JetHawks fall in buzz-filled game vs. Puig, Quakes
June 4, 2015
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — The JetHawks tried to downplay it, but the buzz going into Thursday night had Yasiel Puig written all over it.
Suiting up for the Quakes, the Dodgers’ High-A affiliate and also Lancaster’s enemy in the California League South, the All-Star outfielder spent the first day of his rehab assignment in right field at The Hangar, close to a multitude of fans wearing blue and calling for his autograph.
“That was pretty crazy,” JetHawks starting pitcher Evan Grills said. “We haven’t had a crowd like that since Opening Day I don’t think. Good to have a crowd like that, though. Made it more exciting.”
The fans, which sold out the park, got their Puig fix. Their JetHawks' one, however, was spoiled by Rancho, which extended its lead in the standings to four games with an 8-5 win in the start of a four-game set.
On the disabled list since April 26 with a strained left hamstring, Puig went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored before exiting in the eighth inning.
By then, the Quakes (32-21) were up 8-4 on the JetHawks (28-25), whose superb play during a recent seven-game road trip was also worthy of some hoopla.
“Sucks to drop the first one, but I feel like we’re still taking good at-bats, seeing the ball well,” JetHawks outfielder Brett Phillips said.
The JetHawks, who went 5-2 while outscoring opponents 72-37 during a seven-game trek through Stockton and High Desert, sent two of three home runs Puig’s way, but well beyond his reach. A.J. Reed hit his California League-leading 15th homer to center field in the fourth inning while Marc Wik (in the fifth) and Phillips (in the eighth) hit shots along the right-field line.
The only downside to the bombs: They were all solo.
“We didn’t have runners in scoring position to capitalize on a bigger score tonight, but we’ll bounce back tomorrow,”said Phillips, who finished 1-for-4 with a walk.
On the flip side, the Quakes hit two long balls. Cody Bellinger’s two-run shot off Grills in the third inning gave them a 4-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
In the seventh, Tyler Ogle crushed a ball that nearly hit off his own teeth in the scoreboard flashing his picture. It was another two-run drive, putting Rancho up 8-4.
Phillips’ only hit of the day in the eighth drew Lancaster within three runs. His walk in the ninth put two JetHawks on with Derek Fisher coming to the plate with two outs.
Fisher, playing in only his first game at The Hangar after making a loud three-homer, 12-RBI debut on Saturday at High Desert, couldn’t play hero this time around. He struck out as the JetHawks dropped only their sixth game in their last 17.
“It just didn’t happen,” Fisher said.
Grills, starting opposite of fellow Canadian lefty and onetime major-league ace Erik Bedard, gave up six runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out four in five innings.
One of those strikeouts was of Puig, whose every missed swing was met with a mix of cheers and oohs and ahhs.
“I felt I competed pretty hard,” said Grills, who took the loss and fell to 3-5 this season. “A few kind of bleeders and a few hard-hit balls and that’s the way it went.”
Tyler Brunnemann went two innings and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while Frederick Tiburcio finished the game with two 1-2-3 frames.
Reed went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Wik went 2-for-4 while hitting only his second home run of the year. His first came two days before at High Desert, the same day he hit for the cycle.
Kyle Farmer went 3-for-5, Bellinger went 2-for-5 and Ogle went 2-for-3 for the Quakes. All three picked up two RBIs.
Pitching in relief of Bedard (4.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs), Ramon Benjamin got the win, going 2.2 perfect innings.
In a Hangar that saw just as much worn Dodgers’ gear as JetHawks’, Puig was cheered every time he was introduced.
No other Quake was cared for.
“(The fans) were cheering when (Puig) struck out,” Phillips noted.
The JetHawks showed Puig respect early on. Batting second in the lineup, the Dodger drove his first at-bat to the warning track in center field. Phillips seemed to play the fly ball as if it was going to leave the park and was unable to make the catch near the wall, and Puig had a double.
“The wind was blowing 30 miles an hour,” Phillips said. “(Puig) popped it up and I kept drifting back, drifting back and it hit off the wall.
“I don’t know if you can say I always make that play, but it happens. It was over my head. It was a hit. It wasn’t an error. It is what it is.”
Farmer would follow Puig’s hit with a two-RBI double and the Quakes led 2-0 in the first.
In the bottom of the frame, Reed smacked a ball down the right-field line with two outs for an RBI double. Jack Mayfield would follow with a double of his own down the left-field line to drive in Reed and tie the game.
In the end, the JetHawks went home one game further from the top. The good news for them: they have three more tries against Rancho, starting today at 6:30 p.m.
