RANCHO CUCAMONGA — Lake Elsinore fell behind 6-0 early and trailed 12-4 after seven innings, but after a five-run rally in the eighth, they brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth before ultimately coming up short 12-10 in a long, sloppy, cold game up the road in Rancho. They’ve now dropped three straight against the league-leading Dodgers affiliate.
The Storm pitching and defense struggled throughout the contest, but their newly-reinforced lineup combined for 12 hits and seven walks as they put together a late rally for the second straight game.
“That’s two nights in a row we have tried to fight back,” said first-year Storm manager Lukas Ray. “Tonight we had six in the last two innings with the tying run on base, and [Wednesday] it was seven in the last three. So, the group doesn’t quit.”
Jay Beshears, hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time on the year as Ryan Wilson got a day off, collected four hits and a walk in six trips to the plate. He twice turned around fastballs of 95 mph or more, and all four of his hits left the bat at at least 90 mph. The Duke product has a sterling .365/.564/.500 line through his first 78 plate appearances with a 22% strikeout rate.
In his third game since joining the Storm, Leo De Vries showed off some of his immense talent – and some of the growing pains that will come for any 17-year-old adjusting to the professional game. The switch-hitter looked bad flailing at a changeup to strike out in the first, but came back to jump a first-pitch fastball with two on and one out in the third, lining the ball into the right field corner for a two-run triple. He had another opportunity after Beshears and Dillon Head got on again in the fourth, but got worked over for the second of his three strikeouts on the night to end the threat.
De Vries had two more in scoring position in the eighth when he launched a ball at 103 mph that just missed clearing the right-center field wall. Because he watched the ball out of the box, it turned into a long single to drive in his third and fourth runs of the game.
In the field, the top international free agent signee from January made a nice play coming in on a slow roller, but also whiffed on a grounder hit at him when he appeared to lose concentration with a nonchalant approach. It was part of an ugly defensive second inning for the Storm when Jose Sanabria also kicked a ground ball and could not make the transfer to his throwing hand to complete a tailor-made double play.
J.D. Gonzalez adds lefthanded power to the Storm lineup. (Photo: Gail Verderico/Insta @baseball_gail)
J.D. Gonzalez was hitless on the night, but still contributed offensively. The 18-year-old catcher, selected in the third round out of high school in Puerto Rico last year, had a pair of hard-hit sacrifice flies and a potential hit was robbed on a diving play by Quakes left fielder Zyhir Hope. Behind the plate, he had a mixed night. He threw out one would-be base stealer with an impressive pop time captured alternately at 1.88 or 1.93 seconds by scouts in the stands, but also couldn’t get off a throw on two other attempts as he struggled with his transfer. His game management in his first opportunity catching since joining the Storm was inconsistent, but he showed strong hands receiving.
The pitching staff – which is lacking the same sort of firepower they featured last season – struggled. Starter Harry Gustin was saddled with six runs – four earned – in just 2.1 innings. The lefty out of Hawaii showed a sinker and cutter along with a change and curve.
Javier Chacon, 21, had a rough outing, getting tagged for three earned runs and five overall while recording just three outs. The lefty came out sitting 91-92, eventually touching 94 a few times late in his 32-pitch outing. Before injury issues last year, he was sitting 94-95 and occasionally showing more. He walked two and now has allowed eight free passes in 10.2 innings.
Righty Adan Moreno stabilized things out of the pen, tossing 1.2 scoreless frames, showing a riding fastball that touched 94. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old righty from Mexico, who just joined the Storm from extended spring training on Tuesday, had to leave the game with the trainer after showing clear discomfort in his elbow after a pitch. There was no immediate update on his condition, but it would be a surprise if he doesn’t hit the shelf.
With the bullpen still on strict throwing schedules, Wyatt Hoffman was called upon to move from third base to finish the eighth on the mound. The utility infielder got two towering pop up outs on offerings that barely avoided registering as eephuses. Had the Storm managed to take the lead in the ninth inning, Hoffman would have been in line to pick up the victory, though he would have been on his own to close out the win.
