Solid bullpen work gives Tucson third straight victory, 4-3

Published on April 23, 2006 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Tucson Sidewinders News Release


Tucson, AZ - The Sidewinders came back to tie the game twice before finally taking and holding the lead in the 6th inning for a 4-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Solid bullpen work and timely hitting gave Tucson its third straight win.

Sky Sox starter RHP Jonathan Asahina struck the Sidewinders early. He helped his cause at the plate in the top of the second when he doubled down the left field line, knocking in two runs and giving the Sky Sox the early lead.

Tucson bounced back in the third when C Juan Brito doubled to left. Asahina threw a wild pitch, allowing Brito to move to third. Brito was then knocked in on a 2B Alberto Callaspo single to bring the Sidewinders within one run.

The Sidewinders tied the game in the bottom of the 4th. LF Scott Hairston got things going with a single to left. CF Chris Young reached on a fielder's choice, but Hairston was safe at second on a 2B Jayson Nix missed-catch error. 1B Chris Carter reached on an error by 3B Bo Hart, loading the bases for 2B Brian Barden. Barden knocked in Hairston on a sac fly to left.

Colorado Springs came right back to take the lead in the top of the 5th, when Hart reached on a fielder's choice. He came around to score on a RF Jeff Baker single to left-center.

In the 6th, the Sidewinders took their first lead of the day. RF Carlos Quentin singled to right field and three batters later, with two outs, 1B Chris Carter hit his first home run of the year over the right field bullpen.

With the score 4-3, interim manager Lorenzo Bundy handed the game over to the bullpen after a solid performance from Starter RHP Enrique Gonzalez. Gonzalez went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk. He also struck out 4 batters on the way to improving his record to 2-2. RHP Mike Koplove came in to work a scoreless 8th, giving up only 1 hit in the process. RHP Jeff Bajenaru earned his 3rd save of the season when he worked the 9th inning giving up 1 walk and striking out the final batter of the game. Asahino picked up the loss for Colorado Springs, falling to 0-1 on the season. He worked 7 innings, giving up 4 runs, 3 earned, walked 1 batter and struck out 3.

The Sidewinders continue their homestand tomorrow night at 6:30 against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. The game can be heard live on Cool 1450 AM.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 23, 2006


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