Giavotella stays hot; Omaha wins 4th straight

Giavotella continues to swing a hot stick, belting
a home run and driving in three
(Photo: Minda Haas / Royal Blues)

The calendar may have changed from June to July, but Omaha second baseman Johnny Giavotella hasn’t missed a beat at the plate. Following a calendar month in which he hit .398 with 49 hits, 25 runs batted in and 20 runs scored, the 5-foot-8 Giavotella belted a home run and drove in three runs in a 4-1 Storm Chasers victory over Albuquerque Saturday night at Werner Park.

Righthander Sean O’Sullivan (1-1), making his third rehabilitation start for the Storm Chasers, held the Isotopes to a run on four hits over six solid innings. He walked two and struck out five, throwing 59 of his 88 pitches for strikes. After giving up four runs on six hits in his first two rehab innings on June 22nd, O’Sullivan has allowed a total of one run on five hits in 10 innings since. He allowed his lone run in the top of the second, spotting Albuquerque a 1-0 lead, but that was all the visitors would manage to muster.

In the bottom of the third inning, Joaquin Arias led off with a triple to the left-center gap off losing pitching Randy Keisler (4-4). After an Irving Falu groundout kept Arias at third base, Giavotella lined one over the left field wall to make it 2-1 Storm Chasers. The PCL All-Star would add a sacrifice fly in the fifth, giving him seven home runs and a team-leading 59 runs batted in this season, all while hitting .328.

Omaha and Memphis split twin bill

Manny Pina homered, doubled and walked in game one
(Photo: Gage Matthews, Kings of Kauffman)

The Omaha Storm Chasers and Memphis Redbirds split a sun-soaked doubleheader Monday afternoon at Werner Park, with the Chasers (42-37) taking game one 2-1 and Memphis (41-37) rallying to win game two 5-2. The seven-inning contests were played in front of 6,917 fans, the most-ever to watch day baseball at Werner Park.

Game one was a tidy 2-1 victory for the Storm Chasers, backed by yet another solid outing from veteran Jeff Suppan. The 36-year-old righthander improved his record to 7-4 on the season, with wins in each of his past three starts and 10-consecutive outings without a defeat. Jesse Chavez came on with a runner on in the seventh, retiring all three batters he faced to earn his ninth save.

Cleto outduels Davies in Redbirds win

Kyle Davies went 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits,
striking out nine. (File Photo: Lee Warren)

Memphis starter Maikel Cleto shook off a leadoff home run by Mike Aviles in the bottom of the first inning, flashing an upper-90s fastball and a devastating curveball in a 3-1 Memphis win in front of 8,658 fans Saturday night at Werner Park.

He out-dueled Omaha starter Kyle Davies, who matched the youngster pitch-for-pitch but suffered the loss thanks to a pair of Storm Chasers throwing errors.

Cleto (1-0) fired 7.1 excellent innings in his Triple-A debut – though he previously made two appearances in the big leagues with St. Louis this season. The 22-year-old Dominican allowed just one run on four hits, struck out nine and did not walk a batter. His dominating performance marked another key milestone in his time with the St. Louis organization after being acquired from Seattle for infielder Brendan Ryan in the offseason.

Omaha takes opener in Nashville, comeback falls short in game 2

Clint Robinson singled home Irving Falu with two outs
in the seventh inning of game two to bring Omaha to within
a run, but they ended up falling short. (Photo: Lee Warren)

Frankie De La Cruz was solid through 6 1/3 innings and helped to make early offense stand up as Nashville fended off Omaha, 5-4, in game two to earn a doubleheader split Wednesday night at Greer Stadium. The Storm Chasers claimed the opener, 4-1, and head into the final two games of the five-game series at 40-34.

Sean O'Sullivan took the hill for Omaha on a rehab start in the nightcap and was touched for run-scoring hits by Erick Almonte and Mat Gamel in the first inning that put the visitors in an early 2-0 hole. Taylor Green led off the second with a home run, his third against the Storm Chasers this season, and another run came across on a wild pitch later in the frame. O'Sullivan was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits over 2 1/3 innings.

Almonte was involved in the Chasers two runs in the fifth as he committed an error on an Irving Falu grounder that allowed Paulo Orlando to score before Johnny Giavotella singled home Falu with two outs to halve the deficit.

Homer happy Express Handle Storm Chasers

From the Omaha Storm Chasers ...

Chris Davis slammed two home runs to power Round Rock past Omaha, 7-5, Saturday evening in the second of a four-game set at the Dell Diamond. The Storm Chasers fell to 38-31 and lost to the Express for the fifth time in sixth meetings this season.

Omaha scored first for a second straight night when David Lough led off the second with a triple and scored on a Davis throwing error. Lance Zawadzki's two-out single later in the inning drove in Lorenzo Cain to make it 2-0.

The Express, who had been blanked in their prior two contests, cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame on a solo shot by Luis Cruz before the visitors answered right back in the third when Mike Aviles tripled and scored on a Clint Robinson sacrifice fly.

