After a rough series loss to the Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks) last week, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes looked to bounce back against one of the toughest teams in the league at one of the toughest stadiums to play at, the Hangar, in Lancaster, CA.

At the Hangar, home to the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies), the score for a game can change in the blink of an eye. Sometimes there’s a no-hitter, sometimes you score 18 runs. It usually depends on how the wind blows or if there’s a rainbow three miles away from Phoenix, AZ while the Braves play in San Diego. 

The Hangar has always been an interesting / scary / Coors Field-like place to play and the most recent four-game match-up between the Quakes and the JetHawks was no exception. 

Game-1 was more of a run-of-the-mill game between the two teams, something like you would see at just about any other ballpark. The score wasn’t too lopsided, and the Quakes only needed two pitchers. Right-hander Gerardo Carrillo got the start for Rancho and left-hander Lucas Gilbreath started for Lancaster. Though Gilbreath kept the Quakes quiet in the first, they laid into him starting in the second. 

Quakes first baseman Nick Yarnall ripped an RBI triple to left to put the Quakes up 1-0. Designated hitter Starling Heredia followed with a RBI single to left to make it 2-0.

Yarnall showed up again as a thorn in Gilbreath’s side, hitting a two-run home run to right center in the fourth inning to put the Quakes up 4-0. Once again in the fifth, the Rancho offense got to Gilbreath, although in a slightly unconventional way. Third baseman Brandon Montgomery reached on a double and was moved to third on a base hit by shortstop Jeter Downs. Left fielder Drew Avans then grounded into a double play that allowed Montgomery to score. 

In the bottom of the inning, the JetHawks finally got Carrillo to give up some runs when right fielder Ramon Marcelino drove in two with a triple to center to cut the Quakes lead to three. Rancho center fielder Donovan Casey took the run right back in the sixth, scoring on a Heredia ground out. 

Carrillo gave up one more run in the sixth, a solo shot to Lancaster designated hitter Luis Castro, but overall, it was a great outing for him in hitter-friendly Lancaster. To start the seventh, Avans tripled off of right-hander Kenny Koplove and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Quakes left-hander Wes Helsabeck took over for Carrillo in the bottom of the inning and pitched the final three needed for the 7-3 win, giving up two hits while striking out five. Carrillo earned the win after his six innings, three runs, and seven strikeouts while Helsabeck earned his second save of the year. 

Game-2 was a little more Lancaster-esque, but still nothing too out of the ordinary. The JetHawks scored first against Rancho left-hander Leo Crawford, but aside from that first inning blemish pitched a great game. Through his five innings, Crawford gave up just the one run and four hits while striking out six. The Quakes offense had been pretty quiet until the top of the sixth, when second baseman Devin Mann hit a solo shot off of Lancaster left-handed starter Ryan Rolison to tie the game. However, Lancaster took that run and then some back in the bottom of the sixth against Rancho right-hander Sven Schueller, putting them up 3-1. 

The Quakes scored two more in the eighth on a Marcus Chiu home run, to re-tie the game at three, but a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of ninth would sink the Quakes chances at an extra-inning comeback, with the final score being 6-3 Lancaster.

The Quakes would get their revenge in game-3, however, as the winds of change (literally) in Lancaster played to their favor. To summarize the game so that it won’t be 2,000 words long, the following Quakes hit home runs: Yarnall, Downs (three-run), Chiu (three-run), Wong. All but one Quakes batter got at least one hit; Mann and Avans both hit triples; Mann, Downs, and Rincon hit doubles; and everyone scored at least one run.

Right-hander Michael Grove started for the Quakes and turned in his longest – and best – performance of the season after facing some adversity. This time around, Grove went four innings giving up just two hits and one run while striking out five. Right-hander Wills Montgomerie relived him in the fifth and gave up seven runs on nine hits over four, because… well… it’s Lancaster. Right-hander Max Gamboa finished up the game, striking out the side to keep the Quakes 18-8 lead intact for the win. 

Game-4 was slightly similar to the first game, at least with the final score. Luckily, the Quakes didn’t use up all of their offensive power in game-3, as they were able to put up seven runs in the final game of the series. It took a little longer to get the scoring going than in the previous games, but eventually the offense got to Lancaster starter Antonio Santos in the fourth. Wong got the party started with a double, moving to third on a Mann single, and then scoring on a Casey single to put the Quakes up 1-0. 

The JetHawks, however, took two runs back off of Quakes highly-touted right-hander Josiah Gray, whom they acquired in the Puig / Kemp / Wood / Farmer trade with the Cincinnati Red, along with Downs. The start was Gray’s second in the Cal League, but the fact that he held Lancaster to just two runs on five hits over five innings in their own ballpark shows promise for the 21-year-old right-hander. Gray’s fastball topped out at 95-mph and his filthy slider at 89-mph.

The Quakes offense had Gray’s back in the seventh, as they scored four runs thanks to a couple errors and a double from Chiu to retake the lead, 6-2 over the JetHawks. Casey added on one more in the eighth with a solo shot to right center, putting the Quakes up 7-2. From the sixth on, the Quakes bullpen gave up just four hits, striking out four, holding the lead and giving right-hander Ryan Moseley the win. 

The Quakes return home to LoanMart Field on Friday evening when they open a six-game homestand beginning with three against the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) and three with the Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks). The weekend series with the Nuts is the Quakes annual Star Wars weekend. Friday night will feature a lightsaber-wielding Justin Turner bobblehead, while Saturday will be the official Star Wars night where Star Wars characters will roam the concourse and the Quakes will wear themed jerseys. Sunday concludes the homestand with a youth baseball clinic and kids run the bases after the game. 

As they say, “Minor Leagues. Major Fun.”

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