RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes used a pair of three-run homers to send the Stockton Ports to a third straight loss on Saturday night at Loan Mart Field. The Quakes got three-run blasts from Niko Hulsizer and Donovan Casey and those swings ended up being enough to
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes used a pair of three-run homers to send the Stockton Ports to a third straight loss on Saturday night at Loan Mart Field. The Quakes got three-run blasts from Niko Hulsizer and Donovan Casey and those swings ended up being enough to beat the Ports by a final of 6-4 to open a three-game series.
Stockton got on the board early in the top of the first on a two-out RBI single by Jonah Bride to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, the Quakes answered back with one swing from Hulsizer off Sean Manaea (0-2), who started the game for Stockton on a Major League rehab assignment. With two on and two out, Hulsizer hit a three-run homer to give Rancho Cucamonga a 3-1 lead.
Manaea, after working a perfect second, worked into the third and gave up a double and a walk with one out before he was lifted for Ty Damron. Damron gave up a three-run homer to Casey that ran the Quakes lead to 6-1.
Manaea suffered the loss as he was charged with five earned runs on three hits over 2 1/3 innings pitched. He walked two and struck out four while throwing 53 pitches, 36 for strikes.
Quakes starter Andre Jackson allowed just the one run in the first inning but failed to qualify for the win as he went four-plus innings and allowed five hits while walking three and striking out six.
Sven Schueller (4-3) took over for the Quakes in the fifth and allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings as he picked up the win for the Quakes. The run scored in the sixth on a fielding error committed by first baseman Devin Mann.
Austin Drury took over for the final out of the sixth and allowed a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Lazaro Armenteros that made it 6-3. The Ports would put runners at the corners with one out but Trace Loehr hit into an inning-ending double-play that put a stop to the Stockton rally.
Brett de Geus (SV, 1) came on to work the eighth and allowed a run on a two-out RBI single by Ryan Gridley that drew the Ports to within two runs at 6-4. de Geus, though, would work a scoreless ninth and pitch around a one-out single by Armenteros in earning his first California League save.
Brady Feigl came on in relief of Damron to start the fifth and went on to work four scoreless innings while allowing two singles.
The Ports and Quakes play the second game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Loan Mart Field. Mitchell Jordan (6-5, 4.91 ERA) makes the start for Stockton, opposed by Rancho Cucamonga left-hander Leo Crawford (4-3, 2.99 ERA). First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. PDT.
