After being rained out for two consecutive days, the Sidewinders opened a series against division rivals the Las Vegas 51s with a 9-5 win. CF Chris Young hit a homer and C Robby Hammock and SS Stephen Drew each turned in multi-RBI games in the victory.

Owings is still unbeaten in Triple-A, although he did not factor in the decision. He worked 4 1/3 innings allowing three runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out two batters.

The 51s struck first with a solo home run in the top of the first off the bat of 1B Eric Riggs.

Tucson got on the board in the bottom of the third with a two-out double by 2B Alberto Callaspo followed by a triple from SS Stephen Drew. Drew was immediately driven home by a RF Carlos Quentin double to center that gave Tucson a 2-1 lead.

Las Vegas came back to tie the game in the top of the fourth when RF Jon Weber walked and came home on a C Eric Langill double to left-center to knot the game at 2-2.

In the top of the fifth, the 51s regained the lead when Riggs led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a LF James Loney single in which Loney was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. 3B Andy LaRoche singled to shallow left to plate Riggs and give the 51s a 3-2 lead.

Las Vegas added another run in the sixth as RHP Jose Valverde came on to make his 2006 Tucson debut. After getting the first batter he faced to pop out, Valverde allowed a solo shot to right to SS Wilson Valdez, which gave Las Vegas a 4-2 lead.

Tucson stormed back into the lead with a four run sixth. With two outs, CF Chris Young got the rally started with a homer to left to bring the Sidewinders within one at 4-3. 3B Brian Barden then singled to left and moved to second on a LF Kenny Perez single to left. C Robby Hammock doubled to left-center to bring home both Barden and Perez and give Tucson a 5-4 lead. PH Matt Erickson singled to left, scoring Hammock and extending Tucson’s lead to two at 6-4.

The Sidewinders put up two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend the team’s lead to 8-4. With one out, RF Carlos Quentin doubled down the left-field line and scored on a 1B Chris Carter single to center. Carter moved to second on the throw. He then stole third and scored on an errant throw by Langill.

Tucson added a run in the eighth on a SS Stephen Drew sac fly.

Las Vegas managed a consolation run in the top of the ninth when LaRoche doubled and was followed by a 2B Willy Aybar triple to make the score 9-5, where it would stay until the final.

Valverde picked up the victory in his first appearance with Tucson this season. He worked 1 inning and allowed one run on a solo home run. He also struck out one batter. RHP D.J. Houlton got the loss for the 51s, working 5 2/3 innings and allowing six runs, all earned, on nine hits and one walk. He fanned three batters and hit one other.

Game two of the series begins Saturday, July 8 at 7:00 p.m. The action can be heard live on Cool 1450-AM.

Las Vegas 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5 12 1
Tucson 0 0 2 0 0 4 2 1 x 9 13 1

WP – Valverde (1-0)
LP - Houlton (4-8)
Att: 4,530
time of game: 3:21

Source: Tucson Sidewinders
July 7, 2006, Tucson, AZ

More on the Tucson Sidewinders Baseball