Five Storm Homers Sink Ports 11-7
July 13, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Ports gave up a season-high five home runs on Sunday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Of their 16 hits, the Lake Elsinore Storm had 11 go for extra bases as the Storm slugged their way to an 11-7 win to even their series with the Ports at a game apiece.
The teams traded haymakers early in the contest. After Stockton squandered a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs in the first, the Storm jumped into the run column in the second. With one on and one out, Nick Torres, who fell a single short of hitting for the cycle, hit a two-run homer to give the Storm a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Miguel Del Castillo hit a solo blast to right to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Stockton answered back with a five-run second inning. With one on and two out, Storm starter Rafael De Paula (5-7) issued back-to-back walks to Brett Vertigan and Franklin Barreto. With the bases loaded, the catcher Del Castillo attempted a pick-off throw to first base that sailed wide, allowing a run to score at putting runners at the corners. Tyler Marincov then lined an RBI single to left to cut the Storm lead to 3-2. Matt Chapman followed with a three-run homer to right, his 15th of the season to give the Ports a 5-3 advantage.
Following Chapman's home run, De Paula went on to retire 10 of the final 11 batters he faced to get him through the fifth inning, including the final eight-in-a-row. Storm pitching, beginning with the second out of the third inning, set down 14-straight batters to take them into the eighth.
De Paula would go on to pick up the win, going five innings and allowing five runs on five hits while walking four and striking out four.
Ports starter Kyle Finnegan (5-6) would fail to make it out of the third inning. Donavan Tate led off with a single and scored on an ensuing two-run homer by Fernando Perez that tied the game at 5-5. With two outs in the inning, Nick Schulz homered to left to give the Storm the lead back at 6-5. Torres and Gabriel Quintana followed with back-to-back doubles that provided an additional run and knocked Finnegan from the contest.
Finnegan suffered the loss, going two-and-two-thirds innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits.
The Storm built on their lead beginning in the fifth. With two on and one out, Torres lined a triple to the left field corner to make it a 9-5 game. Quintana followed with an RBI double to balloon the lead to 10-5 and knock Ports reliever Sam Roberts from the contest. Roberts allowed three runs on four hits in an inning-and-two-thirds.
Lake Elsinore's final run came in the seventh on a two-out solo homer by Quintana, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles. The run came off Ben Bracewell and it was the only run he allowed in two innings of relief.
The Ports scored a run in each of the final two innings beginning in the eighth. Chapman led off with a double off Storm reliever Genison Reyes, a pop-fly that was lost in the lights. He'd score later in the inning on a fielder's choice groundout by Beau Taylor to cut the Storm lead dto 11-6. In the ninth, Marincov hit a two-out solo home run off Bryan Verbitsky to make it an 11-7 game. It was Marincov's 11th home run of the season and the lone run allowed by Verbitsky in his only inning of work.
The Ports and Storm play the rubber match of their three-game set on Monday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Raul Alcantara (0-0, 4.91 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Storm southpaw Brad Wieck (0-1, 5.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PDT.
California League Stories from July 13, 2015
- Chase Johnson Named California League Pitcher of the Week - San Jose Giants
- Altavilla Spins Gem in Blaze Second Straight Win - Bakersfield Blaze
- Five Storm Homers Sink Ports 11-7 - Stockton Ports
- Giants Win Sixth in a Row Behind Reyes' Gem - San Jose Giants
- Mavs Hand 'Hawks Loss with Five-Run Seventh - Lancaster JetHawks
- McMahon Homers in 4-1 Loss to Giants - Modesto Nuts
- Quakes Slip Past Sixers to End Skid - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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