Matt Wright throws a pitch (photo courtesy Eldon Lindsay/Omaha Royals)
It’s been a long wait; the Omaha Royals are finally playing good baseball on a consistent basis again. Omaha won for the fourth time in their last five games, and their one loss, yesterday was an extra inning affair that could have gone either way.
Brandon Duckworth started for the Royals for the first time since June 8th thanks to an injury but lasted only four innings. Still he was able to keep the team in the game and the Royals pen did a nice job of holding the opponent down when they were called.
Royal Performances:
Tim Raines Jr. was easily the offensive star for the team tonight, going 3 for 3, with a double and two runs scored. Raines was the only Royal with more than one hit, and his improvement at the plate has been long awaited.
John Buck is in Omaha on loan from Kansas City, on a rehab assignment, but today he made the most of his visit, blasting his second home run since coming to AAA and driving in his fourth run.
Matt Wright pitched outstanding out of the pen after Duckworth had to leave the game early. Wright (1-5, 6.75) has struggled this season, but threw 3.1 innings, allowing just two hits, and a run while getting the victory
Carlos Rosa has been much maligned this year (as has most of the ORoyals ‘pen) but he threw an inning and two thirds of perfect baseball in order to record his fourth save of the season, and could be replacing Atencio as the team’s closer.
Court Jesters:
No Royal had an unusually bad game, but Mario Lisson and Tim Raines Jr. were both picked off first base by New Orleans starter, Willy Collazo.
While Raines went 3 for 3, the rest of the Omaha lineup went 4 for 28 (a .143 average) and the 5 through 8 hitters combined to go 0 for 13
Remarkably, the win guaranteed that this would be only the second winning home stand of the season for Omaha, and the first winning home stand that has spanned more than three games.
Omaha will finish their series against New Orleans Friday night, with Alex Gordon joining the lineup for his one game cameo. If the Royals manage the win, it would be the first time they’ve won back-to-back series since an April 27th-28th series against Oklahoma City, and April 30th-May 2nd series against Nashville.
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