Redbirds cannot weather the storm

Memphis, TN- The Redbirds tied it up in the seventh inning, but the Omaha Storm Chasers put it away in the ninth inning winning 3-2 on Thursday at AutoZone Park.

Redbirds starter Nick Additon allowed two runs (one home run) on six hits with seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings, while Storm Chasers starter Will Smith also allowed two runs, including a home run, with two strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

"Additon was good tonight," Memphis manager Ron "Pop" Warner said. "He mixed it up nice, had a great changeup and the curveball was working for him. He deserved better tonight, that's for sure."

The Redbirds welcomed back a familiar face as Allen Craig returns to AZP on a rehab assignment from St. Louis. The former prospect hit in the designated hitter spot going 2-for-5 with two singles.

"It feels great to be back in Memphis," Craig said. "I have a lot of great memories here, we won a lot of games and I've had a lot of great teammates while here. It's fun to be back on the field. I saw the ball good tonight and I'm getting back into the swing of things."

Memphis outfielder Eugenio Velez added his seventh stolen base of the season and continued his hot streak at the plate going 3-for-4 hitting the game-tying home run in the seventh inning.

"He's one of our veteran guys and he's doing what we hoped he would do," Warner said. "He's trying to get our offense going in any way we can."

Omaha outfielder David Lough led the charge going 2-for-4 with two home runs, including the deciding inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning off of 'Birds reliever Eduardo Sanchez.

The Redbirds return to action at 3:05 p.m. (CT) on Friday as they will again host the Storm Chasers in the second game of a four-game series.

Tomorrow's Probables:
Memphis: RHP Brandon Dickson (1-1, 3.38)
Omaha: RHP Vin Mazzaro (0-0, 6.14)