April 14 Game Notes: Royals vs. Albuquerque
LAST NIGHT: The Royals were shutout in their home opener, managing just 3 singles in a 5-0 loss to the Isotopes. Albuquerque jumped to a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, when John Gall smashed a 2-run homer to left field off Royals starter Dewon Brazelton (0-2), who also yielded the 1st of John Baker's 2 RBI doubles. Albuquerque starter Paul Mildren allowed only 1 hit in 4.1 innings, but he walked 6, including the bases full with 1 out in the 5th. Ross Wolf (1-0) came on to retire Shane Costa on a pop-out and Billy Butler on a grounder to short. Wolf, who hurled a perfect 6th inning, got the win. Nic Unges gave up just 2 hits and no walks over the final 3.0 innings to pick up his 1st save.
ROYALS REPORT: The Royals have dropped a season-high 3 straight games, getting outscored 15-3 in the process. Omaha's 3 hits last night were half as many as the previous low mark in a game this season. Through the 1st 9 games of the campaign, the club has a team batting average of .241, which ranks 9th in the PCL, and has scored just 30 runs (3.33 per game). *** Brazelton allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits over 4.0 innings, walking 2 and fanning 3 in his Rosenblatt Stadium debut. He's 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA after 2 starts vs. Albuquerque. *** Omaha's bullpen was solid last night, especially the final 2 relievers, right-hander Thad Markray and lefty Neal Musser. Markray fired 2.0 scoreless innings to run his scoreless streak to 7.0 stanzas over his 1st 3 relief appearances. He struck out 2 last night to bring his season total to 7. Musser tossed a scoreless 9th, striking out a pair of batters. He has allowed just 1 unearned run over 5.0 frames in his 1st 3 outings. Overall, the Royals bullpen has posted a 2.75 ERA on the young season. *** Mike Aviles went 0-for-4 last night, snapping his team-best, 6-game hitting streak. The Royals 3rd baseman hit .417 (10-24) during the streak. *** Butler was 0-for-3 with a walk Friday, halting his hit string at 5 games. The Royals left fielder has gone 3 games without an RBI after knocking in a team-high 7 runs over the season's 1st half-dozen contests. *** Infielder Fernando Cortez and right fielder Mitch Maier had 2 of the Royals 3 hits last night, extending both players' hitting streaks to 4 games. Maier kept his string alive with a 9th inning single. *** Minor injuries and the flu have thinned the ranks of Omaha's available position players recently: Angel Berroa (4 games), Justin Huber (5 games) and Paul Phillips (5 games) have all been on the shelf.
STARTERS: RH Ricardo Rodriguez (0-0, 5.40) vs. RH Ben Hendrickson (0-1, 18.00)
Hendrickson makes his 2nd start of the season. The 26-year old right-hander, acquired by Kansas City from Milwaukee on March 27 in a trade for catcher Max St. Pierre, took the loss in an 8-6 defeat last Monday at Round Rock (3.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R-6 ER, 4 BB, 1 K). Hendrickson spent most of the 2006 season with Triple-A Nashville, but also saw time with the Brewers. He was 9-8 with a 3.36 ERA in 23 starts for the Sounds. His 3.36 ERA ranked 9th in the PCL and he was selected to the mid-season PCL All-Star team. He went 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 3 starts vs. Omaha last season. Hendrickson pitched in 4 games (3 starts) for Milwaukee in 2006, going 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA. Prior to both the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Hendrickson was named as having the "Best Curveball" in the Brewers organization by Baseball America, which rated him as Milwaukee's #7 prospect prior to 2005 and #19 entering 2006. In 2004, he was named as Milwaukee's Minor League Pitcher of the Year and the International League's MVP, after going 11-3 with a 2.02 ERA for Indianapolis. That same season, he was 1-8 with a 6.22 ERA for the Brewers. Hendrickson was selected by Milwaukee in the 10th round of the 1999 draft out of Bloomington Jefferson High in the Twin Cities.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Sun., 1:35: LH Chris George (1-0, 3.48) vs. RH Brian Bannister (1-1, 2.31)
Mon., 11:05: RH Jeff Fulchino (1-0, 6.52) vs. RH Zach Day (0-0, 3.86)