Pascucci Hits Three Homers, Z's Rally To Win In 10

LISTEN TO THE RADIO CALL OF PASCUCCI'S 3RD HOMER

LISTEN TO THE RADIO CALL OF RODRIGUEZ'S GAME WINNER

No Zephyr had ever hit three home runs at Zephyr Field, until Saturday night. Valentino Pascucci went deep three times, yet the New Orleans Zephyrs still needed to come from behind with two runs in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Tucson Sidewinders on Saturday, 8-7.

Pascucci homered off Tucson starter and former Tulane star Micah Owings in the third, a two-run shot, and in the sixth, a solo blast. With the Zephyrs trailing 6-3 in the eighth, Chris Aguila led off with a walk against reliever Reid Mahon, and Pascucci followed by belting a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left-center field to draw the Zephyrs within a run.

After Michel Abreu singled, Tucson turned to Dustin Glant, but Anderson Hernandez connected for a triple off the center field wall to plate Abreu and tie the score at 6-6.

With one out, the Zephyrs attempted a suicide squeeze, but Abraham Nunez missed the bunt and Hernandez was easily tagged out, ending the threat.

The game went into extra innings, where Tucson took the lead in the 10th on a Frank Curreri pinch-hit RBI single. But again the Zephyrs rallied, and again it was behind Aguila getting on base to lead off the inning.

Aguila doubled off Glant (2-3), and scored on a single by Michel Abreu to knot the game at 7-7. Pascucci walked and with two out, John Rodriguez came up as a pinch-hitter in his first game action since July 26, and laced a single into right-center to score Pascucci with the game-winner.

Pascucci finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored and five RBI, and became the first Zephyr to hit three home runs in a game at home, and the first overall since Lance Berkman at Las Vegas on April 15, 2000.

Ivan Maldonado (3-4) picked up the win, despite allowing the Sidewinders run in the top of the 10th. That was the only run the Zephyrs bullpen allowed in 5.2 innings on the night, and in 13.2 innings during the four-game series.

The Zephyrs welcome the Las Vegas 51s to New Orleans on Sunday at 6:00 p.m., with RHP Claudio Vargas getting the nod in the opener of the four-game series for the Z's.

Game 3: Zephyrs 9, Sidewinders 3

LISTEN TO THE RADIO CALL OF AGUILA'S HOMER

The New Orleans Zephyrs got home runs from Chris Aguila and Michel Abreu in a four-run first inning, and Jesus Feliciano added four hits to lead the Zephyrs past the Tucson Sidewinders on Friday, 9-3.

After Tucson took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Feliciano led off the bottom half with a single and Andy Green followed with a walk. Aguila then hit a towering drive over the left field fence to give the Zephyrs a lead they would not relinquish.

Abreu's homer two outs later, the first of his three hits, made it 4-1.

Zephyrs starter Brian Stokes needed the run support, as he fought control problems through his five innings of work. Stokes (10-8) gave up three runs - two earned - on four hits and walked five, including the pitcher twice. The win was his first since beating Nashville on July 12.

Feliciano collected a hit in each of his first four plate appearances, his first four-hit effort of the season and the eighth overall by a Zephyr.

Third baseman Dan Murphy, promoted from Double-A Binghamton earlier in the day, went 1-for-4 with two runs scored in his New Orleans debut.

The Zephyrs and Sidewinders conclude their four-game set on Saturday at 6 p.m., when RHP Nelson Figueroa opposes former Tulane star RHP Micah Owings.

Game 2: Sidewinders 5, Zephyrs 3

Max Scherzer struck out seven batters in three innings of work, and three Tucson relievers combined for eight more strikeouts as the New Orleans Zephyrs fell to the Sidewinders 5-3 on Thursday night.

Scherzer allowed just one hit in his three innings, and struck out the side in the third to cap his seven-strikeout performance.

Meanwhile, Zephyrs starter Ruddy Lugo struggled with his command, surrendering three runs in the second when he gave up two hits, two walks, hit a batter, and threw a wild pitch.

Josh Whitesell led off the third inning with his 21st home run, giving Tucson a 4-0 advantage.

Lugo (7-10) took the loss after yielding five runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked four.

The Zephyrs cut the lead in half on a two-run homer by Valentino Pascucci in the fourth, also his 21st home run of the year.

Gustavo Molina added a solo shot in the seventh inning, his sixth of the year, to account for the Zephyrs offense, whose 15 strikeouts were the most since fanning 16 times against Nashville on April 14, 2007.

The third game of the series is Friday at 7:00 p.m., with RHP Brian Stokes facing RHP Matt Torra.

Game 1: Zephyrs 7, Sidewinders 1

Jonathan Niese went seven innings in his Triple-A debut, and the New Orleans Zephyrs topped the Tucson Sidewinders 7-1 on Wednesday night.

Niese, a 21-year-old ranked among the top prospects in the New York Mets organization, held Tucson to three hits over seven innings and allowed just one run in his first game since being called up from Double-A Binghamton.

The southpaw had tossed a seven-inning shutout in his last start for the B-Mets, and made an impression with the Zephyrs by notching seven strikeouts while throwing 96 pitches, 65 for strikes.

The Zephyrs gave him an early lead in the second, as they strung together four singles to score a run, capped by an RBI single by Abraham Nunez.

They tacked on another run the following inning on an RBI groundout by Chris Aguila.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Anderson Hernandez delivered a two-run triple, and the Zephyrs broke the game open with a three-run seventh, keyed by a two-RBI double by Raul Casanova.

Valentino Pascucci scored three times for New Orleans.

The Zephyrs continue their series with the Sidewinders on Thursday at 7 p.m., with RHP Ruddy Lugo facing RHP Max Scherzer.