Blythe’s big night not enough in Wednesday night loss
Outfielder collects four hits, falls triple shy of cycle
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 1 |
By Gareth Kwok
OAKLAND, CA – Noah Blythe fell a triple shy of the cycle but his big performance was not enough as the Oakland Ballers dropped the second game of their three-game series to the Modesto Roadsters by a final of 11-7 at Raimondi Park.
Modesto's (27-17) bats woke up early, scoring five runs in the first five innings against Ballers starting right-hander Griffin Smith (L, 0-3). Bryce Cannon hit a two-out, two-run single in the first to open the scoring, Kingston Liniak hit a solo homer in the fourth, Dom Rodriguez singled in a run three batters later and Max Handron hit a solo shot in the fifth to give the Roadsters the early advantage.
Smith pitched five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts. 50 of the 67 pitches he delivered were strikes.
After hitting a go-ahead homer the night before, Blythe picked up where he left off the next day. His two-run single in the third gave Oakland (18-26) its first runs of the night, one of his four hits on the day.
Rookie Conner Smith homered for a second time this season with a line drive to left to pull the Ballers within one in the fourth. The former Cal State - Monterey Bay catcher is hitting .350 (7-for-20) to start his pro career.
Roadsters starting left-hander Corbin Talley (W, 2-1) threw five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts to record the win. He struck out four of the final nine batters he faced.
Modesto held their biggest lead of the night in the top of the eighth after an RBI single from Osiris Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Jacob Lojewski made it 9-4.
Oakland pulled within a pair in the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back homers. Esai Santos hit a two-run homer down the right field line and Blythe followed with a solo shot to left center to cut the Roadsters lead down to two.
However, Justin Boyd hit a two-run homer in the ninth and Aaron Moreno (S, 2) notched a four-out save to seal the win for Modesto and set up a rubber match for tomorrow.
The Ballers continue their six-game homestand and their three-game home series against the Modesto Roadsters on Thursday, July 9. 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.
