Calabuig, Ports even set with Rawhide

It's safe to say Chase Calabuig has a flair for timing.
Playing in front of his mother and grandmother in Game 2 of the California League semifinals, the Oakland outfield prospect belted his first professional home run and doubled while scoring three runs and driving in two as Class A Advanced Stockton evened its best-of-5 series with Visalia with an 8-7 win.

Gameday box score
Calabuig got his team started in the bottom of the first inning, following Kevin Merrell's leadoff single with an RBI double to center field. Oakland's 27th-round Draft selection this year crossed the plate two batters later on Viosergy Rosa's RBI single to give Stockton a 2-0 lead.
"I got the engine rolling," Calabuig said. "Kevin did a great job starting us off as he always does, got that clutch hit to start. Luckily, I was able to hop on one I was looking for and drive it into the gap. With the wheels Kevin has, he was no doubt scoring. Getting on the board with Rosa and everybody else coming through for us, it was a big moment for us. That's how you want to start a game."
After the Ports put three more runs on the board in the third, the Rawhide answered with two in the fourth. Calabuig responded by connecting on a leadoff homer to right in the fourth with his mother, Jamie, and grandmother, Darhl Thorpe, in the stands.
"It was a new guy," he said of Visalia reliever Cole Bartlett. "We hadn't faced him yet. He threw that changeup low. I was sitting fastball, but he hung another changeup I think it was. I was able to stay through it, drive the ball hard. It was on a line, but we've got this little short porch, and I'll take it. First professional home run, and I was excited."
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Visalia recovered two more runs in the fifth, but Stockton appeared to pull away in the eighth when Calabuig, Luke Persico and Rosa walked to load the bases with one out, and Brett Siddall singled to left to bring in two insurance runs.
The Rawhide didn't go quietly. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, No. 4 D-backs prospectPavin Smith delivered a two-RBI single. Ramon Hernandez followed with a run-scoring single to right, but Smith was thrown out at the plate by Ports left fielder Persico while trying to score on a single by Renae Martinez.
"You feel pretty good," Calabuig said of heading into the ninth with a four-run lead. "You feel pretty confident that our guys are going to come in [and close it]. We've got [Angel Duno], our closer, and he's going to shut the door. But some nights, that's the thing about baseball. You don't have your stuff or don't have your best, and they made a heck of a run. That lineup is tough to get through. They put some great ABs together and gave themselves a great opportunity. Luke Persico has an absolute hose out there in left field. He's thrown out guys all year. Ever since I've been here, I've been watching this guy hose guys. It was a money throw, perfect tag, and there was nothing they could do about it."

Sam Sheehan got Anfernee Grier to ground out to third for the game's final out.
"It's a big sigh of relief," Calbuig said. "The team definitely came into it a little tense. You could tell there was a little energy in the dugout. We knew we needed this one pretty bad. In the end, we pulled it out. We stayed strong, held the 8-4 to 8-7 and were able to pull it off. Now that we're 1-1, we feel like we're right back in it. It becomes a three-game series, first to two, and we feel pretty good about our odds."

In other Cal League playoff action:

Quakes 6, JetHawks 5
Rancho Cucamonga evened the best-of-5 series with Lancaster after a hot start. The Quakes put three runs on the board in the first inning, highlighted by Carlos Rincon's two-run double. Rincon led the way at the plate with a homer and two doubles. Six of Rancho Cucamonga's nine hits were for extra bases. Gameday box score