Chihuahuas Shut Out Chasers 12-0
El Paso third baseman Ryan Schimpf smacked two homers, including a grand slam, and drove in five RBI, while left fielder Alex Dickerson extended his hit streak to 28 with two hits and three RBI in the Chihuahuas' 12-0 shutout win over the Omaha Storm Chasers on Monday afternoon at Werner Park.
Schimpf smashed the first of his two longballs in the second inning, a solo blast to straightaway center field that put El Paso (28-22) ahead 1-0. The second big fly, a grand slam to right, would put an exclamation mark on an eight-run ninth inning that put the Chihuahuas out of the Storm Chasers' reach.
Dickerson drove in three runs of his own, including run-scoring base knocks in the fifth and ninth frames. Those hits extended his hit streak to 28 games, the longest active hit streak in professional baseball.
El Paso CF Manuel Margot (3-4, 3 R, 2B, RBI, BB) paced all batters with his three hits while also scoring three runs, while Schimpf (2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Dickerson (2-4, R, 3 RBI) and DH Hunter Renfroe (2-5, R, 3B, RBI) also tallied multi-hit efforts. Storm Chasers (26-23) 1B Travis Snider (2-4) was the only Omaha hitter to collect two knocks, while C Zane Evans recorded the first hit of his Triple-A career with a single in the seventh after being promoted to Omaha from Northwest Arkansas on Sunday.
Storm Chasers southpaw Mike Minor (6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 4 SO) suffered the defeat in his third outing with Omaha on a Major League Rehab Assignment, yieldinh four runs on seven hits in his longest start of the year. Relief man Mark Peterson (2.0 IP, 2 SO) tossed two perfect frames in support of Minor.
El Paso starter Carlos Pimentel (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 3 SO), meanwhile, earned his fourth victory with six shutout innings. Relievers Daniel Moskos (1.1 IP, 3 H) and Aaron Northcraft (1.2 IP, 2 SO) then joined forces for the final three scoreless frames to complete the shutout, marking just the second time this year the Storm Chasers have been held without a tally.
Omaha will now hit the road for a quick four-game road trip to face off against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Storm Chasers are slated to send LHP Brian Flynn (2-1, 3.94) to the hill, while RHP Hiram Burgos (2-4, 4.03) is anticipated to get the nod for the Sky Sox.
The Storm Chasers are then set to return to Werner Park on Saturday, June 4 to start a four-game homestand against the Nashville Sounds. Start time for the series opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.