Home Runs Hinder Ports In 4-1 Loss

April 19, 2019

STOCKTON, Calif.- For a 13th time in 16 games, the Stockton Ports were the team that scored first on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark. For a seventh time, the Ports lost a game in which they scored the first run. Stockton suffered its eighth consecutive home loss on Friday

STOCKTON, Calif.- For a 13^th time in 16 games, the Stockton Ports were the team that scored first on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark. For a seventh time, the Ports lost a game in which they scored the first run. Stockton suffered its eighth consecutive home loss on Friday night, falling to the Modesto Nuts by a final of 4-1 as the Nuts hit a pair of homers to boost them to their second straight victory.
Nuts starter Ljay Newsome (3-1) would spin season-high eight innings and allow just one run. Trace Loehr opened the third inning with a double to left, advanced to third when Jordan Devencenzi flied out to deep right and scored on a sac-fly by Mickey McDonald to give Stockton its only run of the game.
Newsome would earn the victory in the contest, going eight innings and allowing one run on six hits while striking out eight. Newsome pitched around back-to-back two-out hits in the eighth and struck out Lazaro Armenteros, the possible-tying run at the plate, to close out his outing.
Daulton Jefferies started the game for Stockton and worked three scoreless innings, retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced while allowing two hits and striking out five.
Jared Poche'' (0-3) came on in the fourth inning and would allow his first run in the fifth, a solo home run to Luis Liberato, that tied the game at 1-1.
Modesto took the lead in the top of the sixth inning. With one on and one out, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer to center to give the Nuts a 3-1 advantage. The Nuts added to their lead in the seventh on a one-out RBI single by Johnny Adams to make it a 4-1 game.
Poche' suffered the loss, going four innings and allowing four runs on five hits while striking out four.
Joey Gerber (SV, 2) set the side down in order in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
The Ports and Nuts wrap up their three-game series on Saturday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Mitchell Jordan (1-1, 4.50 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Modesto southpaw Ian McKinney (0-0, 5.79 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PDT.