June 16 Notes: Royals at Memphis
LAST NIGHT: Nashville first baseman Graham Koonce slugged 2 homers and had all 6 RBI in the Sounds 6-2 win over the Royals. Koonce broke a scoreless tie with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th, greeting Donnovan Osborne with a grand slam. It made a loser of Shane Loux (0-3), who was charged with 3 runs on 2 hits over 1.2 innings. Koonce added a 2-run homer, his 3rd extra-base hit of the game, in the 8th inning. Rick Helling (1-0) limited the Royals to a run on 3 hits over 7.0 innings to get the win.
ROYALS REPORT: J.P. Howell allowed just 1 hit in 4.0 scoreless innings last night, walking 2 and striking out 5. It was Howell's 3rd start since he landed on the D.L. for 5 weeks with shoulder stiffness. The 23-year old lefty has surrendered just 2 hits and no runs over 6.1 innings in his last 2 outings. *** Kerry Robinson went 3-for-4 last night, collecting his 2nd straight 3-hit game and his 3rd consecutive multi-hit contest. Robinson has hit in 5 straight games, going 9-for-22 (.409) with 3 doubles, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. *** Justin Huber was hitless in 3 at-bats last night, ending his season-long hitting streak at 6 games. He hit .333 (7-21) with a homer and 4 RBI during the streak. *** The 2 home runs and 6 RBI for Koonce last night tied season highs for an opposing batter. Meanwhile, the Royals had only 2 runners left on base, while 3 Sounds were stranded last night, with both marks equaling season lows. *** Ruben Gotay is in a 6-for-47 (.128) slide over the past 12 games, dropping his average from .274 to .247. *** In 14 games since coming down from KC, Aaron Guiel is hitting .186 (8-43) with no home runs and 3 RBI. *** Mike Aviles has 2 hits in his last 18 at-bats. *** Chad Allen missed his 6th straight game last night with a sore left elbow, which was hit by a pitch last Friday. He was 0-for-1 that night, ending his 14-game hitting streak. *** The Royals have hit .319 in 12 meetings vs. Memphis this season, led by Gotay (.449, 2 homers, 8 RBI in 12 games), Andres Blanco (.423, 7 RBI in 7 games), Robinson (.327, 1 homer, 10 RBI, 11 runs in 12 games) and Huber (.356, 3 homers, 4 RBI in 12 games).
STARTERS: RH Denny Bautista (0-0, 0.00) vs. RH Anthony Reyes (3-1, 2.77)
Bautista makes his 2nd start for Omaha. The 25-year old right-hander's 1st start was last Sunday vs. Oklahoma. He left with a 2-0 lead after 6 innings, but received a no-decision after the RedHawks rallied for a 4-2 win (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K). Bautista opened this season with KC, appearing in 8 games (7 starts), going 0-2 with a 5.66 ERA. Following his only relief appearance, the decision was made to send him to Omaha to give him more innings to work on his mechanics. In 2005, Bautista made KC's Opening Day roster, winning his Royals debut at Los Angeles on April 8, tossing 8.0 innings of 1-run baseball and striking out a career-high 8 batters. He wound up going 2-2 with a 5.80 ERA in 7 starts for KC, before being placed on the disabled list on May 14 with right shoulder tendinitis. Bautista was with Omaha on a rehab assignment from June 22-July 3 before going back on the DL. He rehabbed again with Omaha from Aug. 27-Sept. 25. He made 6 starts over the 2 rehab stints, going 0-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Bautista was ranked by Baseball America as KC's 2nd-best prospect entering the 2005 season. He was acquired by KC in exchange for Jason Grimsley on June 21, 2004. He was originally signed by the Marlins as a non-drafted free agent on Apr. 11, 2000 and was traded by the Marlins to the Orioles along with RHP Don Levinski on Aug. 31, 2003 in exchange for former Omaha and KC Royal Jeff Conine.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Sat., 6:10: RH Seth Etherton (0-1, 13.50) vs. RH Dennis Tankersley (2-7, 4.36)
Sun., 2:10: RH Runelvys Hernandez (3-3, 5.71) vs. LH Chris Narveson (1-0, 0.00)
Mon., 7:10: RH Brian Boehringer (0-3, 3.43) vs. RH John Webb (3-6, 4.77)