Kansas City recalled second baseman Johnny Giavotella from the Omaha Storm Chasers on Wednesday and put the organization’s 2011 minor league hitter of the year in the starting lineup as its designated hitter Wednesday night against Boston.
Giavotella was hitting .331 with five homers, eight doubles and 25 RBIs in 31 games this season, including a .483 average, two homers and 10 RBIs in eight games in May.
Giavotella replaced starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez on the Kansas City roster after Sanchez went on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Giavotella’s spot on the Omaha roster was taken by reliever Blaine Hardy, who was promoted from Class AA Northwest Arkansas, where he was 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA and three saves.
Giavotella, 24, starred with Omaha …
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have recalled right-hander Vin Mazzaro from Class AAA Omaha to provide support for their exhausted bullpen.
Poor starting pitching the past two games forced the Royals to make the move before Tuesday night’s game against Boston. Luke Hochevar went 2-1⁄3 innings against the Yankees before Jonathan Sanchez was pulled with no outs in the fourth against Boston.
The Royals wound up chewing through four relievers in Monday night’s 11-5 defeat.
Mazzaro was 1-0 with a 4.37 ERA for Omaha, but has allowed two earned runs in his last 13 innings. He went seven innings in a 3-1 win his last time out.
The Royals optioned left-hander Tommy Hottovy to Omaha to make room for Mazzaro.
Copyright …
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After three full seasons and parts of two others in an Omaha uniform, after 376 games and 1,609 plate appearances, utility player Irving Falu got his first major league call-up on Thursday.
Kansas City placed Yuniesky Betancourt on the disabled list with a sprained ankle, creating an opening for the 28-year-old Falu.
Falu, who has played second base, third base and shortstop as well as all three outfield positions for Omaha, will serve in a utility role in Kansas City, too.
Though technically not considered a starter, Falu played in 21 of Omaha’s first 27 games this season and was hitting .306 with a .346 on-base percentage. He was one of the Pacific Coast League’s most difficult players to strike out, having fanned five times …
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Kansas City’s Alex Gordon made a terrific catch at the wall to rob Minnesota’s Danny Valencia of a home run.
Watch the video here.…
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College World Series doubleheaders will start at 4 p.m. this year (instead of 1 p.m.). That’s the news in today’s World-Herald, reported by Steve Pivovar.
What threw a wrench in the CWS schedule? ESPN’s coverage of European soccer, of course.
The second game of CWS doubleheaders is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. (instead of 6 p.m.). Well, that’s not so bad, right? A lot of sporting events start at 8 p.m.
But we know how this works. Postseason baseball often goes 3 1/2 hours, which means we’re really looking at start times closer to 8:30 — and games ending around midnight.
You tell me, how many fans (kids especially) are going to be in their seats on a Monday night at 11:55 p.m.?…
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PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks selected the contract of left-hander Mike Zagurski, a Millard North product, and recalled right-hander Joe Martinez for Class AAA Reno on Tuesday.
To make room on the roster, they optioned left-hander Joe Patterson to Reno and designated for assignment right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo.
Zagurski allowed two earned runs in nine innings and held opponents to a .103 average in six games for Reno. Martinez was 0-1 in three starts, posting a 4.42 ERA.
Patterson had not retired any of the final 10 batters he faced over two appearances, allowing seven runs. In 2-2⁄3 innings overall, Patterson allowed 11 runs on 15 hits with three walks and zero strikeouts.
Albaladejo appeared in one game, giving up two hits and striking out …
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It’s been since Aug. 5, 2010, that a Pacific Coast League catcher had thrown out Jarrod Dyson trying to steal a base.
Nashville’s Martin Maldonado got the Omaha speedster at second base in the 11th inning Saturday, completing a strikeout-throw out double play. Dyson had stolen 55 straight against Class AAA catchers, with his only caught stealings in that time on two pickoffs by pitchers and on the back end of a double-steal attempt at home plate.
Maldonado, who also caught speedy Derrick Robinson in the fourth inning, was picked by managers as the top defensive catcher in the Class AA Southern League last year, when he threw out 43 percent of attempted basestealers. He’s nailed 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) this year.
“I played …
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Yes, that Philip Humber pitched a perfect game for the White Sox on Saturday.
Humber was 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 21 games — 20 of them starts — for Omaha back in the 2010 season. His statistics were relatively non-descript and don’t indicate that he was in fact a pretty solid starter for what was a pretty good team. He walked only 20 batters in 118 2/3 innings, keeping his WHIP at 1.27, which ranked fourth among Pacific Coast League starters.
Humber almost had his career end in a scary scene at Rosenblatt Stadium, when he took a line drive to the face in a game and was taken to a hospital. He also took another ball off the head later in the …
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Former Omaha Royals pitcher Phil Humber tossed the 21st perfect game in major league history on Saturday. He also pitched a gem for Rice in the 2003 College World Series finale, but that wasn’t the only news tidbit of local interest on Saturday:
>> Omaha’s Jeffress recalled: The Kansas City Royals recalled right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress from the Omaha Storm Chasers, where he was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He had allowed four hits in 12 innings, while striking out eight and walking six. Royals reliever Greg Holland was put on the 15-day disabled list with a left rib stress reaction.
>> Former Husker called up: Former Husker pitcher Thad Weber was called up by the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The right-hander completed his …
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No penalties. No dropped passes. No missed tackles.
What more could you ask for at a Nebraska Spring Game?
I’m kidding. Saturday was a disappointing day for thousands of families who ventured to Lincoln for their offseason football fix.
Nebraska did the right thing by sending everyone home — forget tornadoes, the lightning was scary enough. But should NU have found a way to re-schedule?
It’s hard to know how many conflicts Bo Pelini’s players had on Sunday. It’s hard to know if they could’ve made it work on Monday or Tuesday.
Personally, I don’t need the event. I think spring ball is overhyped. I don’t think it warrants the attention it receives. I think we draw too many conclusions from player performances. I’m sure …
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