Omaha Wins 5th Straight Game Over Indy as Blanco Breaks Chasers Steal Record
June 10, 2023 - International League (IL)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- The Omaha Storm Chasers once again mounted a comeback and added insurance late to win a fifth straight game on the road against the Indianapolis Indians, a 9-5 win at Victory Field, setting up for a chance to sweep the series Sunday.
At the top of the lineup center fielder Dairon Blanco reached base in four of his six plate appearances and produced his second straight three-hit night. He also produced his fourth straight multi-steal game with three swiped bags, moving to a perfect 10-for-10 on the bases in the series.
Blanco's steal of second base in the sixth inning after a two-run single was his 46th stolen base of the season, breaking the Storm Chasers single-season record - one he set last year with 45 steals in 107 games - but this year, needing just 49 games to steal 47 bases.
Starter Anthony Veneziano (2-0) fell behind early, as he allowed a pair of walks to score on back-to-back hits for a 2-0 deficit. Veneziano settled down after working out of trouble in the second, pitching into the sixth inning for the second time in four Triple-A starts, with five strikeouts over his 5.1 innings of two-run ball.
Despite trailing 2-0 into the fifth inning, Tyler Gentry gave the Storm Chasers a lead they'd hold onto for the rest of the game, as Tucker Bradley walked and Blanco singled, then Gentry blasted a three-run homer to left field, his fifth homer of the season for a 3-2 lead.
After Blanco singled in two in the sixth, Indy countered with a run in the seventh but Omaha responded with four in the ninth, including an RBI single from Clay Dungan, a sacrifice fly from Bradley, Brewer Hicklen scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Gentry.
Walter Pennington stranded a pair of inherited runners in the sixth inning behind Veneziano and allowed the seventh-inning run over 1.0 inning, before handing off the ball to James McArthur, who also stranded two inherited runners. Like Pennington before him, McArthur got the final two outs of the seventh, then fired a scoreless eighth to position Omaha for a win heading into the ninth.
Evan Sisk struck out two, but allowed a pair of runs on two hits and two walks and was unable to finish off Indianapolis in the bottom of the ninth, as right-hander Brooks Kriske came on to retire the final batter with a flyout, earning his third save of the year.
Since the Minor League schedule moved to six-game series in 2021, Omaha has just one six-game sweep, which came at Werner Park against Indianapolis May 25 to 30, 2021. The Storm Chasers will try and sweep Indy again, this time on the road, and try to improve to 9-0 at Victory Field this season as Daniel Mengden makes the start with a 12:35 p.m. CT first pitch on Sunday.
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