San Jose Takes Finale, Series

Rancho Cucamonga, CA- The Quakes dropped just their second series of the year, losing three of four to the San Jose Giants, after Monday's 4-2 loss at LoanMart Field.

The series loss snaps a stretch of seven straight series wins, as the Quakes drop their first set since they dropped three of four home games to Lake Elsinore to open the season. 

San Jose broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of unearned runs in the seventh. Cristian Paulino reached on a throwing error to open the inning, stole second, then advanced to third on a throwing error. After reliever Kyle Hooper (1-1) struck out Ronnie Jebavy, Steven Duggar lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Paulino to give the Giants the lead for good. Chris Shaw added a two-out RBI single later in the inning, giving the Giants a 4-2 lead.

Rancho threatened in the seventh, putting two men on with only one out, but reliever Pat Young (2-0) worked through it to strand a pair.

San Jose reliever Reyes Moronta pitched a scoreless eighth, while Rodolfo Martinez kept the Quakes off the board with a perfect ninth to record his league-leading 12th save of the year.

The Quakes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, as Joey Curletta singled home Matt Beaty with two outs, making it a 1-0 game.

Johan Mieses connected against Giants' starter Martin Agosta with one out in the fifth, homering for the fifth time this year, extending Rancho's lead to 2-0.

Quakes' starter Andrew Sopko gave up three hits in the first inning and scattered six hits over the first five innings, until the Giants finally broke through in the sixth to even things up. With one out, Sopko walked Chris Shaw, then gave up a double to Jonah Arenado. Sopko looked like he may get out of the inning with the lead still intact, after a strikeout of Jose Vizcaino, Jr. With two outs though, Brandon Bednar ripped one up the middle for a two-run single, tying the game at 2-2.

Rancho (29-16) will hit the road for seven games in six days, starting on Tuesday in Bakersfield. The Quakes will send Grant Holmes (3-2) to the series in game one, while the Blaze will counter with Andrew Moore (3-1), with first pitch scheduled for 7:30pm. 

The Quakes will return to LoanMart Field on Wednesday, June 1st, as they host the Lake Elsinore Storm in the first game of a seven-game home stand. June 1st is another Terra Vista Animal Hospital Bark in the Ballpark, as four-legged friends are welcome at LoanMart Field with the purchase of a $3 Pet Pass. Game time is 7:05pm and tickets are available at (909) 481-5000 or online at rcquakes.com. We hope to see you at LoanMart Field very soon...Go Quakes!