Quakes Top Giants In Late Game Effort

Rancho Cucamonga, CA- The Quakes recovered from a four-run deficit on Thursday night to beat the San Jose Giants 7-6 in the middle game of the series at LoanMart Field.
Held scoreless since the second inning, Rancho rallied for a five-run eighth, aided along by a pair of key fielding errors as San Jose lost hold of the game.
Trailing 6-2 in the eighth, Jared Walker smashed his second homer of the series to inch the deficit back to three. Gavin Lux followed with a single and Cody Thomas walked to put two on for Cristian Santana.
With reliever Frank Rubio entering the game, Santana and Jeren Kendall linked together back-to-back run-scoring singles and the Quakes found themselves within a run at 6-5. With two on and one out, Logan Landon bounced a ball to third and an offline throw to second by Dillon Dobson loaded the bases.
Connor Wong proceeded to roll a grounder to short where Brandon Van Horn stepped on second but shorted his first baseman on the transition throw. The errant toss allowed both Santana and Kendall to score as Rancho stole the 7-6 lead.  
Out of the bullpen Andre Scrubb (3-0) locked down the Giants offense over the final frames, tossing two shutout innings to record the win. The pair of unearned runs allowed by Rubio (0-1) in the eighth cost him a blown save and the loss.
Quakes starting pitcher Ben Holmes impressed early on, holding a 2-1 lead and striking out eight over 3.2 innings in a no-decision.
Rancho scored early behind Holmes as Gavin Lux led off the first with a triple, extending his hitting streak 19 games and tying a league-high mark. Omar Estevez plated Lux with a sacrifice fly for a prompt 1-zip lead.
San Jose tied the game with a run in the second and Hamlet Marte vaulted Rancho back in front with an RBI-single in the home half.
Austin Hamilton allowed four earned runs to the Giants in the fifth and was bailed out following the late-inning comeback.
In the seventh, Connor Wong doubled to right-center but was called out on appeal after the umpires ruled that Wong missed first base. Manager Drew Saylor and assistant coach Petie Montero were ejected arguing the call. Third baseman Zach McKinstry was also ejected from the game after a groundout in the second inning.
With the win the Quakes have won ten consecutive games over the Giants and are now 23-5 over the second half of play. Rancho will look for the series sweep over San Jose on Friday with RHP Max Gamboa scheduled to start in his 2018 Quakes debut. The Giants will counter with LHP Dominic Mazza (2-1, 1.86 ERA), with first pitch set for 7:05 PM
Join us at LoanMart Field for Family RV $1 Feast Night! Fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, $1 Pepsi products and $1 Ice Cream Sandwiches all thanks to Family RV! Tickets are available online at rcquakes.com or by calling (909) 481-5000.