Andrew Constant – Sports Writer

Ambidextrous starting pitcher Pat Venditte held the Z’s bats down into the fifth inning and three Nashville relievers didn’t allow a run as the Sounds took the final game of the shortened series 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon.

Venditte, who switches which arm he throws with based on the matchup at the plate, struck out three over the first four innings for Nashville, but ran into trouble in the fifth inning.

Miguel Rojas greeted Venditte with a solo home run to lead off the inning and Scott Sizemore followed with a doubled into the left field corner. Venditte gave the ball to R.J. Alvarez (1-0), who did not allow Sizemore to come around and score, and he, Fernando Rodriguez and Chad Smith finished the final five innings, allowing just two hits and two walks to the Zephyrs.

But Smith ran into some self-inflicted trouble in the ninth, errantly tossing Jordany Valdespin’s bunt attempt beyond the first base bag, allowing the speedy outfielder to reach second base with one out. Rojas grounded out to push Valdespin to third, and Sizemore lofted a line-drive into shallow center field, but second baseman Joey Wendle dove to make the catch and preserve the victory.

New Orleans starter Pat Misch (1-1) went the first 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and two runs (both earned), while walking one and striking out one. Nashville touched up Misch for both of its runs in the third inning, with two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly from the first four batters of the frame.

Grant Dayton, Nick Wittgren, Vin Mazzaro and Carter Capps all followed with scoreless outings out of the Zephyrs’ bullpen, racking up six strikeouts and not allowing a walk.

The Zephyrs will have an off-day on Wednesday before beginning a four-game weekend series with the Memphis Redbirds on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Austin Wates cleared the bases with a three-RBI double and Scott Sizemore clubbed his first home run of the season in a six-run first inning as the Zephyrs beat Iowa 9-2 on Thursday afternoon.

Wates also collected an RBI single and his four RBI were a season-high for any Zephyr, surpassing Vinny Rottino’s three, accomplished on Wednesday. The left fielder saw his batting average jump from .222 to .290 with a 3-for-4 line with a walk and a run scored.

Sizemore took Cubs starter Jeffry Antigua deep to left-center to cap the six-run outburst in the top of the first for his first extra-base hit of the season. The third baseman went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks in the game.

Miguel Rojas extended his team-best hitting streak to 10 games with two hits and Cole Gillespie, Justin Bour and Rottino each knocked in runs in support of Pat Misch (1-0), who was making his first appearance since July 2013, when he pitched for Triple-A Toledo.

The 33-year-old lefty allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings, with five strikeouts and no walks. He threw 44 of 67 pitches for strikes and faced just two over the minimum and got his first victory at the Triple-A level since June 28, 2013 while pitching in the Tigers’ farm system.

Fabian Williamson allowed a two-run home run to Chris Valaika in the eighth inning to spoil the shuout, but lowered his ERA from 11.25 to 9.45 with 2.2 innings completed. Salvador Sanchez finished up for the Z’s, getting the final four outs.

The win pushed the Zephyrs’ road record to 4-3 and leveled the season series against the I-Cubs at 3-3. It’s also the first time this season New Orleans has won back-to-back games.

The nine runs scored and seven-run margin of victory were season-highs for the Zephyrs (6-8) and the team connected on a season-best four doubles in the game.

Right-hander Andre Rienzo will take the ball on Friday night as the Z’s look to cap an eight-game road trip with a third straight victory in Iowa. Rienzo lasted just 4.2 innings against Omaha in his first start of the trip and is 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA this season. The Cubs will send Barret Loux (0-1, 3.12) to oppose Rienzo at 7:08 p.m. CT.

Despite getting a pair of runs in the ninth inning to cut the gap, the Zephyrs fell to Iowa 6-4 Monday night in the first of a four-game set. Brady Shoemaker and Derek Dietrich each knocked in runs in the with one out in the ninth against Blake Cooper, but the Iowa closer got Miguel Rojas to strike out and Scott Sizemore to line out to first to seal it.

Shoemaker went 2-for-5 to up his team-best batting average to .355 and Dietrich was 2-for-3 with his first RBI in 12 chances with a runner in scoring position all season. Jhonatan Solano and Cole Gillespie picked up the other New Orleans (4-8) RBIs in support of starter Jake Esch, who allowed nine hits and three runs in 5.1 innings.

The right-hander struck out seven – a new high for any Zephyrs pitcher this season – and walked one, while throwing 58 of 90 pitches for strikes. His seven strikeouts were the most since an eight-strikeout performance for Class-A Jupiter against Tampa last May 20.

Grant Dayton got five outs in succession before Salvador Sanchez allowed four hits and three runs in the eighth inning. The reliever has allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits in 1.1 innings over his last three appearances, after yielding just one hit in 3.2 scoreless frames to open the season.

Taylor Teagarden gave Iowa (6-6) the lead in the fourth with a two-run home run and the catcher doubled home and insurance run in the eighth for the Cubs. Donn Roach turned in his second strong start against the Zephyrs in as many tries, limiting the New Orleans bats to just five hits and a run over six innings. Roach held the Zephyrs to just one hit on April 15, but New Orleans would rally against the Cubs bullpen for a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.

Lefty Adam Conley (1-1, 5.25 ERA) takes the hill on Wednesday afternoon for the Zephyrs, looking to build on his first win of the season in his last start. Conley defeated Omaha on April 17. The Cubs will send southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1, 1.93 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for just after noon CT.

Behind a dominant performance from starter Justin Nicolino and a little pop from Brady Shoemaker, the Zephyrs edged Omaha 4-3 Monday night to split the four-game weekend wraparound series.

Nicolino earned his first Triple-A victory, going six innings and scattering three hits and just one unearned run, while getting just enough offensive support.

