MODESTO, Calif. - The Modesto Nuts had 11 hits on Saturday night and more than half were doubles. The Nuts beat the Stockton Ports by a final of 9-4 to even the three-game series at a game apiece and set up a rubber game on Sunday night. With the loss,
MODESTO, Calif. - The Modesto Nuts had 11 hits on Saturday night and more than half were doubles. The Nuts beat the Stockton Ports by a final of 9-4 to even the three-game series at a game apiece and set up a rubber game on Sunday night. With the loss, the Ports remain tied with the Visalia Rawhide for the second-best overall record in the North Division and fall to two games back of Modesto for first place in the second half standings.
After the Ports put a runner at third base with one out and failed to score in the top of the first, Modesto scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Jordan Cowan singled to open the frame and Donnie Walton came up next and doubled down the left field line, one of three doubles for Walton on the night, scoring Cowan and giving the Nuts a 1-0 lead. Walton would score with two outs in the inning on a passed ball charted to catcher Argenis Raga to make it a 2-0 game.
The Ports cut the Nuts lead in half in the third. Richie Martin led off with a triple and scored two batters later on an Eli White triple to make it 2-1. White would be thrown out at the plate on an ensuing ground ball to first by Jake Smolinski as Stockton failed to plate the tying run in the inning.
Modesto countered with its biggest inning of the night in the bottom of the third. Cowan and Walton opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to put runners at second and third and Kyle Lewis provided a sac-fly to right make it 3-1. After a wild pitch plated a fourth run, Joey Curletta singled to center. Two batters later, Joe DeCarlo walked and Gianfranco Wawoe delivered a two-run double with two outs to run the Nuts lead to 6-1. Logan Taylor would bat next and reach on a fielding error that allowed Wawoe to score and make it 7-1.
Ports starter Brendan Butler (4-5) would not make it out of the third as he went on to suffer the loss in the contest, going 2.2 innings and allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits.
Modesto added to its lead in the fourth by taking advantage of another Ports error. With one out, Lewis walked and Curletta reached on a fielding error committed by first baseman Sandber Pimentel. With two outs, Wawoe came up and drove in two more runs with a single to left to balloon the Modesto lead to 9-1. The two runs were unearned and the only runs allowed by Kyle Friedrichs in 2.1 innings of work.
Andrew Tomasovich and Joey Wagman would combine for three scoreless innings down the stretch for Stockton.
Nuts starter Spencer Herrmann (4-5) worked into the sixth and faced Seth Brown with two on and two out in the frame. Brown would hit a three-run homer to straight-away center field that cut the Nuts lead to 9-4. It marked Brown's 21st home run of the season and put him in the league lead with 83 RBI on the season. Herrmann would work through the sixth and pick up the win, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four.
Joe Pistorese, Joey Strain and Art Warren each tossed a scoreless frame to close out the final three innings for Modesto.
The Ports and Nuts play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday night at John Thurman Field. Norge Ruiz (3-1, 5.71 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Modesto right-hander Reggie McClain (11-8, 4.75 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. PDT.
