Ohlendorf, Chiefs shut out Braves

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, defeated the Gwinnett Braves, 5-0, on Thursday. The Chiefs scored four runs in the first three innings, backing a stellar pitching performance by Ross Ohlendorf.

Syracuse (23-30) got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. After a leadoff single by Chris Marrero, Micah Owings followed with a double into left field. With runners on second and third, Mike Costanzo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Marrero from third base. Zach Walters then tripled into deep right field, scoring Owings to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the third inning Syracuse extended its lead. Eury Perez led off the inning with a towering home run over the left-field wall. With one out, Corey Brown walked and later stole second base. Owings then lined a two-out base hit into center field, scoring Brown from second to increase the Chiefs' lead to 4-0.

Syracuse added one more run in the top of the eighth when Brown belted a solo home run to deep right field. The long ball was Brown's sixth home run in 23 games.

Gwinnett (24-31), meanwhile, was shut out by a dazzling performance from Ohlendorf. Ohlendorf tossed seven shutout innings, tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts. He struck out 11 batters for the second straight start.

Syracuse and Pawtucket are set to begin a four-game series Friday night at 7:00.

Right-hander Yunesky Maya is scheduled to start for the Chiefs against left-hander Chris Hernandez of the Red Sox.