenez yielded Damon Hollins' leadoff single in the 9th, but retired the next 3 batters for his 7th save.

ROYALS REPORT: Parisi had some help by the Royals base runners to get out of trouble last night. Mitch Maier was caught in rundowns between 3rd and home in the 4th and 6th innings and Shane Costa was thrown out attempting to steal 3rd base for the final out of the 6th. Over his last 16 games, Costa is batting .369 (24-for-65) with a home run and 9 RBI. Maier has hit in 6 straight, going 12-for-28 (.429) with 2 RBI and 5 runs scored. *** The Royals are on a 5-game losing streak, equaling their longest skid of the season. In this skein, 2 of the losses have been by a single run, with last night's defeat by 2 runs. *** Over his last 3 starts, Duckworth has posted a 2.79 ERA (6 ER in 19.1 IP). However, he's 0-2 over that span and has received only 2 runs of support while he was on the mound in those 3 outings. With 2 more home runs allowed Friday night, Duckworth has served up 16 gopher balls - tied for 4th in the PCL - over 89.1 innings. In 2007 with KC, he surrendered just 3 home runs in 46.2 frames. *** As a staff, Omaha pitchers have now given up 108 homers, tied for the most allowed in the league this year. Omaha batters have also hit 108 round-trippers, ranking 3rd in the circuit. *** Prior to picking up hits in each of his last 3 trips to the plate last night, Smith was hitless in his previous 19 at-bats. *** Ryan Shealy has put together a 5-game hitting steak, matching his longest of the campaign. During the string, he's 8-for-18 (.444) with a homer and 2 RBI. *** Brayan Pena made a rare pinch-hit appearance for Omaha last night, batting for David Matranga in the 9th and flying out to end the contest. Royals pinch-hitters are 0-for-7 this season with no RBI. *** Over his last 10 tilts, Gookie Dawkins is hitting .286 (10-for-35) with 2 taters and 8 RBI. *** Last night's game and 24th annual Fireworks by Grucci drew a season-high crowd of 22,287 to Rosenblatt. It upped the Royals' season attendance to 173,667 over 34 openings for an average of 5,108. Going into Friday night, the Royals were averaging 4,587 fans per opening at home.

STARTERS: RH P.J. Walters (6-1, 4.66) vs. LH Dusty Hughes (1-0, 2.31)

Hughes makes his 3rd Triple-A start. The 26-year old lefty's last outing was Monday at Iowa, when he pitched on 7 days' rest. He was not involved in the decision, as the Royals lost 3-2 (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR). He had a memorable Triple-A debut on June 22 at New Orleans, combining with Devon Lowery on a 5-hitter to lead the Royals to a 3-0 victory (6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K). Hughes opened this season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In 20 games (4 starts) he was 5-2 with a 2.91 ERA and 3 saves. In 2007, Hughes was named by KC as Double-A Wichita's Pitcher of the Year, after he went 6-2 with a 3.08 ERA and 1 save in 25 games (16 starts). In 108.0 innings last year, he surrendered only 5 home runs. Following last season, he was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 6 starts for the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, earning AFL Pitcher of the Year honors in a fan vote. Last year was an impressive bounce-back campaign, as Hughes missed the entire 2006 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Entering this season, he was ranked by Baseball America as KC's #28 prospect. On April 12, 2004, he combined with Burlington (IA) reliever Jake Mullis on a no-hitter. In his 1st professional season, he was named the 2003 Pitcher of the Year for the Surprise Royals of the Rookie Arizona League, after going 5-2 and ranking 4th in the league with a 2.84 ERA. Hughes was selected by KC in the 11th round of the 2003 draft out of Delta State University in Mississippi, where he earned all-conference and team MVP honors as a junior and senior. He led the Statesmen to the Division II World Series in both 2001 and 2002. The Tupelo, Mississippi native was selected by the Marlins in the 50th round of the 2002 draft, but did not sign.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Sun., 1:35 p.m.: LH Jaime Garcia (4-4, 4.06) vs. RH Matt Wright (3-5, 6.06)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 5, 2008


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