Las Vegas fires blanks

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

The Las Vegas 51s have played 20 games and 20 days, and after their 14-inning affair Monday it seemed as though they had little left in their bats in a 1-0 victory Tuesday night against the Tacoma Rainiers before an announced crowd of 1,499 at Cashman Field.

The 51s mustered only six hits, including Larry Barnes' home run to right-center off Tacoma relief pitcher Aaron Looper's second pitch.

Fortunately for the 51s, their stellar pitching dominated the Rainiers. Starter Mike Saipe allowed four hits -- three to the first three batters in the first inning -- in five innings. He had six strikeouts, including three in the first inning.

Reliever Victor Alvarez picked up his first win of the year, allowing two hits and one walk in three innings. Steve Colyer earned the save.

The 51s have pitched 17 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

"Saipe did a tremendous job in the first inning making pitches when he had to. They had three men on and no out, and he was able to strike out the side," said 51s manager John Shoemaker. "You don't see that often in baseball. You get three hits to load the bases and three strikeouts.

"He did a tremendous job of locating the pitches and not getting frustrated, and I think that gave us a big boost there, because we did not swing the bat well at all tonight."

"We're just feeding off each other," said Colyer. "Everybody's doing well, and we're just feeding off each other."

Tacoma reliever Scott Atchison, who started Tuesday for an ill Brian Falkenborg, left after five solid innings. Like Saipe, he allowed four hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

The 51s are off tonight before facing the Sacramento RiverCats, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The day of rest was welcome in the clubhouse.

"When you're in a season where you don't have many days off and you're not going to get a lot of games rained out, it's nice to occasionally look forward to a day off," said Shoemaker. "It's nice for the players to get away for a little bit, to recharge their bodies, recharge their minds, just relax a little."

Outfielder Bubba Crosby, who returned to the DH role as a precautionary measure after Monday's return to defensive duty, said his father was in town from Houston.

"I'm going to show him around Las Vegas," said Crosby. "He brought my car in, and he brought a TV in, because me and Chin-feng-- Chen have been living without a TV for the last three weeks."