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Who: Omaha Royals vs. New Orleans
When: 6:35 p.m.
Where: Rosenblatt Stadium
Finally, Alex Gordon will play in an Omaha uniform.
The former Nebraska All-American, who skipped Class AAA Omaha on his way to the major leagues, will play for the Omaha Royals on Friday night at Rosenblatt Stadium as he continues his rehabilitation from a hip injury.
The 6:35 p.m. game against New Orleans is World-Herald Fireworks Night so, as of late Tuesday afternoon, only 6,000 tickets remained. The Royals box office will open 30 minutes early Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m., and tickets are also available online at oroyals.com.
“We're pretty excited about it,” Omaha General Manager Martie Cordaro said. “I'm anxious to wake up (today) and have our ticket guys check out our (overnight) online sales.”
Gordon is scheduled to be Omaha's designated hitter on Friday, with a limit of four or five plate appearances. The former Lincoln Southeast star has missed most of the season following right hip surgery for a labral tear.
Gordon began his rehabilitation assignment Friday with Kansas City's rookie league team in Arizona. He played third base for the first time on Monday, in his third game overall. He was 2 for 7 with one home run through Monday. After Friday's game, Omaha goes on the road, so Gordon will join Class AA Northwest Arkansas to continue his rehabilitation.
Rehab assignments are capped at 20 days without an extension or setback, so Friday's appearance could conceivably be the only one for Gordon in Omaha, since the team goes on the road ahead of the All-Star break and doesn't return until July 16. The Royals hope Gordon will be ready to play in the major leagues after the All-Star break.
“We really don't know to what degree Alex being here will affect the size of the crowd,” Cordaro said. “It's going to be interesting to see just how many additional tickets we sell, or how many fewer no-shows we have that could be attributed to him.”
Gordon was the second overall pick in the 2005 draft after winning college baseball's Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Award, Brooks Wallace Award and the ABCA Rawlings Player of the Year after leading Nebraska to the College World Series.
In his only previous minor league experience, in 2006 for Class AA Wichita, Gordon earned minor league player of the year honors from both Baseball America and Topps after hitting .325 with 29 home runs, 101 RBI and a Texas League-leading 111 runs.
Contact the writer:
444-1027, rob.white@owh.com
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