STOCKTON, Calif. - A pair of Stockton Ports hit a pair of home runs to help snap a four-game losing skid on Tuesday night. Sheldon Neuse and Seth Brown each went deep twice as the Ports defeated the San Jose Giants 9-5 to kick off a six-game homestand at Banner
STOCKTON, Calif. - A pair of Stockton Ports hit a pair of home runs to help snap a four-game losing skid on Tuesday night. Sheldon Neuse and Seth Brown each went deep twice as the Ports defeated the San Jose Giants 9-5 to kick off a six-game homestand at Banner Island Ballpark.
San Jose opened the scoring with a big fly of their own in the second inning as Dillon Dobson went deep to right-center to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Heath Quinn followed with a single and Matt Winn doubled him home to make it a 2-0 Giants lead.
Stockton tied the game in the bottom of the inning as Neuse led off with a home run and, two batters later, Argenis Raga homered to right to tie the game at 2-2.
The Giants grabbed the lead back in the fourth inning on a two-out solo homer by Steven Duggar. It was the final run allowed by Ports starter Logan Shore, who did not factor into the decision after going four innings and allowing three runs on five hits, including a career-high two home runs.
The Ports grabbed the lead back for good in the bottom of the fourth. Neuse led off with a single and Brown followed with a two-run homer that put the Ports in front 4-3.
Stockton widened its lead in the fifth inning and used the long ball to do it. With two on and two out, Neuse hit his second home run of the night to make it 7-3. Brown came up next and delivered his second homer of the night to widen the Ports lead to 8-3. It was the final run given up by Grant Watson (4-2), who came on in the second inning after Mark Melancon pitched the first inning on a Major League rehab assignment. Watson suffered the loss, going four innings and allowing eight runs on nine hits while striking out six.
Matt Krook came on to work the sixth and issued back-to-back walks to start the inning, which the Ports turned into a run after back-to-back groundouts to make it 9-3. Beginning with the back-to-back groundouts, Giants pitching retired the final nine Stockton batters of the game.
After two scoreless innings of relief worked by Miguel Romero (1-1), Jared Lyons pitched a scoreless seventh and Joey Wagman came on to pitch the eighth. After a strikeout and wild pitch extended the eighth with two outs, Wagman gave up a solo homer to Winn that cut the Ports lead to 9-5. Wagman would be lifted with two on and two out for Armando Ruiz (SV, 2), who stranded his inherited baserunners in the eighth and then pitched around a two-out single in the ninth to notch his second save of the season.
The Ports and Giants play the middle game of their three-game set on Wednesday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Brendan Butler (4-3, 4.86 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by San Jose left-hander Garrett Williams (1-0, 0.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PDT.
