Moustakas, Royals help Rosenblatt go out with a bang

• Photo Showcase: Final night of baseball at Rosenblatt Stadium

• Box Score: Omaha Royals 6, Round Rock 2

• Buy the book: Rosenblatt Stadium: Omaha's Diamond on the Hill

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Mike Moustakas hit the last homer, Jordan Parraz scored the last run, Jarrod Dyson had the last hit and Round Rock's Brandon Barnes made the last out.

And baseball at Rosenblatt Stadium is no more.

The Omaha Royals' 6-2 victory Thursday night before a nostalgic and increasingly festive announced crowd of 23,795 at Rosenblatt signaled the likely end to baseball in the 62-year-old ballpark, which still has a few football games scheduled for fall and an uncertain future beyond that.

But baseball — professional minor league baseball — is the reason the park was built. And Thursday's game was the final regular-season event, complete with pregame and postgame festivities. There is only a slight chance that the Royals could host a playoff game.

“It was a nice night, a nice ending for Rosenblatt with all the big names that were here,” Omaha manager Mike Jirschele said.

The O-Royals (78-62), mired in mediocrity for most of the past 11 playoff-less seasons, at least gave fans an entertaining and competitive final 13-game homestand with each game carrying playoff implications. Crowds on the final homestand were well above normal.

“We wanted to win a ball game not just for us, but for the whole city of Omaha and all the fans who have supported us throughout the years,” Moustakas said. “I've only been here for a short period of time, but you could see with the turnout we had tonight that there's a lot of support, a lot of people who cheer for the Royals.”

While the Royals have done plenty of winning — going 25-11 since July 28 — division rivals Iowa and Memphis, the first two teams to come through on the final homestand, haven't cooperated. The Royals are almost out of time to catch them as they head to Oklahoma City for the final four games of the season.

Rosenblatt, which hosted home teams with eventual Hall of Famers like Bob Gibson and George Brett in earlier eras, and contemporary stars Zack Greinke and Billy Butler more recently, may have seen one more future star in his final stop before the majors.

Moustakas continued his red-hot hitting in what could be a minor league player of the year season. Combined with his time at Class AA Northwest Arkansas, Moustakas has 36 homers and 123 RBIs.

Moustakas homered for the eighth time in eight games in the bottom of the first, a line drive to right center that also scored Jarrod Dyson, who had led off the inning with the first of his four singles.

“It's awesome, especially considering all the history this place has,” Moustakas said, when asked about hitting the last homer at Rosenblatt. “It's definitely something I'm always going to remember. But the most important thing is that the last win goes to the Omaha Royals.”

Round Rock took a brief lead in the first as Oswaldo Navarro doubled, moved to third on a single by Drew Locke and scored on a wild pitch.

After Moustakas' homer, the Royals pushed it to 4-1 in the third, with Scott Thorman driving in a run with a sacrifice fly and Irving Falu adding another by scoring on a wild pitch.

Round Rock scored off reliever Edgar Osuna (1-3) on an RBI single by Edwin Maysonet in the top of the fourth. But Omaha got it back in the bottom half of the inning as Cody Clark drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on another infield single by Dyson, making it 5-2.

Besides going 4 for 4, the speedy Dyson drew a walk, stole two bases and scored two runs.

“That's exactly what he's got to do,” Jirschele said. “If he wants to play in the big leagues, that's the kind of hitter he's got to be. Keep the ball out of the air. There's so much more real estate for him to get the ball through the infield, because they have to play up against him — if they play back and he chops it, it's a hit.”

Round Rock, the PCL's worst team at 55-85, lost its ninth straight.

Reliever Tim Collins pitched a perfect ninth, getting Barnes to fly to center for the final out.

“It was definitely exciting,” Collins said. “I know how much history is here, and it was an honor to actually throw the last pitch. I didn't think about it while I was out there, but thinking about it now is pretty cool.”

• NOTES: Luke Hochevar, in his second injury rehabilitation appearance with Omaha because of elbow strain, gave up one run on two hits in three innings with no walks and three strikeouts. He threw 28 of his 42 pitches for strikes, though he did have two wild pitches — including one that set up Round Rock's first run.

Contact the writer:

444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

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• Video: See highlights from the Royals' last night at Rosenblatt:

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