Salem moves back into first-place tie By Marc Schlotthauer The Statesman Journal The Salem Dodgers reclaimed a share of first place in the Northern Division of the Northwest League on Sunday, defeating the Southern Oregon Athletics 10-1 at Chemeketa Field. Winning pitcher Ramon Ta-veras (2-0) turned in his best performance of the season, allowing three hits and one unearned run through six innings of work. More importantly, Taveras struck out six and walked only one batter, throwing a total of 27 called balls against 22 Southern Oregon batters. Salem manager Tom Beyers said he was impressed with Taveras' outing. "That's the best I've seen him throw," he said. "I'm real happy with our staff, they've all got good stuff. It's just a matter of them going out there and throwing strikes and challenging the hitters." Salem pitchers walked 10 batters Saturday in a 3-2 loss. Taveras' fastball was consistently clocked at just under 90 mph, and he was throwing as hard as 93 mph in the first inning. Dodger relievers Bill Bene and Napoleon Robinson in three innings combined to allow two hits and one unearned run. The victory enabled Salem to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Athletics. A loss would have left the Dodgers two games out of first and tied with Eugene (5-5). Beyers said: "It would have been real tough to go on the road with a three-game losing streak. We played well tonight." The Dodger bats came alive for 14 hits, five for extra bases. Chris Morrow, leading the Northwest League in hitting at .476, had three RBI, two runs and two hits, including a two-run homer. Brock McMurray added two hits and two RBI, and Rex Peters had three hits. Salem (6-4) entered the game hitting .325 as a team, leading the Northwest League. Beyers said Morrow's performance didn't surprise him. "He's swung the bat well all season," he said. "If our guys keep hitting well like they've been doing, we'll keep it together as a team." Salem took the lead for good in the first inning. With two outs and no one on base, Peters singled to left, and McMurray singled to right scoring Peters with the help of Steve LeMuth's fielding error. Morrow followed with his first home run of the season. Ahead 4-1 in the fifth inning, the Dodgers erupted for six runs as the first six batters reached base with hits. Only two Salem, players failed to hit safely in the game.