Monday, July 22, 2002 | 9:39 a.m.
Ricardo Rodriguez's triple-A career didn't begin exactly the way he'd hoped, but he liked the end result just the same.
The 51s' righthander, called up Saturday from double-A Jacksonville, struggled early in his start against Tucson on Sunday, surrendering hits to the first two batters and yielding a first-inning run.
But Rodriguez -- tabbed by Baseball America as the Dodgers' top minor-league prospect -- settled down quickly, giving up just two more runs to keep his club in the game. After he exited in the sixth inning, Las Vegas rallied to top the Sidewinders 6-5.
"I feel good for my first time," Rodriguez said. "I was a little bit excited in the first two innings, but I feel very good with my team winning."
The 24-year-old Rodriguez, who went 5-4 with a 1.99 ERA for Jacksonville, lasted 5 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits and three runs, striking out two and walking two.
"I thought he threw the ball extremely well," 51s manager Brad Mills said. "There were a couple of pitches with two strikes that kind of found their way over the strike zone, but I thought he did a great job overall."
Trailing 3-2 when Rodriguez left, Las Vegas (60-42) battled back with a four-run assault in the seventh. Chin-Feng Chen and Rick Bell had RBI singles to tie it 4-4, and Ryan Kellner gave the hosts the lead for good with a two-out, two-run single to right.
The Sidewinders (47-52) clawed within 6-5 on Hanley Frias' eighth-inning homer, but 51s closer Jeff Williams worked out of a bases-loaded jam later in the inning en route to his 12th save.
Chen hit his 23rd homer -- an inside-the-park shot -- in the fifth inning. Chris Clapinski had three hits for Las Vegas, while Chen, Bell and Joe Thurston had two apiece.
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