FRECHETTE’S SLAM POWERS GIANTS OVER NUTS

Garrett Frechette blasted a grand slam as the San Jose Giants shut out the Modesto Nuts 6-0 in a rain-shortened six-inning game on Friday night at Excite Ballpark. The win pulled the Giants (15-10) back to within one game of first-place Modesto (16-9) in the North division.

Frechette launched his slam, his first homer of the season, in the second inning to start the scoring. C Onil Perez singled in a run in the third and another run came in on a wild pitch in the fifth.

Meanwhile, the pitching staff was keeping the Nuts at bay. Starter Manuel Mercedes gave up just one hit over four innings and struck out two with no walks. Lefty John Bertrand (W, 4-0) backed him up with two scoreless innings.

The two teams have split the first four games of the six-game series with game five on Saturday night at 5PM.

FRIDAY SCORES

INLAND EMPIRE – 8
VISALIA – 7
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FRESNO – 6
STOCKTON – 4
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RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 5
LAKE ELSINORE – 7
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PORTS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT

The Stockton Ports jumped on the Fresno Grizzlies for five first-inning runs and went on to a 12-6 win at Banner Island Ballpark Thursday night. It was the third straight win for the surging Ports and their fourth straight at home.

Colby Thomas and Luis Marinez singled in runs to put Stockton up 2-0 in the first inning. Henry Bolte doubled in a pair and Bjay Cooke finished off the 5-run rally with a fielder’s choice that brought in a run.

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STORM DROP RAWHIDE IN 12 INNINGS

Samuel Zavala singled in the winning run in the top of the 12th inning as the Lake Elsinore Storm outlasted the Visalia Rawhide by a score of 6-5 at Valley Strong Ballpark on Wednesday night. The Storm (12-5) have won three in a row and have a one-game lead over Rancho Cucamonga in the South division.

Visalia (8-9) trailed 4-3 going to the bottom of the ninth but they pushed across a run to force extra innings. Both teams scored in the 10th inning to make it 5-5. After a scoreless 11th, the Storm struck for the eventual game-winner in the 12th.

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NUTS BREAK OPEN CLOSE GAME WITH LATE RALLIES

The Modesto Nuts scored seven runs over their final two at-bats to pull away from the Stockton Ports for a 10-2 victory on Tuesday night at John Thurman Field. Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh the home team took advantage of two bases-loaded walks and an error to put up five runs to go up 8-2. Two more in the ninth finished off the scoring.

Michael Morales (W, 2-0), went five innings and gave up two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out six.

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GRIZZLIES’ RITTER AND ADAMS NAMED PLAYER/PITCHER OF THE WEEK

RYAN RITTER – Fresno’s SS went 8-for-20 with three homers and five RBIs with a double and eight RBIs. Ritter, a fourth-round draft pick in 2022, scored three runs and stole two bases for the Grizzlies over six games against Rancho Cucamonga. Over 50 ABs this season, Ritter has 12 walks and an OBP of .387.

BLAKE ADAMS – 22-year old righty Adams went six shutout innings against the Quakes on Wednesday night, allowing just one hit and two walks with 10 strikeouts. In 11 innings over two starts, the 2022 13th-round draft pick has a WHIP of 1.00.

RAWHIDE POWER PAST PORTS FOR 5TH STRAIGHT WIN

The Visalia Rawhide blasted three home runs amongst their 16-hit attack as they beat the Stockton Ports 13-5 for their fifth straight win. Visalia clinched its first series win and broke above .500 for the first time this season at 7-6.

The game was close at 3-2 entering the fourth inning when the visiting Rawhide put five on the board behind a two-run home run by C Sergio Gutierrez (3) and a three-run shot by 2B Andrew Pintar (1). Visalia struck for four more in the fourth inning, putting the game out of reach, then got one last run on a sixth-inning home run by CF Alvin Guzman, his second of the year.

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EARLY OFFENSIVE LEAGUE LEADERS

After nine games, here are some early leaderboards. Fresno and Modesto are the top two run-scoring teams in the league and both teams are well-represented on the offensive side.

 

 

AVG
Kyle Nevin 3B RC .486
Jake Snider LF FRE .480
Kody Huff C FRE .429
Freuddy Batista C MOD .423
Graham Pauley 3B LE .387
Gabriel Gonzalez RF MOD .385
Cole Young SS MOD .382
Luis Mendez 2B FRE .368
Parker Kelly 1B FRE .364
Tanner O’Tremba RF SJ .350

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QUAKES RIDE 8-RUN INNING TO DROP RAWHIDE

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes broke open a close game with an eight-run seventh inning and went on to beat the Visalia Rawhide 12-4 on Saturday night at Valley Strong Ballpark. The Quakes (5-3) pounded out 12 hits, including three home runs, with five batters collecting two hits apiece.

C Thayron Liranzo was 2-for-4 and belted this third home run of the season. LF Jorge Puerta had two hits, including his first home run of the season. CF Chris Newell blasted a three-run shot (3) in the big seventh inning.

Visalia got on the board first when 1B Gavin Conticello doubled in a run in the second inning. Liranzo’s two-run shot in the fourth gave the Quakes a lead they would never relinquish.

Jorge Puerta touches home after his 6th-inning homer

Puerta made it 4-1 with his sixth-inning two-run shot and Visalia scratched for a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-2.

Rancho Cucamonga sent 11 men to the plate in the fateful seventh inning and racked up three hits while benefitting from two walk, a wild pitch and two HBPs. When the dust settled it was 12-2 and the Rawhide would only get two more in the bottom of the ninth.

RHP Jeisson Cabrera (W, 2-0) earned the win with his two innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Starter Jerming Rosario threw four strong innings for the Quakes, allowing one run on three hits with a walk and six strikeouts for a no-decision.

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CAL LEAGUE PODCASTS

A couple of Cal League podcasts have posted new episodes recently leading up to the 2023 season. In addition to following each club’s social media, these outlets are a great way to hear unique insights on the California League.

The California League Research Project talked with Visalia Rawhide announcer Jill Gearin in a March 30th episode. The discussion took place before the roster was set, with the hopes that Druw Jones would be heading to Visalia, as he ultimately has. Host Mario Ramos asked Jill about the upcoming promotions, her various duties with the club and many other subjects in the 20 minute episode:

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE RESEARCH PROJECT

Stockton Ports announcer Alex Jensen had Melissa Lockard of The Athletic on The Portside Pod on April 5th. In Episode 3.6, Melissa discussed various players headed to Stockton on the eve of the 2023 season as well as the Oakland A’s draft strategy and other topics:

 

PORTSIDE POD WITH ALEX JENSEN

 

SAN JOSE DROPS MODESTO WITH 3 IN THE 9TH

The San Jose Giants (4-3) broke a 4-4 tie with a three-run uprising in the top of the ninth to drop Modesto (4-3) by a score of 7-4 Friday night at John Thurman Field. SS Diego Velasquez and 3B Andrew Kachel opened with back-to-back doubles to put the Giants up 5-4, followed by an HBP, a single and a run-scoring groundout to put the game out of reach at 7-4.

LHP Jack Choate came on in the fourth inning and threw three scoreless innings, allowing one walk and no hits while striking out six. RHP Daniel Blair (W, 1-0) covered the last 1 2/3 innings for San Jose and gave up one hit and no walks with two strikeouts to earn the win.

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