Late sacrifice fly lifts Chasers over RedHawks

From the Omaha Storm Chasers ...

Mike Aviles brought home pinch runner Jarrod Dyson with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Storm Chasers a 5-4 win over visiting Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. The win puts Omaha at seven games over .500 (35-28) for the fifth different time this season.

Clint Robinson had a big day for the Chasers, belting two home runs and doubling to the gap – all three extra-base hits went to left-center – before being replaced by the pinch-running Dyson after the two-base hit. His two-run, opposite-field home run in the first inning made it 2-1 Omaha, while his nearly identical solo blast in the third inning increased the Storm Chasers margin to 3-1. His leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth was followed by a groundout by Kila Ka’aihue and the Aviles sac fly.

Robinson has now hit five home runs over his past five games, increasing his team-leading totals to a .356 average with 17 home runs and 50 runs batted in. It was his third multi-homer game of the season and 11th of his minor league career, dating back to 2007.
Reliever Brandon Sisk (1-0) became the 15th Storm Chasers pitcher to earn a win this season, working a 1-2-3 eighth inning out of the bullpen. The hard-throwing lefthander needed just nine pitches to dispose of the RedHawks in the frame. Starting pitcher Luis Mendoza allowed three runs (one earned) in six innings of work, including a pair of unearned runs on two errors in the top of the sixth inning. Jesse Chavez pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

The Aviles sacrifice fly to score Dyson was reminiscent of a play on May 7 of this season for the Kansas City Royals against the Oakland Athletics. On that date, Aviles brought home a pinch-running Dyson with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Royals a 4-3 win over the A’s.

Monday’s tilt against the Iowa Cubs will mark a historic game in Werner Park history, as Time Warner Cable Metro Sports will broadcast the game live throughout the Kansas City, Lincoln and Omaha metro areas. Mark Nasser and former Royals pitcher Al Fitzmorris will be on the call on television, which can be found on Time Warner Cable Metro Sports Digital 310 in Kansas City and Lincoln, High Definition 1310 in Kansas City and Cox Cable channel 2 in Omaha.

Kansas City lefthander Bruce Chen, in Omaha on a rehabilitation assignment, will make the start for the Storm Chasers. Righthander Kyle Davies will also be rehabbing with the club beginning Monday, and could come in immediately after Chen. For the Iowa Cubs, slugger Alfonso Soriano will be in the lineup as he recovers from a strained left quadriceps muscle. Game time at Werner Park is 7:05 p.m.