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| The 2011 Pacific Coast League Championship trophy was on hand at Fire Barn in Omaha where fans gathered to watch the game (Photo: Lee Warren) |
While Mendoza was mowing down the Tigers in a 10-2 win at Kauffman Stadium, Sean O’Sullivan struggled, after having nine days off, in an 8-3 losing effort for the Storm Chasers against the Columbus Clippers.
The one-game, nationally-televised playoff showcase started out well for Omaha, but the offense and pitching stalled out after a first-inning display reminiscent of performances throughout this year’s championship run.
Irving Falu got things started with a one-out walk in the first, followed by a single by David Lough to put two runners on. Lorenzo Cain then drilled a two-run triple to the right-center gap, his third three-base hit of the postseason to the exact same spot on the field. One out later, first baseman John Whittleman came through with an RBI single in his first playoff at-bat, giving the Chasers a 3-0 advantage.
O’Sullivan (0-1, postseason) retired the side in order in the bottom half of the first, but ran into trouble in his next two frames, allowing six runs on six hits. The big blow was a tape-measure three-run homer by Luke Carlin on a two-strike, two-out pitch in the second, knotting the score at 3-3. O’Sullivan and the Chasers would go on to lose for the first time in the right-hander’s final 10 starts of the season.
Clippers’ right hander Joe Martinez (3-0, postseason) and reliever Chen Lee held Omaha scoreless on five hits after the early outburst, giving the International League champ’s offense time to tack on insurance runs in the fourth off Willy Lebron and the eighth off Kelvin Herrera. Former first-round draft pick Beau Mills took Herrera deep to start the bottom of the eighth, getting around just enough on a fastball to lift it the opposite way over the left field wall.
Lance Zawadzki had another fine offensive showing in the contest, going 2-for-4 to improve his batting average to .444 (8-for-18) in four playoff starts. The Chasers got hits from seven of the nine men in the lineup, with Zawadzki’s performance going down as the only multi-hit contest.
Box Score
Clint Robinson was not in the lineup for the Chasers. According to a couple of sources, including Drew Champlin with The Dothan Eagle and Rob White with the Omaha World Herald, Robinson missed the game due to the sports hernia injury he’s been battling and he is heading to Philadelphia for surgery, so he’s out for the rest of the season.
“They had to get it taken care of, or it (surgery) was going to have to be pushed back a month or so,” Jirschele told White. “And then there was a concern that he wouldn’t be ready for spring training. So it’s something we had to do.”
Following the game, the Royals announced that six additional members of the 2011 Storm Chasers – Cain, Herrera, O’Sullivan, Jarrod Dyson, Vin Mazzaro and Manny Pina – would be joining the team in Kansas City. The occasion will mark Cain’s first appearance in the majors with the Royals and will be Herrera’s first taste of big league action after starting the season in Class-A ball.
David Lough and Kila Ka’aihue were not called up.
