Reed Dominates as Rawhide Blow Out JetHawks

VISALIA, CA - Cody Reed began his start exactly as he finished it: by setting down the Lancaster JetHawks in order. Four times over his six innings, Reed recorded a perfect frame to lead Visalia (48-48/12-14) to a 10-2 win over Lancaster (51-45/13-13).

Reed (W, 3-4) struck out seven hitters, including four of the final nine men he faced, to earn his second straight winning decision. He worked out of a jam in the second inning when, with one out, he walked back-to-back hitters on ten pitches. He then refocused himself and struck out both Chris Rabago and Scott Burcham to end the threat. The JetHawks plated an unearned run against Reed when, with one out in the third, Wes Rogers reached on an error by shortstop Galli Cribbs Jr.. Rogers stole second, moved to third on a Mylz Jones groudout, and scored on a single by Sam Hilliard, which was the only hit that Reed allowed. Reed would pick off Hilliard trying to steal second base and then retire his final nine hitters in order.
Reed was bolstered by an offensive outburst from the Rawhide against starter Trey Killian. Marty Herum led off the second by hitting a sharp grounder to first that kicked high off of the glove of Colin Ferguson and into right for a base hit. Two pitches later, Austin Byler hit a soaring home run to the opposite field in left to make it a 2-0 Rawhide lead.
Killian (L, 6-7) surrendered another run on a single by Byler in the third inning and two more in the sixth on a single by Matt McPhearson and a sacrifice fly by Jason Morozowski. At the time, the Rawhide held a 5-1 lead.
Ryan Burr allowed a run in the seventh after he loaded the bases with nobody out, but induced a double-play ball from Wilson Soriano with the tying run on first to end the threat. Visalia struck back in the bottom of the frame off of Carlos Polanco with five runs on three hits and two walks, all with two outs. The inning was capped by a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double from Jason Morozowski. The shot down the line gave the Rawhide a 10-2 lead and their final runs of the ballgame.
Burr struck out two over a perfect eighth inning and Yoan López fanned two more in a clean ninth to seal a series win for the Rawhide, their second at home in the second half of the season.
Byler finished with three hits and three RBIs, and for the second time this series was a hit shy of the cycle: today he was missing a triple. Morozowski drove in four runs and McPhearson, Fernery Ozuna, and Herum all added two hits for the Rawhide. Eight of the nine hitters in the Visalia lineup had a hit.
Visalia has now won six of their past eight games after accumulating losing streaks of eight games and four games respectively early in the second half. With Stockton's loss to Rancho Cucamonga earlier in the day, the Rawhide now have a two-game lead over Modesto for the second-best record in the Cal League North overall standings. If first-half champion Modesto should win the second half, then the team with the next best overall record among Northern Division teams will be seeded into the North Division playoffs.
The Rawhide will take an off day tomorrow before hitting the road for a four-game series in San Bernadino against the Inland Empire 66ers on Thursday. First pitch will be at 7:05 PM and will feature a to-be-announced Rawhide starter against 66ers RHP Austin Robichaux (3-6, 7.88).