Omaha at Portland, 9:05 p.m.
LAST GAME: Trailing 6-3 entering the bottom of the 8th on Wednesday, the Royals rallied for 4 runs and a 7-6 victory over Reno, snapping a 3-game losing streak. J.R. House greeted reliever Scott Maine (0-2) with a pinch-hit, 2-run double to pull Omaha within a run at 6-5. Maine struck out Tug Hulett for the 2nd out of the inning, but Kila Ka'aihue singled, moving House to 3rd. Cory Aldridge, down in the count 1-and-2, sent a sinking liner towards right field. Brandon Watson tried to make a diving catch, but the ball got past him and rolled to the wall for a 2-run triple. Aldridge, who hit a 2-run homer earlier in the game, finished with 4 RBI. Greg Holland (1-1) picked up his 1st Triple-A win by retiring all 3 batters he faced. Victor Marte pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save.
ROYALS REPORT: Holland was placed on the disabled list today to make roster space for Mike O'Connor, who most recently pitched for Portland and will start tonight's game for Omaha (more below). In another move, KC reliever Kyle Farnsworth joined Northwest Arkansas yesterday to continue his rehab assignment as he recovers from a groin injury. He made 2 appearances (1 start) with Omaha, pitching 2.0 hitless innings and striking out 2. Farnsworth hasn't pitched for KC since June 24. *** The Royals' win on Wednesday improved their record to 6-23 in games decided in the final at bat and to 10-27 in 1-run games. Omaha is now 16-15 in day games. *** House has driven in 10 runs in 9 games this month, after collecting 12 RBI over 52 contests in June and July. His 2 RBI Wednesday were the 1st for a Royals pinch-hitter this season as they are now 3-for-12 (.250) on the year. *** Aldridge's home run in the series finale vs. Reno was his 16th of the season. He has hit 6 homers and has 14 RBI over his past 8 games. That stretch included a 5-game streak with a round-tripper from July 27-August 8. Over those last 8 tilts, Aldridge is hitting .452 (14-for-31) to raise his average 20 points to .309. *** Marte has allowed just 1 unearned run in 14.1 innings over his last 9 appearances, shaving his ERA from 4.29 to 2.55. *** Tim Raines, Jr. tied a season high with 3 hits Wednesday and smacked his 1st home run in 19 contests. He was hitting .148 (4-for-27) in August entering the game. *** Scott Thorman, Mario Lisson and Travis Metcalf were a combined 0-for-34 in the series vs. Reno. Thorman was 0-for-13 with 5 strikeouts and went 1-for-18 on the home stand. After hitting 16 home runs in his 1st 47 games with Omaha, he has gone 26 games without a dinger. Lisson went 0-for-12 with 7 K's vs. the Aces and hit .136 (3-for-22) with 3 RBI on the home stand. Metcalf was hitless in 9 at bats against Reno and was 1-for-14 vs. the 2 Nevada teams. *** Hulett batted .194 (6-for-31) with 1 RBI on the home stand. Prior to Las Vegas hitting town, he was batting at a .354 (28-for-71) clip over a 20-game span with 5 homers and 10 RBI. *** Entering Wednesday, Tim Hamulack had given up 2 earned runs in 18.2 innings for a 0.96 ERA over his last 12 outings. He pitched a scoreless 7th inning vs. Reno, before getting charged with 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk in the 8th as the Aces took a 6-3 lead. *** Wednesday's win marked the 2nd straight home stand that ended with the Royals scoring 4 runs in their last at bat for a victory. Omaha was trailing Iowa 4-1 going into the bottom of the 9th on July 31, when the Royals came back to claim a 5-4 win.
STARTERS: LH Mike O'Connor (0-0, 5.84) vs. LH Aaron Poreda (0-1, 12.27)
O'Connor, signed by KC as a minor league free agent on Monday, makes his Omaha debut. The 28-year old lefty was released by the San Diego on July 10 after less than a month in the Padres' organization pitching for Portland. In 6 games (1 start) for the Beavers, he had no record an a 5.84 ERA (12.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R-8 ER, 4 BB, 6 K). He was traded to the Padres from the Washington Nationals on June 17 for a player to be named later. O'Connor opened this season with the Nationals' Double-A affiliate, Harrisburg, going 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 3 starts. He was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in late April and went 2-5 with a 5.45 ERA. In 2008, O'Connor opened the year and spent most of the season with the Nats' former Triple-A club in Columbus and also pitched briefly for Washington. He was 5-3 with a 2.17 ERA in 16 Triple-A starts, while going 1-1 with a 13.00 ERA in 5 games (1 start) for the Nationals. In 2007, he did not pitch in a game until June following off-season surgery on his left elbow. He wound up making 15 starts for Harrisburg, going 3-7 with a 7.07 ERA. He posted a 3.13 ERA in his 1st 6 starts of 2007, but had a 10.21 mark in his final 9 outings. O'Connor reached the big leagues in his 5th professional season in 2006, going 3-8 with a 4.80 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) with Washington. He ranked among all N.L. rookies in starts (8th) and batting average against (10th at .244) in 2006. He also pitched in the PCL in 2006 with New Orleans, going 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA in 6 starts. In 2005, he earned Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors after going 10-11 with a 3.54 ERA for Potomac of the Carolina League. O'Connor was selected by Washington in the 7th round of the 2002 draft out of George Washington University, where he pitched for 4 years and ranks among the school's all-time leaders in games (2nd with 83), saves (tied for 3rd with 10) and strikeouts (9th with 202). As a senior in 2002, he was named as the reliever on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team after posting a 2.76 ERA and 9 saves.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Sat., 9:05: LH Lenny DiNardo (7-5, 3.31) vs. RH Josh Geer (2-2, 4.71)
Sun., 4:05: LH Dusty Hughes (1-3, 4.00) vs. RH Josh Bankis (6-5, 3.36)
Mon., 3:05: LH Heath Phillips (6-7, 5.41) vs. LH Wade LeBlanc (2-9, 4.25)