PAPILLION, Neb. – Tied at 5-5 in the fifth inning, the Indianapolis Indians scored three runs in the fifth and four runs in the eighth to defeat the Omaha Storm Chasers, 12-5, on Tuesday night at Werner Park. Dominic Fletcher capped the scoring with a three-run home run.
The Indians (4-3, 35-47) saw a 5-0 lead vanish, but struck back in the fifth frame. Jack Brannigan, in his Triple-A debut, notched a his first hit to kick things off. A wild pitch brought him to second base and Rafael Flores Jr. hit his 10th double of the season for the game’s decisive blow. Mike Jarvis and Termarr Johnson each logged an RBI single later in the inning.
Flores logged another RBI hit in the eighth with Fletcher’s long ball to follow. Indy built their early five-run advantage on an RBI double from Jhostynxon Garcia in the first, and then the second inning saw a Johnson RBI walk and three-run double from Enmanuel Valdez.
Pirates No. 21 prospect Khristian Curtis allowed four runs across 1.2 innings but the bullpen picked him up the rest of the way. Nick Dombkowski (W, 3-4) tossed 3.1 innings with an unearned run. Justin Meis (1.2ip), Hunter Stratton (1.1ip) and Jaden Woods (1.0ip) did not allow a run the remainder of the game.
Storm Chasers (3-4, 36-45) starting pitcher Henry Williams allowed all five Indians runs and Andrew Pérez (L, 2-5) allowed three in the fifth.
Indy and Omaha continue the six game series on Wednesday at 8:05 PM ET. LHP Connor Wietgrefe (0-1, 7.50) will take the mound for the Indians in his second Triple-A start. Royals LHP Kris Bubic (0-1, 10.38) will continue his major league rehab assignment as the starter for the Storm Chasers.