As Omaha moved closer to clinching a Pacific Coast League playoff spot, Jake Odorizzi took another step toward cementing his status as one of the circuit's top pitchers.

The Royals' No. 4 prospect allowed two hits over seven innings in his finest outing at Triple-A on Tuesday, helping the Storm Chasers cruise to a 7-0 blanking of the Las Vegas 51s.

Odorizzi (9-2) sailed through four perfect innings before issuing a leadoff walk in the fifth to Jack Cust and giving up a single to Chris Woodward. He avoided trouble by getting Ricardo Nanita to bounce into a double play and retiring Tuffy Gosewisch on a grounder to second base.

The 22-year-old right-hander worked a 1-2-3 sixth and got two quick outs in the seventh before Cust walked again and Woodward delivered the 51s' second hit. But Nanita lined out to center field on Odorizzi's 105th and final pitch of the night.

"I was throwing all my pitches for strikes, which helped me go deep into the game," said MLB.com's No. 36 overall prospect. "I was mixing up [my pitch selection] and I got good defense behind me. We put up a lot of runs, too, which made it a lot easier on me."

It was the second straight start Odorizzi lasted a season-high seven innings and it brought his ERA down to 2.92, which would lead the PCL if he had enough innings to quality. It also reduced Omaha's magic number for clinching a second straight American North Division title to four.

"It's great playing with this team up here," Odorizzi said. "We score runs at will, which is always great to have as a pitcher. I just get to go out there and relax and play my game."

The Storm Chasers demonstrated that run-scoring ability by grabbing a quick 1-0 lead as Anthony Seratelli raced all the way to third on catcher Gosewisch's throwing error and came home on Johnny Giavotella's groundout.

Omaha added three runs in the sixth and three in the seventh. Seven Storm Chasers recorded at least one hit, with catcher Max Ramirez going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

This was Odorizzi's first time facing a 51s' lineup that boasts a .303 batting average that's tied for tops in the PCL. But he approached this game no differently.

"It was the same strategy as always," the 2008 first-round pick said. "Pound the zone, keep the ball down and mix in my off-speed. We didn't really have a specific game plan going into tonight, just the same as I have going into every game. We really did a great job of executing it tonight, though, and it showed."

Las Vegas managed two hits against Brandon Sisk in the eighth, but the reliever responded with a 1-2-3 ninth to complete Omaha's seventh shutout of the season.