Category Archives: Inland Empire 66ers

It’s All-Star time for Quakes, Sixers

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Most of the Quakes and Sixers will have a few days to regroup and prepare for the last 70 games of the season. But a handful are heading to San Jose for Carolina-California League festivities to be hosted by the San Jose Giants on Tuesday.

The Sixers (37-33), an affiliate of the Angels, have four players named to the team. They are pitchers Mark Sappington and Kramer Sneed, infielder Alex Yarbrough and outfielder Zach Borenstein. Sappington and Borenstein will not play. Borenstein, who originally planned to take part in the Homerun Derby, injured his knee legging out a double in Saturday’s game at High Desert.

The Quakes (31-39), the Dodgers affiliate, will be represented by outfielder Noel Cuevas and third baseman Ryan Mount, although mount is also injured and won’t take part.

The Carolina League won last year’s game 9-1. It was held at Winston-Salem.

This will be the 17th meeting between the two. The series is deadlocked at 7-7-2.

The second half of the season gets underway on Thursday. The Quakes will start out at Lancaster while the Sixers will host Lake Elsinore.

Sixers win in dramatic fashion

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Walkoff wins are always exciting. When it’s with a home run, it’s even better. Now put a first-half title and playoff berth on the line, well it doesn’t get much better than that.

The Inland Empire 66ers won in that fashion on Wednesday as Alex Yarbrough roped a three-run shot to left with one out in the bottom of the 11th for a 7-4 win over Stockton at San Manuel Stadium.

It was huge because Lancaster beat High Desert 10-3 to stay two games in front with four left. That still might be tough to overcome but three out with four left would have been almost impossible.

The Sixers (35-31) stormed the field and Yarbrough was later the recipient of a shaving cream pie during the on-field post-game interview.

The Sixers still have a tough go. They now play four against High Desert (32-34) to end the half while Lancaster (37-29) has last-place Lake Elsinore (26-40), although the Storm have been playing much better lately.

Nothing beats a pennant race!

 

 

 

 

 

Former UCR star now in Cal League

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Former UC Riverside baseball standout James Simmons is back in Southern California, for the moment.

Simmons, drafted by the Oakland A’s in the first round in 2007, arrived in San Bernardino on Monday. He is playing with the A’s California League affiliate – Stockton Ports, which was in town for a three-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers.

Simmons, 26, is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts. He had struggled at Triple-A Sacramento with an 0-2 record and 7.16 ERA in 12 relief appearances. The organization preferred using him as a reliever but he wanted to start and the best opportunity for him to do that was in Stockton.

He was not scheduled to pitch in the series which wraps up Wednesday in San Bernardino.

Quakes make more moves

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher AJ Ellis has been added to the Rancho Cucamonga roster as part of a major league rehab assignment.
Also, infielder Pedro Guerrero, 23, has been transferred to Double-A Chattanooga of the Southern League. He only played i seven games with the Quakes, hitting .231.
Infielder Bladimir Franco has been transferred to Rancho Cucamonga from Class-A Great Lakes of the Midwest League. He had seen minimal action there.

Sixers’ Sneed gets weekly honor

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Inland Empire’s Kramer Sneed has been named California League Pitcher of the Week honors.

Sneed, a 24-year-old left-hander, had two starts last week, one against Rancho Cucamonga and the other against High Desert. In 13 innings he gave up just seven hits, one earned run and one walk while striking out 11.

Sneed was acquired from the New York Yankees in the trade for Vernon Wells.

Offensive Player of the Week honors went to first baseman Max Muncy of Stockton. He went 11-for-28, with five home runs, 16 RBI, seven runs scored and four walks.

California League rosters announced

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Mark Sappington is 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA in nine starts for the 66ers.

The California League All-Star team that will take on one from the Carolina League on June 18 in San Jose has been announced. Both local teams are represented.

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE

Pitchers

Jake Barrett, Visalia Rawhide; Ty Blach, San Jose Giants; Carlos Contreras, Bakersfield Blaze; Edwin Escobar, San Jose Giants; Drew Grenier, Stockton Ports; Chris Jensen, Modesto Nuts; *El’Hajj Muhammed, Bakersfield Blaze; Josh Osich, San Jose Giants; Brady Rodgers, Lancaster JetHawks; Mark Sappington, Inland Empire 66ers; *Hunter Strickland, San Jose Giants; Dan Winkler, Modesto Nuts.

Catchers

Jeff Arnold, San Jose Giants; Robert Kral, Lake Elsinore Storm.

