PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Royals Game Notes

Published on August 28, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


TONIGHT: In their home finale, the Royals host the New Orleans Zephyrs at 7:05 p.m. The Royals lead the series 2-1 and are 11-4 vs. New Orleans this season. Omaha is 5-3 on the home stand. It's Cox Communications Fan Appreciation Day, with the Royals giving away tons of prizes! Plus, it's Thirsty Thursday with $1 beer and Cokes, courtesy of 96.1 The Brew, Action 3 News and The City Weekly. Presentations will be made for the year-long "Hurl the Pearl" promotion, presented by Nissan of Omaha and McDonald's, as well as the year-long "Werner RBI" promotion. Player awards will also be announced. The night wraps up with the live music of Big Bo and the Biscuit Eaters, presented by Two Fine Irishmen. The pre-game show airs at 6:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.

LAST NIGHT: The Royals staged a 3-run rally with 2 outs in the 2nd inning to take a 3-1 lead and went on to beat the Zephyrs 4-2. With 2 away in the 2nd, Damon Hollins, Brett Bigler and Josh Labandeira smacked 3 consecutive doubles and Chris Lubanksi added an RBI single. Lubanski capped the Royals' scoring by leading off the bottom of the 7th with his 15th home run of the year. Jimmy Gobble (1-1) picked up the win in his 7th rehab assignment appearance, working 2.0 innings of relief and giving up 1 run. Dusty Hughes tossed 5.0 innings, allowing just 1 run. Yasuhiko Yabuta hurled a perfect 9th inning for his 3rd save. Willie Collazo (4-9) took the loss.

ROYALS REPORT: The KC Royals have extended their working agreement with the Omaha Royals for 2 years. A news conference was held this afternoon at Rosenblatt Stadium, which will be in use through the 2010 season, to announce that KC's Player Development Contract with Omaha has been extended through that 2010 campaign. Omaha's relationship with KC dates back to both clubs' inaugural season in 1969. It is the 2nd-longest partnership for a Triple-A team, trailing only the Richmond Braves, who have been the top-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves since 1966. *** Lubanski is hitting at a torrid .462 clip (12-for-26) on this home stand, with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 6 RBI. He was in a 4-for-45 funk (.089) entering the home stand. His 15th home run of the year last night matched his tater total for each of the past 2 seasons. He hit 15 home runs between Wichita and Omaha in 2007 and 15 for Wichita in 2006. *** Bigler has hit in 4 straight games, going 7-for-14, including 3 doubles. He has driven in 4 runs and scored 4 runs during the streak, which has jumped his batting average from .273 to .361 after his 1st 12 games at Triple-A. Bigler batted .197 and only played part-time for high-A Wilmington prior to his promotion to Omaha. *** Brayan Pena is riding an 11-game hitting streak. It's his longest hit string of the year and is tied for the 4th-longest on the team. During the streak, he's hitting .385 (15-for-39) with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Mitch Maier had the longest hitting streak of the season for Omaha this season, a 19-gamer. *** Kila Ka'aihue collected his 101st walk of the campaign last night, most in the minors. He also leads all full-season minor leaguers with a .461 on-base percentage. The former University of Nebraska recruit, who signed instead with KC after being the Royals' 15th round pick in the 2002 draft, has hit 35 home runs this season between Double-A and Triple-A, tied for 4th-most in the minors. His .630 slugging percentage ranks 2nd among full-season minor leaguers, trailing only the .695 mark of Nelson Cruz, who was named today as the Pacific Coast League's 2008 MVP. *** With 3 more strikeouts last night, Ryan Shealy has struck out 7 times in his last 9 at-bats. His 0-for-4 night Wednesday halted his 6-game hitting streak. Shealy homered in each of the 1st 2 games of this series, marking the 5th time this season - and the 3rd time in a 20-game span - he went deep in back-to-back contests. *** After walking 10 batters Tuesday night, Royals pitchers walked 2 last night in a 2:13 game.

STARTERS: LH Eude Brito (0-1, 7.48) vs. LH Tyler Lumsden (3-12, 6.88)

Lumsden makes his 18th start (27th appearance) of the season. The 25-year old lefty's last outing was in relief last Saturday vs. Memphis. He pitched well, but was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 9-4 (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K). Lumsden has started twice this season vs. New Orleans, going 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA. He's 0-8 with a 9.19 ERA at home, going 3-4 with a 4.78 ERA on the road. In his 9 relief outings, he's 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA. He's 3-10 with a 7.58 ERA in 17 starts. Lumsden was acquired by KC along with right-hander Daniel Cortes from the White Sox in exchange for Mike MacDougal in July 2006. He spent all of last season with Omaha, going 9-6 with a 5.88 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) during his 1st year at the Triple-A level. Following the season, Lumsden pitched for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League and was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in 7 relief outings. He was ranked by Baseball America as KC's #13 prospect entering 2008, after being rated #5 prior to 2007. The same publication named him as having the Best Slider in the White Sox organization entering the 2006 season. In '06, he was 9-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts for the White Sox Double-A club, Birmingham. Following the trade to KC, he finished the '06 campaign at Wichita, going 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 7 games (6 starts). He missed the entire 2005 season after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. Lumsden was selected by the Chisox as a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds (34th overall) of the 2004 draft after compiling a 17-7 record in 3 seasons at Clemson. He graduated from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Virginia, where he lettered all 4 years in baseball and basketball and was a hoops teammate of future Duke star J.J. Redick. Out of high school, Lumsden was selected in the 5th round of the 2001 draft by the Marlins, but did not sign.

PROBABLES FOR SERIES AT IOWA:

Fri., 7:05 p.m.: LH John Bale (0-2, 9.31) vs. LH J.R. Mathes (8-5, 4.31)

Sat., 7:05 p.m.: RH Matt Wright (4-9, 5.32) vs. RH Mitch Atkins (7-1, 4.56)

Sun., 1:35 p.m.: RH Roman Colon (5-5, 4.64) vs. RH Mike Burns (8-12, 4.75)

Mon., 1:35 p.m.: LH Dusty Hughes (3-2, 4.59) vs. LH Jason Stanford (3-0, 4.22)

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 28, 2008


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