Late Homer Trips Quakes on Saturday

San Jose, CA – A solo home run in the last of the eighth inning by San Jose’s Yorlis Rodriguez put the Giants ahead to stay on Saturday, as San Jose edged Rancho Cucamonga, 3-2 at Excite Ballpark.

One inning after Luis Rodriguez of the Quakes tied the score, San Jose’s Rodriguez crushed a Martin Santana (4-3) offering over the wall in left, giving the Giants their third win over the Quakes through the first five games of the series.

Saturday’s game was an offensive struggle, as Rancho was held to just three hits for the third time in five games.

Austin Gauthier opened the game with a double and eventually scored on a Yunior Garcia RBI groundout, giving Rancho a 1-0 lead.

Peter Heubeck started and gave the Quakes two scoreless innings, but Ronan Kopp came on in the third and struggled with his command. Two of Kopp’s three wild pitches in the third scored runs, as the Giants took a 2-1 lead.

That lead held until the seventh, when Rancho’s Luis Rodriguez blasted a game-tying homer to left, his ninth to make it a 2-2 affair.

The Quakes (15-14, 51-44) will look for a win and a series-split on Sunday at 5pm, as they send Joel Ibarra (0-1) to the mound, against San Jose’s Nick Sinacola.

The Quakes will eventually return to LoanMart Field on Tuesday, August 2, as they host the Inland Empire 66ers in a six-game set. Tuesday, August 2 will be a Healthy RC Recycle Tuesday. Tickets are available at rcquakes.com. We hope to see you at LoanMart Field...Go Quakes!