'Birds Blast Past Chasers 8-4

Omaha right fielder Jorge Bonifacio mashed his fifteenth home run of the season and reached base four times, while Memphis right fielder Adolis Garcia mashed two of the Redbirds' four home runs in an 8-4 win over the Storm Chasers in front of 7,282 fans on Friday night at Werner Park.

Bonifacio went deep in the first frame with a massive two-run blast off the left-field scoreboard to give Omaha the early 2-0 lead. Memphis, however, countered with a four-run fourth frame headlined back-to-back longballs from 1B John Nogowski and Garcia. Garcia would then crushed a two-run blast in the subsequent frame to extend the advantage to 6-2.
One inning later, Storm Chasers 3B Kelvin Gutierrez would narrow the margin to two via a two-run roundtripper to center. The Redbirds, though, would tack on insurance runs with single tallies in the eighth and ninth frames to open the lead back to four.
In addition to Bonifacio (2-2, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), 1B Ryan O'Hearn (2-4) and DH Samir Duenez (2-4) each recorded two knocks for Omaha. Memphis CF Randy Arozarena (2-5, R, 2B), 2B Ramon Urias (2-4, R, BB) and C Jose Godoy (3-4, R) joined Garcia (2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and Nogowski (2-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) in tallying multi-hit efforts.
Redbirds starter Harold Arauz (5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) earned his sixth victory of the year, while Omaha righty Arnaldo Hernandez (5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 4 K) suffered the defeat. Storm Chasers reliever Bryan Brickhouse (2.0 IP, H, BB, K) tossed two shutout frames of relief for the second time in as many appearances at the Triple-A level.
The two teams are slated to continue their three-game at Werner Park on Saturday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.
Tickets for that game and all remaining Storm Chasers home contests can be purchased online at www.omahastormchasers.com, or by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office from noon until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at (402) 738-5100.