Sidewinders split doubleheader with Portland Beavers

Published on July 19, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Tucson Sidewinders News Release


Tucson, AZ - The Sidewinders took the first of two games on Tuesday's Doubleheader with the Portland Beavers by a final of 11-1. Tucson tied a season high with five homers, including a three-run blast over the Green Monster off the bat of 3B Brian Barden. The team also matched its season best ten-game winning streak. The streak was snapped in the second half of the doubleheader, however, as Tucson fell by a final of 3-2 to Portland.

To start the doubleheader, RHP Micah Owings managed to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first. In the bottom half of the inning, the Sidewinders' bats responded with three runs. SS Alberto Callaspo led off with a walk and moved to second on a 2B Donnie Sadler sacrifice bunt. RF Carlos Quentin then hit a rope over the wall in left to score two runs. Two batters later CF Chris Young hit a towering homer to left-center.

Owings took care of the top of the second by himself. He the first batter went 1-3 on a groundout. Then Owings struck out the next batter. For the third out, Owings barehanded a comebacker to assist on another 1-3 putout.

The Sidewinders exploded for three runs in the bottom of the third to storm to a 6-0 lead. Quentin led the inning off with a walk, followed by a 1B Chris Carter walk that put runners on first and second. RHP Eric Junge came on in relief for Portland's starter, LHP Erick Burke. Junge's first pitch was lined into left-center by 3B Brian Barden for a double that scored Quentin from second to give Tucson a 4-0 lead. C Miguel Montero followed up with a sac fly to center that scored Carter. Barden scored on a LF Robby Hammock single to right that extended the Sidewinders' lead to 6-0.

The Beavers scraped a run in the fifth inning when C Luke Carlin walked and then scored on a bizarre double hit by 1B Paul McAnulty to shallow left in which three Sidewinders converged but none of them came up with the ball.

Tucson added four more runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Carter and Young led off with back-to-back singles to put two ducks on the pond for the red hot Barden who proceeded to blast a ball over the Green Monster in centerfield. He was the first player to hit a homer over the monster since OF Luis Terrero accomplished the feat on 7/4/04. Hammock then hit a homer to left. To extend the lead to 10-1. The Sidewinders added one more in the bottom of the sixth on a Carter solo shot. It was the fifth homer of the game, which tied a single-game high for the team in 2006. It left the final for the first game at 11-1 in favor of the Sidewinders.

The Sidewinders' bats were much more subdued in the second game as the team waited until the fourth inning before putting up any runs. Quentin led off with a walk and Carter hit a line-drive double to right-center to score Quentin and give Tucson a 1-0 lead. Carter moved to third on a Young single and came home on a Barden ground out to extend the lead to 2-0 after four.

The Beavers took the lead in the top of the sixth when CF Kennard Jones and SS David Matranga each singled. RHP Casey Daigle came on to relieve RHP Mike Schultz and allowed a three-run shot to center off the bat of RF Jon Knott.

The Sidewinders continue their four-game series with the Portland Beavers tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on Cool-1450 AM.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 19, 2006


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