PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on August 15, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


TONIGHT: The Royals host the Albuquerque Isotopes in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's the finale of a 4-game home stand. Albuquerque leads this series 3-0 and has won 10 of the 15 meetings in the season series. It's Ty Cobb Night! Ty, the Royals marketing intern who shares not only the name but the same birthday with the legendary Hall of Famer, will be signing autographs and giving away his baseball card. One lucky lady will also win a date with Ty. The game will be followed by Werner Enterprises fireworks. The night is also presented by KAT 103, KETV and The City Weekly! The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Paul Hoover took advantage of a second chance and Albuquerque rallied for a 3rd straight win over Omaha, beating the Royals 5-2. Hoover came to the plate in the 6th with 2 outs, a runner on base and the scored tied at 2-2. After a questionable check swing on Matt Wright's 2-2 delivery was called a ball, Hoover belted the payoff pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run homer. It was the 3rd home run of the night allowed by Wright (3-9), who gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks in 6.0 innings. Frankie De La Cruz became the PCL's 2nd 12-game winner this season and the 1st pitcher to win that many in Isotopes history. De La Cruz (12-7) went 8.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 9 hits, with no walks and 9 strikeouts. Brandon Villafuerte retired the last 2 batters for his 3rd save.

ROYALS REPORT: The Royals' 4-game losing streak is 1 shy of their longest skid of the season. Omaha has also lost 6 straight at Rosenblatt, matching the club's longest home losing streak of the year. The Royals have lost 25 of their last 34 home games to drop to 24-38 (.387) at home. The 2003 Royals set the team record for fewest home wins (25) and lowest home winning percentage (.347) in a season. Amazingly, that '03 Omaha club went 45-26 on the road to finish 70-73 overall. *** Wright's loss Thursday night dropped his home record to 0-4. He went 6-1 at Rosenblatt last season. He has surrendered 27 home runs on the year, tops in the PCL. *** Albuquerque has won 6 in a row vs. the Royals and leads the season series 10-5 with only tonight's matchup remaining. The Isotopes have won the season series each of the past 4 years, taking 44 of the 63 meetings since 2005. *** Gookie Dawkins is riding a season-best, 11-game hitting streak and has collected hits in 21 of his last 22 contests. Over his last 27 games, Dawkins is hitting .322 (37-for-115) with 4 homers and 11 RBI. *** Chad Spann, signed by KC yesterday after being released by the Red Sox on July 29, went 2-for-4 with a double in his Omaha debut last night. He also made a nice defensive play on Tagg Bozied's grounder along the 3rd base line to end the top of the 9th and leave 2 runners in scoring position. *** Damon Hollins has hit in 3 straight and in 5 of his last 6 games. Over the longer span, he's 8-for-22 (.364) with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Hollins has hit 4 homers in his last 12 contests, after hitting just 1 round-tripper in his previous 25 games. *** Matt Tupman has hit in 5 straight, going 7-for-18 (.389) with 5 RBI. Tupman, who hit .209 in the season's 1st half, is batting .338 (22-for-65) since the All-Star break, including 6 doubles and 12 RBI. *** Kila Ka'aihue has been cooled off a bit by Isotopes pitchers, as he's 2-for-12 in the series, dropping his average from .386 to .339. *** Ryan Shealy has hit in all 3 games of this series, belting 2 home runs and driving in 5 runs. In 11 games vs. Albuquerque this season, he's hitting .295 with 5 homers and 15 RBI. *** Brayan Pena hit his 3rd home run of the season last night. All 3 of his homers have come in his last 10 games - he did not go deep in his 1st 36 contests with Omaha. *** When Bozied and Dallas McPherson hit back-to-back jacks in the 4th inning Thursday night, it marked the 8th time this season that opposing batters have turned the trick. Omaha batters have done it twice. *** The Isotopes picked up 3 more steals last night, giving them 8 steals in as many attempts this series and 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts this season vs. the Royals. *** Mike Stodolka (hand) and Angel Sanchez (finger) were placed on the DL yesterday and are expected to be lost for the season.

STARTERS: LH Chris Seddon (9-8, 4.87) vs. RH Roman Colon (3-5, 4.56)

Colon makes his 8th start (21st appearance) with Omaha. The 29-year old right-hander last pitched in relief at Nashville in game 1 of a doubleheader last Saturday. He was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 5-3 (3.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K). In his 7 starts, Colon is 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA; he's 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA and 1 save in 13 relief appearances. He's 2-3 with a 3.51 ERA and 1 save at Rosenblatt, while going 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA on the road. Colon opened this season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, going 2-1 with a 5.29 ERA and 1 save in 10 relief outings. He was acquired by KC from Detroit on July 13, 2007 for a player to be named (Danny Christensen). Colon struggled with injuries last season, limiting him to a combined 12 appearances between Toledo, Erie and Omaha. 2007 marked the 1st season since 2003 that Colon did not spend time in the Major Leagues. He was sent to Omaha on a rehab assignment last August 3, but it was ended a week later after only 1 relief appearance and he underwent elbow surgery to remove bone chips. In 2006, he spent most of the campaign with Detroit, going 2-0 with a 4.89 ERA and 1 save in 20 games (1 start); he missed all of April due to a right shoulder strain and his season ended on August 14 due to neck spasms. He was acquired by the Tigers along with Zach Miner from Atlanta in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth on July 31, 2005. Colon was originally signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent on August 14, 1995.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES AT OKLAHOMA:

Sat., 7:05 p.m.: LH Jimmy Gobble (0-0, 3.52) vs. LH Michael Ballard (1-3, 9.64)

Sun., 7:05 p.m.: LH Dusty Hughes (2-1, 4.70) vs. RH Brandon McCarthy (0-1, 4.58)

Mon., 12:05 p.m.: RH Brandon Duckworth (4-11, 4.93) vs. Elizardo Ramirez (10-5, 4.21)

Tue., 7:05 p.m.: RH Matt Wright (3-9, 5.66) vs. RH Brian Gordon (4-4, 4.65)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 15, 2008


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