PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on July 27, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JULY 27, 2008, 8:00 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (48-59) at Tucson (45-62)

HOME: 22-29 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 26-30 (28-44 in '07) vs. Tucson: 0-1 (1-3 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals visit Tucson Electric Park, taking on the Sidewinders in an 8:00 p.m. game. It's game 2 of a 4-game series, which Tucson leads 1-0. Omaha is 1-4 on the trip, having lost 4 straight. The pre-game show airs at 7:40 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Tucson rallied from down 5-1, scoring 2 runs in the 7th and tying the game with 2 in the 9th, before winning it 6-5 in 10 innings. Brad Salmon (7-5) suffered his 4th blown save in 7 opportunities, surrendering 3 runs (2 earned) over the last 1.1 innings. Jesus Merchan delivered the game-winning, RBI single, scoring Trent Oeltjen - who had reached on a fielding error by Royals 1st baseman Mike Stodolka - with an unearned run. Salmon set the table for the Sidewinders' 9th inning rally by walking the 1st batter he faced and hitting the next with a pitch. He later gave up a pair of RBI singles. Jailen Peguero (5-4) got the win, tossing 2.0 stanzas of scoreless relief.

ROYALS REPORT: The Royals are 37-6 this season when leading after 8 innings, with the 6 losses leading the PCL in that category. Conversely, Omaha is just 1-36 when trailing after 8 frames. *** Omaha's bullpen has 12 blown saves in 33 chances this year. *** The Royals are 11 games under .500 on the season and are 7-18 in games decided in the final at-bat. *** Omaha is also 7-18 in July. The team is hitting .270 with 24 home runs and 114 runs scored (4.56 per game) this month. However, the pitching staff has a 4.93 ERA. *** Before last night's collapse, Jose Capellan pitched 8.0 innings for a 2nd straight outing, allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits, with no walks and 2 strikeouts. He's 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA after his 1st 3 games (2 starts) with the Royals. *** Damon Hollins erased a 1-0 deficit in the 4th inning last night by smacking a 3-run homer. It was his 9th home run of the season, but his 1st in 18 games, dating back to June 21. Hollins has hit in 4 straight, going 4-for-14 (.286). His 3 RBI last night were 3 times as many as he had collected in his previous 13 contests. *** Mike Stodolka, who had 3 more hits Saturday night, is batting .455 (20-for-44) over his last 11 games, with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. *** Chris Lubanski did not homer last night for the 1st time in 3 games. However, he did pick up a single to extend his hit string to 6 games, 1 shy of his season high. During the streak, he's hitting .391 (9-for-23) with a double, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 4 RBI. *** Matt Tupman has put together a 4-game streak, matching his longest of the year. In his last 6 games, he's 10-for-24 (.417) with 4 doubles and 6 RBI. *** The Royals have lost 4 straight games on this trip. The skein is 1 game shy of their longest of the season overall and on the road. *** Gookie Dawkins has hit in 4 straight and over his last 9 tilts is batting .389 (14-for-36), belting 2 home runs and driving in 6 runs. *** A 4-game hitting streak came to end last night for Brayan Pena, who went 0-for-4. Over his past 11 contests, Pena's average has dropped from .324 to .292. *** Ryan Shealy, who had the night off Saturday, is hitting .402 (33-for-82) over his last 23 games, smacking 4 home runs and collecting 16 RBI.

STARTERS: LH Josh Newman (1-1, 2.00) vs. RH Max Scherzer (0-0, 3.25)

Newman makes his 3rd appearance with Omaha since being claimed by KC off waivers from the Colorado Rockies on July 11th. This is the 1st start of the 26-year old lefty's professional career. In his 5 pro seasons to date, Newman has made 207 appearances in the minors and 10 in the big leagues, all in relief. His last outing was Tuesday at Las Vegas; a no-decision in Omaha's 17-5 win (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K). Newman opened this season with Colorado Springs, going 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1 save in 20 games. He also made 8 relief appearances for the Rockies in April and May; he was 0-0 with a 9.35 ERA. In 2007, Newman saw his 1st action both at the Triple-A level and in the Major Leagues. He was 3-2 with a 4.06 ERA in 55 appearances for the Sky Sox, before being added to the Rockies' roster in September. He made his big league debut on September 12 at Philadelphia, tossing a perfect inning in Colorado's 12-0 win. In 2 games with the N.L. Champions, he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA. In 2006, Newman made his Double-A debut and pitched in a Texas League-leading 62 games with Tulsa, going 9-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 2 saves. He led the Drillers in wins, innings (77.0) and strikeouts (77) and was named to the Texas League mid-season All-Star team. Newman was selected by the Rockies in the 19th round of the 2004 draft out of Ohio State University. He was drafted by the Reds in the 30th round of the 2003 draft, but decided to return for his senior year with the Buckeyes. In his college career, he was 32-21 with a 4.20 ERA in 61 games (54 starts). Newman was a USA Today High School All-American at Wheelersburg High in Ohio.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Mon., 9:00 p.m.: RH Brandon Duckworth (3-11, 5.04) vs. LH Evan MacLane (5-6, 4.86)

Tue., 9:00 p.m.: LH Dusty Hughes (2-0, 3.67) vs. RH A.J. Shappi (1-3, 6.37)

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 27, 2008


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