Quakes inch closer; San Jose clinches in North

While the Quakes could have just as easily seen their lead in the South Division trimmed down to three games, instead it’s up to five as they lowered their magic number to clinch the first-half title to six. They lead High Desert and the 66ers by five games each with 10 games remaining.

In the late innings, the Quakes were tied with Visalia and High Desert was tied with Lake Elsinore.

But Rafael Ynoa’s RBI single with two outs in the eighth snapped the tie and lifted the Quakes to a 4-3 victory. Meanwhile, in Adelanto, Lake Elsinore scored three times in the top of the ninth to record a 12-9 victory. The Sixers kept pace with a 3-2 win over Lancaster.

The North Division was certainly a foregone conclusion as San Jose was running away with the first-half title. With Thursday’s win over Modesto, coupled with Bakersfield’s loss to Stockton, San Jose had a 11 1/2 game lead with 10 games remaining and clinched the North. It marked the eighth straight year San Jose qualified for the playoffs and the seventh straight year they won the first-half title.