Ferrari Stalls in the Eighth as 51s Salvage s Split

June 20, 2003 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Edmonton Trappers News Release


The Las Vegas 51s had 11 consecutive hits and plated 10 runs in the top of the eighth inning to rally and beat the Edmonton Trappers 15-9 Friday afternoon at TELUS Field. The 11 hits tied a record for a Trapper opponent in a single inning. Eight of the runs and nine of the hits came off reliever Anthony Ferrari, who was optioned from the Montreal Expos earlier in the day. Ferrari, who saw action in just four games with the Expos in two weeks, saw his ERA with the Trappers rise from 2.57 to 6.75 after allowing the eight runs in 2.0 innings of work. The Trappers, who began the game with a .299 team batting average, banged out 16 hits in the contest and rallied from a 5-2 deficit to take the lead before everything fell apart in the eighth. Edmonton has yielded 10 or more runs four times in the last nine games and has had the opponent plate runs in double figures nine times this season. The Trappers ended a tough homestand that saw the club play the two teams with the best records in the Pacific Coast League. They came away with a 4-4 record on the homestand and are now 20-15 at TELUS Field this season. Edmonton begins a four-game series in Albuquerque on Saturday night. The Trappers return home on Thursday, June 26 to begin an eight-game homestand against the Tacoma Rainiers.

For the seventh time in eight games on this homestand the opponent opened the scoring on Friday afternoon. With one out in the second inning Rick Bell singled to center field. Chris Clapinski followed with a double to left field that advanced Bell to third base. The 51s starting pitcher, Mike Saipe, drew a walk to load the bases and center fielder Wilkin Ruan bounced a ball through the left side of the infield, scoring Bell and Clapinski with the first two runs of the game. The 51s added to their lead with two runs in the third inning. With one out Chin-Feng Chen drew a walk and moved to second on a single by Bell. He advanced to third on a fly ball and scored on a single by Saipe. Ruan then plated Bell with a single that eluded Trapper first baseman Joe Vitiello and bounced into right field. The Trappers cut the lead in half with two runs in the fourth. With one out and Matt Cepicky at first Scott Hodges reached on an error. Randy Knorr then singled to plate Cepicky and Jake Thrower doubled to score Hodges.

Ron Chiavacci made the start for the Trappers after being promoted from Double-A Harrisburg earlier in the day. He allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks in 5.0 innings of work before being replaced by Hansel Izquierdo in the sixth inning. Ruan led off the sixth with a single and later scored on a base hit by Bobby Crosby. Cepicky led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple and scored on a single by Hodges. Knorr singled to put runners at first and second and Thrower followed with a double to right field that plated Hodges with the second run of the inning. Pinch-hitter Luis Ortiz singled off reliever Scott Proctor, scoring Knorr and Thrower to give the Trappers the lead, 6-5. Jose Colon (1-1) yielded the first two hits in the eighth and took the loss after Ferrari allowed both inherited runners to score. All nine Las Vegas batters scored in the inning. Vitiello's two-run double in the bottom of the inning capped the scoring.

Highlights:

Trappers: Are 20-15 at home.are 8-5 in day games at TELUS Field.are 11-26 when the opponent scores the first run.visiting club scored the first run in seven of the eight games on this homestand.went 4-4 on an eight-game homestand which saw the top two clubs in the PCL visit TELUS Field.are 16-24 against clubs with winning records. Las Vegas leads the season series, 8-4.Edmonton leads the All-Time series between the two clubs, 143-139.

SS Luis Figueroa: Was 3-for-4 with two doubles to extend his hitting streak to six games.is 12-for-27 (.444) during the streak.leads the club with 19 doubles.is 20-for-41 (.488) against Las Vegas this season.

Alumni Report:

DH Justin Morneau (MIN) @ MIL: The ninth Canadian to don a Trapper uniform is off to a fast start in his Major League career.he is batting .355 (11-for-31) with five runs scored, one home run and six RBI in nine games.hit his first home run off Albie Lopez at Kansas City on June 17.Twins are 39-32 and lead the Royals by two games in the AL Central.



Pacific Coast League Stories from June 20, 2003


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