ROAD TRIP: RANCHO CUCAMONGA

Saturday night I found my way down to Rancho Cucamonga for a matchup between the Quakes and the first-place Lake Elsinore Storm. A night after a Yasiel Puig bobblehead giveaway packed LoanMart Field, it was Star Wars night with after-game fireworks and 4,463 fans had the place rocking again.

I wanted to get a good look at the Dodgers’ top organizational prospect SS Corey Seager as well as Padres’ #5 prospect Hunter Renfroe. Seager is all over the Cal League offensive leaderboards, as expected, and Renfroe is having a solid year at hiA after being taken 13th overall in last year’s First-Year Player Draft.

The Star Wars theme was everywhere, with endless characters walking around throughout the stadium all night. Darth Vader threw out the first pitch and Star Wars music was played during any break in the action. It was the minor league experience at its absolute best, and even with the Quakes coming up short on the scoreboard in a 6-3 loss, everybody went home happy.

GAME RECAP

The Quakes have rebounded from a tough April and came into the contest with the South Division leaders with a May record of 15-7. That was good for a 23-26 overall mark and fourth place. The Storm checked in at 29-20 and were looking to get some breathing room between themselves and the 2nd-place Lancaster Jethawks.

On the mound, the Storm had Colin Rea (4-2) going against Rancho’s Fabio Martinez (2-2). Martinez has had an interesting year, to say the least. In some outings he has been dominant for several innings in a row, only to get knocked around later. This would be one of those nights for Martinez.

After making quick work of the Storm lineup the first time through, Martinez started the top of the fourth by allowing a walk and a single. He did a high-wire act to get out of the inning unscathed, but the Storm didn’t let him off the hook in the fifth.

With the game still scoreless, two LE hits and a walk loaded the bases for Storm RF Corey Adamson. Martinez induced a groundball to 1B Tyler Ogle, who cut down the runner at the plate to preserve the scoreless tie. But Martinez still needed one more out, and before he could get it, SS Diego Goris blasted one high over the LF fence. 4-0, Storm.

That was it for the scoring in the fifth, but Martinez threw a wild pitch in the sixth that allowed another run to score, and at 5-0 it was looking like The Force was in the Lake Elsinore dugout.

Momentum swung toward the energized home crowd in the bottom of the seventh when CF Robbie Garvey went deep with two men aboard to pull the Quakes to within 5-3. Suddenly it was a ballgame again.

The tide shifted again in the top of the eighth as Renfroe led off the inning with a homer off of Geoff Brown to put LE up 6-3. That was the end of the scoring. Trevor Gott nailed down the win for Lake Elsinore with his 14th save in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

SEAGER AND RENFROE

Uuhhhh…….not bad. These two guys are elite, you can see that in their stats as well as where they were drafted. Both first-rounders are delivering early in their pro careers and they showed their stuff again on this night.

Seager played a clean SS and went 1-for-3 with a double at the plate. He drove one down the left field line for a double, his 20th, in the first but was stranded at second. At 6’4″, 215, he’s very athletic in the field and on the bases. At the plate, he’s got a sweet swing like you would expect from someone who is putting up the numbers that he is.

One peripheral thing that jumped out at me about Seager, not something measured on the 20-80 scouting scale, but the guy seems to be smiling all the time. This game’s easy, it looks like. Not during play, of course, he’s intense in the field and at the plate. I mean before the game, while he’s at his position with the pitcher warming up, heading to and from the dugout, Seager’s got a great disposition and I’m sure that can only help.

Renfroe had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a single, a walk and his 10th homer of the season. He scored two of the Storm’s six runs while playing CF on defense. When Garvey took the momentum away from the Storm with his 3-run dinger in the bottom of the seventh, Renfroe came up to lead off the next half-inning and said “no you don’t” with a longball of his own. Renfroe swings a big bat in the middle of the Storm batting order while playing a premium defensive position and on this night he did them both well.

**********Here’s where I talk about the ballpark experience. As per usual with the Cal League cities, here’s where I say what a great thing they have going in <fill in the city name>. But each city is unique and it isn’t the SAME great experience from place to place.

Rancho Cucamonga has a spectacular baseball setting and, visiting the city for the first time, it is pretty impressive all the way around. You don’t get too many views in a ballpark as impressive as what you see over the left field fence at LoanMart Field. The trees that line the back side of the fence are beautiful, but the outline of the mountains as the sun is going down is picture-postcard stuff.

The ballpark is a perfect amphitheater-like setting with great sightlines and, with a big crowd on hand, a lot of energy in the stands. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, essentially the same as what I said about Modesto recently. It comes across as genuine, not like it is just company policy, and the priority is clearly for the customer to have a good time. That’s obvious, and I’ve got a list of facilities (none in the Cal League) that is as long as my arm where it just isn’t this way, so I tip my cap. Much appreciated.

I saw a foul ball down the left field line land in a guy’s beer, causing a mushroom-cloud splash that made the whole place crack up. You don’t see that at every game.

Finally, the Dodger connection is well done. With the short distance from the major league club, it may not be as important for Rancho as it is for some of the other Cal League clubs to remind the fans what they’re seeing. Dodger fans in LA can make the ride out to see the Quakes fairly easily while some of the other clubs out here are affiliated with the Reds or Mariners, etc. But the link to the major league club should be emphasized at all of these minor league parks and they do it well at LoanMart Field.

From the Tommy Lasorda clubhouse to the pictures of Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, among others, in their Quakes unis on this very field, the Dodger connection is all around.