Infielders

*Ryan Cavan, San Jose Giants; *JiMan Choi, High Desert Mavericks; Matt Duffy, Lancaster JetHawks; *Jake Lamb, Visalia Rawhide; Geson Montilla, Visalia Rawhide; *Ryan Mount, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes; Max Muncey, Stockton Ports; *Cory Spangenberg, Lake Elsinore Storm; Chris Taylor, High Desert Mavericks; Angela Villalona, San Jose Giants; Alex Yarbrough, Inland Empire 66ers.

Outfielders

Andrew Aplin, Lancaster JetHawks; Jabari Blash, High Desert Mavericks; Zach Borenstein, Inland Empire 66ers; Noel Cuevas, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes;Preston Tucker, Lancaster JetHawks.

Field staff (All San Jose)

Andy Skeets, Manager; Mike Couchee, pitching coach; Lipso Nava, hitting coach; Dave Getsoff, trainer; Dustin Brooks, strength and conditioning.

* Denotes player who will not play due to promotion or injury

 

Mark Lowe recalls 2006 66ers season

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Mark Lowe, now a reliever for the Angels, was back in San Manuel Stadium (back then Arrowhead Credit Union Park) on Tuesday for the first time since he was with the 66ers for the first two months of the 2006 season. Back then, Lowe was with the 66ers when they were a Seattle Mariners affiliate. On Tuesday, he was with the 66ers as part of a rehabilitation assignment as he recovers from a stiff neck.

That was the last 66er team to win a California League championship. But it was a magical year for Lowe in a different way. By the end of the season he wasn’t winning a Cal League title, he was in the big leagues.

“I felt like that year, I couldn’t do anything wrong,” Lowe said.

Lowe recalled one 66er game from 2006 in particular that I remembered as well. That year he had been converted from being a starter to being a reliever, but he was pressed into duty as a starter in Game 2 of a doubleheader against High Desert in San Bernardino on April 15, 2006.

Lowe pitched five dominating innings in the seven-inning contest, allowing only one baserunner to reach base. With two outs in the fourth, a throwing error by third baseman Ronnie Prettyman allowed Rusty Brown to reach first base. Lowe struck out eight in five innings.

“I remember wanting to go back out for the sixth, since it was only a seven-inning game, but they wouldn’t let me,” Lowe said.

Reliever Aaron Trolia allowed a two-out double to Juan Senreiso in the sixth, breaking up the no-hit bid. Stephen Kahn pitched the seventh for the save in the 3-0 win and the trio of pitchers settled for a combined one-hitter. The game turned out to be Lowe’s only California League victory.

2 season openers at home, 2 wins for Quakes, 66ers

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Both the Quakes and 66ers opened the 2013 California League season at home on Thursday night, and both came through with exciting victories.

After blowing a 4-0 lead, the Sixers’ Ryan Jones’ third hit of the game, a single with one out in the 12th inning, scored the game-winning walk-off run in a 5-4 win over Modesto before 3,128 at San Manuel Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Quakes rallied from a 4-0 deficit and Scott Schebler’s three-run homer with two outs in the eighth lifted the Quakes to a 5-4 win over Lake Elsinore before 3,811 at newly renamed LoanMart Field.

5 Years after his California League debut, he could be back in the league

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I’m getting excited about the start of Cal League in less than three weeks.

And for those of you who have a hard time keeping track of rapidly changing lineups from year to year, there  could be a familiar face back in the league yet again, with the Quakes.

Here are some clues:

  • He first appeared in the Cal League in 2008
  • He appeared in 281 Cal League games with the Quakes and 66ers over the course of 3 seasons.
  • He missed the entire 2010 season due to a shoulder injury
  • He has a brother in the big leagues. Make your guess, because the answer is next…
  • Continue reading →

66ers offering no-cost reading program

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The 66ers announced on Wednesday that they are offering a no-cost reading program to area elementary schools that is also sponsored by Rotolo Chevrolet.

Participating schools will have an assembly that includes Sixers mascot Bernie and the community relations team. Students will receive a baseball-themed bookmark, and will receive 2 tickets to a selected game if the student reaches his or her reading goal.

“We realize the importance of touching these students lives in a positive aspect. It’s a very special treat for Bernie and 66ers staff members to come to their school just for them. Kids hold on to those memories for a long time and we hope that it’ll further their interest in reading beyond finishing the bookmark,” 66ers Community Groups manager Kelsey Beckenbach said in a press release.

Perhaps even bigger in this era of cash-strapped schools is an opportunity for the schools to earn money.

Students will receive tickets to attend one of the first four Sunday home games in 2013: April 7, April 21, May 12 and May 19.

The 3 schools the the most representation throughout the 4 days will receive donations from the 66ers. The school with the most attendees will get $1,500, while second and third place will each receive $1,000.