MODESTO, CA - Reggie McClain entered the game with a 9.17 ERA in the month of June, but in his second start of the second half he returned to form by tossing his first career complete game on just 92 pitches.
MODESTO, CA - Reggie McClain entered the game with a 9.17 ERA in the month of June, but in his second start of the second half he returned to form by tossing his first career complete game on just 92 pitches.
McClain (W, 8-5) earned his first win since May 31 by shutting down the Rawhide in order four times tonight, including a span of ten batters set down in a row between the fourth and eighth innings. He punched out eight, his highest total since May 19 against San Jose.
Visalia (39-39, 3-5) scored their lone run of the game in the second when Marty Herum doubled off the wall in right field, moved to third on a Grant Heyman groundout and then scored on a Matt Jones groundout. Visalia finished by scoring just four runs over the course of the four-game series.
Modesto (45-33, 6-2) plated three runs in the second and an additional three in the third against Rawhide starter Jose Almonte (L, 5-6), who allowed the six runs on just three hits, but he also walked three, hit a batter with the bases loaded, threw a wild pitch, and suffered a run-scoring error. He also surrendered a single run in the fourth and fifth innings, with a solo home run by Joe DeCarlo capping his evening. He surrendered eight runs, six earned, in 4.1 innings with three strikeouts, three walks, and a hit batsman.
Keegan Long then came on and threw 3.2 phenomenal innings of relief tonight, surrendering no runs on three hits and striking out one.
But for every zero Long put on the scoreboard, McClain fired back with another.
The Rawhide totaled six hits, including doubles from Heyman and Daniel Lockhart, who had a two-hit night. But Visalia was unable to bring their runners around and only had multiple hits in the eighth inning, when a leadoff single by Henry Castillo was erased by a Jose Queliz double play ball.
McClain tossed his first career complete game and the first for a Nuts pitcher this year. It was the fourth in the California League in 2017, and he second in as many games after Jacob Nix blanked Rancho Cucamonga in last night's game.
Visalia was swept for the second time this year: both times have come at the hands of Modesto. The Rawhide are 2-8 against the Nuts this season.
The Rawhide will continue the road trip in Stockton tomorrow evening. First pitch will be at 7:10 PM and the Rawhide will send Arizona Diamondbacks eighth ranked prospect RHP Jon Duplantier (0-0, 3.38) to the mound against Stockton newcomer RHP Kyle Friedrichs (0-0. -.-), who was added from Class-AA Midland this week. The Rawhide's live broadcast can be heard on rawhidebaseball.com and the TuneIn app.
