Stars' Carlyle delights cheering section

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Las Vegas Stars right-hander Buddy Carlyle had to leave 65 tickets for friends and relatives who made the two-hour drive from Omaha to watch him make his first triple-A road start against the Iowa Cubs on Sunday.

The 21-year-old certainly didn't disappoint his fan club.

Carlyle came within three outs of pitching a no-hitter in the second game of the Stars' sweep of the Cubs. But former Minnesota Twin Scott Stahoviak's broken-bat bloop single thwarted Carlyle's chance at history and catcher Alan Zinter followed with a two-run double to ruin his bid for a shutout.

The Stars, who won the opener, 4-1, behind the strong four-hit pitching of Bryan Wolff, managed to hold on for a 9-3 victory and left town with a 6-4 record and possession of first place in the Pacific Coast League's Southern Division.

The runs scoring on Zinter's double were the first runs surrendered this season by Carlyle, snapping a shutout streak of 13 innings. He was obtained by the San Diego Padres a year ago from the Cincinnati Reds for erratic reliever Marc Kroon.

Carlyle got plenty of offensive support as the Stars easily surpassed their previous season high for runs (six) despite playing just seven innings.

Third baseman Ed Giovanola had two doubles and Giovanola and leftfielder Dusty Allen both drove in two runs.

In the opener, center fielder Gary Matthews hit the first triple-A homer of his career, a fourth-inning shot deep over the fence in right-center, and also doubled in another run as Wolff easily outdueled Iowa's hard throwing right-hander Kyle Farnsworth, rated the No. 2 prospect in the Cubs' organization.

Following the doubleheader sweep, the Stars boarded a bus and traveled to Omaha where they open a four-game series with the Golden Spikes tonight at Rosenblatt Stadium.

* STARS NOTES: Although the Padres recently activated catcher Phil Nevin, the team did not send a player to Las Vegas. Instead, infielder Carlos Garcia was designated for assignment. Garcia must decide whether to accept the assignment or become a free agent. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres are hoping to find another major league job for Garcia. ...Ex-Star George Arias is expected to have a cast removed from his sprained thumb on Tuesday. There's a good chance Arias could make an injury-rehab assignment in Las Vegas when the Stars return from their current road trip on Friday. ... Iowa Cubs owner Ken Grandquist suffered a stroke in his skybox at Sec Taylor Stadium during Saturday night's game against the Stars. He remains in critical condition today at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

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