MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-OMAHA, NE– Lenny DiNardo, who began this year in Omaha’s bullpen but has excelled since moving into the Royals’ starting rotation, has been selected to the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team. The PCL All-Stars will face the International League All-Stars in the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 15that PGE Park in Portland, Oregon.

 

DiNardo, a 29-year old lefty was among 15 players selected by the league office to fill out the team, after 13 players were elected in a vote of the circuit’s managers, general managers and media members covering each club.

 

DiNardo is 5-3 with a 3.46 ERA and two saves in 16 games (eleven starts) for Omaha. His 3.46 ERA currently ranks seventh in the league. In 80.2 innings, he has allowed 75 hits but only three home runs, while walking just 15 batters and striking out 67. DiNardo earned two saves in April – matching the total he compiled in his eight previous seasons in professional baseball.

 
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Since moving into the starting rotation in late April, DiNardo is 5-3 and owns a sterling 3.06 ERA in eleven starts. He was tremendous in his first start April 24that Oklahoma City, combining with Carlos Rosa on a two-hitter in Omaha’s 3-0 victory. In fact, DiNardo has had a hand in three of the Royals’ PCL-leading eleven shutouts. In addition to the April 24thstart, he picked up a save April 19thin a 3-0 win vs. Albuquerque. And in his last start Monday vs. the Isotopes, DiNardo again teamed with Rosa on a shutout, this time a five-hitter in a 2-0 triumph.

 

DiNardo, who was signed by Kansas City as a minor league free agent last December, has been especially tough at home. He’s 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA and one save at Rosenblatt, while going 3-3 with a 5.44 ERA and one save on the road.

 

DiNardo has pitched in the Major Leagues in each of the past five seasons, winning a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2004, his first big league experience. After pitching for the Red Sox the next two years, DiNardo was claimed by the Oakland off waivers from Boston and was a member of the A’s staff the past two seasons. He is 10-15 with a 4.93 ERA in 89 games (29 starts) in the Major Leagues. Entering this season, he was 23-27 with a 3.86 ERA and two saves in 109 games (87 starts) in the Minor Leagues.

 

DiNardo, a Miami native who resides in Gainesville, Florida, was the New York Mets’ third round pick in the 2001 draft out of Stetson University.

 

Oklahoma Citythird baseman Esteban German, who played for Kansas City the past three seasons, joins DiNardo as a PCL All-Star selection. German is batting .312 with four home runs, 41 RBI, 48 runs scored and ranks sixth in the league with 23 stolen bases.

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