Quakes regain sole possession of first

With three games to go, the South Division first-half title is the Quakes’ to lose.

Joc Pederson hit a tie-breaking home run leading off the eighth inning to give the Quakes a 3-2 victory over Lancaster on Wednesday night, their ninth in 10 games. The win coupled with High Desert’s 5-4 win over Lake Elsinore, gives the Quakes (36-31) sole possession of first place in the South Division. Lake Elsinore, which had been tied with the Quakes, drops into a second-place tie with High Desert, one game back. Lancaster (34-33), which could have forged a four-way tie for first with a victory, dropped into fourth place, two games back.

Because the Quakes’ 9-1 stretch has been entirely in June, it is easiest to look up the June stats to determine how they are doing it.

The Quakes have hit 24 home runs in 13 June games, and they have a 4.15 ERA in the month. That is deceiving, however, because they allowed a combined 27 runs in their last two back-to-back losses, June 2 and 3 at Lancaster. In the last 10 games, the Quakes have allowed a TOTAL of 28 runs.