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| David Lough was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a BB. (File photo: Gage Matthews / Kings of Kauffman) |
“We battled,” said Omaha manager Mike Jirschele after the game about the team the Chasers will face in the playoffs, if they can maintain their lead.
“It was a tough game,” he said. “You know, we play these guys tough all the time – they are up, what now, 10-4 [in the season series] on the year? But if you look at it, I think there was only one game where we got beat by seven, but otherwise, there have been a lot of two-run, one-run games – extra innings. You know, we play them tough.
“But what hurt us tonight is when we lost Clint [Robinson] and Kila [Ka’aihue] both and you’ve got to put Mertins and Zawadzki in the four and five hole for most of the game. Not that they can’t do the job, but it hurts when you lose those two big boppers.”
Jirschele said Robinson’s hip was bothering him and Ka’aihue has a back issue.
“I wasn’t going to try to keep them going out there,” Jirschele said, “because it means more to get them healthy.
Rob White addressed the issue in his game summary for the Omaha World Herald:
Omaha manager Mike Jirschele was unsure of the severity of the injuries, but there’s a possibility that the Chasers will field an infield four utility infielders on Wednesday that finished Tuesday’s game.The result of the game was overshadowed when news broke that the Albuquerque Isotopes defeated the Memphis Redbirds 7-3. The loss by Memphis reduced the Storm Chasers’ magic number to two in order to clinch the PCL American North, with six games remaining.
Moving either injured player to the seven-day disabled list might force them to sit beyond the time when they’d be ready to return to the lineup, and there aren’t any made-to-order solutions waiting at Class AA Northwest Arkansas, which is also in a playoff chase.
With one out in the second inning, Teagarden smacked a 3-0 delivery from starting and losing pitcher Mike Montgomery (5-10) out of the yard, his first of two solo shots on the night. Montgomery then walked No. 9 hitter Guilder Rodriguez, and one out later Andres Blanco ripped an RBI double to the gap in left-center to make it 2-0 in favor of the Express.
The Chasers mounted a rally in the fourth, but even as they scored they suffered a baserunning miscue. After Lance Zawadzki and Irving Falu pulled off a double-steal to put runners on second and third with one out, Yamaico Navarro chopped a ball toward short. Zawadzki came home easily on the play, but Falu ran into an out at third to take himself out of scoring position.
Montgomery would only complete one out in the fifth, as the 22-year-old left-hander ran his pitch count to 93 before giving way to Robinson Tejeda. Montgomery allowed two runs on six hits in 4.1 innings pitched, walking one while striking out six.
“We’re trying to back him off here at the end of the year,” Jirschele said, referring to Montgomery’s pitch count. “He just threw too many pitches – didn’t have command of the strike zone.”
Tejeda cruised through his 2.2 innings, allowing just one blemish – Teagarden’s second long ball of the game, his fifth this year against Omaha and 12th of the season. The opposite-field drive gave the Express a 3-1 advantage they would never surrender. Brandon Sisk recorded the final six outs for the Storm Chasers, striking out three and lowering his ERA to 1.45.
The Chasers lone additional run came in the eighth, when an infield grounder by David Lough drove in Joaquin Arias, aboard with his second double of the night. Jarrod Dyson advanced to second on the play, but Lorenzo Cain grounded out to end the threat. Cain went 0-for-4 to lose his 13-game hitting streak.
Round Rock starter Zach Jackson (12-5) earned the victory, firing 7.2 innings of two-run baseball. He allowed eight hits, walked one and struck out five while using 98 pitches. Merkin Valdez completed the final 1.1 innings to earn his eighth save of the year, escaping both late jams. In the ninth, he survived a Falu double by retiring Navarro on a roller to second base to end the game.
Right-hander Luis Mendoza (11-5, 2.15) will try to ride his pitching success to what could be a division championship Wednesday night, when he takes on right-hander Eric Hurley of Round Rock (8-2, 4.76). With an Omaha win and a Memphis loss, the Storm Chasers would be playoff-bound for the first time since 1999. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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Josh Odson contributed to this story.
