Quakes rout Mavericks in Game 1, 12-5

The Quakes took Game 1 of the South Division first round of the playoffs by crushing the Mavericks 12-5 in Adelanto on Wedn.esday. Game 2 is at the Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga Thursday

It was a rout in the end, but there were three key momentum changers.

1) Top of the third inning. Quakes lead 1-0 with runners on second and third and two outs. Gabe Jacobo strikes out on a wild pitch. Catcher Trevor Coleman can't get Darwin Perez coming home or Jacobo at first, keeping the inning going. Angel Castillo hits a grand slam later in the inning to give the Quakes a 6-0 lead.

2) Bottom of the fourth inning. Having scored four runs in the bottom of the third to close the gap to 6-4, the Mavericks had two on and one out in the fourth. That prompted Quakes manager Keith Johnson to replace starter Manny Flores with Christian Scholl. Scholl induced Edilio Colina to ground into an inning-ending double play, leaving the powerful Johermyn Chavez in the on-deck circle. Chavez homered leading off the next inning.

3) Top of the sixth inning. The Quakes were clinging to a 6-5 lead and had two outs and nobody on. Reliever Tim Boyce was about to complete his third shutout inning when Mike Trout hit a high drive to straight away center field. The center field wall is higher there than the rest of the ballpark. Denny Almonte lept high to catch the ball, but it hit about 10 feet up on the wall and bounded back toward second base. By the time Almonte retrieved the ball, Johnson was waving Trout home for an inside the park home run. The home run seemed to take the life out of the Mavericks, who didn't get a baserunner in the final four innings.