Huffman Saves The Day In Extra Innings

June 5, 2007 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Portland Beavers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - For the second day in a row, the Portland Beavers saved their best for last, getting an RBI double from Royce Huffman to plate Vincent Sinisi with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-4 victory over the Omaha Royals Tuesday afternoon at PGE Park.

Sinisi, who had an 11-game hit streak come to a close, drew a leadoff walk to start the winning rally. Sinisi then stole second and easily scored when Huffman laced a one-out double to the gap in left-center field, a hit that gave the Beavers a series split with the Royals.

The dramatics, which followed a ninth-inning win over Omaha on Monday, came after the Beavers (26-32) saw a three-run, ninth-inning lead go by the wayside.

Trailing 4-1 going into the ninth, Omaha (30-29) rallied to tie the game against Portland closer Leo Rosales, who gave up a leadoff homer to Craig Brazell, an RBI single to Paul Phillips and a game-tying double with two outs by Joey Gathright. It was Rosales' first blown save in 15 tries this season.

Craig Stansberry was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to eight games for the Beavers, who won the last two games with Omaha to earn a split in the series.

Royce Ring worked 1 1/3 innings to get his second win of the year. Ring has not allowed an earned run in his last 16 appearances with the Beavers, who are off on Wednesday.

Ken Ray (2-2) gave up the winning run to take the loss.

Portland starter Mike Thompson was in line for the win, giving up just one run and five hits in seven innings of work in his second strong start in a row.

Already up 2-1, the Beavers opened up their lead in the fifth by loading the bases and getting a two-run single up the middle from Stansberry. The Beavers, however, left the bases loaded in the eighth.

Justin Huber's solo homer put the Royals up in the second, but the Beavers got RBI singles from Stansberry in the third and Oscar Robles in the fourth to go up 2-1.

Following a brief road trip to Salt Lake, the Beavers begin a seven-game homestand at PGE Park on Monday.

Beavers Game File

TUESDAY'S GAME: Beavers 5, Omaha 4 (10 innings)

WINNING PITCHER: Ring (2-0)

LOSING PITCHER: Ray (2-2)

SAVE: None

HOME RUNS: Huber (5), Brazell (14)

THURSDAY'S GAME: Portland (Ryan Ketchner: 0-6, 4.24) at Salt Lake (Joe Saunders: 2-3, 5.06), 6:05 p.m. (Pacific); live broadcast on KKAD AM-1550 and www.portlandbeavers.com.



Pacific Coast League Stories from June 5, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central