LOSING STREAK HITS SEASON-HIGH THREE GAMES

OGDEN, UT - In the first inning of Thursday night's game with the Grand Junction Rockies, the Ogden Raptors had runners on the corners but saw the inning end on a botched double steal.
The Raptors, in the ninth, nearly had another first-and-third situation with two out - but an obscure ruling ended the game, resulting in a 4-2 Ogden loss.
With Sauryn Lao on third base in the final frame, Marco Hernandez drew a two-out walk. Hernandez was making his way toward first base when Ogden decided to put Jeremy Arocho in as a pinch runner; Arocho stopped Hernandez before the base to switch helmets and Hernandez headed back to the dugout without touching the bag. A few moments later, the Rockies appealed and Hernandez was called out, ending the game.
Before the obscure play ended the game, the Raptors put plenty of runners on but left 11. Two runners were stranded in the second, third and fifth, and the bases were loaded when the eighth inning ended.
Grand Junction got on the board with two runs in the first. The first batter of the game appeared to foul off an offering, but it was called a hit-by-pitch. After a throwing error and passed ball, he scored on a groundout to the right side. A walk and bloop single plated the second run of the inning.
The top of the third began with a triple to left-center, and that was followed by an RBI single. With two out, a double put the Rockies up, 4-0.
Ogden pitching shut down the visitors from that point on, but the offense couldn't take full advantage of the opponent's goose eggs.
Hernandez drove in both Raptors runs, hammering a sacrifice fly deep to left-center with the bases loaded in the third and singling with two out to knock in Andy Pages from second in the fifth.
The pitching highlight of the night came when Grand Junction loaded the bases with no one out in the fifth. Jeisson Cabrera struck out a batter for the first out, and Jacob Cantleberry recorded a strikeout and flyout to strand all three. Cantleberry pitched a scoreless sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh before being removed; he finished with four strikeouts in 2 and 1/3 innings pitched.
The Raptors have now lost three straight games for the first time in 2019, and five consecutive games against Grand Junction, their likely opponent in the first round of the playoffs. They will try to avoid a three-game sweep in the finale between the two teams in the regular season, scheduled for 6:30 PM Friday night.