Ballers stymied by Roadsters in Thursday series finale
Santos homers but Oakland drops series on the road
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 10 | 0 |
By Gareth Kwok
MODESTO, CA – The Oakland Ballers struggled to hit with runners in scoring position on Thursday night in a 6-1 loss to the Modesto Roadsters, dropping the three-game road series at Modern Woodmen Field.
Oakland (14-19) collected 10 hits on the night, seven against Modesto starting right-hander Omar Serrano (W, 2-1) but went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Ballers took the first lead of the game just two batters in on a solo homer from Esai Santos. His home run traveled 437 feet to right-center, his eighth of the year.
Modesto (20-13) responded in the bottom of the first with three runs against starting right-hander Charlie Hurley (L, 1-2). Max Handron hit a two-run homer to right-center and Justin Boyd singled in a run to give the Roadsters a 3-1 lead.
After back-to-back singles with one out and a walk to load the bases, Kingston Liniak hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Roadsters' lead to three in the fourth. A second sacrifice fly from Hayden Dunhurst in the fifth pushed Modesto's lead to four.
While battling a high pitch count (101 total pitches), Hurley completed five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts to receive the loss.
Serrano tossed seven innings, allowed just one run on nine hits with no walks and six strikeouts to earn the win. It's the second time he has dealt seven innings against Oakland this season after doing so on Friday at Raimondi Park.
New acquisition Hunter Day pitched a scoreless seventh with a strikeout in his Ballers debut. The Richfield, MN native was picked up by the Ballers earlier this week after he previously pitched for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the American Association.
Modesto relievers Cole Tremain and Aaron Moreno combined for two scoreless frames to seal back-to-back series wins for the Roadsters over the Ballers.
The Ballers will return home as they host a three-game series against the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds on Friday, June 26. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m from Raimondi Park. Fans can tune in beginning at 6:15 p.m on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
