Winland delivers big night but Ballers drop Friday opener to Freebirds
Newest Baller homers twice, drives in five but bullpen struggles
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 3 |
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6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 3 |
By Gareth Kwok
OAKLAND, CA – The Oakland Ballers dropped their third straight, falling to the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds 18-11 on Friday night at Raimondi Park in the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
Oakland (14-20) started strong with eight runs in the first two innings, including six in the first. Tremayne Cobb led off the game with his sixth homer of the year, Noah Blythe doubled home a pair and newcomer Paul Winland blasted a three-run shot to give the Ballers a 6-0 lead after the first.
Yuba-Sutter (12-22) responded with six runs in the second and third innings, including four in the third, against right-hander Griffin Smith. Jackson Mayo and Josh Phillips both homered and Cam Yuran hit a two-run double to bring the Freebirds within two runs.
In the third, Winland teed off again with a solo blast to center for his second homer of the game. The former Long Beach Coast infielder collected three hits and drove in five in his Oakland debut after the Ballers claimed him off waivers earlier this week. Between Oakland and Long Beach, he has hit seven homers this season and six of them have come at Raimondi Park after he hit four against the Ballers in late-May.
The Freebirds capitalized on nine walks and three errors to outscore the Ballers 12-2 from the fourth inning onward. Yuba-Sutter hit three more homers off the bats of Christian Castaneda, Edwin Pagani and Devon Dixon, giving them five on the night.
Pagani's two-run homer off Dylan Delvecchio (L, 0-1) in the fifth gave the Freebirds a 10-9 lead, which they did not relinquish.
Oakland has now given up 48 total runs in its last three home games.
Sean Wiese (W, 2-0) and Dan Gelaf combined for seven innings of one-run ball out of the Yuba-Sutter bullpen after starting right-hander Ryder Mancusso lasted just one inning.
The Ballers will continue their three-game home series against the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds on Saturday, June 27. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 p.m from Raimondi Park. Fans can tune in beginning at 4:15 p.m on the Oakland Ballers YouTube Channel and HomeTeam Network.
