After sweeping three straight series and going on a nine-game winning streak, the Quakes have cooled off a little in the second half, but still show signs of greatness as they take on the California League North in 12 straight games, dating back to July 10.

Game-1

Stockton got on the board with a run in the first against Rancho starter Andre Jackson, but designated hitter Niko Hulsizer took Ports starter and Oakland Athletics rehabber Sean Manaea deep with two runners on to put the Quakes up 3-1. Manaea gave up a double to third baseman Miguel Vargas and issued a walk in the third before being removed.

Right fielder Donovan Casey faced the new pitcher and hit a home run that just went fair over the top of the foul pole to give the Quakes a 6-1 lead. Sven Schueller came in for Jackson in the fifth, inheriting two base runners. Jackson gave up just the one run and five hits over his four-plus innings of work.

A run scored against Schueller in the sixth on a fielding error by first baseman Devin Mann and, shortly after, Schueller was replaced by Austin Drury. Drury gave up a run in the seventh, cutting the Quakes lead in half.

In the bottom of the inning, shortstop Jeter Downs got Rancho’s first hit since the third inning, but nothing came of it. Brett de Geus took over for Drury in the eighth and gave up a run, but kept Stockton from scoring in the ninth to give the Quakes the 6-4 win. Schueller earned the win, moving his record to 4-3 while de Geus earned his first save with the Quakes.  

Game-2

Starter Leo Crawford had a rough go of things. Coming off of a complete game shutout, Crawford looked to continue his success, but ran into trouble in the second inning as he gave up a two-run triple. He ended up going five innings, giving up just the two runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out eight.

Bryan Warzek took over for the sixth and gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning, one on a sac fly and one on a pair of errors by catcher Connor Wong and Hulsizer. Connor Strain took over to get the final out of the inning, but he ran into his own trouble, as two runs scored on an RBI single. Strain pitched the seventh as well, giving up a hit and a walk.

Strain also recorded the first out of the eighth, but was switched with Darien Nunez, who recorded two quick strikeouts to end the inning. Nunez threw a 1-2-3 ninth, but unfortunately the Quakes offense was lackluster throughout the game, as they only had three hits, with the first one not coming until the seventh. Ultimately, the Quakes fell to the Ports, 6-0 with Crawford suffering his fourth loss of the year.  

Game-3

Casey got the game off to a good start for Rancho in the second, hitting a solo home run to left center for the first hit of the game, but things got a little messy in the third. Starter Michael Grove recorded the first two outs of the inning but gave up back-to-back singles and a home run to put Stockton up 3-1. Following the three-run shot, Grove was removed from the game and replaced by Drury, who gave up two singles, a walk and hit a batter in his 1.1 innings.

Max Gamboa took over for Drury to start the fifth and had a rough go of things, hitting his second batter, then balking to put him on third and then scoring on an RBI triple. In the bottom of the inning, the Quakes offense inched closer to the Ports lead, scoring one on an RBI double by left fielder Starling Heredia and another on a single by first baseman Marcus Chiu to get Rancho within one.

Gamboa had a 1-2-3 sixth, but was replaced by Wes Helsabeck in the seventh. Helsabeck got through the inning without any issues, but that changed in the eighth. A walk and three straight hits allowed two runs to score, putting the Ports up 6-3. de Geus was tasked with recording the final out of the inning, which he did.

The Quakes added on another run in the bottom of the eighth, as Downs scored on a wild pitch, the third of four in the inning. de Geus threw the ninth inning as well, recording three quick outs to get the Quakes offense back out in search of a rally. Unfortunately, like the day before, the bats didn’t show up when needed most and the Quakes fell 6-4, with Grove taking the loss.

Coming up

The Quakes head to San Jose next to take on the Giants (Giants) on Wednesday, after a (very) much needed day off on Tuesday to rest and recuperate.

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