Tower Buzzers Jump on Kikuchi Early, Cruise Past Quakes 9-1
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Ontario couldn’t have scripted a better start Saturday night in Rancho Cucamonga. Right out of the gate, they hammered the Quakes with a seven-run first inning which set the tone for a 9-1 win. Marlon Nieves delivered on the mound, shutting things down for five solid
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Ontario couldn’t have scripted a better start Saturday night in Rancho Cucamonga. Right out of the gate, they hammered the Quakes with a seven-run first inning which set the tone for a 9-1 win. Marlon Nieves delivered on the mound, shutting things down for five solid innings.
Facing Angels lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who was in town on a rehab assignment, Ontario’s hitters jumped all over him. Eleven batters marched to the plate in that first inning, racking up six hits and a quick 7-0 lead.
Kellon Lindsey got things moving with a walk, then Joendry Vargas and Javier Herrera each singled. Herrera knocked in the first run, Ching-Hsien Ko singled to load the bases, and a wild pitch let Vargas scamper home. Then Caleb Johnson smashed a two-run double, Eduardo Rojas drove in two more, and Lindsey capped the rally with an RBI triple.
What really stood out was Ontario wasn’t waiting around for a big home run or hoping for an error. They put together smart at-bats, kept the line moving, and took full advantage whenever Kikuchi missed his spots.
Lindsey pounded his seventh homer of the season in the fourth inning, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple, a homer, two runs, two RBI, and a walk. He’s been a spark plug at the top of the lineup all series, but Saturday’s performance topped the charts.
Vargas chipped in three more hits, including his 29th double, Johnson ended with two hits and a pair of RBI, and Rojas also drove in two. Abel Lorenzo joined the party with his first homer of the year in the ninth.
While the offense stole the show early, Nieves kept things calm and quiet on the hill. He held Rancho Cucamonga to one hit over five scoreless innings and punched out seven.
He walked five, but every time the Quakes threatened, he found a way out. In the first inning, the Quakes loaded the bases on walks, but Nieves got Joswa Lugo to ground into a double play. After that, Rancho Cucamonga barely made a peep.
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen made his rehab debut with a quick sixth inning, two strikeouts, no trouble. Camden Wimbish tossed a clean seventh, and Dailoui Abad surrendered Rancho Cucamonga’s lone run, a Gavin Grahovac solo homer in the eighth, but struck out the other three he faced. Brady Pendley wrapped things up in the ninth.
Ontario’s pitchers were sharp, holding the Quakes to just three hits all night and fanning 15. Rancho Cucamonga managed only one hit with runners in scoring position, finishing 1-for-9. For Ontario, this 9-1 win was the perfect bounce-back after a rough patch of giving up 19 runs over the last two games stung. This time, they came out firing, kept the hits coming, and let their pitchers take care of the rest. One of their best all-around games of the series.
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