Omaha at Oklahoma City, 4:05 p.m.
SUNDAY: The Royals and RedHawks split a doubleheader. Oklahoma City took the opener 3-2 in 8 innings, with Omaha winning the nightcap 4-1. In the 1st game, the Royals were no-hit by Willie Eyre and Bryan Corey through the 1st 6 innings, but broke a scoreless tie in the top of the 7th by scoring 2 runs off Orlando Hernandez. Scott Thorman snapped the scoreless tie by belting an RBI triple and scored on Kila Ka'aihue's sacrifice fly. However, the RedHawks opened the bottom of the 7th with back-to-back singles, chasing Lenny DiNardo. Chris Hayes came on in relief but allowed both runners to score for his 2nd blown save. In the 8th, Josh Hamilton led off with a triple off Hayes (1-3) and 1 out later Esteban German stroked a walk-off single. "El Duque" (2-0) got the win. In game 2, Kyle Davies won his 3rd consecutive start since coming down from KC. Davies gave up 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks over 5.0 innings, striking out 3. Mario Lisson had 3 hits, including an RBI single that put the Royals ahead to stay at 2-1 in the 3rd inning. Facing Carlos Rosa to start the 7th, the RedHawks loaded the bases with 2 outs. Dusty Hughes came on to strike out Casey Benjamin, notching his 1st save. Josh Rupe (1-6) took the loss, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks over 4.0 frames.
ROYALS REPORT: Tug Hulett has been optioned back to Omaha to make room on KC's for John Buck, who just completed a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Hulett hit .071 (1-for-14) with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored in 12 games over 2 stints with KC. He's hitting .307 with 4 homers and 34 RBI in 46 games with Omaha. To make room for Hulett, Matt Wright was released. The right-hander, in his 3rd season with the Royals, was 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA in 9 games (8 starts). *** The loss in game 1 Sunday dropped the Royals' record to 0-10 in extra innings, 3-18 in games decided in the final at bat and 7-21 in 1-run games. *** The Royals set a season low with 2 hits in yesterday's opener and tied a season high with 3 stolen bases in the nightcap. 2 of those steals were by Irving Falu, who joined Chris Lubanski as the only Royals with 2 steals in a game this year. Falu was 0-for-3 in game 1 to snap an 8-game hitting streak; he was 0-for-2 but picked up 2 walks in game 2. *** Tim Raines, Jr. struck out in all 3 of his at-bats in the lid-lifter, ending a 6-game hit string. He was 0-for-2 with a walk in the nightcap. *** Over his last 22 contests, Thorman is batting .352 (31-for-88) with 6 home runs and 14 RBI. *** Cory Aldridge, who had not played since June 26 due to a strained hamstring, returned to Omaha's lineup in game 1 yesterday, going 0-for-3. In 17 games last month, Aldridge hit .377 (20-for-53) with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. *** After striking out in all 3 of his at bats in Sunday's opener, Lisson tied his season high with 3 hits in game 2. *** Davies extended his scoreless streak to 15.0 innings before allowing a run in the 2nd inning of yesterday's nightcap. He has posted a 0.47 ERA in his 1st 3 outings for Omaha. *** Hayes is now 0-for-2 in save opportunities, while Hughes is 1-for-2. As a team, the Royals' bullpen has 11 saves and 15 blown saves this season. *** KC reliever Doug Waechter began a 2nd rehab assignment yesterday, this time for a strained left oblique. He tossed a scoreless 6th inning in game 2, allowing 1 hit. *** Alex Gordon continued his rehab assignment Sunday with Northwest Arkansas, going 2-for-4 with 4 RBI in the Naturals' 14-4 win at Corpus Christi. *** Zack Greinke was selected yesterday to the A.L. All-Star team. Greinke is 10-4, tying him for the Major League lead in wins and has a big league-best 2.00 ERA. He made 6 starts for Omaha in 2004 on his way to "The Show."
STARTERS: RH Sidney Ponson (0-1, 3.50) vs. RH Guillermo Moscoso (2-0, 0.64)
Ponson makes his 5th rehab assignment start. The 32-year old right-hander was placed on the disabled list June 2 with a right elbow strain. His last outing was vs. New Orleans last Wednesday; he was not involved in the decision as the Royals lost 4-3 in 13 innings (6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR). This is Ponson's 1st start vs. Oklahoma City. With KC this season he's 1-5 with a 7.27 ERA in 11 games (6 starts). Ponson was signed by KC as a minor league free agent on March 17 after the Aruba native pitched for the Netherlands team that made a surprising run into the 2nd round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 2 starts for the Dutch. In 2008, he was signed by Texas as a minor league free agent and opened the season with Triple-A Oklahoma. He went 1-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 5 games (4 starts) for the RedHawks and had his contract purchased by the Rangers on April 26. He made 9 starts for Texas, going 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA, but was designated for assignment on June 6 and was signed as a free agent by the Yankees on June 18. He made 1 start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, before his contract was purchased by New York on June 27. He was 4-4 with a 5.85 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) for the Yankees. Ponson has pitched in the Major Leagues in each of the last 11 seasons for Baltimore, San Francisco, St. Louis, the Yankees (2 different years), Minnesota and Texas. In 2003 with the Orioles and Giants, he combined to go 17-12 with a 3.75 ERA, setting career bests in wins and ERA. He hurled 6 complete games in both 1999 and 2000 with Baltimore. He made his big league debut with the Orioles in 1998, becoming the 3rd Aruban native to play in the Major Leagues, joining Eugene Kingsale and Calvin Maduro. Sir Sidney Ponson is a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House, decorated in 2003. He was originally signed by Baltimore as a non-drafted free agent on August 17, 1993.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Tue., 7:05: RH Brandon Duckworth (2-2, 4.50) vs. RH Elizardo Ramirez (4-7, 4.56)