Altamirano goes six in Ports' one-hitter

A measly infield single is all the Stockton Ports allowed on Saturday night in Modesto.
Xavier Altamirano took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and A's No. 7 prospect Jameson Hannah collected three hits in the Ports' 2-0 blanking of the Nuts at John Thurman Field.

Gameday box score
Altamirano (1-0) gave up five runs over three innings in his season debut on Monday against San Jose, with a three-run homer and a two-run shot accounting for the Giants' runs.
"His last outing, it just seemed he was trying to be too picky, trying to be too fine," Stockton manager Webster Garrison said. "To me, he just wasn't himself. I don't know exactly what it was."
He may have begun his night with a 15.00 ERA, but the 2015 27th-round pick out of Oral Roberts threw 53 of 80 pitches for strikes against Modesto. And after walking Mariners No. 23 prospect Joe Rizzo with one out in the second inning, he retired 12 batters in a row. 
"An outstanding performance," Garrison said, "very aggressive in the zone with some good stuff. Using both sides of the plate, mixed his pitches well and had those guys off-balance all night."
The streak and Altamarino's no-hit bid ended with one out in the sixth when Johnny Adams reached on a grounder deep in the shortstop hole. Relievers Jesus Zambrano and Nick Highberger yielded just one baserunner over the final three innings as the Ports registered their California League-leading second shutout of the season.
"He came out tonight and that's the 'X' I'd been seeing the past year or two," said Garrison, who managed Altamirano last season with Class A Beloit.
Altamirano earned Midwest League midseason All-Star honors with the Snappers and was promoted to Stockton after going 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 63 strikeouts against 16 walks over 70 innings. He had a tougher time in the Cal League, compiling a 5-6 record and 6.62 ERA in 13 starts.
Batting out of the seventh spot in the lineup after a night off, Hannah had three hits in his previous 22 at-bats. The 2018 second-round pick matched that total on Saturday with a double and a pair of singles. In the first pitch of his first at-bat in the third inning, Hannah laid down a perfectly placed bunt on the first base line to help break out of his slump.
"Just a hit all the way -- nothing they could do about it," Garrison said. "Of course, he's got the speed to beat all of that out."
The Texas native grounded a double down the left field line in the fifth and lined a single to right in the sixth to cap his first career three-hit game.

"He just let the ball come to him, not trying to do too much," Garrison said. "I think he got off [to a slow start] trying to do too much and he's settling in. And he'll definitely move up in that lineup tomorrow after that performance tonight."
Hannah signed with the A's out of Dallas Baptist and made his professional debut with Class A Short Season Vermont, where he put up a .279/.347/.384 slash line with a homer and 10 RBIs in 23 games before a left ankle injury ended his season on July 17.
A's No. 5 prospect Austin Beck drove in Stockton's first run with a double in the seventh and scored when Hunter Hargrove singled to center.
Nuts starter Raymond Kerr matched Altamirano for 4 1/3 innings, limiting the Ports to four hits and a walk while striking out three.