The month of August has been kind and even historic for the Quakes as they have won or swept five of the seven series they have played this month. They also surpassed their previous best of 42 road wins in a season by winning 43 games while playing away from home this year. 

This was, in a sense, a big a series for the Quakes, as they played the last place Inland Empire 66ers (Angels). Of course, it’s always nice to win a series, but it was even more crucial that the Quakes win to stay ahead in the standings and even try to distance themselves from the second-place Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres).

Game-1

Second baseman Devin Mann got things going early in the first with a RBI triple to put the Quakes up 1-0. That was immediately followed by a RBI double from third baseman Miguel Vargas. The 66ers took a run back against Rancho starter Jose Martinez with a single and then added on with a run each in the second and third innings to take a 3-2 lead. The Quakes tied the game and then took the lead once again in the fourth, scoring runs on a fielder’s choice/throwing error, a sac fly, and a base hit by right fielder Brandon Montgomery.

Sven Schueller came in to finish up the fifth for Martinez who went 4.2 while giving up three runs on six hits. Schueller gave up a run in the sixth to put the 66ers within one, but the Quakes shortstop Jacob Amaya drove in two in the seventh to add on some insurance. Darien Nunez took over for Schueller in the bottom of the inning, giving up four hits and a run over the course of 1.1 innings. Guillermo Zuniga finished up the game for the Quakes, recording four strikeouts through 1.2 innings.

Schueller earned the win, his fifth, while Zuniga earned his first save. The win was the Quakes 75th of the season.

Game-2

The Quakes scored first, as Mann drove in a run with a RBI single, however, Quakes starter Gerardo Carrillo gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning to give the 66ers a 2-1 lead. Rancho took the lead for good in the fifth, starting the inning off with back-to-back home runs from shortstop Deacon Liput and DH Starling Heredia. For good measure, Vargas hit a two-run home run a little later in the inning, putting the Quakes up 5-2.

Carrillo pitched seven strong innings, giving up just the two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out a career-high 11 batters. Max Gamboa took over in the eighth inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced. Mann tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth with an RBI single. The run was nice to have as the 66ers scored a run off of Brandon Montgomery in the bottom of the inning, making the eventual final score 6-3. Carrillo earned the win, his fourth of the year. 

Game-3

Once again, the Quakes scored first, this time thanks to a Vargas RBI double. Starter John Rooney gave up a two-run home run in the second, his one and only real mistake of the night. To back Rooney’s impressive outing, and send him off with the win, the Quakes offense put up six runs in the sixth inning. A catching error by the 66ers shortstop allowed the tying run to score, which was then followed up by a two-RBI single from outfielder Brayan Morales and a three-run home run by center fielder Jeren Kendall. Connor Strain took over for Rooney to start the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Heredia drove in Rancho’s eighth run of the night with a single. Strain continued through the seventh, overall throwing two hitless innings. Austin Drury took over in the eighth, throwing his own 1-2-3 inning. He gave up a hit and a walk but kept the 66ers off the board.

Rooney earned the win, his fifth of the year while the Quakes earned their record-breaking 43rd road win.

Game-4

Austin Hamilton got the start in the final road game of the regular season. It was a bit of a rough outing for him as he gave up four runs in the first two innings, a lead that the offense would be unable to overcome. Mann hit a solo home run in the fourth and catcher Tre Todd led off the fifth with a triple before being driven in by Amaya, but those were the only two runs for Rancho. Schueller took over for Hamilton in the bottom of the inning and gave up a run. Brett de Geus took the sixth and seventh, only giving up a single while striking out four. Melvin Jimenez went in for the eighth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning. 

The Quakes offense was unable to start a rally in any of those innings and struck out three times to end the ninth. 

Hamilton took the loss, his fourth, but the Quakes walked away with the series win and a one-game lead in the California League South standings.

Coming Up

The Quakes finish the regular season at home with a seven-game homestand with three games against the second-place Lake Elsinore Storm and four against the 66ers. Featured promotions include Recycle Tuesday, Bark in the Park on Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Alex Verdugo bobblehead on Friday, fireworks on Saturday, kids run the bases on Sunday and a special 2:05 pm start time on Labor Day.

Minor Leagues – Major Fun!

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