51s win another game in the 9th inning

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Monday, April 7, 2014 | 11 p.m.

The Las Vegas 51s are making of a habit of playing games decided in the last inning.

Matt den Dekker’s run-scoring single today with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning plated Cesar Puello with the winning run to give the 51s a 7-6 victory against visiting Sacramento at Cashman Field.

It was the second straight day Las Vegas walked off with a game-ending hit. Sunday, Zach Lutz’s RBI double scored Kirk Nieuwenhuis to end the game against Fresno. And, on Saturday, the 51s lost in the ninth when Fresno rallied to score seven runs.

Lutz, who is batting .533 in the initial five games of the season, continued to shine against Sacramento. He went 1-for-1 with three walks and three runs scored, helping Las Vegas take the first game of a four-game set with Sacramento and start the season with a 4-1 record.

Puello went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, den Dekker went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and catcher Juan Centeno had three RBIs.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Japanese baseball star and veteran big-leaguer, surrendered three runs in five innings in his Las Vegas debut. He struck out and walked four batters.

The teams meet again at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.