JETHAWKS BECOME PORTS IN MLB DEADLINE DEAL

Posted on July 24, 2015 by | Comments Off on JETHAWKS BECOME PORTS IN MLB DEADLINE DEAL

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is fast approaching and the first of what should be many deals happened yesterday with the Houston Astros and Oakland A’s swapping players. Houston acquired LHP Scott Kazmir for “a pair of minor-leaguers” who were both playing with the Lancaster Jethawks,

The A’s received C Jacob Nottingham and P Daniel Mengden, both of whom were assigned to the Stockton Ports. Nottingham had recently been promoted to Lancaster from Quad Cities where he batted .326/.387/.543 with 10 homers in 59 games. In 17 games at Lancaster, it was more of the same: .324/.368/.606 with 4 homers.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on JETHAWKS BECOME PORTS IN MLB DEADLINE DEAL

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , , ,

BACK AT IT TODAY FOR INLAND EMPIRE, HIGH DESERT

Posted on July 22, 2015 by | Comments Off on BACK AT IT TODAY FOR INLAND EMPIRE, HIGH DESERT

imagesAfter a string of delays, the High Desert Mavericks were able to get back on the field Tuesday for a double-header with the Inland Empire 66ers. Four straight games in Adelanto had been wiped out due to the Cajon Pass fire and then wet weather, until yesterday.

With the first three games of the four-game home series against Inland Empire postponed, the two teams played a double-header yesterday, with IE taking both games, 7-6 and 3-1. That DH included a makeup from May 7 that was postponed due to high winds, and the originally scheduled game.

Today, a scheduled off day for the whole league, High Desert will host a 10:AM game with a host of $1 features for fans.

TUESDAY SCOREBOARD

SAN JOSE 10, LANCASTER 2
INLAND EMPIRE 3, HIGH DESERT 1
INLAND EMPIRE 7, HIGH DESERT 6
MODESTO 2, LAKE ELSINORE 1
RANCHO CUCAMONGA 8, VISALIA 5
STOCKTON 3, BAKERSFIELD 1

GIANTS WIN STREAK AT 6

The San Jose Giants won their sixth-straight game Tuesday, sweeping a four-game set from Lancaster to improve their second-half record to 17-8. San Jose finished 10 games under .500 in the first half at 30-40, 12 games out of first place, but are now just a game behind Visalia in the North Division second-half standings. Reigning Cal League Player of the Week Tyler Horan went 3-for-5 with his 11th homer to lead the offense while Luis Ysla came into the game at the start of the second inning and didn’t allow a hit over five frames.

Comments Off on BACK AT IT TODAY FOR INLAND EMPIRE, HIGH DESERT

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , ,

TUESDAY UPDATE

Posted on July 21, 2015 by | Comments Off on TUESDAY UPDATE

Today’s games will complete a set of Saturday-Tuesday four-games series, except for Inland Empire and High Desert. The first three games of this series were all postponed, the first two due to rain, and yesterday due to wet grounds.

MONDAY SCOREBOARD

SAN JOSE 5, LANCASTER 4
The Giants are two back of Visalia in the North and have won five straight. They go for the home sweep today at 12:30PM

LAKE ELSINORE 7, MODESTO 6
A run in the top of the ninth is the difference. Lake Elsinore looks to split the four-game series tonight.

VISALIA 3, RANCHO CUCAMONGA 0
Rawhide shutout the Quakes for the second day in a row, have only allowed one run over the first three games of this series.

STOCKTON 4, BAKERSFIELD 3
The Ports get back to .500 by taking the first three games of the series. Dylan Covey takes the mound tonight looking for the sweep.

BANDA, HORAN TAKE WEEKLY HONORS

Visalia’s Anthony Banda was named California League Pitcher of the Week for his eight-inning gem at Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday. Banda leads the league in strikeouts with 98 over 108 1/3 innings.

San Jose Tyler Horan was named California League Offensive Player of the Week with a batting line of .412/.450/1.059. He homered in three straight games and drove in six runs over the week.

