Royals Leg Out Trio of Triples In First Inning
Center fielder Tommy Murphy led off the game with a triple and scored on second baseman Tug Hulett's three-bagger. Following an RBI single by catcher J.R. House, first baseman Kila Ka'aihue completed the triples trifecta to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.
Omaha extended the lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning on Murphy's run-scoring single and a two-run double by House. Murphy wound up with three hits and three runs and House had three RBI. Right fielder Cody Strait stroked a pair of doubles and belted a solo home run.
Luke Hochevar, still in the battle for a spot in Kansas City's rotation, started and worked five innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out six. Right-handers Greg Holland and Devon Lowery tossed two scoreless innings of relief apiece, with Lowery retiring all six batters he faced, three of them on strikes.
Omaha faces the Oklahoma City RedHawks, Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, on Thursday at the Spring Training complex shared by the Royals and Rangers in Surprise, Arizona.
The Royals will open their 2009 Pacific Coast League season on April 9th at Albuquerque. Opening Night at Rosenblatt Stadium is set for Friday, April 17th, with a 7:05 p.m. game vs. the Isotopes. For tickets, call (402) 738-5100, or order and print tickets online at www.oroyals.com.
ABOUT THE ROYALS: Readers of Omaha Magazine voted the Omaha Royals as Best Omaha Sports Team in the magazine's 17th annual Best of Omaha Awards, published in its January/February 2009 edition. In 2008, 349,376 fans attended Omaha Royals home games, making the Royals the largest-drawing sports team or event in the metro area last year. It also marked the team's largest season attendance total since 2001, while the average of 5,375 fans per game last season was the club's highest figure since 2000. Omaha's Triple-A franchise has drawn over 300,000 fans a year to Rosenblatt for 21 consecutive seasons, dating back to 1988.