May 28 Notes: Royals vs. Memphis
LAST NIGHT: The Royals lost both ends of a doubleheader by 1 run, falling 6-5 in 8 innings in the opener and 4-3 in the nightcap. Memphis was done to its last strike, trailing 5-3 in the top of the 7th in game 1, but an error by Alejandro Prieto prolonged the inning and the Redbirds scored 2 unearned runs to tie the game and then scored the deciding run in the 8th off Leo Nunez (0-1). In the nightcap, the Royals hit 3 solo homers, including one by Jared Price in the 7th to pull within a run. With runners at second and third and 2 away, Matt Perisho retired Ruben Gotay on a foul out to end the game and notch his 1st save. Alan Benes (3-1) got the win, with Ryan Baerlocher (2-2) taking the loss. He gave up a 2-run homer to Timo Perez in the 6th that broke a 2-2 tie.
ROYALS REPORT: The Royals are 2-10 in their last 12 games and 7 of those 10 losses have been by a single run. After winning their 1st three 1-run decisions this season, the Royals season mark in 1-run games is now 4-10. *** Omaha is 7-20 in May after going 12-10 in April. The team has done slightly worse in batting average (.254 in May compared to .266 in April), runs scored (98 compared to 107) and ERA (4.62 to 4.57). One bigger difference is the number of unearned runs scored by the Royals opponents: 24 unearned runs in 27 games this month compared to 16 unearned runs in 22 games last month. *** Royals pitchers only walked 3 batters in game 1 yesterday. But, all 3 were leadoff walks and each runner wound up scoring, including the deciding run. *** Kyle Snyder uncorked 3 wild pitches in that game - 2 coming in the 7th inning when Memphis rallied to tie the contest - after throwing just 2 wild pitches in his 1st 8 games this season. *** Mark Teahen went 2-2 in the opener Saturday and 1-for-3 in the nightcap with a single in his final at-bat, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Teahen is hitting at a sizzling .622 (23-37) clip with 7 doubles, 10 RBI and 7 runs scored during the streak, which is the longest this season for an Omaha batter. *** Chad Allen missed his 3rd and 4th straight games Saturday with a tweaked hamstring. He owns a 10-game hit string (.463, 19-41). *** Gotay was 3-for-4 in game 1 yesterday and homered in the nightcap. It was his 1st home run in his last 17 games, after he smacked 4 in his 1st 31 contests and it extended his hitting streak to 6 games (.458, 11-24, 4 RBI). *** Elizabeth Rosencrans of Omaha won the team's 10-Millionth Fan Sweepstakes yesterday, going home with a check for $2,778.38.
STARTERS: RH John Webb (2-4, 4.45) vs. RH Brian Boehringer (0-0, 0.00)
Boehringer makes his 1st start for Omaha, after KC purchased his contract from the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. The 36-year old right-hander made 5 starts for Bridgeport, going 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA. In 30.2 innings, he allowed 25 hits, walking 12 and striking out 24. He gave up just 2 homers and held opposing batters to a .231 average. In 2005 Boehringer made 9 appearances between 3 New York Yankees minor league clubs. He made 3 starts between the Gulf Coast League Yankees and class-A Tampa, before making 6 relief appearances for Triple-A Columbus. He was 0-1 with a 21.32 ERA for the Clippers, allowing 15 earned runs in 6.1 innings. Boehringer has pitched in 356 games in the Major Leagues with the Yankees, Padres, Giants and most recently the Pirates (2002-2004). In his big league career, he is 26-32 with a 4.36 ERA. Boehringer was originally selected by the White Sox in the 4th round of the 1991 draft out of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Mon., 6:05: LH Randy Leek (2-3, 4.58) vs. LH Neal Musser (0-0, 1.93)