Wild Eighth Sink Ports 10-6
Published on May 12, 2013 under California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
LANCASTER Calif. - Needing one out to help the Stockton Ports escape an eighth-inning jam, Ports closer Jonathan Joseph (3-2) entered the game and, after walking his first batter, recorded two strikeouts. Unfortunately for Joseph, those strikeouts came on wild pitches, two of four wild pitches that were thrown in the inning. The Lancaster JetHawks, taking advantage of good fortune, scored seven runs in the inning, capped off with a grand slam by Matt Duffy to complete a comeback that saw the Ports fall 10-6.
Scoreless through three innings, Stockton scored six runs on seven hits in the fourth. Max Muncy led off with a double and Ryan Delgado doubled him home with one out to give the Ports a 1-0 lead. Phil Pohl came up next and lined an RBI single to center to make it 2-0. With two outs, B.A. Vollmuth brought Pohl in with a single to left. After Myrio Richard singled, Addison Russell hit his second home run in as many games, a three-run blast to right that gave Stockton a 6-0 lead and knocked JetHawks starter Tyson Perez from the contest. Perez allowed six runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work.
The fourth inning proved the only fruitful inning for Stockton as the Ports mustered just one hit after the inning. JetHawks pitching combined to retire 16 of the final 17 Ports batters to finish the ballgame.
Ports starter Drew Granier, who didn't allow a hit through the first four innings, gave up a one-out double to Preston Tucker in the fifth. Two batters later, Tyler Heineman lined an RBI single to center to put Lancaster on the board at 6-1.
Granier came back out for the sixth and surrendered a leadoff double to Brandon Meredith. Two batters later, Meredith scored on an RBI single by Joe Sclafani to cut their deficit to 6-2. Two batters later with runners at the corners and one out, M.P. Cokinos grounded to short to drive in Sclafani and make it a 6-3 contest.
Granier would finish the sixth but receive a no-decision after being in line for his fifth win. Granier went six innings and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five.
Jose Macias pitched a scoreless seventh for the Ports and came back out for the eighth with Stockton in front 6-3. Meredith led off the inning with a ground ball to short that was mishandled by Russell, an error that would prove extremely costly. Macias gave up a single to Nolan Fontana that put runners at the corners with nobody out. Meredith would score on the first of four wild pitches in the frame, cutting the Ports lead to 6-4. Macias struck out Sclafani for the first out and got Andrew Aplin to ground to second for the second out, at which point Joseph was summoned from the bullpen.
With Fontana at third base and two outs, Joseph walked Cokinos. Tucker came up next and struck out, but on a wild pitch was able to advance to first to keep the inning alive as Fontana scored from third to make it 6-5. Telvin Nash came up next and also struck out, but on a wild pitch advanced to first to load the bases. Heineman followed and coaxed a bases-loaded walk that scored Cokinos and tied the game at 6-6. Duffy came up next and hit a grand slam over the left-center field wall to make it a 10-6 Lancaster lead.
Macias was charged with two unearned runs in the inning. Joseph suffered the loss along with his misfortune as he allowed five runs on just one hit over a third of an inning.
David Rollins (3-3), who came on in relief for Lancaster to start the sixth inning, retired 12 of 13 batters he faced including 10 in a row to close out the ballgame and earn the win.
The Ports will try and snap their four-game losing skid, which matches their longest of the year, on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Jake Brown (1-1, 4.81 ERA) will toe the rubber for Stockton, opposed by JetHawks left-hander Kyle Hallock (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who makes first start of the season. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. PDT.
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