The Las Vegas 51s, the top hitting team in the Pacific Coast League, arrived at Zephyr Field on Saturday night on a hot streak. The Zephyrs, who entered the game with the lowest team ERA in the PCL, sent out their No. 1 starter, Alex Sanabia, in an effort to slow down the visitors.
There was no controlling them Saturday.
The 51s hit four homers, a two-run shot by Travis d’Arnaud and solo shots by Adeiny Hechavarria, Yan Gomes and Anthony Gose, in an 8-0 pounding of the Zephyrs.
Gose went 4-for-5 and scored three runs for Las Vegas, which has won 13 of its past 15 games.
The 51s started fast, scoring two runs in the first.
Hechavarria led off with a drive over the wall in left for his third homer of the season. Gose followed with a single, moved to second on a passed ball and stole third. Travis Snider drove him home with a groundout. Zephyrs left fielder Bryan Petersen helped prevent further trouble, making a nice running catch of a drive hit by d’Arnaud to deep left center.
There was no defense against d’Arnaud in the third. He hit a two-run homer over the left field wall to give the 51s a 4-0 lead. Gose, who singled with one out, scored in front of d’Arnaud.
In the fourth, Gomes hit a long homer over the wall in left to give the 51s a 5-0 lead.
Gose led off the fifth with a homer to right, making the score 6-0 and knocking Sanabia out of the game.
Las Vegas starter Jesse Chavez (5-1), the beneficiary of the support, allowed three hits and didn’t walk a batter in eight innings. Kevin Crawford finished the shutout with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The only Zephyrs threat came in the first. Scott Cousins, who was returning from the disabled list, doubled to the wall in right-center with one out. Chris Coghlan singled to right, sending Cousins to third. But Chavez retired Luke Montz on a fly ball to short left, and Mike Cervenak on a pop foul to first.
Cervenak, who doubled in the fourth, got the other hit off Chavez, who retired 24 of the last 25 batters he faced.
Young players on the rise in the Toronto system provided the power Saturday for Las Vegas. Gose is 21, d’Arnaud and Hechavarria are 23, and Gomes is 24. Las Vegas Manager Marty Brown mentioned outfielder Moises Sierra, 23, who went 1-for-3 with a walk, as another promising youngster on the team.
“They had their struggles early on,’’ Brown said. “They’re trying to make adjustments for the league, being at this level.’’
The Blue Jays acquired d’Arnaud in 2007 in the trade that sent pitcher Roy Halladay to Philadelphia. Last year, d’Arnaud hit .311 with 21 homers and 78 RBIs at Double-A New Hampshire and led the Eastern League in slugging percentage (.542).
Hechavarria played on the Cuban junior national team before defecting to Mexico in 2009. The Blue Jays signed him to a big-league contract in 2010.
Gose, who was the Phillies’ second-round pick in 2008, went to the Astros in the July 2010 trade that brought pitcher Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. The same day, the Astros traded Gose to Toronto for Brett Wallace.
Gomes, who was the Blue Jays’ 10th-round pick in 2009, is leading the 51s in hitting at .367.
Notes: Catcher Jake Jefferies was sent to Double-A Jacksonville to make room for Cousins on the roster. … Zephyrs left-hander Brad Hand (2-2, 3.58) will pitch against Las Vegas left-hander Aaron Laffey (1-4, 5.63) in a game starting at 2 p.m. today.
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