George Steals Home...and the Show
Rancho Cucamonga, CA – Rehabbing Dodger Joe Kelly’s scoreless fifth inning was what most fans came to LoanMart Field to see, but Kendall George’s steal of home in the bottom of the ninth inning stole the show, as the Quakes capped an improbable rally by defeating the Visalia Rawhide on
Rancho Cucamonga, CA – Rehabbing Dodger Joe Kelly’s scoreless fifth inning was what most fans came to LoanMart Field to see, but Kendall George’s steal of home in the bottom of the ninth inning stole the show, as the Quakes capped an improbable rally by defeating the Visalia Rawhide on Friday night by a score of 6-5.
A two-out error kept the game alive, allowing the tying run to score, just moments before the walk-off heroics sent more than 4,300 fans into a frenzy at LoanMart Field. With Luis Rodriguez at the plate, Jesus Galiz and George combined on a double-steal, with George sliding in ahead of the tag to end the wild comeback.
Trailing 5-4 in the ninth, Josue De Paula and Tharon Liranzo opened the inning with back-to-back singles. George was then inserted into the game as a pinch-runner and immediately moved into scoring position, thanks to a Josh Swales wild pitch. With two in scoring position, Swales bounced back to get the next two hitters, bringing Galiz to the plate. Galiz grounded what should have been the final out to shortstop Jansel Luis, but Luis booted it, allowing De Paula to score the tying run. With Rodriguez at the plate and the count 2-0, the Quakes pulled off the double-steal to end it, with Galiz beating the tag at second, before George did the same at the plate.
Visalia got a pair of home runs from Kristian Robinson, as they built a 5-3 lead.
Rancho’s Madison Jeffrey (1-4) got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
Kelly faced three batters in a scoreless fifth inning and threw a total of nine pitches (seven strikes). The right-hander gave up a lead-off single, but got some help with a caught-stealing to face the minimum.
Winners of three of four in the series, Rancho (30-34, 69-61) will send Roque Gutierrez (1-4) to the mound on Saturday, as he’ll take on Visalia’s Landon Sims (0-2) at 6:30pm. Saturday is Marvel Super Hero Night with Super Heroes in attendance. Fans will also enjoy post-game Fireworks, thanks to San Antonio Regional Hospital. Game time is 6:30pm and tickets are available at rcquakes.com...Go Quakes!