ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Omaha Storm Chasers won their first game in this week’s series against the Rochester Red Wings, a 1-0 victory 10 innings Friday at Innovative Field, snapping the team’s three-game losing streak.
The fourth game of the series was a pitcher’s duel the entire night, with both teams creating limited scoring opportunities. The Chasers threatened in the top of the third inning as Devin Mann, Austin Nola, and Ryan Fitzgerald all singled, but a double play kept it a scoreless inning.
Omaha starting pitcher Daniel Lynch IV was once again dominant, as he retired six straight between the second and fourth inning, keeping Rochester hitless over the first three frames. The Red Wings connected for a pair of hits in the fourth, but Nate Eaton threw a runner out at home from left field, while a pickle between third base and home plate got the second out of the inning and kept the score tied 0-0 into the fifth.
Lynch IV ended the night with a team-leading ninth quality start of the season as he worked into the seventh inning for the eighth time this season with Omaha, firing 1-2-3 innings in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th frames. Rochester’s starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez worked a scoreless performance as well, with 5.2 innings of work in the pitcher’s duel.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lynch IV got the first out of the seventh but allowed a pair of hits to put two runners on in a 0-0 game and was relieved for Steven Cruz in a critical situation., Cruz struck out the next two batters get out of the inning and keep the game tied.
The two offenses collected five hits each in the first eight innings of the game as the name, still tied at zero into the ninth. After Cruz threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning, retiring all five batters he faced in the game, Carlos Hernández came into the game for the ninth inning and tossed a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts to send it to extra innings for the second time this week, the 15th time this season.
Omaha was first onto the board in the 10th inning, as Nick Loftin grounded out to advance the placed runner Drew Waters to third. Then, Tyler Gentry hit a chopper to third and Waters dashed home to score what wound up being the game-winning run for the Chasers.
Hernández returned to the mound in the bottom of the 10th and retired three more in a row, with two more strikeouts to set down all six batters he faced as the game wrapped up the on a ABS challenge that led to a called ball overturned to strike three as the Chasers won the game 1-0.
The win improves Omaha to 9-6 in extra-inning games this season, the pitching staff’s fifth shutout win of the season.
The Storm Chasers continue this week’s series against the Rochester Red Wings on Saturday, August 3 as first pitch is slated for 5:45 p.m. CT and right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet will make his second start for Omaha.
