Hopes fade for banged-up Stars after flat outing vs. Oklahoma

Steve Addy

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 9:59 a.m.

Soon enough, sheer math will take over. The Stars can't wait any longer to make their move on Sacramento in the PCL Southern Division.

Las Vegas has 19 games left, including an encouraging 15 at home, but it fell 12 games behind Sacramento on Thursday with a fairly dreadful 14-5 loss to the Oklahoma Redhawks before an announced 3,060 at Cashman Field.

The second-place Stars (66-59) are clinging to hope because they play Sacramento (79-48) eight more times, starting with a four-game road series next Thursday, but it is a slim hope.

They have beaten the River Cats, an Oakland A's affiliate, only once in eight meetings.

Also, if Thursday's stinker is indicative of the Stars' readiness for the final push, then maybe it's all a moot point. Oklahoma slammed five Las Vegas pitchers for 23 hits, including three home runs off Buddy Carlyle, who didn't last four innings.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Stars manager Tony Franklin believes his club has a shot at catching Sacramento, or at least making the River Cats a bit nervous.

"I expect we're going to play as hard as we can the rest of the way," he said with equal parts confidence and hopefulness. "Mathematically, we still have an outside chance.

"We certainly have our work cut out. We will try to win as many as we can before we go to Sacramento (a seven-game span) and then see if we can put it all together there. But there is no sense in backing off now, not after all we have overcome this season, all of the injuries."

And the injuries aren't letting up now. Outfielder John Roskos had to play catcher for the second straight game, because George Williams is still with the Padres and fill-in Steve Soliz had to leave the lineup Wednesday with a hyperextended elbow.

He will miss about a week.

The Stars are so desperate for a catcher, they elevated 21-year-old Andre Gomez from Class A Idaho Falls on Thursday. He probably would have made his triple-A debut, but didn't arrive until the game had begun.

"We needed a body today, and Gomez was the closest and the most available," Franklin said.

"If something had happened to Roskos, he would have been in the game, no question.

"Roskos has done a great job. I can't say enough for his effort for us. It's a comfort to know we have a guy who can go behind the plate like that."

Oklahoma starter Jose Martinez (2-3) scattered seven hits in eight-plus innings.