Visalia, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino got dominant pitching on Thursday at Recreation Park in Visalia but it was not enough as the Rawhide overcame a 3-0 deficit to down the Sixers 4-3. The loss dropped the Sixers to 0-8 on the season against the Rawhide, all
Visalia, CA- The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino got dominant pitching on Thursday at Recreation Park in Visalia but it was not enough as the Rawhide overcame a 3-0 deficit to down the Sixers 4-3. The loss dropped the Sixers to 0-8 on the season against the Rawhide, all eight games being played on the road.
The Sixers sent Angels righty Keynan Middleton to the mound in his second injury rehab appearance for the club as he works back to Anaheim following Tommy John surgery. Middleton allowed a single, double and a walk to the first three batters he faced and then kicked it into overdrive as he struck out the next three batters, all looking, to escape the inning unscathed. The strikeouts set a precedent for the frame as the 66ers struck out 18 batters on the evening while walking just four. The 66ers (32-59, 6-16) got a run off Visalia starter Justin Lewis in the second when Cam Williams' single scored Mike Stefanic. Inland Empire added two more in the third when Franklin Torres doubled and moved to third on Jordan Zimmerman's single. Stefanic then singled home Torres and Gleyvin Pineda's RBI double scored Zimmerman for a 3-0 lead; the Sixers did not score again. Travis Herrin matched a career-high with nine Ks in his 4.1 innings of relief following Middleton for the 66ers; he allowed two runs, one earned on two hits as the Rawhide (57-31,13-9) plated two in the sixth. Austin Warren struck out five batters in 1.2 innings of work following Herrin. In the eighth, however, Alex King doubled in game-tying run against IE reliever Simon Mathews (0-2) and then with two outs, came home on a fielding error by Stefanic at short for what proved to be the game-winner for the Rawhide. Connor Grey tossed four scoreless frames allowing three hits, no walks and fanning two to earn the win in his first 2019 Cal League outing. Breckin Williams earned his ninth save with a perfect ninth. For the first time in 2019 the 66ers did not draw a walk.
The series concludes on Friday at 7:00 pm. The contest can be heard live at 66ers.com.
