Shortstop Jesus Merchan of the Sidewinders dives for a ball in the sixth inning Tuesday night in a game against the Portland Beavers.

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Tuesday night's Tucson Sidewinders game played out similar to many others in this final season.

The offense could not overcome struggling pitching, and the bullpen faltered down the stretch in Tucson's 10-4 loss to Portland.

The Beavers, a San Diego Padres affiliate, improved to 11-5 against Tucson, salvaging a split in the four-game series.

"We didn't finish very well," manager Bill Plummer said.

Its offense powerful but its pitching inconsistent all season, Tucson stands at 56-72, last in the Pacific Coast League's Pacific Southern division entering the final road trip.

Jamie D'Antona, Jesus Merchan and Josh Whitesell remain in the top six for league batting honors, and the team's average of .296 ranks second in the PCL.

"The offense here is unbelievable," catcher Robby Hammock said before the game. "These guys can hit. I'm just hoping some of them are rewarded in September."

The pitching has been another story. The club's ERA of 5.41 was second to last in the PCL.

"That's one of the reasons why we're where we are," Plummer said.

"A lot of guys are learning," Hammock said. "Maybe some guys are here who shouldn't be yet. It's a tough league to get adjusted to. The competition is better, the travel and stuff like that."

Plummer stressed the club has improved. Since their dreadful 7-20 start to the season, the Sidewinders are 49-52.

The team will play five games in Salt Lake and six in Colorado Springs before it returns to TEP on Aug. 29 for a four-game homestand, the last of the season — and likely last of the franchise. The team is expected to move to Reno, Nev., next year.

In the next two weeks, players will vie for spots on major- league rosters, which expand on Sept. 1.

"I'd just like to see guys finish strong who have put good years together," Plummer said. "A lot of times it's how you do these last three weeks or month to have an opportunity to get called up. A lot of guys are playing for next year, the six-year free agents."

The Sidewinders used five consecutive hits to score four runs in the third inning. Portland matched Tucson with four in the fourth off starter Evan MacLane (7-7).

The Beavers' Chip Ambres hit a two-out solo home run off MacLane in the fifth for a 5-4 lead. Portland added three runs off Dustin Glant in the eighth and two off Brandon Medders in the ninth.

● The Sidewinders have not been too fond of the Tucson Electric Park playing surface, which sports an uneven infield and bare patches across the outfield. "It's atrocious out there," Plummer said. "Somebody's going to get hurt. There are some bad hops out there."

● Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton (oblique) had Tuesday off from his rehab stint with Tucson and is expected to go on the road today. He is 9 for 25 in games with the Sidewinders. "He's been a little inconsistent," Plummer said. "He's only had a few at-bats. You get him another 4 to 5 games, it can be a completely different story — put some at-bats together and get him into playing shape. You sit for 30 days, it's tough to turn it up right away."

Portland ab r h bi Sidewinders ab r h bi

Dowdy ss 5 0 1 2 Raines cf 5 1 3 0

Venable cf 5 0 0 0 Oeltjen lf 5 1 1 0

McAnulty lf 4 1 2 0 D'Antona 3b 5 1 2 1

Ambres rf 4 2 2 1 Whitesell 1b 4 1 2 1

Sinisi 1b 5 2 3 0 Merchan ss 4 0 2 1

Huber 3b 5 2 3 3 Hammock c 4 0 0 0

Wooten c 5 2 2 1 Avlas rf 4 0 1 1

Antonelli 2b 4 1 3 2 Kelly 2b 4 0 1 0 Estes p 2 0 1 1 MacLane p 3 0 0 0

King ph 1 0 0 0 Mercado ph 1 0 0 0

Thatcher p 1 0 0 0

Totals 41 10 17 10 Totals 39 4 12 4

Portland 000 410 032 — 10

Sidewinders 004 000 000 — 4

E: Huber, Sinisi, Hammock. DP: Portland 1, Tucson 2. LOB: Portland 8, Tucson 8. 2B: Huber 2, Sinisi, Raines, D'Antona, Merchan. HR: Ambres (20).

Portland IP H R ER BB SO

Estes 4 9 4 4 0 2

Ellis W, 1-1 1 1 0 0 0 0

Gonzalez H, 3 1 1 0 0 0 1

Meredith H, 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Thatcher 2 1 0 0 0 3

Sidewinders

MacLane L, 7-7 6 8 5 5 1 3

Glant 1 1/3 6 3 3 1 1

Fruto 2/3 0 0 0 1 1

Medders 1 3 2 2 0 0

IBB: by Glant (Ciofrone). HBP: by MacLane (Antonelli). Time: 2:45. Attendance: 2,262.