Hernandez powers Beavers past 51s

Friday, Aug. 26, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

SUN WIRE SERVICES

We've always wondered about Tony DeFrancesco's concealer and Mike Rouse's eyeliner.

-- Nick Christensen

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Catcher Michel Hernandez smacked a pair of solo home runs as the Portland Beavers defeated the Las Vegas 51s 4-2 Thursday at PGE Park.

The blasts, which came in the second and fifth innings, were the second and third of the season for Hernandez. Both round-trippers came off of Las Vegas starter Eric Stults (3-6). The second dinger gave the Beavers a two-run lead.

Prior to Thursday, Hernandez had not hit a home run since April 18. Josh Barfield also went deep against Stults, hitting a mammoth shot to center field that caromed off the manual scoreboard and gave the Beavers a short-lived 1-0 lead. The homer was Barfield's 14th.

The 51s came right back in their next at-bats to launch back-to-back home runs and take the lead. Norihiro Nakamura and Cody Ross each went deep against Portland starter Ryan Snare.

The only run not scored via the long ball came when Portland's Jon Knott led off the second inning with a double, went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch by Stults.

Snare (4-6) was charged with two runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one. The Beavers bullpen pitched four scoreless innings, with Scott Cassidy pitching a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Josh Barfield was 2-for-4 with a homer for the Beavers. He has hit in 12 consecutive games.