Strong Pitching Helps Ports Snap Skid

Stockton, CA – Three Ports pitchers held the Visalia Rawhide to just three hits while collecting four extra base hits of their own as Stockton snapped its eight-game losing streak with a 5-3 win in the series finale at Banner Island Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

Three hits in the bottom of the first inning got the Ports (3-12) out to a 2-0 lead against Visalia starter Brock Jones. Manny Piña hit a double to left field and scored when Colby Thomas lined a two-base hit down the left field line to score Piña putting Stockton in front 1-0. After an infield single by Brayan Buelvas put runners on the corners with one out for T.J. Schofield-Sam who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Thomas making it 2-0 Ports.

The Ports struck for two more in the bottom of the second inning. After a Robert Puason led off with a walk, Nelson Beltran lined a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Clark Elliott followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Puason to give Stockton a 3-0 lead. With two outs, Thomas reached on an error by Rawhide first baseman Ronny Polanco allowing Beltran to score from third base to increase the Ports lead to 4-0.

Hitless through three innings, the Rawhide (8-7) got back into the game with a three-run fourth inning against Ports starter Dheygler Gimenez. Andrew Pintar led off with a single and scored when the next hitter, Christian Cerda, drove a double to the left center field gap to make it 4-1. With Cerda still at second base and two outs, Polanco clubbed a two-run homer to left field to cut the Stockton lead to one at 4-3.

With the Ports still holding on to a one run lead in the bottom of the sixth, Luis Marinez provided a cushion with a solo home run to left field, his first of the season, to make it 5-3.

Meanwhile, Micah Dallas cruised through the Rawhide lineup in relief of Gimenez. The right-hander out of Texas A&M retired nine batters in a row with four strikeouts through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to keep Visalia at bay.

The Rawhide, however, made things interesting in the top of the ninth. With the Ports still leading 5-3, Dallas hit Cerda to start the inning and walked David Martin on a 3-2 pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Dallas Woolfolk then came in from the bullpen and induced a flyout followed by a walk to load the bases with one out, but got Brett Johnson to fly out to left field and struck out Danyer Sanabria looking to end the ballgame.

Gimenez (1-0) picked up his first win of the season allowing three runs on three hits over five innings with four strikeouts. Jones (0-1) took the loss for the Rawhide surrendering four runs (three earned) on four hits while walking three and striking out one. Woolfolk left the bases loaded in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

After the league-wide day off on Monday, the Ports shift their focus to the Modesto Nuts as they begin a six-game series down Highway 99 at John Thurman Field in Modesto on Tuesday at 7:05 pm.