Royals Game Notes
August 31, 2008 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
TODAY: The Royals visit Principal Park in Des Moines, taking on the Iowa Cubs at 1:05 p.m. It's game 3 of a season-ending, 4-game series. Iowa leads the series 2-0 and is 12-2 in the season series. The pre-game show airs at 12:45 p.m. on News Talk 1420 KOTK and at www.oroyals.com.
LAST NIGHT: The Cubs scored 4 runs in the 1st off rehabbing KC lefty John Bale, setting the stage for a 10-4 victory. Andres Torres led off the 1st with a single and scored the 1st of his 3 runs in the game on Felix Pie's double. It was the 1st of Pie's 2 doubles and 3 RBI. Micah Hoffpauir followed Pie's 1st inning double with a triple and 1 out later Josh Kroeger completed the team's cycle with a 2-run homer. Brayan Pena smacked a 2-run shot for Omaha in the 3rd to cut the deficit in half. Chad Spann had 3 hits and 2 RBI for the Royals, including a run-scoring single in the 6th that made it 5-3. But, Iowa pulled away in the 7th, using a Torres triple and 3 doubles to score 3 runs off Josh Newman for an 8-3 lead. Mitch Atkins (8-1) won again, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits over 5.0 innings. Bale (0-3) lost again, yielding 4 runs on 4 hits in 2.0 frames.
ROYALS REPORT: The Royals have lost 10 straight games vs. Iowa. In the season series, Omaha's pitching staff owns a 6.59 ERA and has surrendered 22 home runs and 40 other extra-base hits. The Royals have been outscored 98-52 in the 14 contests vs. the Cubs. *** In large part due to their 2-12 record vs. Iowa, the Royals own the worst divisional record of any PCL team, going 17-29 vs. the American Conference North. *** Bale, who also spent a large chunk of the 2007 season rehabbing with Omaha, has a 10.80 ERA in 10 games (7 starts) at Triple-A this year. *** Another rehabbing KC southpaw, Jimmy Gobble, followed Bale to the mound Saturday night. He pitched a hitless 3rd inning, walking 1 and striking out 1. He's 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 8 rehab games (4 starts) for Omaha. *** The homer by Pena last night was his lone hit and it extended his hitting streak to 14 games. It's his longest streak of the season and the 3rd-longest for a Royal, trailing only Mike Aviles (15 games) and Mitch Maier (19). During the string, Pena is hitting .365 (19-for-52) with 3 homers and 9 RBI. *** Spann hit his 1st home run with Omaha last night, smacking a solo shot in the 8th off Hector Carrasco. It came in his 63rd at-bat with the Royals. His 3 hits last night equaled his season high. Spann has hit in 3 straight, going 6-for-11 (.545) to raise his batting average from .250 to .302 after 17 games with Omaha. In 56 games with Pawtucket to begin the season, he hit .185 with 3 homers and 20 RBI. *** Josh Labandeira has hit in 5 straight, his longest streak of the year. Over that span, he's 7-for-18 (.389) with a home run and 4 RBI. *** Chris Lubanski missed his 3rd straight game last night due to a vision problem. *** With last night's defeat, the Royals finish 2008 with a 42-60 record in night games. Omaha is 19-21 during the day, with 2 afternoon contests remaining. *** The Royals need a win today to avoid losing 20 games in August. Omaha is 11-19 this month, after going 9-21 in July.
STARTERS: RH Roman Colon (5-5, 4.64) vs. RH Mike Burns (8-12, 4.75)
Colon makes his 11th start (24th appearance) with Omaha. The 29-year old right-hander's last outing was a start vs. New Orleans last Monday, when he got the win in the Royals' 8-2 victory (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 6 K, 1 HR). In 3 games (1 start) vs. Iowa this season, Colon is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1 save. In his 10 starts, he's 3-3 with a 4.25 ERA. He's 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA and 1 save in 13 relief appearances. He's 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA on the road, while going 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA and 1 save at home. 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. Last year 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 2006 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:
Mon., 1:35 p.m.: LH Dusty Hughes (3-2, 4.59) vs. LH Jason Stanford (3-0, 4.22)
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