51s Host Sacramento in Four-Game Series (June 23-26)
The 51s, under manager Marty Brown, are currently 40-32 (.556) on the season and in third place in the Pacific Southern Division, five games behind the Fresno Grizzlies (PCL best record, 45-27, .625), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The River Cats are in second place in the most competitive PCL division in 2012, with a 45-28 (.616) record. The 51s will conclude their brief four-game road trip in Tucson, Ariz., against the Padres, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, on Friday evening. Las Vegas is 34-17 (.667) over its last 51 games, since beginning the season with a 6-15 record.
Las Vegas is averaging 4,658 fans (181,646) through 39 home dates in the 2012 campaign. The season-high crowd was 11,465 vs. Salt Lake on May 7 and the second-largest crowd was 11,346 vs. Colorado Springs on June 15. The Las Vegas franchise has reached the 300,000 plateau in "home" attendance in all 29 seasons (1983-2011) and the all-time attendance total now stands at 9,856,644. The 51s will welcome the 10-millionth fan at Cashman Field if the attendance reaches the 325,000 mark in 2012.
The opener of the four-game series on Saturday against the River Cats will feature 51s Beer Stein Night, to the first 2,500 fans through the gates (gates open at 6 p.m.).
The final "home" matinee contest of the season will be featured on Sunday, June 24 at 12:05 p.m. The 51s will play the remainder of the "Sunday home" schedule at 7:05 p.m. on July 22 (vs. Reno), July 29 (vs. Salt Lake) and August 12 (vs. Iowa Cubs).
Game three of the four-game series will feature Value Menu Monday (June 25) at 7:05 p.m. The 51s and Aramark, for the fourth season, have teamed together for discounted food items on Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Pretzels for just $1.00 per item!
Sacramento's roster features five of the top 10 prospects in the A's organization, according to Baseball America: Right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock (No. 2), outfielder Grant Green (No. 6), catcher Derek Norris (No. 7), outfielder Jermaine Mitchell (No. 8) and outfielder Michael Taylor (No. 9). Outfielder Chris Carter is also a member of the River Cats and is a 2005 graduate of Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas.
The River Cats have been the top affiliate of the Oakland A's since 2000. The Vancouver franchise (1978-99) moved to Northern California in 2000. The River Cats have dominated the Pacific Southern Division and have finished in first place for five straight seasons (2007-11) and 10 out of 12 seasons overall (2000-11). Sacramento has won the PCL Championship four times (2003-04; 2007-08 & Triple-A Champions).
The 51s broadcast all games on Lotus Broadcasting on Fox Sports Radio 920 AM, which will carry live all 144 regular season games. Also, all games will be available on the 51s website (Major League Baseball Advanced Media, MLBAM) at LV51.com. Russ Langer, the seven-time Nevada Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA), is in his 13th season behind the microphone calling 51s baseball.
All 51s games will also be broadcast on MiLB.TV via MiLB.com and LV51.com.
Following the homestand, the 51s will embark on a seven-game road trip beginning in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, June 27 against the Tacoma Rainiers, Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The three-game series will conclude on Friday, June 29. Las Vegas will then travel to Northern Nevada to face intrastate rival, the Reno Aces, Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in a four-game series at Aces Ballpark from Saturday-Tuesday, June 30 - July 3.
Tickets for all 51s home games can be purchased at the Cashman Field box office. The box office is open Monday-Friday (non game days) from Noon to 4:30 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased through Ticketmaster (1-800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com). Ticketmaster outlets are located at selected Smith's Food & Drug.
The individual game tickets for the 72-game home season are priced at $10.00 (reserved), $13.00 (plaza) and $14.00 (field). The traditional $2.00 discount for Military personnel is offered on plaza and reserved seats throughout the season except for the "Fireworks Extravaganza" on Wednesday, July 4 (all seats at $14.00). It marks only the second time in the 30-year history that Las Vegas has played at Cashman Field on Independence Day (July 4, 1986 vs. Albuquerque, A-11,598).
Season tickets and mini-plan packages (10 & 10-Game You Pick'em, 20, 33-game plans) are available by calling the 51s office at (702) 798-7825.
Official licensed 51s team merchandise is available on the "Team Shop" section of the website at LV51.com.