Chasers smash seven homers in series finale win over Saints

ST. PAUL, MINN. -- The Omaha Storm Chasers crushed a season-high seven home runs—including three from first baseman Ryan McBroom—to rout the St. Paul Saints, 15-4, on Sunday at CHS Field. Omaha (25-10) won four of the six games at CHS Field against St. Paul (17-19).

Outfielder Edward Olivares set the tone for the game in just six pitches, when he smacked a leadoff home run against Saints left-hander Charlies Barnes (Loss, 2-1) to begin the game.

After St. Paul tied the game with a run in the bottom of the first, the Chasers scored twice in the second inning on two hits and an error. Following back-to-back singles from outfielder Bubba Starling and Gabriel Cancel, catcher Meibrys Viloria reached on an error to allow Starling to score before second baseman Alcides Escobar brought in another run on an RBI groundout.

McBroom crushed his first of three home runs in the third inning, hitting a solo shot against Barnes over the left field fence to extend Omaha's lead to 3-1.

The Chasers broke the game open in the fourth, scoring seven runs on six hits, including three home runs. Cancel led off the inning with a double, stole third, and scored on a single by Viloria. Next, Escobar launched a two-run homer to left. Shortstop Angelo Castellano followed with a blast to left for his first career Triple-A home run. It was the fourth time this season the Chasers have hit back-to-back home runs. Four batters later, with runners on the corners, McBroom drove a three-run homer off the scoreboard in left-center to put Omaha on top, 11-1.

The seven-run inning was the most runs in an inning by the Chasers this season, surpassing a six-run third inning on June 4 vs. Iowa.

Omaha's offense was held off the board for the next few innings while right-hander Grant Gavin (Win, 1-0) held the Saints scoreless for three innings. Gavin struck out three in his outing to lower his ERA to 1.82 in 24.2 innings of relief this season.

Cancel struck for the team's sixth home run of the season to in the seventh, a line drive over the left-center field fence for his 10th home run of the season. Later in the inning, with runners on second and third, Castellano lined an infield single to shortstop to bring in another run. Outfielder Kyle Isbel brought in the third run of the inning with a fielder's choice grounder to make it 14-1.

McBroom's final blow came in the eighth against right-hander Juan Minaya, a towering blast over the left field fence. McBroom finished the game 3-for-5 with three home runs and five RBIs. His 12 total home runs on the season are the most in Triple-A East, surpassing teammate Ryan O'Hearn, who entered the day leading the league with 10 home runs. It was the first three-homer game for Omaha since May 12, 2016, when Brett Eibner homered three times in a 15-5 win against Memphis.

McBroom's third homer was the team's 15th hit of the game. It was the second time this season and second time this series that Omaha scored at least 15 runs on at least 15 hits.

The Saints added three runs in the eighth on a three-run homer by Damek Tomscha.

The Storm Chasers return to Werner Park on Tuesday to begin a six-game series against the Louisville Bats (CIN), which includes a Sunday night game on Father's Day, June 20. First pitch for each game next week is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and coverage begins with the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show at 6:45 p.m. on 1180 The Zone. For tickets and more information, please visit omahastormchasers.com, call the Werner Park Ticket Office at (402) 738-5100 and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.