Barnes hits stride as 51s overcome Edmonton

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 | 9:28 a.m.

By the third time 51s first baseman Larry Barnes stepped to the plate against Edmonton starting pitcher Sun Woo Kim Monday night, he had an inkling about seeing a changeup or two.

"I don't want to say I was looking for it," Barnes said, "but I didn't want to be way out in front of it in case he threw another one."

Kim threw another one on a 1-2 count to Barnes, who led off the sixth inning with a home run over the fence in right field to tie the game, 5-5.

An inning later, Barnes singled in two runs in a four-run uprising that powered Las Vegas to a 9-7 victory before an announced crowd of 1,528 at Cashman Field.

The solo shot highlighted a breakout effort by Barnes, who went 3-for-4 to bump his batting average to .294 (5-for-17) and help the 51s improve to 4-1.

"I started off 0-for-9, I think," Barnes said. "With a long season like this, that will happen. You'll take a lot of 0-for-10s. I just don't want to get caught up in it, but it's nice to get a few hits and get things rolling.

"Hopefully, it'll carry over."

Some fine plays in the field by third baseman Eric Riggs, who also hit a solo homer, and a 1-2-3 ninth inning by reliever Bryan Corey, who earned his second save, contributed to keep Edmonton winless in five games.

Barnes, though, was the one 51s player who did something positive every time he stepped into the box.

In the first, his sacrifice fly to right field allowed Bubba Crosby to take third base. In the third, Barnes singled to right off an 0-2 pitch by Kim to score Crosby from second, then he belted the homer in the sixth.

He hit 20, and drove in 95 runs, at Salt Lake last season.

In the seventh, Barnes hit a bases-loaded single to right off a 1-1 pitch from Trappers reliever Eric Knott that brought in Riggs and Crosby with runs that proved critical.

With the Stingers a year ago, Barnes crushed two grand slams and hit .444 with the bases loaded.

"I think his two hits Sunday relaxed him a little," said 51s manager John Shoemaker. "But he's an experienced player and I think he's going to do well for us."

A native of Bakersfield, Calif., Barnes, 28, spent his entire eight-year career in the Anaheim organization. He was called up to the Angels two years ago, getting only four hits in 40 at-bats. One of those, though, was a home run.

Then Anaheim won its first World Series last fall, and he left via free agency less than a month later.

"I was rooting for all those guys," Barnes said of the Angels. "A lot of those guys who were on that team toward September, we had all been together in Salt Lake, guys I had been playing with my whole career.

"I don't have any ill will toward them. I just didn't get a chance to get up there last year. And, obviously, they didn't need it, so it was time to move on."

Success at Triple-A Las Vegas could lead him to Los Angeles, although veteran slugger Fred McGriff owns the title to first at Dodger Stadium.

"I made my mind up to come down here," Barnes said. "Hopefully, it will work out. If not, we'll see what happens. There are a lot of other teams out there. My main goal is to get to the big leagues, not to be in Las Vegas."

Not so, said Shoemaker.

"I thought it did make contact with him, but he was lucky," Shoemaker said. "That's a very scary situation."

Barnes said he approached Simas moments after the play.

"I ran out there and asked him, 'Did it hit you?' " Barnes said. "He kind of didn't say anything. That's kind of dangerous. You have to look out for that stuff."

Included in that horrible start was a 25-11 defeat Saturday. Edmonton is 0-5 for the first time in the team's 23-year history.