San Jose, Calif. – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (5-6, 41-36) were unable to find the offense they needed to separate themselves from the San Jose Giants (8-3, 45-32) on Wednesday night at Excite Ballpark, dropping another close contest 5-4.
Right away, the Giants capitalized on a Quakes defensive miscue to grab an early lead. A throwing error permitted two runs to score, handing San Jose a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first.
However, two frames later, Rancho Cucamonga flipped the game on its head and rallied for four runs to pull ahead. John Wimmer and Felix Morrobel laced singles to get the bats going, setting up Hayden Alvarez to drive them both in. He promptly lined a single to left field, forcing a misplay from left fielder Lisbel Diaz to knot the score at two. The next batter, Kevyn Castillo, launched a two-run home run, moving the Quakes in front 4-2.
Their lead, though, did not last long. The middle of the San Jose lineup supplied two more runs in their half of the inning, immediately re-tying the game at 4-4.
Following the early outbursts, both pitching staffs took control in the middle innings. Talon Haley and Yokelvin Reyes stepped up for the Quakes to hold the Giants in check at the dish, while Jordan Gottesman and Ubert Mejias combined to do the same for San Jose, keeping both teams on level terms heading into the late frames.
San Jose finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth, retaking the lead in their final turn at bat. A Lorenzo Meola single plated Jeremiah Jenkins from third base, forcing the Quakes to have to mount another comeback down to their final three outs.
A Kendrey Maduro hit by pitch placed the tying run on first in the top of the ninth, and a wild pitch advanced him into scoring position. Nevertheless, the Quakes lacked the final swing to pull even, allowing the Giants to walk away with another tight win.
The Quakes head back to Excite Ballpark looking to reverse their fortunes against the San Jose Giants on Thursday at 6:30 PM. RHP Dylan Jordan draws the starting assignment for Rancho Cucamonga opposite RHP Ben Bybee for San Jose. Action returns to Morongo Field on July 7th as the Quakes welcome the Lake Elsinore Storm to town on Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday and Two Dollar Tuesday.