Las Vegas Stars scorcard -- July 15, 1998

The Stars made it two in a row over first place Fresno with a 11-5 victory on Tuesday night at Cashman Field, cutting the Grizzlies' Pacific Coast League South Division lead to 12 games in the process. Utilityman Greg LaRocca scored four runs to lead Las Vegas while third baseman George Arias increased his PCL RBI lead with a three-run double in the seventh that gave the Stars a 7-3 advantage. "We played well," Stars manager Jerry Royster said. "It was a good win. We had some good situational hitting and we pitched well in relief." Right-hander Matt Clement upped his record to 9-5 despite allowing nine hits, four walks and three runs in six innings. "Clem struggled tonight but he still was able to get through six innings," Royster said. Left-hander Al Newman earned his third save by pitching 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief. "I can't remember the last time Al had a bad outing," Royster said. ... Red-hot catcher Creighton Gubanich had a homer and a double for the Stars. In his last 14 games, Gubanich has 6 home runs and 21 RBIs while upping his batting average over 60 points. "When we acquired him (last season) we knew he could do that,"Royster said. "He's been hitting some home runs and getting some big hits for us." ... Royster said he was impressed with the way reliever Paul Menhart threw before the game and hinted Menhart, on the disabled list for three weeks after severely cutting his foot on a hotel bed, could come off the DL as soon as today. ... Fresno, which has had a rash of injuries to its pitching staff recently, used shortstop Matt Howard in relief in the ninth inning. Howard pitched 2/3 of an inning and didn't give up a run.

Upcoming games

The Stars continue their series with Fresno tonight with a 7:05 game at Cashman Field. Right-hander Brad Kaufman (5-7, 6.42) starts for the Stars against right-hander Chad Frontera (1-0, 0.00), who has been recalled from single-A Bakersfield. Right-hander Stan Spencer (6-5, 4.26) starts the series finale on Thursday night against right-hander Chris Brock (11-3, 3.29).

By Steve Guiremand

Attendance

Tuesday's crowd: 3,023.

Season total: 211,907 (45 dates).

Average per date: 4,709.

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