Saturday night I made it up to Stockton to see the Ports host the Modesto Nuts, a matchup of teams at the opposite ends of the North division standings. The game was a one-sided affair, with the first-place Stockton club swinging hot bats while starter Jake Sanchez went seven strong innings to lead the Ports to a 13-1 win.
It’s always good to see a game at Banner Island Ballpark and on this visit the weather was perfect for a night of California League baseball. The crowd didn’t look to be as big as the announced 3,012, and it was smaller than my previous trips there. But the home team didn’t disappoint as they raced to an easy win.
The Stockton club has Oakland’s top three prospects on its roster, SS Daniel Robertson, 1B Matt Olson and 3B Renato Nunez, as well as #18 (Ryon Healy) and #20 (Jaycob Brugman). It’s a pretty potent offense for the Ports and the club banged out a season-high 20 hits while putting up the 13 runs. The 1-2-3 hitters, Robertson, Healy and Olson, combined to go 10-for-15 with six RBIs and six runs scored.
As if that wasn’t enough, C Beau Taylor went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer and four RBIs. And the bottom of the order came through as well. The No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, 2B Wade Kirkland and CF Zeke DeVoss, went a combined 4-for-8 with five runs scored.
It made for a rough night for Modesto’s pitchers. Starter Ben Alsup went 4 1/3 and allowed 10 hits and six earned runs. The relief corp didn’t fare much better as Shayne Broyles, Alving Mejias and Peter Tago allowed seven more runs to score, six of them earned.
With Stockton’s offense in high gear, starter Jake Sanchez allowed just one earned run while walking one and striking out 12 over seven innings. He pitched out of danger in the first, allowing a single and a walk and throwing two wild pitches before stranding runners at second and third.
Then he allowed a solo homer to the Nuts’ Dean Espy in the second inning that made it a 2-1 ballgame. But the next 11 Modesto batters went down in order and the Ports started pulling away. A three-run fourth inning for Stockton was the beginning of five-straight innings of scoring while the Nuts never again dented the scoreboard.
For the Nuts, the top three hitters in the batting order had one hit apiece in addition to Espy’s homer, and that was it for the offense. Stockton earned its 70th win of the season, overall, while Modesto lost for the 84th time.
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A walk around Banner Island Ballpark is as enjoyable as any other Cal League park, with the right-field grass area sitting in front of the beautiful river setting. Stockton’s baseball past is on display with a giant banner on the first-base side showing four recent players who have gone “from Stockton to Oakland.” There is also a listing of all former Stockton players to make the majors in the concourse under the main grandstand.
There looks to be more on the way from this current roster. Olson (34) and Nunez (29) are the top two homerun hitters in the league while Olson has a .401 OBP and has drawn 101 walks. Robertson took over the position of the organization’s top overall prospect when SS Addison Russell was dealt to the Cubs last month in the trade that brought Jeff Samardzija to the A’s. So there appears to be plenty of talent still in the pipeline.
All photos: Steve Cummings/CalLeagueHeat.com
The North division playoff spots are all filled as the Visalia Rawhide clinched the wildcard spot with a 12-3 win over Bakersfield last night. That result, combined with a 10-5 loss for San Jose against High Desert gave the Rawhide a 3-game lead with two to play.
