If you are among the feint-of-heart or among those who do not thrive on extremely intense, gut-wrenching playoff baseball, then you might want to move along, because there is nothing for you to see here.

But if exchanging blows between the two best teams in the extremely competitive California League floats your boat, then you’ve come to the right place.

After exchanging said blows, the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes delivered a knockout punch to the Arizona Diamondbacks (go figure) Advanced Single-A Visalia Rawhide in the top of the ninth inning of a 4-4 tie at Recreation Park in downtown Visalia to give the Quakes a 5-4 lead and eventual win, thereby giving them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five California League Championship Series.

That 5-4 lead (and win) came as a result of a monster opposite field solo home run down the left field line off the bat of Quakes left-handed-hitting second baseman Jared Walker with one out in the top of the ninth.

“I wasn’t sure I got it,” Walker told Quakes play-by-play man Mike Lindskog after the game. “It was 2-0 though, and I was taking a hack.”

After going 0-for-10 in the Cal League South Finals against the Lancaster JetHawks, and beginning the Cal League Championship Series going 0-for-2, Quakes second baseman Jared Walker had the biggest hit of his professional career when he slugged a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Quakes the 5-4 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Championship Series. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After a shaky start by Quakes right-hander Leo Crawford that put Quakes manager Drew Saylor’s squad in a 3-0 hole in the bottom of the second inning, the Quakes bats finally came to life in the top of the fifth inning, when first baseman Nick Yarnall delivered a three-run home run to tie the game at 3-3.

The Quakes added another run in their half of the fourth inning when Rawhide starter Riley Smith issued a bases-loaded walk to Walker to give Rancho their first lead of the night. But in the bottom of the seventh inning, Quakes right-hander (and Cal League South Finals hero) Parker Curry gave up a game-tying solo home run to Visalia third baseman Drew Ellis to make it a 4-4 ballgame. Amazingly, but not surprisingly, Curry ended up striking out the side around Ellis’ home run.

Curry, if you recall, threw a perfect four innings of relief against the Lancaster JetHawks in Game-2 of the Cal League South Finals in the eventual 1-0 Quakes win and a rare four-inning save for Curry. The Quakes would go on to with the best-of-five series over the JetHawks three games to one to advance to the Cal League Championship Series for the first time since the Cody Bellinger / Alex Verdugo-led Quakes did so in 2015. (They won it).

But wait, there’s more!

Rehabbing Dodgers right-hander and fan-favorite Dennis Santana will make the start in Game-2 of the Championship Series on Wednesday evening. The 22-year-old San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic native, who is working his way back from a rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder suffered on June 8, also started Game-2 of the Cal League South Finals, where he did not allow a run or hit while walking two and striking out one in his brief one-inning /  20-pitch outing. He is expected to go only two innings on Wednesday night and will  probably have a 35-45 pitch limit.

Santana will probably go only two innings with a 35-45-pitch limit when he takes the mound to start Game-2 of the 2018 Cal League Championship Series on Wednesday night. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although some may cry foul that the Quakes are using a rehabbing major leaguer in a minor league championship series, the bottom line is that the Dodgers are hoping to have Santana (and fellow rehabbing right-hander Yimi Garcia) return to the big league club for the stretch run and (hopefully) into the postseason. It’s also safe to say that the Rawhide (Diamondbacks) would be doing the exact same thing if they had a major leaguer needing to rehab. Keep in mind that the Diamondbacks trail the second place Dodgers by only one game, with both teams in hot pursuit of the NL West-leading Colorado Rockies, who the Dodgers trail by a game and a half and the Dbacks by two and a half … so there.

Game-2 of the California League Championship Series will be on Wednesday night in Visalia, with first pitch set for 7:05 pm PT. After a Thursday off day, the series will continue on Friday (and Saturday and Sunday if necessary) at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga. All remaining games will also have a 7:05 pm PT start time and can be heard live on FOX Sports AM 1350 radio (via the iHeart Radio app). Fans can also listen to the games live on TuneIn Radio.

Go Quakes!