Blasts Lift Blaze Past Ports 5-1
August 22, 2016 - California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Bakersfield Blaze hit four home runs that accounted for all of their scoring on Sunday night at Banner Island Ballpark. The Stockton Ports, meanwhile, went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position as the Ports dropped the rubber match of a three-game series to the Blaze by a final of 5-2, putting the Ports seven games back of first place with 13 games remaining on the schedule.
The Ports scored the first run of the game out of the gate in the bottom of the first. Richie Martin singled to left, stole second and scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by B.J. Boyd to give Stockton the initial lead.
Bakersfield hit the first of its four home runs in the top of the second. After a one-out infield single by Kyle Petty, Joe DeCarlo hit the first of his two home runs on the night out to left field to give the Blaze a 2-1 lead. Ports starter Grant Holmes (9-7) was victimized by the long ball again in the top of the third. With one out, Gianfranco Wawoe homered to left to make it a 3-1 Blaze advantage.
Holmes would escape a bases-loaded one-out jam in the fourth by inducing a double-play and he'd pitch around a spot in the fifth with a runner at third and one out to keep the deficit at two. Holmes, however, went on to suffer the loss, going five innings and allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out two.
Blaze starter Osmer Morales (4-5) pitched around a one-out double in the second, a leadoff double in the third, a one-out single in the fifth and a single and a walk with one out in the sixth. Morales went on to earn the win, going six innings and allowing one run on six hits while striking out five.
Joey Wagman pitched three scoreless frames for the Ports beginning in the sixth. Victor Veliz took over in the ninth and was greeted with back-to-back home runs by DeCarlo and Austin Wilson that ran the Blaze lead to 5-1. They were the only two hits allowed by Veliz in his lone inning of work.
Spencer Herrmann would take over for the Blaze out of the bullpen beginning in the seventh and pitched around a walk and a hit batter with two outs. Darin Gillies gave up a leadoff double to John Nogowski in the eighth, but Nogowski never made it past second base as Gillies held Stockton out of the run column in the eigth.
Ramon Morla took over for the Blaze in the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Martin, who went 3-for-4 on the night. Two batters later with two outs, Boyd lined a double to left that hit off the glove of the sliding left fielder Chantz Mack, allowing Martin to score and cutting the Blaze lead to 5-2. Nogowski came up next and hit a ground ball up the middle that was fielded by shortstop Jay Baum who spun around and made the throw to first on one hop as it was picked out by Petty to end the ballgame.
Following the day off on Monday, the Ports embark on a six-game road trip on Tuesday beginning with three games at Inland Empire. Brett Graves (7-9, 4.50 ERA) makes the start in the series opener for Stockton, opposed by 66ers right-hander Jared Ruxer (1-4, 4.78 ERA). First pitch at San Manuel Stadium is set for 7:05 p.m. PDT. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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California League Stories from August 22, 2016
- Cal League to Downsize in 2017 - CalL1
- DeCarlo & Morales Torpedo Ports - Bakersfield Blaze
- Mavericks' Seven-Run Sixth Sinks Sixers - Inland Empire 66ers
- Blasts Lift Blaze Past Ports 5-1 - Stockton Ports
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