CalL1 Stockton Ports

Ports Surge Late, But Fall 5-4 to Quakes

Published on July 1, 2016 under California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release


RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The Stockton Ports rallied late on Thursday night, but saw the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes hit one too many home runs in the opener of a four-game series at Loan Mart Field. The Quakes hit three homers in the contest, including one to break a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning off the bat of Edwin Rios, on their way to a 5-4 win over the Ports as Stockton suffered its fourth straight loss.

The Quakes took advantage of an early Ports miscue to jump out to a quick lead. Erick Mejia led off the first inning and reached on a throwing error committed by third baseman Jose Brizuela. After back-to-back fly outs were induced by Ports starter Matt Stalcup, Matt Beaty hit a two-run homer to right that gave the Quakes a 2-0 lead.

Rancho Cucamonga added to its lead in the fourth inning on a leadoff homer hit by Rios, the first of two on the night, to make it a 3-0 advantage. It was the final run allowed by Stalcup, who did not factor into the decision after going five innings and allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits while walking one and not recording a strikeout.

Meanwhile, the Ports could not figure out Quakes starter Tommy Bergjans. Bergjans set down eight-in-a-row before allowing a two-out single to Mikey White in the third followed by a walk to James Harris. After Harris walked, Bergjans set down 10 consecutive batters to complete his outing. Bergjans would be rendered a no-decision after retiring 18 of the 20 batters he faced while tossing six scoreless innings.

Joey Wagman (2-4) took over to begin the sixth and pitched a scoreless first inning. In the seventh, however, Wagman gave up a one-out single to Michael Ahmed, who went to second on a wild pitch and third on a throwing error by the catcher Argenis Raga. Devon Ahart followed with an RBI single to left to increase the Quakes lead to 4-0.

Bubby Rossman took over for the Quakes in the seventh and pitched around a leadoff single in his first inning of work. Stockton's offense would come to life in a big way versus Rossman in the eighth. With one out, Raga drew a walk followed by back-to-back singles from Brizuela and White that loaded the bases. Harris came up and broke up the shutout with an RBI single to left that also knocked Rossman from the game. Jeff Malm (1-0) came on and got Richie Martin to hit a sac-fly to right that scored Brizuela. White also tagged from second and started toward third that drew an errant throw from the first baseman Ahmed who cut the throw from the outfield. Ahmed's throw to third went into foul territory, allowing White to score and Harris to reach second base. B.J. Boyd followed with an RBI single to left that scored Harris and tied the game at 4-4.

All four runs in the eighth inning were charged to Rossman who did not factor into the decision after allowing four runs on four hits over an inning-and-a-third.

Rios led off the bottom of the eighth for the Quakes with what would end up being the game-winning home run to right field, the only homer allowed by Wagman. It gave the Quakes a 5-4 lead. Wagman suffered the loss, going three innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four.

Malm, who suffered the blown save in the eighth, set the side down in order in the ninth to notch his first win of the season.

The Ports and Quakes play the second game of their four-game series on Friday night at Loan Mart Field. Left-hander Zack Erwin (3-7, 5.35 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-1, 1.50 ERA), who makes the start on a Major League rehab assignment for the Quakes. First pitch 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 July 1, 2016


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