Omaha strands a dozen in loss to St. Paul

St. Paul, Minn. – Omaha recorded six hits after coming off back-to-back games of 10 or more hits to drop game two against St. Paul.

The Omaha Storm Chasers (35-37) lost 6-2 to the St. Paul Saints (36-37). The series is now tied at 1-1 while the Storm Chasers lead the season series 6-2.

Shortstop Clay Dungan continued his hot streak, earning a hit in his first plate appearance of the game in the second inning, but a fielder’s choice erased Dungan from the basepaths. Second baseman Gabriel Cancel snapped a hitless streak with two away in the second, recording his first hit in his last seven games, but a groundout ended the Chasers’ rally.

Center fielder Darion Blanco started the third inning with his sixth homer of the season on the first pitch of the inning to put up the game’s first run. Third baseman Michael Massey extended his on-base streak to 12 games after getting hit by a pitch, now in sole possession of the longest such streak on the team this season.

Two Chasers collided with one out in the bottom of the third, resulting in a triple for the Saints. The runner at third would end up coming in to score to tie the game. Another hit and a wild pitch gave the Saints their first lead against Omaha in the last 20 innings. The last time the Saints led was in the second inning of the Sunday game during the last series. St. Paul would tack on another and take the lead 3-1.

Omaha drew a pair of walks in the fourth but came away empty in the frame. The Chasers kept the Saints off the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame despite allowing a couple of baserunners.

Massey hit an infield single in the top of the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, now tied for the longest hitting streak on the team this season, but again, Omaha came up empty.

The Saints used three hits and two Storm Chaser errors to put up three runs in an inning for the second time in the game and extend their lead to 6-1 after six innings.

Left-hander Austin Cox (Loss, 2-4) couldn’t get through the fifth, allowing a career-high 11 hits. Cox was charged with five earned runs (one unearned) with two strikeouts and a walk.

Right fielder Nate Eaton hit a two-out single in the seventh but ended up the ninth Storm Chaser stranded during the game.

Right-hander Joel Payamps came in to clean up the fifth and stayed in to throw the sixth and seventh. The appearance was the third game for Payamps who came to Omaha on June 24 on an MLB rehab assignment. Payamps went 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts and no walks.

Catcher Freddy Fermin drew a walk with two away in the eighth and Cancel moved him to third with a single. Cancel would end up at second on a St. Paul throwing error, but the pair would end up stranded to leave the score in favor of St. Paul 6-1.

Omaha had a couple of baserunners in the ninth thanks to a walk from first baseman Nick Pratto and a walk from Eaton. The pair would advance to second and third respectively before Pratto scored on a wild pitch. Eaton ended up stranded as St. Paul took game two 6-2.

The Storm Chasers take on the Saints for in game three of the six-game series Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. with coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. on the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone. Tomorrow’s probable starter for Omaha is right-hander Carlos Hernández (1-4, 4.73) while St. Paul sends right-hander Jordan Balazovic to the mound.

Omaha returns home to face off with the Toledo Mud Hens in a six-game series that starts on July 4. The game will feature Independence Day Fireworks presented by FNBO. The series also features Christmas in July on Saturday, July 9, presented by Valentino’s.

The full 2022 schedule can be found here and single-game tickets are now available here.

For more tickets and more information, please visit omahastormchasers.com, call the Werner Park Ticket office at (402) 738-5100, and follow the team on social media. You can follow the team on Twitter @omastormchasers, on Instagram @omahastormchasers, and “like” the team on Facebook at facebook.com/omahastormchasers.