Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009

Reyes' hot bat helps Dust Devils win 9-5

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

PASCO — After four years in the Colorado Rockies' farm system, Leonardo Reyes is enjoying his first run at a professional baseball title with the Tri-City Dust Devils.

But Reyes wants more than a chance to watch it happen from the dugout bench.

The 6-foot-1 outfielder from Caja Seca, Venezuela, came through with his second multi-hit game in his last three starts, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored to lift Tri-City to a 9-5 win over the Yakima Bears on Tuesday at Gesa Stadium.

"It's good to be rested (for the playoffs), but we need to be ready," said Reyes, who bounced a two-run single up the middle in the first to put the Dust Devils up 2-0 and then scored the go-ahead run in the fifth to give Tri-City a 6-5 lead.

"This feels good," he said. "I've been working on my balance at the plate."

The Dust Devils, which clinched the East Division on Saturday to earn a berth in the Northwest League championship series against Salem-Keizer, needed Reyes' contribution.

Boise took a 5-2 lead in the top of the second inning when two errors by Tri-City third baseman Joseph Sanders led to five unearned runs off starting pitcher Sheng-An Kuo.

The error was the fourth in the last two nights for Sanders, who is now second in the Northwest League with 23 errors behind Boise's Hak-Ju Lee (25).

"Kuo threw the ball OK, but the errors gave (Yakima) five runs," said Dust Devils manager Fred Ocasio. "Reyes has done a great job lately. (Hitting coach Anthony) Sanders talked to him about swinging at bad pitches, and for the last 10 days he's been outstanding."

Tri-City got two runs back in the fourth on a wo-out RBI triple by Orlando Sandoval and then an RBI double by Ben Paulsen to cut the lead to 5-4. The Dust Devils got two more in the fifth after Sanders and Reyes both drew one-out walks and came around to score -- Sanders on a bloop single from Jose Gonzalez and Reyes on a passed ball. That gave Tri-City a 6-5 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

The Dust Devils bullpen turned the lights out, as usual, as three relievers -- Aaron Weatherford, Eric Federico and Charlie Ruiz -- combined to hold the Bears to one hit over the final six innings.

Weatherford (1-0), a third-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2008, collected his first professional win after sitting out all of last season and part of this season with injuries. The 6-foot-1 right-hander, who sat out six weeks with a strained shoulder before coming back Aug. 12, tossed two scoreless innings while allowing only a walk.

"It's been miserable," said Weatherford with a smile. "I've been doing what everybody else has been doing except pitching. ... I'm glad to be involved."

Ariel Brea (0-2) took the loss for the Bears after allowing the tying and go-ahead runs in the fifth.

Paulsen went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI, and Bo Bowman added a two-run single in the eighth for his team-high 46th RBI.