Royals Game Notes
Published on August 23, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
AUGUST 23, 2008, 7:05 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (58-76) vs. Memphis (70-63)
HOME: 27-39 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 31-37 (28-44 in '07) vs. Memphis: 6-8 (8-8 in '07)
TONIGHT: The Royals host the Memphis Redbirds in a 7:05 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's game 4 of a 5-game series, which Omaha leads 2-1. Memphis leads the season series 8-6. It's Public Service Appreciation Day, presented by the U.S. Army and Woodmen of the World. Several free exhibits and displays will be open at 4:00 p.m. in Rosenblatt's parking lot. Stadium gates also open at 4:00 p.m., with the Todd 'n Tyler Radio Empire Celebrity Softball game beginning at 5:00 p.m. Former Huskers Eric Crouch, Jason Peter and Rob Zatechka will play in the contest, with Peter also signing copies of his New York Times Best-Seller Hero of the Undergound. Royals players will wear American-themed jerseys, with a silent auction of those autographed jerseys during the game to raise money for Walter Reed Operation Helping Hands. The evening, which will be capped by the final Werner Enterprises fireworks show of 2008, is also presented by Z-92, WOWT and The Reader. The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: Brett Bigler turned in the last of many solid defensive plays for the Royals in a 4-2 victory. With 1 out in the top of the 9th and a Memphis runner on 1st, Rico Washington laced a pitch from Devon Lowery into the gap in left-center. Bigler cut it off in the gap and fired into 2nd base, nailing Washington as he tried to stretch a single into a double. Lowery then struck out Jarrett Hoffpauir for his 5th save. Damon Hollins also had an outfield assist, throwing out Brendan Ryan trying to go from 1st to 3rd in the 3rd inning, and the Royals turned 4 double plays. Dusty Hughes (3-2) benefited from 3 of the twin-killings to get the win. The only runs off Hughes in 5.1 innings came on solo homers by Josh Phelps and Bryan Anderson. Kila Ka'aihue's 2-run homer in the 1st gave the Royals an early lead and Chris Lubanski's round-tripper leading off the bottom of the 3rd snapped a 2-2 tie. Clayton Mortensen (5-5) took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits in 5.0 frames.
ROYALS REPORT: Ka'aihue's home run last night was his 9th in 24 games with Omaha. It was just his 2nd homer in his last 11 contests, after he smacked 7 long balls in his 1st 13 Triple-A tilts. Ka'aihue has 35 home runs on the year. His career high had been 21, set in 2007 between Wilmington and Wichita. The former University of Nebraska recruit hit 73 homers in his 1st 5 full seasons prior to this year. Ka'ahuie's 3 hits last night equaled his season high with Omaha. He had one 4-hit game for Northwest Arkansas in July. *** Lubanski's home run Friday night was his 1st since July 30, a span of 23 games. From July 24-30, he cracked 5 taters in a 7-game stretch. *** Lowery has put together a scoreless streak of 11.2 innings over his last 7 appearances, trimming his ERA from 2.53 to 1.99. *** Brad Salmon, who worked 2.2 scoreless stanzas last night, has not given up an earned run in 7.1 innings over his last 3 relief outings. *** Matt Tupman has hit in 8 of his last 9 games, batting .333 (11-for-33) and driving in 7 runs. *** Ryan Shealy has picked up at least 1 walk in 5 consecutive contests, coaxing 7 free passes. He had only walked once in his previous 8 games. *** Gookie Dawkins is 1-for-13 in this series, dipping his average from .288 to .276. *** Bigler went 0-for-4 last night, halting his hitting streak at 4 games. He still has 6 hits in his last 20 at-bats. *** Kyle Davies, just optioned to Omaha on August 15, was recalled by KC Friday and will start tonight vs. Detroit. To make room for him, reliever Ron Mahay was placed on the DL with an injured left foot. Davies was held to 1.0 hitless inning in his start for Omaha last Tuesday at Oklahoma, in case he was needed by the parent club. Brandon Duckworth was scratched from his scheduled start for Omaha tonight. It's possible that he will be called up by KC to start on Sunday in place of the injured Luke Hochevar. Former Husker All-American Alex Gordon also appears headed for KC's DL, with a torn muscle in his right leg.
STARTERS: RH Blake Hawksworth (3-7, 6.87) vs. LH Neal Musser (2-4, 3.86)
Musser makes his 1st start (33rd appearance) of the season with Omaha. The lefty, who turns 28 years old on Monday, was placed on the disabled list on July 12. He made 3 starts for the Arizona League Royals this month, going 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA (1 ER in 2.2 IP) and was added back to Omaha's roster last Monday. He tossed 1.0 hitless inning of relief Tuesday at Oklahoma and last pitched on Thursday vs. Memphis, working a scoreless inning of the Royals' 5-0 loss, walking 1 and striking out 2. Tonight marks Musser's 1st start for Omaha since May 29, 2006 when he got the win in a 4-1 victory over Memphis at Rosenblatt (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). Following that start, he was sent to Double-A Wichita, where he made 11 starts, before being converted to a reliever and appearing in 7 games out of the Wranglers' bullpen. On May 28 of this year, Musser made his only appearance of 2008 with KC, hurling a hitless inning vs. Minnesota, walking 1. Musser has made 3 appearances vs. Memphis this season; he has no record, a 5.40 ERA and 1 save. Musser, who was 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA and 2 saves in his 7 relief outings for Wichita in 2006, was a dominant reliever for Omaha last season. He did not allow an earned run over his 1st 45.2 Triple-A innings through August 10, 2007. He wound up going 4-1 with a 0.49 ERA and 8 saves in 32 appearances for Omaha, allowing just 32 hits and 11 walks in 55.1 innings, with 47 strikeouts. In 17 games over several stints with KC last year - his 1st season in the big leagues - he was 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA. He fractured his right hand on September 10 and missed the remainder of the season. Musser was signed by KC as a minor league free agent on May 24, 2006 after being released by the Diamondbacks. He was originally selected by the Mets in the 2nd round of the 1999 draft out of Benton Central High in Oxford, Indiana.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Sun., 1:35 p.m.: RH Jess Todd (1-0, 2.13) vs. RH Matt Wright (4-9, 5.52)
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