2021 game notes Saturday, July 3rd, 2021 6:50 PM Contact: Mike Lindskog Game #52, Road Game #28 [email protected] Fresno, CA Rancho Cucamonga QuakeS (25-26) AT (33-19) RHP Robbie Peto (0-2, 5.57 ERA) vs. RHP Anderson Amarista (0-1, 10.64 ERA) TODAY’S GAME: The Quakes continue their longest road trip of the year today, with game 11 of a 12-game, 14-day swing up DIVISION STANDINGS north, as they take on the Fresno Grizzlies in game five of a six-game set. Rancho is now just 2-8 on the road trip and will need to win the remaining two games in order to split the season-long series. Should Fresno win one of the two remaining games, they’d have the NORTH W L PCT GB San Jose 35 17 .673 - tie-breaker in the event of a tie for the final playoff spot in the newly-revamped 2021 playoff system. Fresno 33 19 .635 2 LAST GAME: Rancho’s offensive woes continued on Friday, as they managed a single run in a 2-1 loss to the Grizzlies. Fresno’s Modesto 30 22 .577 5 pitching staff dominated for their third straight head-to-head win, allowing just five hits. Fresno’s Mike Ruff allowed just one- un Stockton 22 30 .423 13 earned run over six innings, while relievers Blair Calvo (1-1) and Stephen Jones combined for three scoreless to finish it off. Quakes’ starter Gavin Stone enjoyed his best outing of the year, giving Rancho five scoreless frames to put himself in position for his first pro SOUTH W L PCT GB win. Reliever Aldry Acosta (1-2) couldn’t hold the lead though, as the Grizzlies tallied two in the seventh to take the lead for good. Rancho Cucamonga 25 26 .490 - NO “O”: The Quakes had some early offensive success against San Jose in the first part of this road trip, but that’s come to a screech- Lake Elsinore 25 27 .481 .5 ing half over the last three days, as the Quakes have scored just three runs and logged ten hits over this three-game losing streak. To Inland Empire 24 27 .471 1 start the road trip, Rancho punished the top pitching staff in the league for 19 runs, despite dropping all three of those games in San Visalia 13 39 .250 12.5 Jose. This three-game stretch is their worst of the year offensively, but tonight’s Fresno starter offers a glimmer of hope, as Anderson 2021 PLAYOFF STANDINGS Amarista has allowed 13 runs on 19 hits over just 11 innings in 2021. NORTH W L PCT GB LIFE AFTER BRANDON LEWIS: The last three games in Fresno will remind everyone that INF Brandon Lewis’ promotion to San Jose 35 17 .673 - High-A Great Lakes will hurt this offense in the short-term. After putting up just ten hits combined over the last three games, Rancho Fresno 33 19 .635 2 is now hitting .241 as a team, currently sixth in the league. Lewis was among the league leaders in several offensive categories prior to Modesto 30 22 .577 5 his departure and carried a batting average of .278. Lewis debuted on Tuesday for Great Lakes and went 0-for-5. He collected his first Rancho Cucamonga 25 26 .490 9.5 hit in Wednesday night’s win for the Loons and had a monster game last night in Great Lakes’ 10-9 come-from-behind win over Fort ** Top two teams qualify for 2021 playoffs, regardless of division Wayne, as Lewis went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including his first homer at the high-A level. PLAYOFFS? YES, PLAYOFFS!: At the beginning of the 2021 season, it was understood that there would be no playoffs across YESTERDAY’S SCORES the country for all of Minor League , due to the ongoing global pandemic. In an article released by Baseball America earlier Fresno 2 Rancho Cucamonga 1 today, they confirmed that will implement a “revised” playoff plan, allowing each league to crown a champion Lake Elsinore 11 Inland Empire 3 with a playoff series. The playoffs will be shortened to a single series, that features the top two teams (by record), regardless of divi- Modesto 8 Visalia 1 sion. The Quakes currently sit fourth in the league, despite them owning the