Brandon Mann Slices Up Nuts- Oaks Win 6-3

Brandon Mann took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in pitching the Oaks (16-23) to a 6-3 victory Wednesday night over the Modesto Nuts (19-19). Mann faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings and three times in his eight innings retired seven Nuts in a row. He allowed two runs on just three hits while striking out six and walking one.

The Oaks never trailed Wednesday. In the bottom of the first, doubles by Reid Brignac and Josh Arhart put Visalia up 1-0. Later the Oaks played some small-ball in the third. Fernando Perez drew a leadoff walk and then stole second. Reid Brignac pulled a ball to first base to advance Perez to third with one out. With the middle of the Nuts infield back, Shaun Cumberland drove home Perez with a groundball to shortstop.

Leading 2-0 heading to the sixth, Mann ran into his only trouble of the game. Nuts first baseman Kyle Wilson bounced a single in the hole on the right side of the infield past Josh Asanovhich's dive. With two outs, Nuts centerfielder Chris Frey singled to put the tying runs on. Shortstop Jonathan Herrera doubled home Wilson and Frey, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch his hit into a triple.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Oaks offense, the highest scoring unit in the league, picked up Mann. Josh Arhart started the uprising with a single. John Jaso followed with a homerun into the rightfield corner. It was his third consecutive game with a longball. After Oaks firstbaseman Chris Nowak doubled, Patrick Breen singled him home with a single to right field. Patrick Cottrell's RBI double completed the Oaks scoring put Visalia up 6-2. In the sixth inning in this series, the Oaks have outscored the Nuts 10-2. Nuts starter Ching-Lung Lo didn't finish the sixth.

Oaks reliever Nick DeBarr came in for Mann to begin the ninth and induced a double play ground ball to end the game.

The Oaks won two in a row for the first time in over three weeks and look for their first series sweep of the year on Thirsty Thursday. Beer and Soda are just $1 all night long at Recreation Park. First pitch is 6:35 with the Oaks James Houser (1-4, 5.20) taking on Ryan Mattheus (2-3, 3.73).