PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on July 29, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


JULY 29, 2008, 9:00 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (49-60) at Tucson (46-63)

HOME: 22-29 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 27-31 (28-44 in '07) vs. Tucson: 1-2 (1-3 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals visit Tucson Electric Park, taking on the Sidewinders in a 9:00 p.m. game. It's the finaleof a 4-game series, which Tucson leads 2-1. Omaha is 2-5 on the trip. The pre-game show airs at 8:40 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: The Sidewinders won a see-saw battle 5-4 when Jesus Merchan doubled with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and Robby Hammock followed with a game-winning single off Brad Salmon. The right-hander came on to begin the bottom of the 8th with Omaha on top 4-3 and retired the 1st 2 batters he faced before giving up 3 straight singles as Tucson scored a run to tie the game at 4-all. Salmon (7-6) suffered his 5th blown save of the season. Chris Lubanski's 2-run homer in the 8th had given the Royals a 4-3 lead. Connor Robertson (7-2) picked up the win, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings.

ROYALS REPORT: Kila Kaaihue, Northwest Arkansas' 1B/DH who has been one of the best hitters in the Texas League this year, is being promoted to Omaha and is expected to join the club tomorrow as it opens an 8-game home stand at Rosenblatt. The 24-year old lefty slugger leads the Texas League with 26 home runs, ranks 3rd with 79 RBI and is 7th with a .314 average. Kaaihue, who is in his 7th professional season and his 3rd at the Double-A level, was named to the Texas League's North All-Star squad last month. He was KC's 15th round pick in the 2002 draft out of Iolani High in Honolulu. Entering 2008, he was named by Baseball America as having the Best Strike-Zone Discipline among the Royals' prospects. This will be Kaaihue's 1st time at Triple-A, 1 step from the Major Leagues. *** The 1st 3 games of this series have been decided in the final at-bat. With last night's loss, the Royals are now just 8-19 in those close contests. *** Salmon has blown 4 of 5 save opportunities in July and has a 5.49 ERA for the month. The bullpen overall has blown 7 of 9 save chances this month and has a 4.90 ERA. *** Lubanski has homered in back-to-back games and in 4 of the past 5 contests. Prior to that stretch, he had not gone deep in 34 straight games between June 7-July 23. His long ball last night extended his hitting streak to 8 games, marking his longest hit string of the year. During the streak, he's batting .379 (11-for-29) with a double, 2 triples, 4 homers and 7 RBI. *** Brandon Duckworth turned in a quality start Monday night, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits over 6.0 innings, walking 2 and striking out 3. *** John Bale followed Duckworth to the hill last night, making his 4th appearance - the 1st in relief - during his rehab assignment with Omaha. He pitched a scoreless 7th inning, allowing a pair of singles, but working efficiently by throwing 8 of his 9 pitches for strikes. *** Over his last 13 games, Mike Stodolka is batting at a .412 pace (21-for-51), hitting 2 home runs and driving in 7 runs. *** Ryan Shealy is hitting at a .389 clip (35-for-90) over his last 25 tilts, with 4 round-trippers and 17 RBI. *** Angel Sanchez struck out in all 3 of his at-bats last night. He had whiffed just once in his previous 9 contests. *** Matt Tupman had a single in 3 at-bats Monday night, extending his hitting streak to a season-best 5 games. Over that span, he's 11-for-27 (.407) with 4 doubles and 6 RBI. The streak has upped his average 22 points to .234. *** The Royals, who collected 7 hits but no walks last night, matched their season low with only 1 runner left on base. Tucson, which had 14 hits and 2 walks, stranded 11 runners. *** Gookie Dawkins has hit in 6 straight games (.286, 8-for-28). *** Last night's attendance at Tucson Electric Park - 1,156 - was the smallest crowd to see a Royals game in 2008.

STARTERS: LH Dusty Hughes (2-0, 3.67) vs. RH A.J. Shappi (1-3, 6.37)

Hughes makes his 7th Triple-A start. The 26-year old lefty's last outing was last Thursday at Las Vegas; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 4-3 in 10 innings (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 3 K). Hughes had a memorable Triple-A debut on June 22 at New Orleans, combining with Devon Lowery on a 5-hitter in the Royals' 3-0 victory. In 3 road starts for Omaha, he's 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA, while he's 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA in 3 outings at home. 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 SERIES VS. SALT LAKE:

Wed., 7:05 p.m.: RH Shane Loux (11-6, 4.05) vs. RH Matt Wright (3-6, 5.80)

Thur., 7:05 p.m.: RH Giancarlo Alvarado (6-4, 3.95) vs. RH Jose Capellan (3-0, 2.75)

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: RH Nick Adenhart (6-10, 6.18) vs. LH Josh Newman (1-1, 2.45)

Sat., 7:05 p.m.: RH Nick Green (7-4, 4.86) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (3-11, 5.01)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 29, 2008


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