Omaha vs. Oklahoma City, 1:35 p.m. doubleheader
LAST NIGHT: Cory Aldlridge looped an RBI single to left field with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, giving the Royals a dramatic 5-4 victory in the series opener. Mario Lisson opened the inning by doubling to center field, but getting tagged out in a rundown when he had thoughts of taking 3rd. With 2 outs, Irving Falu blooped a single into shallow left-center. After A.J. Murray (2-2) uncorked a wild pitch and fell behind Tug Hulett 3-and-0, he issued an intentional walk. That brought up Aldridge, whose team-leading 59th RBI made a winner of Jason Godin (1-0), who struck out the side in the top of the 9th in his Triple-A debut.
ROYALS REPORT: In 15 games this month, Aldridge is hitting .339 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI. *** Omaha's win last night improved the Royals' record to 8-23 in games decided in the final at bat. The Royals are now 14-27 in 1-run games. *** The Royals were 2-for-2 in steal attempts Saturday, giving them 12 stolen bases in as many meetings with Oklahoma City. Omaha has just 61 steals in 115 games against the rest of the PCL. *** Godin, who did not arrive in Omaha until after last night's 1st pitch, fared much better in his Triple-A debut than he did in his 1st game at Double-A last month. In a July 26 relief appearance for Northwest Arkansas at Springfield, he walked all 4 batters he faced without recording an out, also unleashing a wild pitch. *** Ray Liotta also got his 1st taste of Triple-A last night, getting the start for the Royals. He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits over 4.1 innings, walking 2 and striking out 4. *** Brian Buchanan saw his 3-game streak with a home run halted Saturday, but he had 2 more RBI. He has hit in 4 straight games, going 5-for-19 (.263) with 3 homers and 11 RBI. *** Tim Raines, Jr. has hit in 6 straight contests, matching his longest streak of the year. Over that stretch, he's batting .429 (9-for-21) and in his past 10 tilts he's hitting .382 (13-for-34) with 4 home runs, 7 RBI and 8 runs scored. He also picked up his 12th stolen base last night in as many attempts. *** Falu is on a 5-game hit string, hitting at a .476 (10-for-21) clip with 2 RBI and 6 runs scored. *** Lisson's 9th inning double snapped a hitless streak that spanned 36 at bats. *** Scott Thorman, who ended a 31-game homerless drought with an 11th inning blast Friday night at Tacoma, has hit in 5 straight games. During the streak, he's 7-for-19 (.368) with 2 RBI. *** The Royals did not score in the 1st inning last night for the 1st time in their last 6 contests.
GAME 1 STARTERS: RH Bryan Corey (6-6, 5.14) vs. RH Chris Nicoll (0-1, 14.54)
Nicoll, who began this season in Northwest Arkansas' bullpen, makes his 2nd Triple-A start (3rd appearance). The 25-year old right-hander's last action was a start at Tacoma last Tuesday, when he took the loss in a 4-2 defeat (4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). He made his Triple-A debut on August 8 vs. Las Vegas, coming on in the 9th inning with the Royals leading 8-1, but did not last the inning in the 8-4 victory (0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 HR to Angel Sanchez). Nicoll was promoted to Omaha on August 7, after going 7-0 with a 3.50 ERA and 1 save in 33 appearances with the Double-A Naturals. In 2008, he opened the season with advanced-A Wilmington, going 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 1 save in 20 games (1 start). He finished the year with Northwest Arkansas, posting a 4-1 record, a 3.09 ERA and 3 saves in 19 games (1 start). In 87.0 innings between the 2 clubs, he racked up 104 strikeouts while walking only 23 batters. Nicoll was rated by Baseball America as having the best control among all Royals minor league pitchers entering both the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He was selected to the 2006 Midwest League All-Star Game while pitching for Burlington. He finished that season 5th in the Midwest League in strikeouts (140) and 8th in ERA (2.82) and held opponents to a .210 batting average. Nicoll was selected by KC in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft out of Cal-Irvine, after being named to the all-conference 2nd team in his senior year. He left the Anteaters 2nd in career ERA and 4th all-time in strikeouts. He was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 43rd round of the 2002 draft out of Righetti High in Santa Maria, California, but did not sign.
GAME 2 STARTERS: RH Elizardo Ramirez (7-10) vs. RH Chris Chavez (0-0, 0.00)
Chavez makes his 1st Triple-A start (2nd appearance). The 24-year old right-hander opened this season with high-A Wilmington and pitched briefly this month for Double-A Northwest Arkansas before being promoted to Omaha. He was brilliant in his Triple-A debut at Tacoma last Tuesday, pitching 3.0 hitless innings of relief (1 HBP, 0 BB, 3 K) and getting a no-decision in the Royals' 4-2 loss. Chavez made 3 relief appearances with the Naturals this month, going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He was a dominant reliever in the Carolina League to begin this year, going 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 4 saves in 25 outings for the Blue Rocks. In 2008, Chavez opened his 3rd professional season with low-A Burlington (IA) and was 6-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 4 saves in 21 games. He was promoted to Wilmington, where he went 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 appearances. He has made 15 career starts, 14 of those coming in 2007 with Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. Chavez graduated from Kingman (AZ) High and attended Lassen Community College in Susanville, California and New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico before being signed by KC as a non-drafted free agent on June 30, 2006.
PROBABLES FOR REMAINDER OF SERIES:
Mon., 7:05 p.m.: RH Kris Benson (3-3, 5.91) vs. LH Mike O'Connor (1-1, 4.88)
Tue., 7:05 p.m.: RH Luis Mendoza (6-5, 4.44) vs. LH Lenny DiNardo (9-5, 3.47)