“We won a game yesterday, if we win one today that’s two in a row. If we win one tomorrow that’s called a winning streak. It has happened before.” – Manager Lou Brown in Major League II

As the Dodgers were manhandling the San Diego Padres at a comfortable Petco Park to pick up their second win in a row, their Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes won their fourth game in a row on Monday night in near freezing conditions and 20+ MPH winds (after a half hour rain delay) at The Hangar in Lancaster against the Colorado Rockies Advanced Single-A affiliate JetHawks. In doing so, both teams woke up on Tuesday morning no longer in last place in their respective leagues and divisions.

Conditions at The Hangar in Lancaster went from this…

…to this in a little over two hours on Monday evening. (Note the flags).
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The Dodgers 10-3 rout over the (now) NL West last place Padres came as a result of a five-run fifth inning that saw all nine Dodgers batters come to the plate, and a ninth-inning grand slam home run by Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal, whereas the Quakes 4-1 win came as a result of stellar pitching by both teams, but saw the JetHawks commit an unsightly five errors. Ironically, there were no home runs on Monday night at the normally hitter-friendly (and windy) “Launch Pad,” as The Hangar is often called.

“I normally don’t get too excited about the the standings or how our guys are doing until about the 40-game mark,” said Quakes manager Drew Saylor, prior to Monday’s contest. “Usually by then you have a good read on your guys and the overall feel of the team.

“After only 11 games (now 12) and this early in the season, these kids are still learning the game, learning how to have good at-bats and what not,” Saylor added. “By June or July, we’ll have a better understanding of where we are as a team.”

Even though there were no home runs on Monday, the Quakes managed to outhit the JetHawks 7 to 4, including two hits by Quakes center fielder and Dodgers 2017 first-round draft pick (out of Vanderbilt University) Jeren Kendall, one of which was a double.

On the other side of the ball, Quakes first baseman Ibandel Isabel made several outstanding plays to help his team win. Additionally, the final out of the game came on a brilliant over-the-shoulder running catch by Quakes right fielder Logan Landon with the tying run in the on-deck circle.

Although right-hander Andrew Sopko started the game for Drew Saylor’s squad, the Quakes skipper pulled the 23-year-old Missoula, Montana native in the bottom of the fifth inning, not because the Dodgers seventh-rounder out of Gonzaga University had given up back-to-back two-out singles, but because he had reached his pre-determined pitch-count of 75 pitches (77 to be exact).

The unfortunate byproduct of this is that even though Sopko left the game with his team up 3-1, he did not go the requisite five innings to collect the win. Sopko finished the night having allowed only one run on three hits, with three walks and six strikeouts in his excellent 4.2 innings of work.

Left-handed, side-arm-slinging Jason Richman picked up right where Sopko left off, allowing no runs and only one hit, with no walks and three strikeouts in his 2.2 innings of relief to pick up the win. The 24-year-old Marietta, Georgia native has an absolutely filthy slider and an equally nasty curveball to accompany his 93-MPH(ish) fastball, all of which kept the normally hot-hitting JetHawks off balance.

The best description of side-arm-slinging left-hander Jason Richman’s delivery is “filthy.”
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Hard-throwing Quakes right-hander Ryan Moseley picked up his first save of the young season by allowing no runs or hits, with one walk and two strikeouts in his 1.2 innings in relief of Richman.

Game two of the three-game series against the JetHawks will take place on Tuesday night in Lancaster, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Jordan Sheffield is scheduled to toe the mound for the Quakes, with right-hander Trey Killian set to counter for Lancaster.