PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on July 25, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


TONIGHT: The Royals visit Cashman Field, taking on the Las Vegas 51s in a 9:05 p.m. game. It's the finale of a 4-game series, which Las Vegas leads 2-1. The pre-game show airs at 8:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Ryan Shealy's pinch-hit, 2-run double in the top of the 10th gave Omaha a 3-1 lead, but Yasuhiko Yabuta failed to retire a batter in the bottom of the 10th as the 51s rallied for 3 runs and a 4-3 victory. Yabuta (1-3) surrendered a leadoff single to Jason Repko, followed by Terry Tiffee's RBI double to cut the Royals' lead to 3-2. John Lindsey belted Yabuta's 2-1 pitch over the right-center field wall for a game-winning, 2 run homer. Lindsey's 19th home run of the season gave the win to Mike Koplove (2-1), who gave up 2 runs in the only inning he worked.

ROYALS REPORT: Last night's loss drops Omaha's record this season in games decided in the final at-bat to 7-17. That is more last at-bat defeats than the Royals suffered all of last season, when they had a record of 21-16 in those contests. In 2008, the Royals are now 14-16 in 1-run games and 4-5 in extra innings. *** Shealy's pinch-hit double Thursday night was the 1st hit for an Omaha pinch-hitter this year, as Royals pinch-hitters had been 0-for-8 with no RBI through the team's 1st 104 games. Shealy has hit in 20 of his last 22 contests, batting .407 (33-for-81) with 4 home runs and 16 RBI. *** Chris Lubanski, who had a double and solo homer last night, has hit in 4 straight games. He's 7-for-15 (.467) with a double, 2 triples, a home run and 3 RBI during the streak, upping his average 13 points to .240. *** Mike Stodolka has put together a season-high, 9-game hit string. Over that span, he's hitting .472 (17-for-36) with 2 round-trippers, 6 RBI and 6 runs scored. *** Dusty Hughes was solid again in his start Thursday night, giving up just 1 run over 5.1 frames, trimming his ERA from 4.03 to 3.67 after 6 Triple-A starts. *** Roman Colon followed Hughes to the hill last night and fired 3.2 scoreless stanzas. Colon has a 3.28 ERA in 5 games, including 3 starts, in July. *** Hughes and Colon did combine to walk 7 batters in 9.0 innings. Omaha pitchers have issued 16 walks over the last 2 contests at Cashman Field. *** The Royals defense turned 4 double plays last night, matching a season high. Omaha has turned a PCL-leading 129 twin-killings this season, while committing the fewest errors (70) and owning the best team fielding percentage (.982). *** Yabuta has been roughed up in both of his appearances this series, allowing 5 earned runs on 6 hits over 1.0 inning to jump his ERA from 3.86 to 6.23. *** Mitch Maier, recalled by KC yesterday, started in center field for the parent club last night. Batting 9th, he was 1-for-4 with a single in the Royals' 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. It was Maier's 1st appearance in the big leagues since he played in 5 games with KC in September of 2006.

STARTERS: LH John Bale (0-0, 0.00)/RH Matt Wright (3-6, 5.79) vs. RH Jon Meloan (5-10, 4.97)

Bale makes his 3rd start for Omaha, as he continues a rehab assignment he began with Northwest Arkansas. The 34-year old lefty started game 1 of last Sunday's doubleheader, followed by a 2nd start vs. Round Rock the next day. In 2 games (1 start) with Northwest Arkansas, he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA. Bale opened this season in KC's rotation, going 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA in 3 starts before being placed on the disabled list April 17 with left shoulder fatigue. He broke his left hand May 2, after punching a door at the Royals' team hotel in Cleveland. In 2007, Bale's 1st season in the Royals' organization was also marred by injuries. He spent the 1st 89 games of KC's '07 season on the D.L., initially sidelined in Spring Training with a tight left shoulder. He began a rehab assignment with Wichita on April 30, but was shut down after 3 starts due to a recurrence of the injury. Bale began a 2nd rehab assignment on May 27 with Omaha and compiled 6.0 scoreless innings over 4 games (2 starts) through June 5, before suffering a torn glute while long tossing in the outfield. He began a 3rd rehab stint for KC - his 2nd with Omaha - on June 29 and made 4 appearances (2 starts) at Triple-A before finally being recalled by KC and reinstated from the D.L. on July 14. He wound up making 26 relief appearances for KC last year, going 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA. Bale was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to the 2007 season after pitching in Japan for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2004-2006. Besides KC, Bale has pitched in the big leagues for Toronto, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Bale attended Jefferson Davis Community College in Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round of the 1994 draft, but did not sign. He signed with Toronto after being selected by the Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 1996 draft.

Wright makes his 20th appearance of the season, his 1st in relief. The 26-year old right-hander's last outing was a start in game 2 of a doubleheader vs. Round Rock last Sunday, when he took the loss in the Royals' 5-4 defeat (6.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR). Wright has given up 21 home runs this season, tied with Brandon Duckworth for 2nd-most in the PCL. He 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 was the starter and winner August 2 vs. Las Vegas, leading Omaha to a 3-1 victory (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K). 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 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.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 25, 2008


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