Andre Ethier completed his 2-game rehab assignment with the Quakes on Thursday, going 0 for 2 with a walk, a double play and an RBI groundout.

He was fine, said he felt good and was ready to return to the Dodgers from the strained oblique muscle.

But the Quakes may have suffered another injury. Starting catcher Chris O’Brien pulled his hamstring while running the bases in the third inning. Backup catcher Steve Domecus came in and doubled and scored later in the game in the Quakes’ 5-4 loss to the 66ers before 4,828 at the Epicenter.

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The excitement of Matt Kemp at San Manuel Stadium didn’t carry over to Saturday’s series-opener against Visalia.

With no promotion for the fans in attendance, only 2,035 showed up for Saturday’s game and the 66ers were routed, 9-2 in a game in which they trailed 9-0 after the seventh inning.

Left fielder Ryan Jones crashed hard into the wall trying to make a sliding catch of a foul ball in the third inning. The wall is padded, but Jones slid low and his knee hit the concrete wall underneath the padding.

“It was a great attempt,” Haselman said.

Jones limped off the field and came out of the game. It appeared to be just a bruise of the knee, the same injury that has catcher Jett Bandy on the disabled list. But Haselman didn’t think the injury would force Jones to the disabled list.

“It doesn’t look as bad as Jett’s,” he said.

Nick Maronde, the Angels’ No. 10 prospect according to Baseball America, was activated by the 66ers off the disabled list after Friday night’s game.

Maronde, 0-1 with a 2.83 ERA in six starts with the Sixers this season, had been sidelined since May 4 with left lat strain.

He had pitched three times in a rehab appearance in the rookie-level Arizona League. He was 0-1 with a 1.13 ERA in eight innings. He will rejoin the Sixers rotation, but it is not known exactly when.

To make room for Maronde, the Sixers released reliever Kevin Nabors. Nabors was just activated from the disabled list on Thursday. In addition, reliever Baudlio Lopez, on the DL with a left quad strain, is going to rookie-level Orem.

There are few times during the course of a season when the Quakes could use more seats. Tuesday was one of those times.

Quakes president Brent Miles said he thought they could’ve sold “about 2,000″ more tickets. Instead, they had to settle for a sell-out crowd of 6,516 to watch the Quakes defeat High Desert 4-2.

The reason for the extra demand was two words: Matt Kemp. Kemp, the Dodgers’ all-star outfielder and MVP candidate, began a rehab stint with the Quakes as he works his way back from a hamstring injury.

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As the South Division race in the California League is heating up, it appears one hopeful’s time is about up.

Four teams: High Desert, Lake Elsinore, Lancaster and the Quakes entered Saturday’s games separated by a single game in the standings, with the 66ers four games back.

With four teams ahead of them and only eight games remaining entering Saturday, the Sixers would pretty much need to win out and have everything else break right to still have a chance.

But Lancaster held on for a 4-2 victory, knocking the Sixers five games out of first and on the brink of elimination.

Meanwhile, the Quakes beat High Desert 4-2 and Lake Elsinore downed Visalia 6-3.

So, after Saturday’s games, it’s Lake Elsinore (34-29) in sole possession of first place, but the Quakes, High Desert and Lancaster all one game back at 33-30.

Nearly an hour and a half after the Quakes lost at home to Lancaster 7-3, the Sixers were finishing up a marathon game at Lake Elsinore, losing 2-1 in 14 innings on Tuesday night.

The Sixers’ game went 3 hours, 44 minutes. The Quakes finished theirs in 2:19.

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The fans arrived early for their Albert Pujols bobbleheads, but they had to stick around late in order to witness the Sixers’ wild 8-7 victory over Bakersfield in 13 innings.

The Sixers actually trailed 7-6, entering the bottom of the 13th before

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Both the 66ers and Quakes finished up their season-opening seven-game stretch with victories on Wednesday.

The Sixers won at Lake Elsinore 4-2 and will return to San Manuel Stadium for their home opener on Thursday against High Desert. Both the Sixers and High Desert are 5-2, tied with San Jose for the best record in the league.

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A night after the Dodgers’ prospect outdueled the Angels’ big league pitcher, this time the Angels prospect outdueled the Dodgers prospect. The 66ers improved to 2-0 with a 3-0 win over the Quakes at the Epicenter on Friday.

Angels No. 23 prospect Donn Roach, a right-hander for the Sixers, pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only four hits, one walk while striking out three.
Dodgers No. 5 prospect Chris Reed, a left-hander for the Quakes, struggled a little early, allowing three runs in the first two innings. He finished with six strikeouts and the three runs allowed in five innings, retiring the final 10 batters he faced.

Angels reliever Bobby Cassevah, out with right shoulder inflammation and on a rehabilitation assignment, walked one and struck out one in the ninth to earn the save. Cassevah is an ex-Quake, pitching for them in 2008.

Travis Witherspoon, C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk had two hits apiece for the Sixers, who had eight hits. The Quakes managed only five hits. Austin Gallagher, 1 for 3 with a walk, was the only Quake to reach base twice.

The Sixers got a second straight outstanding starting performance in the playoffs. This time, they didn’t get the hitting.

Ariel Pena struck out 13 in 7 1/3 spectacular innings, but Edinson Rincon’s bases-loaded single with one out in the ninth scored Nate Freiman with the game-winner as Lake Elsinore was victorious 2-1 over the Sixers in Game 2 of the South Division first round.

The decisive Game 3 is Friday at Lake Elsinore at 7:05 p.m.

The pitching matchup for Friday is the Sixers’ right-hander Cody Evans (2-0, 3.18 ERA) against Storm left-hander Jose DePaula (10-5, 5.22). DePaula is the third straight left-handed starter the Sixers will face in the playoffs, following Andrew Werner and Nick Schmidt.

The season stats would indicate an advantage for the Sixers, but head-to-head numbers favor the Storm. DePaula is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three appearances (one start) against the Sixers, while Evans is 0-0 with a 10.38 ERA in two appearances (one start) against the Storm.

The 66ers will be looking to defeat the Storm in the playoffs for the first time since the South Finals in 2006. They lost in 2007 and 2008. However, those were Mariners (06) and Dodgers  (07 and 08) affiliates. In 2009 and 2010, the Angels’ old affiliate, the Quakes ousted Lake Elsinore in the playoffs.