Lancaster, CA - The first-place Rancho Cucamonga Quakes extended their lead in the South Division standings to three games on Thursday night, coming from behind to take a 7-2 decision from the second-place Lancaster JetHawks at the The Hangar in Lancaster.Devin Mann collected four hits for the second straight night
Lancaster, CA - The first-place Rancho Cucamonga Quakes extended their lead in the South Division standings to three games on Thursday night, coming from behind to take a 7-2 decision from the second-place Lancaster JetHawks at the The Hangar in Lancaster.
Devin Mann collected four hits for the second straight night and the Rancho bullpen pitched four innings of shut-out baseball to give the offense a chance to get back in the game after trailing most of the night.
Down 2-1 in the seventh, the Quakes would rally against Lancaster reliever Nick Kennedy, who took over for starter Antonio Santos after six strong innings. Kennedy gave up a leadoff double to Starling Heredia, then threw away an attempted sacrifice off the bat of Jordan Procyshen, down the left field line to tie the game at 2-2. After a sacrifice from Brayan Morales moved Procyshen to third base, Kennedy got Drew Avans on a bunt back to the mound for the second out. Marcus Chiu followed with an RBI double to put Rancho ahead though, then scored on a Jeter Downs hit that was misplayed by left fielder Sean Bouchard, allowing Downs to come all the way around, making it 5-2.
In the eighth, Donovan Casey took Kennedy (0-1) deep with a man aboard, as his fourth homer of the year put Rancho up by five at 7-2.
Ryan Moseley (2-2), Connor Mitchell and Logan Salow took it from there, as they combined for four scoreless to finish it off.
Rancho starter Josiah Gray bounced back nicely from his first start, when he didn't make it out of the first inning. Gray went five frames and struck out a season-best nine hitters, allowing two runs on just five hits in the no-decision.
Devin Mann had four more hits, giving him a second straight four-hit game and 11 hits over his last three games of the series.
Thanks to winning three of four in the series, the Quakes (25-16) now lead the JetHawks by three full games. Rancho looks for a third straight win on Friday, as they send Edwin Uceta to the hill against Modesto's Ian McKinney in the opening game of a three-game series at LoanMart Field.
Friday is Justin Turner Bobblehead Giveaway, as 1500 fans will take home a bobblehead, thanks to San Manuel Casino. Don't forget that Saturday is Safeco Insurance Star Wars Fireworks Night, with a spectacular Fireworks Show to follow Saturday's game. Tickets are available by calling (909) 481-5000 or online at rcquakes.com. We hope to see you at LoanMart Field…Go Quakes!
