Wednesday, May 6, 2009

LAS VEGAS: The Las Vegas 51s professional baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, will host the defending Triple-A & PCL Champions, the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland A’s, in a brief four-game homestand from Friday-Monday, May 8-11 at Cashman Field.

The 51s, under manager Mike Basso, are currently on a four-game road trip in Fresno, Calif.  The trip will conclude on Thursday against the Grizzlies, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.  Las Vegas is 7-18 on the season and 14 of the 18 losses have been by three runs or less.

The series opener on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. will feature a spectacular post-game “Fireworks Show.”

The annual Kids Carnival, sponsored by KYDZ 1140-AM: Radio for Kids and KLUC 98.5 FM, will be presented on Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Cashman Field.  The kids’ carnival is free to fans with a purchase of a game ticket to the Sacramento/51s game at 7:05 p.m.

Game three of the four-game series on Sunday will feature a “Mother’s Day” matinee game at 12:05 p.m. and, to honor the holiday, Ethel M Chocolates will be distributed to the mothers in attendance.

The finale of the homestand on Monday, May 11 will feature “The Sixth Annual Cox Communications School Day” featuring a field trip to 5th grade students in the Clark County School District for the special start time of 10:30 a.m.

Over the past five seasons, a total of 36,640 fans have attended the morning games. Last season (April 22, 2008), a crowd of 7,570 attended the game between Sacramento/Las Vegas.  The 51s hosted Tucson in the inaugural “school day” game on May 6, 2004, before a crowd of 4,224.

The Tobacco Awareness Program, through the Clark County School District, is an important event that takes place prior to the “School Day” game that serves to educate the young students on the dangers of cigarette smoking.

The River Cats have captured back-to-back Triple-A & PCL Championships and have won the PCL crown in four out of the last six seasons (2003-08). Sacramento features five of the top 10 prospects in the A’s organization, according to Baseball America: outfielder Aaron Cunningham (No. 4), infielder Adrian Cardenas (No. 5), left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez (No. 7), right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro (No. 8) and right-handed pitcher James Simmons (No. 10).  

Following the four-game homestand, Las Vegas will begin a stretch of 16 straight games against the American Conference from May 12-28.  Las Vegas will embark on an eight-game Tennessee road trip beginning on Tuesday, May 12 at Memphis. Las Vegas will face the Redbirds, Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in a four-game series from Tuesday-Friday, May 12-15. The 51s will then face the Nashville Sounds, Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, in a four-game series from Saturday-Tuesday, May 16-19.

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