51s go into break on high note

After a rough stretch of starts, 51s right-hander Jon Meloan finally had reason to feel good about himself after walking off the mound Monday. So did his teammates.

Meloan threw a season-high seven innings en route to his first win since June 2, and Las Vegas exploded for 19 hits and turned five double plays in a 13-3 rout of Tacoma at Cashman Field.

"It's about time," said Meloan (5-9), who allowed three runs -- all in the fourth inning -- on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts. "I haven't walked off the field and smiled in a long time, and today was the first day I was able to do that. I'm just relieved I still have the ability to win a game."

So are the 51s, who snapped a three-game losing streak and six-game home skid to the Rainiers. More importantly, the win gave Las Vegas momentum heading into the All-Star break and its all-important four-game series at first-place Sacramento, which starts Friday.

The 51s (51-48) trail the River Cats by 71/2 games with 45 to play.

"That series will pretty much decide whether there will be a race the rest of the year," Las Vegas manager Lorenzo Bundy said. "This is the time to step up and put yourself in the position where you'll be able to compete in your division the rest of the year."

Bundy said the 51s need to go 30-15 the rest of the way to catch the River Cats, who they face eight more times.

"We've had our moments where we've looked like a contender, and then we've had our moments where we've looked like a pretender," Bundy said. "If we want to be with those division leaders, we're going to have to play some pretty good ball. The most important thing is to beat Sacramento."

51s slugger John Lindsey, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI singles Monday in his sixth straight multi-hit game, is confident Las Vegas can make a run at the River Cats.

"It's a lot of season left, so we've got time to get back in there and do something," he said. "We'd rather be in first place right now, but we're still in the hunt, and we have a chance to do it in the second half."

Lindsey, batting .321 with a team-leading 17 homers and 73 RBIs, drove in the first run of Monday's game in the first inning, and Mitch Jones (2-for-5, HR, four RBIs) added a two-run single to make it 3-0.

Every position player had a hit for the 51s, who added three more runs in the third, on an RBI double by Angel Chavez (4-for-5, HR, two RBIs) and a two-run single by Kevin Howard, to make it 6-0.

John-Ford Griffin, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to extend his season-high hitting streak to 10 games, hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 10-3.

Chavez homered in the seventh to make it 11-3, and Jones belted a two-run bomb in the eighth to cap the scoring.

"It's a good way to end the break," Bundy said. "It's something to feel good about, for any of the guys who had a little bit of doubt what they were doing at the plate. Hopefully this erased that, they enjoy their break and get refreshed for our big series at Sacramento."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.