The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes pulled out a 5-4 win over the Inland Empire 66ers in a Friday night matchup that saw early offense before a tense finish at LoanMart Field. IE couldn’t do much with Quakes starter Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ #11 prospect, and fell behind 4-0 after two innings.
Buehler left after three scoreless frames, throwing 47 pitches and allowing just one hit and one walk. The 66ers then mounted their offense and got a run in the fourth on a Matt Thaiss homerun. The Quakes made it 5-1 with a single run in the fifth before Inland Empire plated two in the sixth to pull to within 5-3.
An eventful ninth inning saw the 66ers score another run while coming up short as Rancho’s Andrew Istler notched his second save despite allowing three hits and IE’s fourth run.
The Quakes got to IE starter Jake Jewell for five runs (3ER) on five hits, including Ibandel Isabel’s fourth homer, a solo shot in the second. But Garrett Nuss came on for the 66ers and threw three scoreless innings in relief to keep his team in the game.
Dean Kremer (1-0) went four innings for the win, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Thaiss is the Angels’ #2 overall prospect and the homer may have been a good sign as the 2016 first-round pick hasn’t gotten it going at the plate yet (.170/.302/245).
Rancho Cucamonga C Will Smith (#16 BA prospect) threw out two runners trying to steal while going 1-for-4 at the plate.
The series continues Saturday night at 7:05PM.
