Giavotella powers Chasers past hometown Zephyrs

Omaha, Neb. – Second baseman Johnny Giavotella had a career day against the New Orleans Zephyrs Sunday at Werner Park, going 4-for-4 with two home runs in a 7-4 Omaha victory that gave the Chasers a three-game lead over second place Memphis in the PCL American North.

The Jesuit High School (New Orleans) and University of New Orleans alumnus homered in the first, doubled in the third, homered again in the fourth and singled and scored in the seventh. His performance raised his batting average to .334 for the year with nine home runs, 64 RBIs, 56 runs scored and 28 doubles, while raising his batting average to .394 since June 1st.

Giavotella’s big afternoon helped veteran righthander Jeff Suppan to his team-leading eighth win of the year. Suppan (8-5) went seven innings, allowing four runs, staying in long enough to take advantage of the Chasers three-run seventh spurred by Giavotella’s fourth hit of the game. The Zephyrs had rallied with two runs to tie the game at 4-4 in the top half of the inning.
Clint Robinson belted a two-run home run in the third inning to make it 3-1 at the time, snapping a drought of 129 plate appearances and 31 games since his last long ball. Robinson had five RBIs and reached base seven times in the last three games of the series, pushing his batting average up to .325 after bottoming out at .315 on July 6. The three home runs by the Chasers also snapped a five-game homerless streak for the team.

By boosting their advantage over Memphis to three games in the division, the Chasers enter their Monday-Thursday series with the Redbirds with their largest lead since entering play June 15 when they were up by 3.5 games. Omaha has won 8-of-12 games from Memphis this season, meaning a single victory in the four-game set would clinch the season tiebreaker with the Redbirds and ensure that the Chasers return home with a lead in the division.

PCL earned run average leader Luis Mendoza (6-3, 2.53) will face the man fifth in the league in ERA, Memphis righthander Adam Ottavino (3-5, 3.91). Game time tonight from AutoZone Park is scheduled for 7:05 pm.