Royals Game Notes
Published on August 24, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
AUGUST 24, 2008, 1:35 p.m.: OMAHA ROYALS (58-77) vs. Memphis (71-63)
HOME: 27-40 (45-27 in '07) AWAY: 31-37 (28-44 in '07) vs. Memphis: 6-9 (8-8 in '07)
TODAY: The Royals host the Memphis Redbirds in a 1:35 p.m. game at Rosenblatt Stadium. It's the finale of a 5-game series, which is tied 2-2. Memphis leads the season series 9-6. It's U.S. Bank Family FUNday, with clowns, face painting and kids invited to run the bases, also presented by KGBI-100.7 FM and KPTM-Fox 42. All Royals Kids Club members receive a FREE ticket to the game, courtesy of SUBWAY! The pre-game show airs at 1:15 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: Memphis chased Royals spot starter Neal Musser with 4 runs in the 1st inning, then pulled away with a 5-run 3rd off Yasuhiko Yabuta en route to a 9-4 win. Musser (2-5), making his 1st start for Omaha since beating the Redbirds on May 29, 2006 at Rosenblatt, retired just 1 of the 8 batters he faced last night. He allowed 3 hits and 3 walks - 2 coming with the bases loaded - and hit a batter with a pitch. Yabuta relieved and induced a double play grounder with 1 out and the bases full to end the 1st and retired Memphis in order in the 2nd. In their half of the 2nd, the Royals scored 3 runs to pull within a run, but the Redbirds retaliated with 5 runs on 7 hits off Yabuta in the 3rd. Blake Hawksworth (4-7) got the win for Memphis, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits over 5.0 innings.
ROYALS REPORT: Last night marked the 2nd time in 3 games that Omaha's starter has failed to get out of the 1st inning. Thursday night's starter, Tyler Lumsden, gave up 4 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks in two-thirds of an inning in that start. However, Lumsden bounced back last night to save the Royals' bullpen, firing 5.0 scoreless innings. He allowed just 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 3. Lumsden has a 4.43 ERA in 9 relief outings this season, while posting a 7.58 ERA in his 17 starts. *** Yabuta, who surrendered 5 runs in 2.2 innings Saturday night, had given up just 1 earned over 13.0 innings, for a 0.69 ERA, in his previous 5 appearances. Last night's outing jumped his ERA with Omaha from 4.05 to 5.00. *** Kila Ka'ahuie left last night's contest in the top of the 2nd, after taking a pitch off his right wrist in the 1st. He is not in the Royals' starting lineup on Sunday. *** Royals DH Brian Buchanan finished on the mound for the pitching-depleted Royals last night, tossing a 1-2-3 inning. It was his 2nd mop-up appearance this year. He also pitched a perfect frame on July 29 at Tucson. *** Brett Bigler was 2-for-4 last night, including a double, which was his 1st extra-base hit in 8 games since coming up from Wilmington. Bigler has hit in 5 of his last 6 starts, going 8-for-22 (.364). *** Gookie Dawkins is 1-for-18 in this series. On the season series vs. Memphis, he's hitting .114 (4-for-35) with 1 homer and 2 RBI. *** After going 5-for-10 with a double, triple and home run in the 1st 3 games of this series, Chris Lubanski was 0-for-4 last night, striking out twice. *** Ryan Shealy picked up 3 walks in last night's contest, extending his streak with at least 1 walk to 6 games. He's collected a total of 10 bases on balls over that stretch. *** After pitching just 1.0 inning for Omaha last week, Kyle Davies returned to the mound for KC last night, taking the loss in a 4-0 defeat to Detroit. Davies (5-5) went 6.0 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, as the Royals lost their 7th straight and for the 14th time in their last 16. *** Alberto Callaspo also returned to KC's lineup last night, having his rehab assignment with Omaha ended after Alex Gordon went on the DL with a torn right quad. *** Brandon Duckworth had his scheduled start for Omaha last night scratched, as he starts for KC this afternoon, opposed by the Tigers' Kenny Rogers. Duckworth, who was 5-11 with a 4.75 ERA at Triple-A, makes his 1st start for KC in 2008. He went 1-4 with a 4.85 ERA for the parent club in 2007, before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery last August 15.
STARTERS: RH Jess Todd (1-0, 2.13) vs. LH John Bale (0-2, 8.22)
Bale makes his 5th rehab assignment start (8th appearance) with Omaha, pitching for the 1st time since his original rehab stint was shut down following his August 4 start vs. Colorado Springs. The 34-year old lefty took the loss in that game, as the Royals were downed 8-3 (1.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K). Bale began the rehab assignment on July 15 with Northwest Arkansas, making 2 appearances (1 start) for the Naturals; he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA. Bale opened this season in KC's rotation, going 0-3 with a 7.63 ERA in 3 starts before being placed on the disabled list April 17 with left shoulder fatigue. While on the DL, he broke his left hand May 2, after punching a door at KC's team hotel in Cleveland. In 2007, Bale's 1st season in the Royals' organization was also marred by injuries. He spent the 1st 89 games of KC's '07 season on the DL, initially sidelined in Spring Training with a tight left shoulder. He began a rehab assignment with Wichita on April 30, but was shut down after 3 starts due to a recurrence of the injury. Bale began a 2nd rehab assignment on May 27 with Omaha and compiled 6.0 scoreless innings over 4 games (2 starts) through June 5, before suffering a torn glute while long tossing in the outfield. He began a 3rd rehab stint for KC - his 2nd with Omaha - on June 29 and made 4 appearances (2 starts) before finally being recalled by KC and reinstated from the DL on July 14. He wound up making 26 relief appearances for KC last year, going 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA. Bale was signed by KC as a minor league free agent prior to the 2007 season after pitching in Japan for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2004-2006. Besides KC, he has pitched in the big leagues for Toronto, Baltimore and Cincinnati. Bale attended Jefferson Davis Community College in Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round of the 1994 draft, but did not sign. He signed with Toronto after being selected in the 5th round of the 1996 draft.
PROBABLES FOR SERIES VS. NEW ORLEANS:
Mon., 7:05 p.m.: RH Jess Todd (1-0, 2.13) vs. RH Roman Colon (4-5, 4.75)
Tue., 7:05 p.m.: RH Bobby Parnell (1-2, 7.43) vs. RH Brad Salmon (8-6, 4.66)
Wed., 7:05 p.m.: LH Willie Collazo (4-8, 4.03) vs. LH Dusty Hughes (3-2, 4.89)
Thur., 7:05 p.m.: RH Nelson Figueroa (4-7, 4.43) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (3-12, 6.88)
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