Round Rock grabbed the lead for the first time in the home third when Davis blasted a three-run homer. A leadoff long ball by Aviles in the sixth evened the game at four.

Home runs, rehabbing hurlers lead Chasers

From the Omaha Storm Chasers ...

The television debut of the Omaha Storm Chasers did not fail to disappoint, as the Chasers powered their way past the Iowa Cubs 6-3 Monday night in front of 5,037 fans at Werner Park. The live broadcast by Kansas City’s Time Warner Cable Metro Sports was the first in the club’s history at Werner Park, the first of at least three television games that will air this season.

Johnny Giavotella, Mike Aviles and Lorenzo Cain all went deep for Omaha during the game, providing starter Bruce Chen and winning pitcher Kyle Davies (1-0) with enough run support to hold off the I-Cubs. Chen and Davies were in town on big-league rehabilitation assignments, after both throwing for Double-A Northwest Arkansas this past Wednesday.

Chen went the first four frames, allowing two runs on six hits with one strikeout, while Davies closed out the final five innings, giving up a run on four hits while striking out five. Neither pitcher issued a walk, throwing 92 of their collective 136 pitches for strikes.

Late sacrifice fly lifts Chasers over RedHawks

From the Omaha Storm Chasers ...

Mike Aviles brought home pinch runner Jarrod Dyson with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Storm Chasers a 5-4 win over visiting Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. The win puts Omaha at seven games over .500 (35-28) for the fifth different time this season.

Clint Robinson had a big day for the Chasers, belting two home runs and doubling to the gap – all three extra-base hits went to left-center – before being replaced by the pinch-running Dyson after the two-base hit. His two-run, opposite-field home run in the first inning made it 2-1 Omaha, while his nearly identical solo blast in the third inning increased the Storm Chasers margin to 3-1. His leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth was followed by a groundout by Kila Ka’aihue and the Aviles sac fly.

Robinson has now hit five home runs over his past five games, increasing his team-leading totals to a .356 average with 17 home runs and 50 runs batted in. It was his third multi-homer game of the season and 11th of his minor league career, dating back to 2007.

OKC wins the battle of the bullpens

Jeff Suppan prepares to throw a
pitch in the early innings tonight.
(Photo: Lee Warren)

In a battle of bullpens tonight at Werner Park, Omaha’s blinked when Blaine Hardy gave up two runs in the top of the eleventh inning to give the RedHawks a 6-4 win.

Omaha took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Johnny Giavotella blasted his fourth home run of the season to left field. The Chasers added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on a Clint Robinson home run – his 15th – and a wild pitch by RedHawks starting pitcher Sergio Perez.

Jeff Suppan got the start for Omaha and looked strong early on. He sat down the first eight hitters he faced. He gave up a run in the fifth inning and made it to the seventh inning before running into real trouble. He walked the leadoff hitter Brandon Barnes setting the stage for a two-run home run by the RedHawks number nine hitter, Oswaldo Navarro – who had a big night, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Suppan went 6.1 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five.

“I thought he threw the ball real well tonight,” said Storm Chasers manager Mike Jirschele after the game. “And then he gave up the home run. That’s part of the game. You make one bad pitch and it ruins your night. Overall though I thought he mixed his pitches well and kept the ball down. And really, they were struggling against him.”

Tejeda's fastball touches 95 in rehab appearance

Robinson Tejeda’s fastball touched 95 mph twice on Sunday afternoon at Werner Park in a 10-2 blowout win by Omaha over the Oklahoma City Redhawks, showing improved velocity from his first rehab appearance on Friday.

During that performance he topped out at 93 mph, but was mostly in the 90-92 mph range. He said after the game that his velocity would return. Tejeda is in Omaha on a rehab assignment after going on the DL on April 14 with shoulder inflammation.

On Sunday Tejeda faced seven total hitters in the seventh and eighth innings. He threw 22 pitches, 16 for strikes.

Here’s a rundown of what happened with each hitter.

• Tejeda threw Koby Clemens four straight fastballs (91, 92, 95, 94) during the AB – all of which were around the plate. He got Clemens to strike out on a foul tip on the fourth pitch.

Tejeda says velocity will come

Robinson Tejeda in action earlier this season
(Photo: Minda Haas / Royal Blues)

Last night at Werner Park Robinson Tejeda showed flashes of the pitcher we've seen in the past. His fastball peaked at 93 mph on the final pitch he threw, but he still has some work to do if he is going to get his velocity back to where it has been throughout his career.

Last season, according to FanGraphs.com, Tejeda averaged 93.7 mph on his fastball. His fastball was noticeably slower (88.8 mph average) to start this season. The Royals placed him on the DL on April 14 with shoulder inflammation. Last night was his first rehab appearance.

He threw 13 fastballs, at least ten of which were 90 mph or better, according to the stadium radar gun. He hit 90 mph three times; 91 mph four times; 92 mph twice; and 93 mph once. He also hit 88 mph once and 89 once (which turned out to be a single). I missed one of his fastballs, so I can’t give you the speed on that particular pitch.