Three homers by Sierra push 51s past Padres
Moises Sierra hit three home runs to back Bill Murphy's solid pitching and lead the 51s to an 11-1 rout over the Tucson Padres in a Pacific Coast League game Friday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Sierra belted a two-run, opposite-field shot to right to start the scoring in Las Vegas' four-run fourth inning. He added a solo shot to right in the fifth and a two-run blast to left in the ninth, giving him nine home runs this season.
Murphy (1-2), in his fifth start and 12th appearance of the season, limited the Padres (19-36) to a run on three hits and one walk and struck out three in six innings - his longest outing of 2012. Clint Everts finished up, shutting out Tucson on three hits in three innings for his first save.
Anthony Gose went 4-for-5 and scored four runs for the 51s (31-24), who had 17 hits to finish the four-game series with 61 en route to three wins. Las Vegas has won three straight and seven of eight.
Adeiny Hechavarria opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning. He added a run-scoring single in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Adam Lind went 3-for-3, lifting his batting average to .440 in 13 games with the 51s, and Yan Gomes had two doubles.
Beamer Weems hit his second home run of the season in the first inning for the Padres, tying the score at 1. Lind's third-inning sacrifice fly gave Las Vegas a lead it didn't relinquish.
Tucson starter Bear Bay (0-2) was touched for six runs, five earned, on 11 hits and no walks in four innings. He struck out three.
