Ports Outhit Nuts But Fall On Road

MODESTO, Ca. - Despite outhitting the Modesto Nuts 8-4, the Stockton Ports fell on the road to their North Division rivals by the final of 2-1 on Thursday night at John Thurman Field in Modesto.

Modesto (2-1) opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th inning. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs, Nuts shortstop Noelvi Marte singled to left field off of Ports reliever Edward Baram to score two runs.

The Ports (1-2) would answer back immediately in the top of the 6th. After a leadoff infield single, Danny Bautista advanced to second base on a wild pitch with one out. After a long battle with Nuts reliever Juan Mercedes, Stockton catcher Jose Rivas then singled up the middle to score Bautista, cutting the Nuts lead to 2-1.

The Ports loaded the bases with one out in the 9th against Nuts reliever Travis Kuhn, but Tyler Soderstrom grounded into a double play to end the ballgame.

Both starters pitched well. Right-hander Jake Cushing threw four no-hit shutout innings for the Ports, while lefty Adam Macko struck out seven Ports in his four shutout innings. Nuts pitching racked up 16 strikeouts.

Nuts reliever Mercedes (1-0) picked up the with two innings of one-run relief, while Edward Baram (0-1) took the loss for Stockton. Travis Kuhn, who pitched around trouble in the ninth, picked up his first save of the season.

The Ports and Nuts continue their six-game series at John Thurman Field in Modesto on Friday at 7:05, with Jake Walkinshaw getting his first start of the year for Stockton. All games can be heard on Fox Sports AM 1280 or on the iHeart Radio app.