William Juarez, who pitched Tuesday for the Las Vegas 51s, speaks only Spanish. Manager Jerry Royster likes to pair him with Venezuelan catcher Edwin Bellorin to bridge the communication gap. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

Kicking at the dirt and juggling the baseball in his right hand, 51s pitcher William Juarez waited for advice.

As pitching coach Ken Howell walked to a meeting on the mound in the second inning, catcher Edwin Bellorin joined the group. Howell talked slowly, Bellorin translated when needed and Juarez nodded.

Juarez stayed in the game. He lasted seven innings Tuesday in Las Vegas' 6-4 loss to the Sacramento River Cats at Cashman Field.

It was a solid outing for the 25-year-old starter from Nicaragua. In the dugout, manager Jerry Royster offered a few encouraging words, but Juarez speaks no English.

"The communication part is a big, big problem. Believe me, it's a huge problem," Royster said. "I think that's a real big part of it, the language barrier, and that's hard to overcome.

"If I go out to take the pitcher out, I want the guy to at least know why."

The language barrier is more of a hurdle in baseball than other sports because of the large number of foreign players, especially Hispanics. Some of the players speak little or no English, which can make it difficult for coaches to get their point across.

A player who speaks only Spanish, such as Juarez, also can be a challenging interview for reporters. But that does not become a real issue until a player reaches the major leagues and gets more media attention.

There are bilingual players who can bridge the communication gap. That's one reason why Royster likes Bellorin, who is from Venezuela, to catch when Juarez is pitching.

After Juarez was pulled from a game earlier this season, Royster tried to describe what Juarez needed to correct and he asked infielder Nick Alvarez, from Miami, to be the third party in the conversation.

"I spent the next inning and a half explaining it to Alvarez on the bench and having him interpret it," Royster said. "I missed an inning, and I can't do that.

"And who knows what's lost in the translation."

Luis Gonzalez, a relief pitcher who attended high school in Miami and lives in Puerto Rico, volunteered to be the middle man in an interview Tuesday.

"I know a little bit when they talk to me. Some of the players who know Spanish and English help me a lot," Juarez said with Gonzalez translating. "I feel a lot more comfortable around the guys. If I have a question, I go to Luis or some of the other guys. It's not a problem."

The 51s had two players last year who spoke no English, Antonio Perez from the Dominican Republic and Norihiro Nakamura from Japan. The parent club Los Angeles Dodgers assigned an interpreter to travel with Nakamura.

Most major league organizations try to assist foreign players with their language skills. The Dodgers have a baseball academy in the Dominican and players there are taught English.

"In spring training, they have English classes every night," Royster said, "but who wants to go to school after baseball?"

Royster played winter ball in Mexico in 1972 and in the Dominican the following year. He also managed in Puerto Rico. He speaks broken Spanish and can communicate some things to Juarez and infielder Willy Aybar, who is from the Dominican.

Aybar's ability to speak English has improved since last year, but he's still far from fluent.

"I used to speak Spanish with Willy, and I wasn't doing him any favors by doing that," Royster said.

"He understands the importance of it now. It's not taken seriously until it becomes an issue, and Willy is now on the verge of being a major leaguer and he's got to be able to communicate."

The 51s have two players who also speak French, catchers Russell Martin and Eric Langill. Martin is the regular starter, but he has caught Juarez only once this season.

Martin, who also speaks a little Spanish, caught Juarez all last season at Double-A Jacksonville.

"He understands enough in baseball terms to figure out what I'm trying to say," Martin said. "I don't think it's a big issue when it comes to calling a game."

Juarez threw 122 pitches Tuesday in the longest of his four starts this season. He is 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA.

He said he is happy with his pitching but knows he has work to do in the classroom.

"I only took six or seven classes in spring training," Juarez said through Gonzalez. "Probably in the offseason, I'm going to take an English class to get better at it."

• NOTES -- The 51s' Wilson Valdez hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, and Joel Guzman's solo shot in the eighth tied the game at 4. ... The Pacific Coast League is off today. Las Vegas opens a four-game home series against Colorado Springs on Thursday.