Lineup stumbles as crowd grumbles

Steve Addy

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

Another awful outing by starter Eddie Priest put the 51s in a 5-0 hole in the first inning, and they never recovered despite five homers. Priest has allowed 21 runs (17 earned) in his last two games. Keith Luuloa's pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth cemented New Orleans' win as the teams split the series. The 51s' home runs included Phil Hiatt's PCL-leading 32nd.

Of all 912 innings the 51s have played this season, the fourth inning Monday night provided a microcosm of the frustration they have wrought.

Inexplicably, they still lead the PCL South at 49-55, despite a 4-8 homestand that ended with a 9-8 loss to the New Orleans Zephyrs.

But they have been unable to grab the division by the throat -- or even get back to .500 -- because of bungled opportunities like the one before an announced 2,707 at Cashman Field.

On a night when the 51s counted on five home runs for all of their scoring, they were doomed by their inability to manufacture a punch-and-judy run. After loading the bases on three walks with no outs in the fourth, they let the Zephyrs off the hook with poor discipline at the plate.

New Orleans starter Travis Driskill (9-2) had clearly begun to struggle, walking Melvin Rosario, David Post and Jeff Branson in succession. The 51s were down 7-2, but the rally was brewing, so it seemed.

51s shortstop Keith Johnson strode to the plate, but instead of waiting to see if Driskill could rediscover the strike zone, he swung at the first pitch and popped meekly to second base.

Then came pinch hitter Angel Pena, batting for pitcher Eddie Priest (4-8). Pena didn't take any pitches either. He whiffed on the first two with healthy cuts. On the third, he popped to shortstop. Two outs, bases still loaded.

Up came 51s leadoff man Jeff Barry, who homered in the first inning. Maybe he could kick the comeback into high gear, with the meat of the Las Vegas lineup coming to bat behind him.

Wrong. Barry swung and missed at the first pitch, then cued a dribbler back to Driskill to end the inning as boos rained down from the Cashman crowd.

As it turned out, the 51s would regret the wasted opportunity, because they rallied within 7-6 on Rosario's three-run homer in the fifth inning and Johnson's solo shot in the sixth. But they could never get the lead, even after Chris Prieto's pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth.

51s manager Rick Sofield refused to criticize his hitters' pitch selection in the fourth.

"These are triple-A players with major-league experience," he said. "They know the situation and they know themselves. If you take away their aggressiveness and artistic flair at the plate, they become somebody different.

"You can't take the athleticism out of an athlete. You've got to let him do his thing, even if in retrospect, (he swung at) a pitch out of the strike zone."

Third baseman Phil Hiatt said the fourth inning was costly.

"It's been like that all year," he said. "It seems like we can't get hits in key situations."