Word is Puig will still be around for that.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure he doesn’t do well,” Phillips said.
By ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — The JetHawks tried to downplay it, but the buzz going into Thursday night had Yasiel Puig written all over it.
Suiting up for the Quakes, the Dodgers’ High-A affiliate and also Lancaster’s enemy in the California League South, the All-Star outfielder spent the first day of his rehab assignment in right field at The Hangar, close to a multitude of fans wearing blue and calling for his autograph.
“That was pretty crazy,” JetHawks starting pitcher Evan Grills said. “We haven’t had a crowd like that since Opening Day I don’t think. Good to have a crowd like that, though. Made it more exciting.”
The fans, which sold out the park, got their Puig fix. Their JetHawks' one, however, was spoiled by Rancho, which extended its lead in the standings to four games with an 8-5 win in the start of a four-game set.
On the disabled list since April 26 with a strained left hamstring, Puig went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored before exiting in the eighth inning.
By then, the Quakes (32-21) were up 8-4 on the JetHawks (28-25), whose superb play during a recent seven-game road trip was also worthy of some hoopla.
“Sucks to drop the first one, but I feel like we’re still taking good at-bats, seeing the ball well,” JetHawks outfielder Brett Phillips said.
The JetHawks, who went 5-2 while outscoring opponents 72-37 during a seven-game trek through Stockton and High Desert, sent two of three home runs Puig’s way, but well beyond his reach. A.J. Reed hit his California League-leading 15th homer to center field in the fourth inning while Marc Wik (in the fifth) and Phillips (in the eighth) hit shots along the right-field line.
The only downside to the bombs: They were all solo.
“We didn’t have runners in scoring position to capitalize on a bigger score tonight, but we’ll bounce back tomorrow,”said Phillips, who finished 1-for-4 with a walk.
On the flip side, the Quakes hit two long balls. Cody Bellinger’s two-run shot off Grills in the third inning gave them a 4-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
In the seventh, Tyler Ogle crushed a ball that nearly hit off his own teeth in the scoreboard flashing his picture. It was another two-run drive, putting Rancho up 8-4.
Phillips’ only hit of the day in the eighth drew Lancaster within three runs. His walk in the ninth put two JetHawks on with Derek Fisher coming to the plate with two outs.
Fisher, playing in only his first game at The Hangar after making a loud three-homer, 12-RBI debut on Saturday at High Desert, couldn’t play hero this time around. He struck out as the JetHawks dropped only their sixth game in their last 17.
“It just didn’t happen,” Fisher said.
Grills, starting opposite of fellow Canadian lefty and onetime major-league ace Erik Bedard, gave up six runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out four in five innings.
One of those strikeouts was of Puig, whose every missed swing was met with a mix of cheers and oohs and ahhs.
“I felt I competed pretty hard,” said Grills, who took the loss and fell to 3-5 this season. “A few kind of bleeders and a few hard-hit balls and that’s the way it went.”
Tyler Brunnemann went two innings and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while Frederick Tiburcio finished the game with two 1-2-3 frames.
Reed went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Wik went 2-for-4 while hitting only his second home run of the year. His first came two days before at High Desert, the same day he hit for the cycle.
Kyle Farmer went 3-for-5, Bellinger went 2-for-5 and Ogle went 2-for-3 for the Quakes. All three picked up two RBIs.
Pitching in relief of Bedard (4.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs), Ramon Benjamin got the win, going 2.2 perfect innings.
In a Hangar that saw just as much worn Dodgers’ gear as JetHawks’, Puig was cheered every time he was introduced.
No other Quake was cared for.
“(The fans) were cheering when (Puig) struck out,” Phillips noted.
The JetHawks showed Puig respect early on. Batting second in the lineup, the Dodger drove his first at-bat to the warning track in center field. Phillips seemed to play the fly ball as if it was going to leave the park and was unable to make the catch near the wall, and Puig had a double.
“The wind was blowing 30 miles an hour,” Phillips said. “(Puig) popped it up and I kept drifting back, drifting back and it hit off the wall.
“I don’t know if you can say I always make that play, but it happens. It was over my head. It was a hit. It wasn’t an error. It is what it is.”
Farmer would follow Puig’s hit with a two-RBI double and the Quakes led 2-0 in the first.
In the bottom of the frame, Reed smacked a ball down the right-field line with two outs for an RBI double. Jack Mayfield would follow with a double of his own down the left-field line to drive in Reed and tie the game.
In the end, the JetHawks went home one game further from the top. The good news for them: they have three more tries against Rancho, starting today at 6:30 p.m.
Word is Puig will still be around for that.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure he doesn’t do well,” Phillips said.