Beavers Blown out in Fresno

Published on July 26, 2003 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Portland Beavers News Release


FRESNO, Calif. - Carlos Valderrama went 3-for-4, highlighted by a three-run eighth inning homer, and drove in four runs to lead the Fresno Grizzlies to an 11-5 victory Friday night over the Portland Beavers.

The Grizzlies entered the bottom of the eighth with a 5-4 lead but scored six runs off Cliff Bartosh to put the game out of reach.

Brian Dallimore had three hits and Jeffery Hammonds went 2-for-4 as Fresno snapped Portland's two-game winning streak. The Beavers dropped to five games behind Edmonton in the Pacific Coast League's North Division.

Fresno starting pitcher Kevin Pickford, who hit a fifth-inning home run, allowed four runs in seven innings to earn the win. Pickford (7-7) gave up eight hits, walked two and fanned two.

Matt Montgomery pitched two scoreless innings to record his first save.

Matt Hampton (0-2) allowed just one run in 1.2 innings of relief but took the loss for the Beavers.

Starter Carlton Loewer, who leads Portland's pitching staff with seven wins, didn't get a decision Friday night. He lasted 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits.

For the third consecutive game, the Beavers scored first, this time with a three-run second-inning rally. Rich Gomez drove in Portland's first run with a triple and scored on Donaldo Mendez's sacrifice fly. Yamid Haad made it 3-0 when he lined a solo homer over the left field wall.

The Grizzlies (43-63) scored once in the third on a bases-loaded single by Valderrama. Two innings later, Pickford narrowed Portland's lead to 3-2 when he hit his third home run of the season.

Jason Bay's sixth-inning homer gave the Beavers a 4-2 advantage, but Grizzlies battled back to tie the game with a two-run rally in the bottom of the frame. Following a sacrifice fly by Francisco Santos, Guillermo Rodriquez drove in the trying run with a bases-loaded RBI groundout.

Rob Ryan's seventh-inning sacrifice fly broke the 4-4 tie, but the real damage came in the eighth. Rodriquez had a two-run triple, Dallimore hit a run-scoring single, and Valderrama hit his three-run homer to give Fresno an 11-4 lead.

Khahil Greene drove in Portland's final run with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

Bernie Castro went 3-for-5 and stole his 40th base for the Beavers. Xavier Nady, making his 2003 Beavers debut, went 1-for-3 and walked once.

NOTES: Bay, who hit a home run Thursday against Fresno, homered in back-to-back games for the fifth time this season... The Beavers are 39-15 when they score first ... Fresno is 4-14 in its last 18 games.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 26, 2003


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