Storm Take Game One, Leodalis De Vries Hits First Home Run Against Quakes Presented by The Valley News
Tonight's game included two firsts. It was the first win of the homestand for the Lake Elsinore Storm against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (and seventh straight against the Dodgers' affiliate). It was also the first time the San Diego Padres' fourth-ranked prospect Leodalis De Vries hit a professional home run.
Tonight's game included two firsts.
It was the first win of the homestand for the Lake Elsinore Storm against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (and seventh straight against the Dodgers' affiliate).
It was also the first time the San Diego Padres' fourth-ranked prospect Leodalis De Vries hit a professional home run. This two-run homer would be the difference in tonight's game.
The reason for the low-scoring affair was largely due to Lake Elsinore's starting pitcher. Luis Gutierrez, in his fourth start for the Storm, would get through six innings of work without giving up a run. He has now gone 11 straight innings without giving up a run as his ERA has shrunk from 7.82 to 4.18. His most taxing inning came in the third when he needed 24 pitches to get all three outs. He would ultimately accrue six strikeouts and allow just four hits.
Wyatt Hoffman supplied the first run of the game shortly after the elusive third inning by Gutierrez. In the fourth inning, Braedon Karpathios hit a single, the Quakes would suffer their only error of the game, and Hoffman would line a ball just inside of the third base line for a one-run double. Hoffman has a .730 OPS in June and has been a catalyst to many home victories.
De Vries' home run would come in the inning that immediately followed the Quakes' own homer. After a Chase Valentine single, De Vries would rope a middle-middle pitch into left field, just hitting the fair pole and making his first home run souvenir that much easier to keep. This hit would be the very first of his career but it was also the first time he had hit from the right-handed batter's box. The switch-hitting prospect has hit from both sides of the plate all season long.
The Storm would need just three pitchers to finish today's game. Johan Moreno would go 1.2 innings, giving up just a solo home run and Xavier Ruiz would finish the game in 1.1 innings including a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
The Storm play tomorrow night against the Quakes, hoping to win their eighth consecutive game against the in-division rival.