Royals Game Notes
Published on July 19, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
JULY 19, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (45-53) vs. Round Rock (45-54)
HOME: 20-27 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 25-26 (28-44 in '07) vs. Round Rock: 8-4 (9-9 in '07)
TONIGHT: The Royals host the Round Rock Express in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's game 2 of a 5-game series, which Round Rock leads 1-0. Omaha leads the season series 8-4. Stadium gates open at 5:00 p.m. and the 1st 1,500 fans receive a Carlos Beltran statue, courtesy of the Nebraska Air National Guard. Beltran was voted by fans as their favorite Omaha player of this decade in an online poll at www.oroyals.com. The night is also brought to you by 1620 The Zone, WOWT and The Reader! In conjunction with Catholic Charities and Spirit Catholic Radio's "Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation" food drive, the Royals are offering two-tickets-for-the-price-of-one to tonight's game to anyone who brings a can of food to the ballpark. The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: Round Rock's Nick Gorneault belted 2 homers, including a grand slam, to help the Express jump out to an early 7-1 lead and they held on for an 8-6 win in the series opener. Gorneault's solo shot in the 2nd tied the contest at 1-1 and his slam capped a 5-run 3rd inning that put Round Rock ahead 6-1. Val Majewski led off the 4th with another home run - the 3rd allowed by Brandon Duckworth - to make it 7-1. Gookie Dawkins helped rally the Royals with 4 hits, including a pair of doubles and a 2-run homer in the 8th that accounted for the final score. Jack Cassel (6-1) got the win, allowing 2 runs over 5.0 innings of relief. Duckworth (3-10) took the loss, yielding 7 runs on 7 hits over 5.0 frames. Nick Regilio retired the 1st 2 batters in the 9th, before walking Brayan Pena to bring Ryan Shealy to the plate as the potential tying run, but got him on a fly out to center for his 8th save.
ROYALS REPORT: Prior to having all these trends reversed in Friday night's loss, the Royals this season were 31-13 when scoring 5 or more runs, 32-15 when scoring 1st and 19-12 when scoring in the 1st inning. *** The 3 gopher balls served up by Duckworth last night tied a team season high. It was the 3rd time he had allowed that many homers in a game this year. After giving up just 3 homers in 46.2 innings with KC in 2007, Duckworth has surrendered 20 home runs with Omaha this season, 2nd-most in the PCL. 13 of those long balls have come here at home, where Duckworth is now 1-7. He has lost 4 consecutive starts, 5 straight decisions and 9 of his last 10 decisions. *** As a staff, Omaha's 121 home runs allowed also ranks 2nd in the league; Salt Lake pitchers have surrendered 125 round-trippers. *** Dawkins' 4 hits last night were his season high on any of the 4 teams he has played with in 2008. In fact, Dawkins was just 4-for-43 (.091) in 12 games with Charlotte before KC acquired him from the White Sox on June 9 in exchange for cash considerations. His big night Friday jumped his average from .250 to .281. After 25 games with Omaha, Dawkins owns a .531 slugging percentage. *** Shealy is riding a 7-game hitting streak, 1 shy of his season best. He has hit in 14 of the past 15 contests, hitting .431 (25-for-58) with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. *** Pena was 0-for-4 last night, halting his streak at 4 games. Over the past 13 tilts, he's batting .327 (16-for-49) and has driven in 9 runs. *** Mike Stodolka had 2 more hits Friday night. He has hit in 3 straight and 4 of his past 5 games, going 7-for-18 (.389) over that stretch to lift his average 17 points to .247. *** Not counting the Triple-A All-Star Game, Jason Smith is 2-for-20 (.100) over the last 5 contests, with no RBI and 10 strikeouts. *** Reliever Josh Newman made his Omaha debut last night, tossing 2.0 innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 unearned run, which scored from 1st base on his own errant pickoff throw. The lefty fanned 4. Newman, who was claimed by KC off waivers from Colorado on July 11, was 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1 save in 20 games with Colorado Springs in 2008. *** Last night's boisterous crowd of 12,874 was the 4th-largest at home this season. It was larger than the biggest crowd the Royals have played in front of on the road this season - 12,581 on July 3rd at Iowa.
STARTERS: RH Josh Miller (5-5, 5.48) vs. LH Dusty Hughes (1-0, 4.91)
Hughes makes his 5th Triple-A start, his 1st vs. Round Rock. The 26-year old lefty's last outing was last Thursday vs. Nashville; a no-decision for him as the Royals won 6-5 in 10 innings (5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HR). Hughes 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. He opened this season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In 20 games (4 starts) with the Naturals 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 rebound by Hughes, who 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: RH Ron Chiavacci (3-2, 5.40) vs. LH John Bale (NR)
Sun., G2: LH Josh Muecke (7-8, 4.24) vs. RH Matt Wright (3-5, 5.70)
Mon., 12:05: RH Chad Reineke (5-9, 4.74) vs. TBA
Pacific Coast League Stories from July 19, 2008
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- RedHawks defeat Redbirds 9-5 - Oklahoma City Comets
- Zephyrs win over Albuquerque - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Morales Returns, Smith Reassigned to Arkansas - Salt Lake Bees
- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Royals Game Notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Sidewinders Rally For Marathon Win - Tucson Sidewinders
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