Stars shut out; 5th straight loss

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 10:48 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY --- Just when you thought the Las Vegas Stars offense couldn't get any worse. ...

Salt Lake lefty Travis Baptist and reliever Travis Miller combined for a five-hit shutout of the Stars on Wednesday night at Franklin Quest Stadium as the Buzz won its seventh game in a row, 5-0.

It was the first time this season that Las Vegas has been shut out. The Stars (28-29), despite the return of star slugger Eddie Williams, have scored just two runs in their last 23 innings and have lost a season-high five straight games.

Las Vegas never got a runner past second base on Wednesday night. Left-fielder Dusty Allen and second baseman Dave Hajek both had long doubles for the Stars' only offensive highlights.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake got a two-run inside-the-park homer by right-fielder Jamie Ogden in the eighth inning when Stars center fielder Chris Prieto lost Ogden's routine fly ball in the lights.

Baptist, arguably the top pitcher in the Pacific Coast League so far this season, improved to 8-2 by yielding just four hits and one walk while striking out seven in seven innings on the mound. Miller finished up with two innings of one-hit relief to notch his third save.

Meanwhile, outfielder Mike Devereaux, signed by the Padres as a free agent on Tuesday and assigned to Las Vegas, now won't report to the squad until Monday at Oklahoma.

Right-handed ace Matt Clement (5-5) will try to snap the Stars' losing streak tonight against right-hander Frankie Rodriguez (0-4).