Ports Fall To Nuts In Pitchers' Duel

MODESTO, Ca. - For the second straight night, the Ports found themselves in a tight contest that resulted in a late 2-1 loss to their North Division rival Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field on Friday. With the score tied at one with two outs and a runner at 3rd in the bottom of the 8th, Robert Perez sent a single to left field off of Ports reliever Vince Coletti to bring home the eventual game-winning run.

As was the case in the first three games of the series, both starting pitchers were effective. Ports right-hander Jake Walkinshaw gave up just three hits over five shutout innings, the longest outing of his career, while Nuts starter Taylor Dollard struck out ten Ports over four shutout frames. Nuts pitching struck out 16 for the second consecutive night.

The Ports struck for the first run of the game in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back doubles by Tyler Soderstrom and Danny Bautista put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out, and after a strikeout, Sahid Valenzuela punched a single into left field to score Soderstrom and give the Ports a 1-0 lead.

But the Nuts would come right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Shortstop Noelvi Marte doubled to left field with one out and came around to score on an RBI single by Cade Marlowe.

The Nuts had two outs and nobody on in the 8th, but Marlowe doubled down the right field line and advanced to 3rd on an errant throw, setting the stage for Perez's go-ahead hit.

Soderstrom and Lazaro Armenteros each had two hits for the Ports, who left 12 men on base.

The Ports and Nuts continue this six-game series on Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m. at John Thurman Field in Modesto, with left-hander Kumar Nambiar getting the start for Stockton against Nuts right-hander Sam Carlson. All Ports games this season can be heard live on Fox Sports AM 1280 and the iHeart Radio App.