Beavers Score Big Win

Published on August 22, 2003 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Portland Beavers News Release


Portland, Ore. - One night after a 10-run loss left them 4.5 games out of first place, the Portland Beavers showed they're not quite ready to drop out of the playoff race.

The Beavers (63-70) snapped a four-game losing streak and clawed their way back into the postseason picture with a 9-3 win Thursday night over the Edmonton Trappers.

Portland's win, which came in front of 13,104 at PGE Park, put the Beavers thee and one-half games behind first-place Salt Lake in the Pacific Coast League's North Division.

Working with a 9-0 lead by the third inning, Ben Howard coasted to his seventh victory of the season. The right-hander allowed just one run in seven innings, striking out four and walking three.

Six of the Beavers runs came in the first frame, courtesy of three home runs.

Rico Washington struck first, hitting a two-run shot to right center. Then, after a three-run blast by Xavier Nady, Wiki Gonzalez capped the rally with a solo homer over the left-field wall.

Scott Downs, who allowed all six of the Beavers first-inning runs, took the loss for the Trappers. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two.

Blake Stein relieved Downs in the second, but he wasn't able to stop the Beavers offense. Tagg Bozied hit a three-run second inning homer, giving Portland a 9-0 advantage.

Bozied went 3-for-3 for the Beavers, his 33rd multi-hit game of the season. Scales, Washington and Nady each hit two hits.

The Trappers (65-66) scored a run in the sixth when Termel Sledge hit a solo home run, his team-leading 19th of the season.

Edmonton added two more runs in the eighth off Kevin Walker on Randy Knorr's RBI double and Scott Hodges' run-scoring single.

Peter Bergeron had three hits and Matt Cepicky went 2-for 3 for the Trapper.

NOTES: Before Thursday's game, the Beavers traded reliever Courtney Duncan to the Anaheim Angels for future considerations ...Howard became the first Portland pitcher to pitch seven or more innings since Clay Condrey did so on July 28 ... the Beavers have hit seven home runs in their last two games, the most they've had had in any two-game strech this season.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from August 22, 2003


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