EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Picking guys up, whether they're on the bases or on the mound, paid off for the Miners in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Evansville at Bosse Field.

Starting pitcher Ryan Bird picked up his fifth win on a night when he admitted he didn't have his best stuff. Kevin Koski picked up extra bases and aided Brad Miller's first home run of the season. Armando Carrasco picked himself up off the turf to earn his second save in as many nights.

The result? Southern Illinois picked up its fourth straight road series win and improve its road record to 12-8.

"For some reason we're playing really well on the road," manager Mike Pinto said. "I think the key to these wins is we have to get good starting pitching."

Bird (5-3) picked up six strikeouts in six innings to take over the Frontier League lead with 56. He held the Otters to three runs, one earned, on five hits. Bird has 15 strikeouts in 13 innings against Evansville.

"He was every bit of what his numbers showed tonight," Verdugo said. "He attacked the zone and missed a lot of bats."

And it was an off night for Bird.

"I didn't have my best stuff. I could tell," Bird said. "It just didn't seem like I had the life on my fastball. The curveball wasn't breaking as much as I'd have liked it to, but these are the ones that make you the pitcher you are when you don't have your best stuff."

Brandon Jones put the Miners on the board early with a leadoff home run for a 1-0 lead in the second inning. One inning later, Miller picked up two more runs to push the Miners ahead, 3-0, with one swing.

"It was a 2-0 fastball I actually golfed out," Miller said. "It was a pretty good pitch by the pitcher. I got extra aggressive thanks to Koski stealing third and giving me an easy opportunity. He did a great job of setting the table."

Koski reached base four times in five plate appearances with three singles and one walk. He also stole two bases.

Miller tied Brandon Jones, who had a leadoff home run in the second, with a game-high two RBIs. Jones drove in his second runner with a double in the sixth inning that gave the Miners a 4-3 lead.

The win kept the Miners in at least a second place tie in the Frontier League's West Division. First-place River City's game with Gateway was suspended because of rain in the fourth inning. The Rascals entered the game with a 21-19 record.

"Everybody is so bunched together, there are little things that make a difference," Pinto said.

The Miners did some little thing right in the win. Pinto said before the game he wanted to get an early run off Evansville starter Justin Jordan (4-5) with small ball. Koski reached second base with one out in the first inning but could not score.

"Unfortunately we didn't get it in the first, but we were able to get it in later," Pinto said. "Fortunately we had a couple long balls."

The Miners got the small run in the sixth after Jones followed Joey Metropoulos' leadoff double with a double of his own. Willie Keene sacrificed Jones to third and Brendan Akashian drove him in one batter later for a 5-3 lead.

The insurance run proved big when Carrasco walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning and allowed Christian Reyes' sacrifice fly to center to cut Southern Illinois' advantage to 5-4. Carrasco was able to pick up a swinging strikeout to end the game and improve Southern Illinois' record to 17-1 when leading after seven innings.

Evansville tied the game, 3-3, in the third on three hits, a sacrifice fly and an error.

Mike Sullivan led off the frame with a single to right. Justin Randall followed with a single to center. Joey Metropoulos' fielding error in right on a Daniel Burton's sacrifice fly scored Sullivan. Reyes' groundout scored Randall. Isaac Omura's two-out double off the wall in left drove in Burton for the tie.

Jordan gave up five earned runs on seven hits over six innings in the loss. Jones finished with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in four at-bats.

The loss dropped Evansville's record to 19-22. Southern Illinois wraps up the series at 7:05 p.m. today.

Southern Illinois 012 002 000 - 5 8 2

Evansville 003 000 001 - 4 7 1

Bird, Bailey (7), Carrasco (9) and Akashian. Jordan, Utley (7), Lewis (9) and Pinnino. W - Bird (5-3). L - Jordan (4-5). S - Carrasco (3). Top Hitters - Southern Illinois: Koski 3-4, Miller 1-4 (HR, 2BI), Jones 2-4 (2B, HR, 2BI), Metropoulos 1-4 (2B). Evansville: Randall 2-3, Omura 2-5 (2B). Records - Southern Illinois is 21-20. Evansville is 19-22.

dw_norris@yahoo.com