PAPILLION, NEB. –The Omaha Storm Chasers dropped a third straight game to the Memphis Redbirds, 2-0 shutout loss Sunday at Werner Park to split this week’s series.
For a second straight game, the Redbirds struck first and jumped out 1-0 in the second inning. A hit batter and single opened the inning, then a groundout scored the first run of the game. A bases-loaded double play with no outs in the third netted another run for Memphis, for a 2-0 lead after three innings.
Omaha starting pitcher Kris Bubic went 5.0 innings in his third rehab start with the Storm Chasers and allowed just the two runs on five hits with one strikeout in his longest outing of the season.
Right-hander Tyler Duffey followed with 2.0 scoreless innings, working around a pair of hits and a walk to take the game through the seventh, with Memphis still up by two runs.
Evan Sisk and Carlos Hernández followed Duffey with a scoreless inning each, Sisk pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and struck out one, while Hernández struck out one in the ninth. After Memphis scored its second run of the game, Omaha’s pitchers combined to hold the Redbirds scoreless over the last six innings of the game, with just three hits and two walks in that span.
Offensively, Omaha was shut out for the second night in a row and has been held scoreless over its last 21 innings, dating back to Friday. Drew Waters singled in the first inning, CJ Alexander doubled in the fourth inning and Devin Mann singled in the seventh inning, but those were the only hits the Chasers could muster, tying a season-low with three. Alexander was the only baserunner to get past first base, nobody was able to move past second.
With Monday off, the Storm Chasers take on the Toledo Mud Hens in a six-game series beginning Tuesday, June 11 at Fifth Third Field in Toledo with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT and right-hander Chandler Champlain slated to start for Omaha.
