Pratto's go-ahead grand slam lifts Omaha over St. Paul

PAPILLION, Neb. -- Trailing, 6-4, in the bottom of the seventh inning, first baseman Nick Pratto crushed an 0-2 pitch from right-hander Nick Vincent to give the Omaha Storm Chasers the lead in an eventual 9-6 win over the St. Paul Saints. It was the first grand slam of the season at Werner Park.

Pratto's grand slam came after left-fielder Rudy Martin drew a bases-loaded walk to trim the Omaha (42-28) deficit to two runs. Martin drew three walks and scored two runs in the game.

The Chasers added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. After right-fielder Anderson Miller singled with two outs, third baseman Travis Jones hit an RBI double into the left-center field gap to bring in Miller. It was Jones' first Triple-A extra-base hit and RBI.

Right-hander Joel Payamps (Save, 1) tossed a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win.

Omaha scored the game's first runs, plating two against St. Paul (37-34) right-hander Griffin Jax in the bottom of the first inning. After Martin drew a leadoff walk and stole second, he scored on an RBI double by Pratto. Next, Pratto scored on an RBI single by centerfielder Kyle Isbel that extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Pratto went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, and five RBIs and has reached safely in all six games he's played at the Triple-A level.

St. Paul tied the game with a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Keon Broxton and a run in the third inning on a solo home run by Jose Miranda against left-hander Jake Kalish. The Saints then took the lead in the top of the fifth, plating three runs on three hits against right-hander Andres Nuñez, who was making his Triple-A debut. With runners on first and second, Nuñez allowed an RBI single to Miranda, a sacrifice fly to Rob Refsnyder, and an RBI single to Tomas Telís.

The teams traded home runs in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. blasting a solo home run to left-center—his first out-of-the-park home run at the Triple-A level—in the fifth and Jimmy Kerrigan launching a solo home run in the sixth.

Right-hander Dylan Coleman (Win, 1-0) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings before Payamps finished the game to earn his first career Triple-A win.

Following an off day on Monday, the Storm Chasers begin a six-game series against the Toledo Mud Hens on Tuesday at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT and coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. CT with the Sarpy County Tourism Pregame Show on 1180 The Zone.

After a two-week road trip with series against Toledo and Columbus, the Storm Chasers return to Werner Park for a two-week homestand from August 10-22 featuring six games against the Iowa Cubs and six game against the Columbus Clippers. 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.