Amaya Homers, Quakes Top Ports

Stockton, CA - To begin their final North Division road trip of the 2019 regular season, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes beat the Stockton Ports on Friday night by a final score of 6-4.
The Quakes (67-49, 26-22) controlled the pace in game one of the final regular-season series with the Ports (54-62, 21-27), never trailing in the contest.
Some long balls got the Quakes' offense started in the early-goings of the game, as Jeter Downs (19th) belted a solo shot in the first inning and Jacob Amaya smacked a two-run homer in the third frame. The homer for Amaya was his first career Cal League hit in his second game in a Rancho uniform.
Dillon Paulson provided some insurance the rest of the way, notching an RBI double in the fourth and his first Cal League tater in the eighth, extending the lead at that point to 6-3.
Stockton's offense did plate four runs on the evening, but a few members of Rancho's bullpen silenced any would-be comeback. Austin Drury hurled three scoreless frames from the last out of the fourth to the second out of the seventh, while Melvin Jimenez surrendered just one tally in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning.
Drury (1-1) grabbed his first win of the year, striking out four batters and retiring eight of the nine hitters he faced.
Marco Estrada (0-1), the Major-League rehabber, shouldered the loss by giving up three earned runs in a brief 2.2 innings.
Brett de Geus closed the ballgame out for his third save of the campaign, completing a fine night from the Quakes' non-starters with a scoreless bottom of the ninth.
In game two of the set, Rancho has yet to determine who will start for them, while Stockton will send Oakland Athletics' top prospect, LHP Jesus Luzardo (1-0), to the mound.
On Tuesday, August 13th, Rancho will return home for the start of a six-game home stand, opening up a three-game series against the Modesto Nuts. Tuesday's contest is a Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday, where 10 CRV-eligible bottles or cans will grant a free ticket to the game! For tickets throughout the second-to-last home stand of the season, visit rcquakes.com or by calling (909) 481-5000… Go Quakes!