HIGH DESERT POSTPONED FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS

An odd stretch of circumstances has kept the High Desert Mavericks off the field since last Thursday’s 11-10 loss to Rancho Cucamonga. Friday’s game with the Quakes was postponed due to the Cajon Pass fire that made the news nationwide with abandoned vehicles being engulfed in the flames.

Then came the freak July storm that washed out the first two games of the scheduled series against Inland Empire. A hurricane down south brought rains to southern California and washed out major league games in San Diego and Anaheim as well. Yesterday’s double-header was postponed due to the field conditions after the heavy rains.

Another double-header is scheduled today.

Comments Off on TUESDAY UPDATE

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

RAWHIDE PUSH ACROSS A RUN IN 9TH FOR 1-0 WIN

Posted on July 20, 2015 by | Comments Off on RAWHIDE PUSH ACROSS A RUN IN 9TH FOR 1-0 WIN

A brilliant pitcher’s duel in Rancho Cucamonga saw the Visalia Rawhide eke out a 1-0 win over the Quakes on Sunday. Two singles and a throwing error on a sacrifice attempt loaded the bases before Stryker Trahan brought in the only run with a sacrifice fly. Rancho Cucamonga got the tying and winning runs to second and third in the bottom of the ninth, but Joey Krehbiel got a strikeout to finish the game and earn his ninth save.

Ryan Doran went seven scoreless innings for the visiting Rawhide, striking out four. John Richy also threw zeroes for seven innings for the Quakes, leaving the games in the hands of the bullpens.

Johnny Shuttlesworth and Steve Hathaway (W, 4-0), combined for a scoreless inning before Krehbiel’s high-wire act resulted in another scoreless innings.

Visalia continues to lead the way in the second half with a 17-6 record, good for a two-game lead in the North Division, and 59-34 overall. Rancho Cucamonga is 10-12 in the second half, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Lancaster in the South Division (51-41 overall).

SUNDAY SCOREBOARD

SAN JOSE 3, LANCASTER 2
Chase Johnson (W, 6-3) strikes out eight over seven innings.

MODESTO 5, LAKE ELSINORE 4
Nuts push across two runs in the eighth for the win.

STOCKTON 8, BAKERSFIELD 2
Franklin Barreto homers twice in Ports win.

INLAND EMPIRE at HIGH DESERT – PPD, DOUBLEHEADER RAINED OUT

 

Comments Off on RAWHIDE PUSH ACROSS A RUN IN 9TH FOR 1-0 WIN

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , , , , ,

3-RUN FIRST INNING, MORE STRONG PITCHING FOR GIANTS

Posted on July 19, 2015 by | Comments Off on 3-RUN FIRST INNING, MORE STRONG PITCHING FOR GIANTS

San JoseThe San Jose Giants are the hottest team in the California League and they used both power and strong pitching to down Lancaster 3-1 Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. The Giants (44-48 overall, 14-8 in the second half) got first-inning homers from Angel Villalona and Tyler Horan to jump out to a 3-0 lead and starter Jason Forjet went six shutout innings to pick up the win.

The Giants have now won 10 of their last 11 and are approaching the .500 mark overall after a disastrous start to the season.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on 3-RUN FIRST INNING, MORE STRONG PITCHING FOR GIANTS

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , , ,

STORM BEATS RAWHIDE IN PITCHER’S DUEL, 3-1

Posted on July 18, 2015 by | Comments Off on STORM BEATS RAWHIDE IN PITCHER’S DUEL, 3-1

storm_logoThe Lake Elsinore Storm scored two deciding runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to post a 3-1 victory over Visalia, avoiding a sweep in the three-game series. A crowd of 6,096 at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore saw the home team break  up a tense pitching duel and knock off the juggernaut Rawhide.

