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| Mike Montgomery tossed five shutout innings and picked up the win in Sacramento (File photo: Brad Williams Photography) |
Even though Hosmer was probably rooting the team on from Kansas City after hitting a walkoff RBI double to give the Royals a 7-6 victory over Chicago, the mission was still accomplished.
The Omaha Storm Chasers defeated the Sacramento River Cats 11-6 Friday night to sweep the series and become the Pacific Coast League champions, giving the team its first league title since 1990 and first ever PCL championship since joining the league in 1998.
More than 100 fans turned out for the watch party at Brewsky’s on 156th & Q street and they erupted in celebration, as seen here (note: this video was shot with a Blackberry video camera, so the quality isn’t the greatest, but it captures the moment).
After the game, Omaha manager Mike Jirschele spoke with Omaha Baseball 360 via telephone, saying this moment ranks number one in his managerial career in Omaha.
“Yeah, this ranks number one,” Jirschele said. “We’ve been in the playoffs a couple of times [1995 and 1996], but got bumped out in the first round, but I think the thing that’s so impressive with this championship is, we lost 10 or 11 guys over the course of the year and the guys who filled in have just done a fantastic job and got us to this point – and won us the championship.
“There aren’t too many times when you lose that many guys during the course of the year and you’re still playing as well as we did at the end of the year.”
Omaha starter Mike Montgomery tossed five shutout innings on three hits and three walks, while striking out six batters. He snapped a personal five-game losing streak, exhibiting better control than in recent outings and using an effective curve ball that he was able to keep down.
“That’s exactly what got him through tonight,” Jirschele said. “He was getting all his pitches over for strikes. His breaking ball was the best I’ve seen this year.”
Meanwhile, Montgomery got plenty of support from the offense.
With two down and nobody on base in the top of the second, shortstop Irving Falu dropped a single into left field off Sacramento starter Travis Banwart. Catcher Manny Pina followed with an RBI double to make it 1-0, and second baseman Lance Zawadzki ripped an RBI double of his own, making it 2-0 Storm Chasers.
In the fifth, another two-out rally gave Omaha its biggest inning of the night. With David Lough on third following a Grant Green error, Banwart and the River Cats elected to intentionally walk Clint Robinson to get to Kila Ka’aihue, who had struck out in seven of his previous eight at bats. The Chasers’ first baseman singled home Lough to make it 3-0, then moved from first to third on an RBI double by Falu. Pina drew a walk to load the bases, and Zawadzki came through yet again with a two-run single to make it 6-0. Zawadzki finished the game 4-for-5 with three RBIs and the series 6-for-14 with five runs batted in, after hitting just .233 during the regular season, making the case that Jirschele has been making most of the season, especially after Johnny Giavotella was called up to Kansas City in early August.
“I think the thing that made this team so great is, we didn’t depend on any one person,” Jirschele said. “It seems like every night it was somebody new picking us up – getting a big hit or pitching the big game. It was a great team effort.”
The top of the sixth provided more scoring for the Storm Chasers, this time on the club’s only longball of the night. Jarrod Dyson walked to lead off the inning against reliever Justin Souza, and Lough followed with a blast above the wall in right-center, giving Omaha a seemingly insurmountable 8-0 advantage.
The River Cats did make things interesting, scoring three times in the sixth to make it 8-3, then answering two Omaha runs with two of their own in the seventh, bringing the score to 10-5. Back-to-back doubles by Robinson and Ka’aihue upped the Chasers’ lead to 11-5 in the eighth, taking a lot of the wind out of the Sacramento sails.
Reliever Kelvin Herrera allowed a Chris Carter homer to lead off the ninth, but the River Cats could not muster any further damage. Herrera got Andy LaRoche to hit a slow comebacker to the mound for the final out, setting off a huge celebration on the field as well as back in Omaha at the watch party.
Luis Mendoza was named PCL Playoff Most Valuable Player, going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two excellent Game 1 starts this postseason. He beat the Round Rock Express 4-0 on September 7 and knocked off Sacramento 3-2 on September 13.
Jirschele believes that gaining such valuable playoff experience at this level could pay off for his players who make it to the big leagues.
“Any time that you get into the playoffs – even though it’s the minor leagues – you’re in pressure packed situations and the game’s on the line,” Jirschele said. “That’s what you trying to teach these guys and you’re trying to develop them into winning-type players and when you win championships like this, that’s exactly what is happening. They are developing, but developing in a winning atmosphere, which makes them that much better.
“These guys, here in the last two series we’ve played now, they went out and played those games and they knew we were going to win and that’s what ended up happening.”
Jirschele also spoke highly of the fans who were so engaged during the playoff run. He knew about the watch party back in Omaha and had this to say, “I think it’s a great thing for Omaha and well deserved. Our fans helped us so much during those two series back home. I mean, they don’t even realize how much they helped us when they were loud. It seemed like there were 10,000 there every night we played and that really meant a lot to our club and we appreciate everything they did.”
The Chasers will travel to Albuquerque on Sunday. They will face the International League winner and defending Triple-A Champion Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, Cleveland) in a one-game, winner-take-all playoff on Tuesday night. First pitch of that contest is at 7:05 pm., with the game broadcast nationally on VERSUS. The Chasers will host a viewing party at the Fire Barn Sports Bar & Grill at 96th Street & Highway 370, just east of Werner Park.
