51s vet makes case for call-up

Nick Christensen

Thursday, May 26, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.

Night after night, Pat Mahomes has shown reasons why he just doesn't belong in a Las Vegas 51s uniform.

He's thrown a three-hit shutout, he consistently gives up less than a hit per inning and in the one loss he's taken this year, he gave up just six hits and three runs - remember, this is the Pacific Coast League - in an eight-inning start.

Wednesday night, he put another feather in his cap. Mahomes went seven innings, giving up five hits, including a solo home run by Chris Burke, while striking out seven as the Las Vegas 51s cruised to a 5-1 victory against the Round Rock Express at Cashman Field.

"He's on a mission and it's obvious what that is," 51s manager Jerry Royster said. "(The Dodgers) know what he's doing."

With their fourth consecutive win, the 51s have matched their longest win streak of 2005. And they did it against Jared Gothreaux, an Astros prospect who entered the game with a 2.51 ERA, fifth-best in the PCL. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura belted two home runs - bringing his 14-game home run total in Las Vegas to eight - and Cody Ross added his sixth homer of the year.

The announced crowd of 1,848 even got to see some in-game fireworks, after Round Rock's Charles Gipson was called out trying to extend a single to a double in the sixth inning.

Travis Driskill, who started and lost Tuesday night for the Express, was ejected from the left-field bullpen, leading to a lengthy argument from Round Rock manager Jackie Moore. After that delay, Mahomes gave up the home run to Burke, and two batters later the inning was over.

As Gipson ran out to center field in the bottom of the sixth, he got into an argument with second base umpire Travis Reininger, and he too was tossed.

For his part, Mahomes said the long delay during Moore's first argument, in which he did not throw to catcher Mike Rose, had no impact on giving up the home run to Burke.

"That guy hit a home run off me - he'd probably hit about 900 of them," Mahomes said. "Everything I throw up there to him he hits good ... maybe he just sees the ball well off me, but I can count on one hand the number of times I've gotten him out. If (Craig) Biggio wasn't over at second base (for the Houston Astros), he's definitely a big-league player."

And soon, Mahomes might be a big-league player too. The Dodgers still have Saturday's starter at Arizona listed as "TBA," and Wednesday's spot start by Wilson Alvarez in Los Angeles' 10-2 loss to Arizona went poorly.

Off to his best start as a starter since his rise through the Twins' organization in 1991, Mahomes sounded disappointed when asked how much more he thinks he has to prove to the Dodgers front office.

"I thought they needed a couple spots this week and I was kinda hoping I would be one of the guys," Mahomes said. "I'm the age now where I don't worry about that stuff too much. I just want to go out there and try to be consistent every time I go out there and hopefully somebody will be able to use me."

As highlights of Alvarez's struggles flashed on the television in his office, Royster lauded his starter's awareness.

"That's about a veteran knowing the situation, knowing what's going on up above, coming out and just pitching his butt off," he said.