Visalia starter R.J.Hively went six strong innings, striking out 10, but was matched by Lake Elsinore’s Ronald Herrera, who gave up just one earned run over 5 1/3 innings. Gabriel Quintana doubled in a run for the Storm in the bottom of the fourth to break the scoreless tie. In the top of the sixth, Visalia’s Jamie Westbrook singled in a run to tie it up.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on STORM BEATS RAWHIDE IN PITCHER’S DUEL, 3-1

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , , , ,

INTERVIEW: PAUL HOENECKE

Posted on July 15, 2015 by | Comments Off on INTERVIEW: PAUL HOENECKE

HoeneckePaul Hoenecke is playing a solid third base for Rancho Cucamonga this year, both with the bat and at the hot corner. A Wisconsin native, Hoenecke was drafted out of high school, but opted to go to college at UWM. When he was drafted after his senior year, by the Dodgers in the 24th round, Hoenecke signed  and started on his professional career.

Not long into this year’s Cal League season, Hoenecke got called up to AA Tulsa for what turned out to be a 6-game stint at 1B. But the bulk of the season has been with the Quakes, where he’s slashing .315/.351/.498 with seven homers and 42 RBIs over 67 games.

I had a chance to speak to Paul before a game this past weekend and we talked about his career path, the brief promotion to Tulsa, and getting some time in the big-league camp in Spring Training, among other things. Paul’s a positive-energy guy and it is easy to see why it is all working out for him on the field.

WHEN YOU WERE DRAFTED IN 2008 IN THE 42ND ROUND BY DETROIT, WAS IT A HARD DECISION TO TURN THAT DOWN AND GO TO COLLEGE?
There wasn’t enough money on the table at the time to not go to college. It wasn’t life-changing money by any means. I just thought that I would go and get my degree and then I would continue my career that way. Right now I am three classes away and I plan on getting it whenever that time comes.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on INTERVIEW: PAUL HOENECKE

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged ,

PALKA’S WALKOFF WINS IT FOR RAWHIDE

Posted on July 14, 2015 by | Comments Off on PALKA’S WALKOFF WINS IT FOR RAWHIDE

RawhideThe Visalia Rawhide have been a powerhouse this season, winning the first-half title in the North Division and getting out of the gate strong in the second half, despite numerous roster changes. But on Monday they were playing to avoid a sweep at home against the Bakersfield Blaze.

It all looked good for Visalia through seven innings as they held a 4-0 lead and starter Ryan Doran and reliever Bud Jeter had put up a string of zeroes. But Bakersfield got up off the mat in the eighth with four runs to tie the game.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on PALKA’S WALKOFF WINS IT FOR RAWHIDE

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , , , , ,

66ERS BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN, TOP QUAKES 6-4

Posted on July 12, 2015 by | Comments Off on 66ERS BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN, TOP QUAKES 6-4

IE 66ersThe Inland Empire 66ers got a big night from C Michael Strentz and ended a five-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at LoanMart Field Saturday night. Strentz had a homer and two doubles to pace Inland Empire’s 9-hit attack.

The home Quakes, with a sold-out crowd of 4,731 looking on, got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. LF Johan Mieses led off with a double and eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by SS Erisbel Arruebarrena.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on 66ERS BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN, TOP QUAKES 6-4

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS, ROAD TRIPS

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GIANTS WIN PITCHING DUEL, BEAT BLAZE IN EXTRAS

Posted on July 11, 2015 by | Comments Off on GIANTS WIN PITCHING DUEL, BEAT BLAZE IN EXTRAS

San JoseThe San Jose Giants and Bakersfield Blaze traded zeroes for most of the night before a 12th-inning walkoff single by Jeff Kobernus gave the Giants a 3-2 win, their fourth straight victory. A crowd of 2,262 at Municipal Stadium saw the home team come back from down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth.

Starter Jason Forjet allowed just one Blaze run over seven innings, striking out seven, but Bakersfield starter Brett Ash went one inning better. Ash allowed one run over eight innings, striking out eight, and left with a 2-1 lead after the Blaze pushed across an unearned run in the top of the eighth.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on GIANTS WIN PITCHING DUEL, BEAT BLAZE IN EXTRAS

Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tagged , , , ,