For the first time this season the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes took on the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels). It was also their first series split of the new season, with the Rancho squad taking the two middle games of the four-game set. 

Rancho got on the board first in game-1 after third baseman Marcus Chiu drove in designated hitter Carlos Rincon with a double to Angels top outfield prospect Torii Hunter Jr., son of nine-time Gold Glove, five-time All-Star, and two-time Silver Slugger Angels outfielder Torii Hunter.

Left-hander Bryan Warzek got the start for Rancho but lasted only 1.2 innings, having given up all five of the 66ers runs in the second inning, earning him the loss. Warzek five batters in the game, thus reinforcing the age old saying “Walks kill you.”

The Quakes bullpen kept the 66ers in check for the remainder of the game. Southpaw Logan Salow and right-hander Elio Serrano gave up just one hit each over a combined 5.1 innings of work. Ryan Moseley finished out the game, giving up just a walk in one inning. But the damage had clearly already been done, with the Quakes falling 5-1 in the series opener. 

Game-2 was one you had to see to believe … if you had three hours to spare. The 66ers pitching staff had a combined no-hitter going through nine innings, but because Quakes pitching also kept the 66ers off the board, the game went to extras, but more on that later.

Gerardo Carrillo got the start for Rancho, posting one of the best lines of the season for a Quakes starter: zero runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts over his stellar 5.0 innings of work. Left-hander Austin Hamilton and righty Max Gamboa picked up right where Carrillo left off, each going two innings while striking out nine Inland Empire batters between them, also keeping the 66ers off the board and sending the game to extras.

If you were unaware (or had forgotten), MLB commissioner Rob Manfred instituted a rule that went into effect last season for minor league extra-inning games. This rule was enacted to speed up the “pace of play” by placing the last out of the previous inning as a runner at second to start the tenth (and each subsequent extra) inning, in hopes that one team will score and that’ll be the end of it instead of dragging out the game for multiple extra innings. should it be the pitcher who made the last out in the previous inning (in minor league games where pitchers actually bat), the player making the last out prior to the pitcher would be the automatic base runner. 

As it turned out, the last out for the Quakes in their half of the ninth inning was designated hitter Starling Heredia. But Heredia wasn’t on second base for long, as sixers right-hander Austin Warren uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Heredia to take third base. Warren then walked Chiu and gave up a triple to Quakes left fielder Drew Avans (who they had called up the day before from extended spring training) to drive in two runs. Second baseman Brandon Montgomery added to the lead with a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt that scored Avans from third for the Quakes third and and final run of the night.

Right-hander Jordan Sheffield came in to close the game in the bottom of the inning, quickly striking out the side, thus making the automatic runner on second irrelevant. Sheffield was credited with the save, his fifth of the season, with Gamboa (1-0) picking up the 3-0 win, the Quakes first shutout of the season. 

The third game of the series was another tight one, though it didn’t involve extra innings. Heredia got the party started when he smashed a solo shot to center to get the Quakes on the board in the second. Quakes right-handed starter Michael Grove kept the 66ers quiet for his two innings of work, giving up one hit and striking out four. He was replaced on the mound by right-hander Wills , who immediately gave up a solo home run to 66ers shortstop Alvaro Rubalcaba but quickly settled in, striking out five and only giving up the one hit and run over his 4.2 innings of work.

The Quakes offense gave Montgomerie (and Grove) some extra run support in the seventh after a leadoff walk by Rancho catcher Tre Todd, bringing center fielder Donovan Casey to the plate. With Casey at the bat (come on, you knew that was coming), he promptly drilled a double to left, scoring Todd from first base. Quakes second baseman Devin Mann immediately followed with a single to center to drive in Casey and give Rancho a 3-1 lead. 

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Quakes left-hander Wes Helsabeck took over for Montgomerie and retired the side. He then gave up a two-out home run to Hunter Jr. in the eighth to put the 66ers within one, but escaped the inning without further damage and and struck out the one batter he faced in the ninth to earn his first hold of the season.

Moseley got the two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth to ground out to give the Quakes the 3-2 win, while earning his third save of the season. Montgomerie (2-0) was credited with the win. 

For game-4 and as part of MiLB’s Copa de la Diversión, the 66ers played as the Cucuys (Boogieman) De San Bernardino and the Quakes as the Temblores (Earthquakes) de Rancho Cucamonga. The Cucuys wore neon green / yellow jerseys with “Cucuys” written across the front and the Temblores dark blue jerseys with their alter ego across the chest.

The Quakes took an early lead when highly-touted Dodgers shortstop prospect Jeter Downs lined a base hit to center. He promptly stole second base (easily) and took third on a passed ball by 66ers catcher Ryan Scott. He then scored on an infield single by Casey to give the Temblores a 1-0 lead.

Left-hander Victor Gonzalez started for the Quakes, tossing two clean innings before allowing a run in the third on base hits by Sixers second baseman Alvaro Rubalcaba and Hunter Jr. He finished his excellent four innings of work allowing just that one run and just those two hits, while walking two and striking out seven.

Fresh off the Injured List for a blister on his left middle finger, left-hander Leo Crawford took over for Gonzalez in the fifth with the Quakes holding onto a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, he gave up two runs on five hits over two innings, knotting the score at three.  

Salow and lefty Connor Mitchell kept the 66ers at bay through the final three innings of regulation, sending the game to extras for the second time in the series.

It did not go well this time. 

The Quakes began the top of the 10th with Montgomery as their automatic runner on second, but left him stranded on third base following a sacrifice fly.

Inland Empire began their half of the 10th with designated hitter Kevin Williams Jr. on second. Williams immediately took third on a ball-4 wild pitch by Quakes left-hander Austin Hamilton to 66ers right fielder Ryan Vega. He brought home the winning run one batter later on single to right by 66ers left fielder Kyle Survance.

Although the Quakes split the series with their Cal League neighbors, they are 12-9 on the young season 2.0 games ahead of the other three teams in the Cal League’s South Division. The resume play on Friday night at
John Thurman Field in Modesto when they open a three-game weekend series with the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) before returning home to Rancho Cucamonga on Monday, April 29, when they open a four-game series with the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

As they say: “Minor Leagues, Major Fun!”

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