Sidewinders pitcher shuts down 51s
Matt Torra pitched seven strong innings and hit an RBI double, and Josh Whitesell went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Tucson Sidewinders to a 5-1 Pacific Coast League victory over the 51s on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Torra (1-0), the Arizona Diamondbacks' first-round draft pick in 2005, was making his second start with the Sidewinders (30-47) since being promoted from Double-A Mobile. He limited Las Vegas (41-36) to one run on five hits and one walk and struck out four, throwing 59 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
Angel Chavez's fourth-inning home run was the lone extra-base hit for the 51s, who have lost four straight.
Whitesell's run-scoring single capped Tucson's two-run first inning, and his two-out RBI single capped the Sidewinders' three-run second. He added a double in the fourth.
Jesus Merchan led off the bottom of the second with a triple and scored one out later on Torra's double. Tucson's other runs came on sacrifice flies by Jamie D'Antona in the first inning and Trent Oeltjen in the second.
Miguel Pinango (4-5) pitched the first six innings for Las Vegas and gave up five runs on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked none.
D'Antona and Tim Raines Jr. had two hits apiece for the Sidewinders, who halted a three-game losing streak.