Jhonatan Solano led off the fifth inning with his first home run of the season, and Shoemaker followed suit in the sixth, giving the Zephyrs five home runs that have led off an inning so far this season.

Shoemaker also picked up an RBI single in the first as New Orleans improved to 4-1 when it hits at least one home run. The left fielder is now hitting a team-best .346 this season and has a pair of multi-hit games in six contests against Omaha.

Despite leaving 10 more runners on base and going 2-9 with runners in scoring position, the Zephyrs got a boost from Nicolino, who fired 55 of 85 pitches for strikes and registered five strikeouts and just one walk to match his longest start of the season. The southpaw induced a pair of double-plays and faced just two over the minimum before handing the ball to a recently-potent Zephyrs bullpen.

Pat Urckfitz allowed just one hit in two scoreless frames before Nick Wittgren worked an eventful ninth inning. The right-handed flamethrower yielded a two-run home run to Brett Eibner but struck out the side to earn his first Triple-A save.

The Zephyrs continue their eight-game road trip with the first of four in Iowa against the Cubs on Tuesday night. Right-hander Jake Esch will take the hill for his second Triple-A start for New Orleans against Donn Roach.

Austin Wates robs Iowa’s Rubi Silva of extra bases in the ninth inning on Wednesday. Photo by: Parker Waters/New Orleans Zephyrs

In the midst of a three-game losing skid and being held to just one hit through seven innings, the New Orleans Zephyrs woke up at just the right time.

Buoyed by a Derek Dietrich solo home run in the eighth to get the offense going, the Zephyrs battled back to score single runs in each of the final three innings – including the decisive 10th frame – to edge the Iowa Cubs 3-2 in the second game of a four-game series.

Vinny Rottino, who had come into the game to run for Justin Bour in the bottom of the ninth, laced a game-winning sacrifice fly on the first pitch from Drake Britton (0-1) over a five-man, drawn-in infield, scoring winning-pitcher Nick Wittgren from third without a play.

“I was kind of looking for the first pitch. I know the bases are loaded and the guy was struggling to find his command and I figured he would try and get ahead with his fastball,” Rottino said. “It was up enough and I took a hack at it.”

The Zephyrs came roaring back against the Iowa bullpen after being held down by starter Donn Roach over the game’s first six innings. The right-hander allowed just a lead-off double by Cole Gillespie in the fifth inning, while striking out three and keeping the Z’s bats silent.

But Blake Cooper and Blake Parker couldn’t hold the 2-0 lead provided by a pair of RBI singles in the seventh and eighth innings. Dietrich’s second home run of the season led off the eighth against Cooper and Parker yielded Scott Sizemore’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the ninth to knot the score and set the stage for Wittgren.

The hard-throwing righty, called up from Double-A Jacksonville on Tuesday, struck out the side in the top of the tenth, including punch-outs of Addison Russell and Kris Bryant, two of baseball’s top three prospects.

Jhonatan Solano led off the home tenth with a double into the left field corner, but Wittgren’s bunt attempt went right back to Britton at the mound and the southpaw nabbed Solano at third. After a single by Jordany Valdespin and a walk to Austin Wates, Rottino delivered to give his struggling club a boost.

“We were pressing as a team a little bit and other pitchers can feel that and they get comfortable and make better pitches on us,” he said. “We were battling and some of our hits started falling and when that happens, everyone starts to hit. Hopefully that’ll continue after this one today.”

Starter Justin Nicolino appeared sharper than he did on opening night, firing six innings of shutout ball, allowing just five hits and two walks, while striking out four. Fabian Williamson and Ryan Chafee each allowed a run in relief and Nick Masset worked a perfect ninth inning for the Z’s.

The teams will conclude the four-game series with a double-header on Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m. The second game will follow roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

Zephyrs manager Andy Haines speaks with Carter Capps after umpires declared an illegal pitch. Photo by: Parker Waters/New Orleans Zephyrs

In the 10th inning on Thursday night, New Orleans manager Andy Haines called on Carter Capps. The hard-throwing righty took his warm-up tosses and threw his first offering to Orlando Calixte, but it was deemed Capps was throwing an “illegal pitch.” Haines charged out of the first-base dugout and spoke to the umpires, and returned following a brief meeting on the mound with the 25-year-old.

What followed was bizarre.

Capps offered his second pitch to Calixte, but it was quickly dismissed as another illegal ball, prompting Haines to get ejected by first base umpire Tom Woodring while sticking up for his reliever.

Capps finished throwing to Calixte – two balls in a less-than-comfortable motion – before being replaced by Grant Dayton. Omaha went on to score four times in the inning to take a 10-6 victory.

“It’s unfortunate for the people that paid to watch the game,” Haines said. “It was a great game that was back-and-forth, ends up in the 10th inning, and you never want to sit here and say that decided the game, because there are so many things that happened prior to that. But at the same time, it was a major influence on the game.”

“For a leadoff walk, to just hand him first base. For it to happen on Opening Night of a very important season for a kid like Carter Capps, there’s nothing OK with it.”

Capps, who has 88 games of major league experience under his belt, was charged with the loss in the game, although he only threw four pitches.

“I’ve got a lot of hard feelings on it, I think it’s wrong,” Haines said. “Carter Capps is a big-time pitcher with a big-time arm, so he’ll find a way to make an adjustment, if we have to, but this goes above all of us. This should be MLB and there are a lot of different variables involved, where it’s just not good for anybody.” “If I was on the Omaha side, I wouldn’t have liked it either. I don’t want the game decided that way. I want it decided between the lines with two teams battling it out, after they’ve fought back-and-forth for three-and-a-half hours.”