Memphis beats Omaha 6-5, finishes road trip with five wins

Memphis did not merely finish a road trip Sunday night. It turned a 12-game trip into a statement, beating Omaha 6-5 at Werner Park and coming home with five wins in six games, enough to move back into a first-place tie with Nashville atop the International League.

The Redbirds had to work for it. Omaha held four separate leads, but Memphis kept answering until the ninth, when César Prieto launched a two-out solo home run for his second homer in as many games since St. Louis optioned him to Memphis earlier in the week. That swing gave Memphis its first lead of the night and capped a comeback that matched the tone of the trip: steady, resilient and built on timely production rather than a runaway offensive burst.

The middle of the lineup carried Memphis for much of the night. Bligh Madris, Ramon Menoza and Colton Ledbetter each finished with three hits, giving the Redbirds the contact and traffic they needed to keep pressure on Omaha. Brody Moore also delivered in a tight spot, tying the game with his second RBI of the night in the eighth inning and setting the stage for Prieto’s late damage.

Memphis also won with pitching depth instead of a traditional starter. Matt Svanson worked 2.0 perfect innings and struck out four, helping stabilize a bullpen-game approach that had little margin for error. Luis Gastelum followed with 2.0 scoreless innings to earn his team-leading sixth win and improve to 6-1. On the other side, Omaha starter Mitch Spence lasted 5.2 innings and was one out shy of his third quality start of the season, but the Storm Chasers could not hold the final lead.

The result pushed Memphis to 35-22, left Omaha at 26-30 and nudged the Redbirds a half-game ahead of Rochester as well. After briefly dropping out of first earlier in the road trip, Memphis answered with an extra-inning win May 28 and this one-run finish, a stretch that showed why the standings race can flip fast in late May. The Redbirds were due back at AutoZone Park to open a series against Louisville, with Nashville scheduled to arrive June 16 for a crucial first-half home set.