best record in the South Division. The top three teams Stockton 4 San Jose 3 in all of Low-A West currently reside up North, where San Jose has a three-game lead over Fresno and a six-game lead over Modesto. TODAY The Quakes are currently 7.5 games back of Fresno in that setting, with 69 games remaining in the 120-game season. That obviously makes this six-game series against Fresno a crucial one, as the Quakes need to split the series by winning the final two games, in order Modesto at Visalia, 6:30 PM to avoid giving Fresno the playoff tie-breaker. The 2022 season will see the league move to a 132-game schedule and the first-half and Inland Empire at Lake Elsinore, 6:35 PM second-half winners of each respective division meet in the playoffs. Rancho Cucamonga at Fresno, 6:50 PM GOODBYE LANCASTER, HELLO FRESNO: This six-game set marks the first time that the Quakes and Fresno Grizzlies are San Jose at Stockton, 7:00 PM meeting in history, as this is the one and only series between the two teams in 2021. With Major League Baseball’s initiative to reduce the minor leagues to 120 teams before the start of the 2021 season, the Lancaster JetHawks were eliminated from the then- TOMORROW League. Taking their spot in the newly-renamed Low-A West League are the Fresno Grizzlies, who join the league from the former Modesto at Visalia, 1:00 PM Triple-A , where they were members since 1998. The home of the Grizzlies is Chukchansi Park, which seats a Inland Empire at Lake Elsinore, 2:05 PM more Triple-A appropriate crowd of 10,000-plus fans. The Lancaster JetHawks were affiliated with the for the final San Jose at Stockton, 6:30 PM four years in the Cal League. This made Colorado the only affiliate left in Low-A West and they ended up being the only choice for Rancho Cucamonga at Fresno, 6:35 PM Fresno. The Grizzlies were a Giants’ affiliate from 1998-2014 and then won their only PCL title as a ’ affiliate in 2015. They spent their final two years in the PCL as a ’ affiliate, prior to dropping three levels in 2021. 2021 QUAKES AT A GLANCE ROBBIE PETO: Robbie Peto makes his 11th appearance, tenth start and first against Fresno. In his last outing, Peto allowed two 1st Half Record: 25-26 runs on three hits over 4.1 innings on 6/27 in a no-decision at San Jose. Peto signed with the Dodgers as an undrafted FA in 2020. 2nd Half Record: 0-0 ANDERSON AMARISTA: Anderson Amarista makes his fourth start of the year for Fresno and first against Rancho. In his last vs Fresno: 1-3 outing overall, he allowed three runs on five hits over just two innings in a no-decision at Visalia on 6/27. Amarista signed with vs Fresno Home: 0-0 Colorado back in 2015 out of Venezuela. vs Fresno Road: 1-3 NEW RADIO HOME: Throughout the 2021 season, you can catch all the action from the ease of your phone or computer. Listen online at rcquakes.com and the iHeartRadio app (Keyword: Quakes) with the “Voice of the Quakes” Mike Lindskog and Davis Elling- Home Record: 13-11 ton. To listen LIVE at LoanMart Field, tune your portable FM radio to 91.3 FM. Road Record: 12-15 HOME GAMES: The Quakes will be returning to LoanMart Field to play host to the on July 6th, as the Storm Current Streak: L3 will be making their first trip to Rancho Cucamonga this season. Tickets are available at rcquakes.com. Probable Quakes Lineup UPCOMING GAMES AND PROBABLES 1. #11 J. Vogel CF Date Opp Pitching Probables Time Radio 2. #3 S. McWilliams DH 3. #10 E. Leonard 2B 7/4 at Fresno RHP Jimmy Lewis vs. LHP Sam Weatherly 6:35 PM RCQuakes.com 4. #17 D. Cartaya C 5. #6 7/6 vs Lake Elsinore RHP Jesus Lugo vs. RHP Kendall Williams 6:30 PM RCQuakes.com A. De Jesus SS 6. #14 J. Vivas 3B 7. #15 J. DeLuca RF 7/7 vs Lake Elsinore RHP Nick Thwaits vs. RHP Carlos Duran 6:30 PM RCQuakes.com 8. #18 I. Vargas 1B 7/8 vs Lake Elsinore RHP Dwayne Matos vs. RHP Gavin Stone 6:30 PM RCQuakes.com 9. #7 E. Mateo LF P. #49 R. Peto RHP