PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on August 20, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


AUGUST 20, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (56-75) vs. Memphis (69-61)

HOME: 25-38 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 31-37 (28-44 in '07) vs. Memphis: 4-7 (8-8 in '07)

TONIGHT: The Royals open their final home stand of 2008, facing the Memphis Redbirds in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's the opener of a 5-game series, which will be followed by a 4-game set bs. New Orleans. Omaha is coming off a 2-2 trip to Oklahoma. Memphis leads the season series 7-4. Kids eat free! All kids 12-and-under will receive a voucher for a SUBWAY pizza and soda, or a meal voucher from the Royals. The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: Playing in their 12th doubleheader this season, the Royals posted their 1st sweep, blanking Oklahoma 3-0 in the lid-lifter and edging the RedHawks 2-1 in the nightcap. In the opener, Kyle Davies and Neal Musser each tossed a hitless inning and Brandon Duckworth went the final 5.0 frames for the win. Duckworth (5-11) allowed 3 hits - all singles - with no walks and 5 strikeouts. The Royals scored single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th innings off Luis Mendoza (2-3), who took the loss. In game 2, Matt Tupman's 2-out, 2-run single in the 1st inning gave the Royals all the runs they would need. Matt Wright (4-9) allowed just 1 run - on Ben Harrison's 1st career Triple-A home run in the 4th - as he went 5.0 innings. Devon Lowery hurled 2.0 scoreless stanzas to notch his 4th save. Elizardo Ramirez (10-6), who allowed just 2 unearned runs in 5.0 frames, took the loss.

ROYALS REPORT: Prior to sweeping last night's twin bill, the Royals had been swept in 5 doubleheaders this season and split 6 others. Before Tuesday night, the last time Omaha swept a doubleheader was August 25, 2007 at Rosenblatt, when the Royals beat Round Rock by scores of 5-2 and 4-3 in 10 innings. The last time the Royals swept a twin bill on the road had occurred July 26 of last season at Salt Lake, when Omaha won 4-2 and 7-3. *** Prior to winning both ends of last night's doubleheader, despite scoring a total of 5 runs, the Royals had been 16-56 this season when scoring 4 runs or less. *** The shutout in game 1 last night was the 5th of the year for Omaha's staff. The Royals have also been blanked 5 times. *** Duckworth is 2-0 in his last 3 games (1 start) since August 8, on the heels of a stretch when he lost 6 straight decisions. *** Wright is 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA in 4 games (3 starts) in August, after going 0-3 with a 7.08 ERA last month. *** Lowery's 2.0 shutout innings in Tuesday's nightcap extended his scoreless streak to 9.2 innings over his last 5 appearances, dropping his ERA from 2.53 to 2.06. *** Kila Ka'aihue went 2-for-3 with an RBI in game 1 last night, extending his hitting streak to 4 games, before going 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts in game 2. Ka'aihue, who never struck out more than twice in 91 games with Northwest Arkansas earlier this season, has fanned 3 times in 2 of his 1st 21 Triple-A contests. The former University of Nebraska recruit has 1 home run and 2 RBI in his last 8 games, after smacking 7 homers and driving in 12 runs in his 1st 13 tilts with Omaha. *** Alberto Callaspo, in his 2nd rehab assignment game in last night's opener, went 2-for-4 and scored a run. Callaspo, who went on the DL June 28 a day after he was arrested in KC for DUI, did not play in Tuesday's nightcap. *** Brayan Pena has hit in 5 straight games, matching his longest streak of the season. During the streak, he's 7-for-20 (.350) with 1 home run and 3 RBI. *** Chad Spann had hit in all 5 games with Omaha after going 1-for-3 with an RBI in last night's 1st game. The streak was snapped when he was 0-for-2 in game 2. *** Matt Tupman went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in the Tuesday's nightcap, recording his 19th multi-hit and 10th multi-RBI game of the year. He has hit in 7 of his last 8 contests, going 10-for-29 (.345) and knocking in 7 runs. *** Brett Bigler, who was 1-for-3 in game 2 last night, is 3-for-6 in his last 3 games and 3-for-10 (.300) overall with Omaha. In 54 games with High-Class A Wilmington this season, he hit .197.

STARTERS: RH P.J. Walters (8-4, 4.66) vs. RH Roman Colon (4-5, 4.45)

Colon makes his 9th start (22nd appearance) with Omaha. The 29-year old right-hander's last outing was a start vs. Albuquerque last Friday, when he got the win in the Royals' 8-2 victory (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR). Colon has faced the Redbirds once this season, getting the start in game 1 of a July 12 doubleheader at AutoZone Park; he took the loss in Omaha's 3-2 defeat (7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K). In his 8 starts, he's 2-3 with a 3.73 ERA; he's 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA and 1 save in 13 relief appearances. He's 3-3 with a 3.43 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 he did not spend time in the Major Leagues. He was sent to Omaha on a rehab assignment last August, but it was ended after only 1 relief appearance, as 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 in August of 1995.

PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:

Thur., 7:05 p.m.: RH Mitchell Boggs (7-3, 3.59) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (3-11, 6.92)

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: RH Clayton Mortensen (5-4, 4.63) vs. LH Dusty Hughes (2-2, 5.09)

Sat., 7:05 p.m.: RH Blake Hawksworth (3-7, 6.87) vs. RH Brandon Duckworth (5-11, 4.75)

Sun., 1:35 p.m.: RH Jess Todd (1-0, 2.13) vs. RH Matt Wright (4-9, 5.52)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 20, 2008


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