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| Clint Robinson is hitting .404 in August. (File photo: Minda Haas / Royal Blues) |
After the game, Omaha manager Mike Jirschele spoke about Robinson, who is hitting .404 with 29 RBIs in August.
“He made two outstanding [defensive] plays tonight,” Jirschele said. “Besides that, he’s seeing the ball good – swinging the bat well. He’s on a mission right now and he’s been helping to carry this club.”
The victory reduced the Storm Chasers’ magic number to three with seven games remaining, but Jirschele was quick to point out that the Chasers need to stay focused.
“Memphis has got a good club,” he said. “They could easily win out. So we’ve got to be able to go out and win three more games yet.”
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth and the Chasers trailing 3-2, Robinson lined Brett Tomko’s 1-0 pitch the opposite way into left field, scoring two for his 98th and 99th runs batted in. His go-ahead hit followed an RBI single by Lorenzo Cain, who was able to advance to second on the throw home by right fielder Val Majewski.
Omaha kicked off the scoring in the first inning when left fielder David Lough hit a sacrifice fly to make good on Jarrod Dyson’s leadoff triple, giving the Chasers an early 1-0 lead. However, despite working out of trouble in the first two innings, winning pitcher Vin Mazzaro (7-2) was unable keep the Express off the board in the third and fourth. Mazzaro ended up pitching six innings, give up two earned runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out five.
“I though Vinny through the ball pretty well tonight,” Jirschele said. “You know, we had a couple of miscues that hurt him, and early on I thought he got himself into a little bit of trouble, but he battled when he had to and made the pitches when he had to.”
Round Rock third baseman Adrian Beltre, making his first rehab start since going on the DL on August 6, started the offense with a one-out single in the third inning. Left fielder Brad Nelson drew a walk to move Beltre to second, and both baserunners moved up an additional 90 feet when Mazzaro’s errant pitch to Chad Tracy reached the backstop. Tracy eventually grounded out to second base, but the damage from the wild pitch became immediately tangible as Beltre scored on the play to tie the game. One batter later, center fielder Joey Butler singled to right field to score Nelson, giving Round Rock a 2-1 lead.
The Express added an unearned run in the fourth following Yamaico Navarro’s fielding error at short, extending their lead to 3-1.
Mazzaro worked out of trouble in the fifth and pitched a 1-2-3 sixth before handing the ball to Lebron. The 32-year-old right-hander would pitch the remainder of the game, giving up two walks but no hits en route to his first save at the Triple-A level.
“Lebron is throwing the ball well,” Jirschele said. “He’s mixing his pitches, speeds – he’s adding and subtracting and he just keeps the hitters off balance. Then he’ll thrown that 94 mph fastball. As long as he commands the strike zone, he’s tough.”
Tomko (8-6) went seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four.
The Chasers and Express will continue their potential playoff preview Tuesday night, when Omaha LHP Mike Montgomery (5-9, 5.44) faces fellow southpaw Zach Jackson (11-5, 5.92). First pitch from Werner Park is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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Josh Odson contributed to this story.
