Almanza Ties Two Franchise Records in 5-4 Win
Oakland is Now 31 Games over .500 on the Year
By Nevada Cullen
MARYSVILLE, Calif. -- Christian Almanza hammered a towering, go-ahead solo jack to deep right field in Oakland's 5-4 victory over the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers on Thursday. Not only did it give the Ballers a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish, but also it tied a franchise record.
With that one swing, Almanza became the second Baller to blast 21 big flies and drive in 71 runs in a single season. He joins the ranks of Noah Martinez, who holds both of those records, and Dondrei Hubbard, who finished shy of 20 homers but also plated 71.
Before Almaza's late-game heroics, the Ballers put together a two-out rally in the first inning. Davis Drewek drew a two-out walk, and Daniel Harris IV sliced a two-run, opposite-field long ball to right.
Almanza reached on a pop-fly double on the infield. Then, Cam Bufford lined an RBI single into left at 108 mph off the bat to create an early 3-0 cushion for the Ballers.
River Orsak put the High Wheelers on the board with an RBI double into right in the third. Gio Brusa eventually evened the score at three with a two-run bomb to right in the sixth.
Immediately afterwards, Almanza crushed a go-ahead dinger with one out in the seventh. His 21st tater traveled 404 feet over the right-field wall.
Two batters later, Lou Helmig homered to right. Helmig's first long ball in nearly three weeks gave the Ballers a necessary insurance run and a 5-3 edge.
James Colyer and Caleb Franzen combined to pitch a couple of scoreless innings out of the bullpen, and Adam Bogosian entered to get the final three outs of the ninth. Bogosian used a couple of ground ball outs to seal the 5-4 win and earn his second pro save.
Zach St. Pierre got the start for the Ballers and tossed six solid innings. He allowed just three runs, recording his sixth quality start and sixth win of the season.
First pitch for game four against the High Wheelers is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PDT Friday. As always, you can listen to the action on 860 AM The Answer and on the Oakland Ballers YouTube channel.
