Monday, May 9, 2005 | 9:01 a.m.
A little more than two hours into Sunday afternoon's game at Cashman Field, the announced crowd of 4,074 did a peculiar thing for a team down 10-3 -- it stood and cheered for one of its pitchers.
Of course, this was the moment for which they'd waited through eight long innings of River Cats dominance -- Sacramento had 17 hits while River Cats starter John Rheinecker retired 21 consecutive 51s batters -- and the payback was sweet.
All that Steve Jackson, Freddie Bynum and Andrew Beattie could do was watch as Dodgers closer Eric Gagne handled them on 13 pitches, whizzing by them with 95 mph fastballs and confounding them with breaking balls that sank like a parachute that had deployed mid-flight.
Jackson and Bynum could only watch and struck out looking. Beattie swung at a fastball that ended the ninth for the River Cats.
Of Gagne's 13 pitches, 11 were strikes.
"It's always exciting, it's always fun. It's nerve-wracking if you're struggling like I am right now," Jackson said. "I just try to put my head up -- he has three different pitches, the fastball, the slider and the curveball. There's a reason he's so successful in the big leagues. It's an experience you never forget."
Whether it was shaken confidence on the part of the River Cats, a late inspiration for the Las Vegas lineup or just a coincidence, the 51s almost gave Gagne his first Triple-A win since he went 3-0 as a starter at Las Vegas in 2001. Las Vegas scored four ninth-inning runs but was unable to make a full comeback as Sacramento held on for a 10-7 victory.
As late as Thursday, Gagne was tentatively scheduled to join the 51s later this week in Nashville. But the Las Vegas front office got word late Friday that the 2003 National League Cy Young winner might be joining them this weekend.
The rehabilitation assignment was confirmed early Saturday afternoon. Gagne had been nursing an elbow injury he suffered late in spring training.
"I felt great," he said. "I wasn't really worried about the outcome, I was worried about how I felt on the mound. I felt really happy about that."
Gagne was not scheduled to pitch in today's game against the River Cats, which began at 10:30 a.m. as part of an activity involving local schoolchildren. He said he'll pitch at least once more with the 51s when they travel to Memphis for a four-game series beginning Tuesday.
He said he was excited to get into a real game situation, after weeks of workouts ordered by a cautious Dodgers medical staff.
"I don't like throwing bullpen, the intensity's not the same," he said. "It was more what I felt on the mound. My knee felt great, my arm felt great. I'm real happy about that."
The deficit was thanks in large part to the pitching of Rheinecker. After Joe Thurston's leadoff single in the first inning, no 51s batter reached base until Willy Aybar's leadoff double in the eighth inning.
Rheinecker finished after 7 2/3 innings with three hits, one earned run and five strikeouts while walking none.
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