OMAHA, Neb. _ As a prelude to the College World Series, the first Major League Baseball game played in Nebraska should have offered a homecoming for one of the state's most accomplished hitters.
An injury tarnished that footnote.
A less-publicized homecoming took center stage in its place.
Nicky Lopez hit his first career home run in the stadium where he played his college games, the start of a 7-3 Royals victory Thursday against the Tigers at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park.
Two days before the College World Series, the Royals and Tigers sold-out the tournament's venue, 25,454 in attendance for the first big-league game played in the state. A pro-Royals crowd saw the team win its first series in two months.
Powered _ yes, powered _ by Lopez. Well, and the best start that pitcher Homer Bailey has furnished in two months. Bailey fired six shutout innings, giving up just two hits. He had not won a game since May 10.
The wait for the Lopez bomb was much longer. Lopez, 24, pulled his first career jack into the Tigers' bullpen in right field. A memorable moment was made more so by the venue. Lopez starred at Creighton, the permanent tenant inside TD Ameritrade Park, and then became a popular figure for the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Royals' Class Triple-A affiliate. Because the baseball landed in the Detroit bullpen, it was returned to the Royals for a Lopez souvenir.
A familiar setting, but not exactly a familiar occurrence. In 75 career home games with Creighton, Lopez had one home run. It came in his final game.
One for one in the bigs.
A recognizable name for the crowd shined as another sat. Gordon, a Nebraska native who also helped the Nebraska Cornhuskers win their first ever College World Series game in 2005, received the day off after being hit by a pitch in the back Wednesday. He completed the game Wednesday but said he lost strength in the area, so manager Ned Yost opted for caution.
"I wrestled with it all night last night. I wrestled with it on the plan even when I got here," Yost said. "Alex is a warrior. He's going to want to go. Because we're here, it means a lot to him. I understand that. Quite frankly. Alex is the heart and soul of our team, along with Whit (Merrifield). I gotta make sure that I don't beat him into the ground."
The Royals won in the first game Gordon has missed this season.
Bailey (5-6) limited the Tigers to five baserunners in his 102-pitch start. He struck out six, all of them in the initial three innings. It's his first shutout outing since April 13, when he lasted seven scoreless.
And it continues a sudden trend. The Royals rotation has produced six straight quality starts and five straight games allowing two runs or fewer. It has a 2.09 earned run average of the last complete turn through the five-man rotation.
Lopez, Whit Merrifield, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Martin Maldanado each had two hits. The Royals scored five off Tigers starter Matt Boyd, the largest number he's allowed this season.
