Visalia Rawhide 5, Stockton Ports 4

Our outing to Stockton for a minor league baseball game was a blast. We had a group of twelve assembled for the trip. There was Gary, Darlene, Lena and her cousin, Jazzell, Chiniqua and her sons, Jelani and Jeremiah, Mariza and her sons Cristian and Eligah, and myself with my daughter, Shannon.

The trip was supposed to begin in Richmond at 3:30 but it didn't actually get underway until shortly after 4:00. The late departure put us behind schedule but it didn't stop us from enjoying a tasty dinner at the Golden Corral in Tracy. The plan was to leave the restaurant by 6:00 because the starting time for the ballgame was 7:05. But as a result of our late start from Richmond, we didn't finish dinner until 6:45. It takes about thirty minutes to reach the ballpark in Stockton from Tracy so it looked like we would miss part of the game.


The tickets were purchased in advance and they were supposed to be ready for us at the will call window. Unfortunately, someone in the ticket office messed up and didn't have them ready. We had to wait a little while but eventually a very apologetic team employee brought the tickets out to us. By the time we arrived in our seats, Visalia was batting in the top of the second inning and the Ports were ahead 2-0. Besides missing the beginning of the game, we arrived too late for the kids to sign up for any of the between-inning games and contests.



The game between the Stockton Ports (affiliated with the Oakland A's) and the Visalia Rawhide (affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks) was exciting with the lead changing hands four times and neither team opening a lead of more than two runs.

As noted earlier, the Ports had a 2-0 lead when we arrived. The Ports turned double plays in the second, third, and fourth innings to snuff potential rallies. However, Visalia broke through and tied the game in the top of the fifth on a two-out triple with two runners on.


Visalia took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth thanks to some charitable defensive play on the part of the Ports. An error by leftfielder, Shane Keough, put a runner on second base with one out. The runner stole third and was brought home by a sacrifice fly. Visalia was able to score without the benefit of a hit or walk.

Those who watch the TV show The Real Housewives of Orange County may be familiar with Shane Keough. His mother, Jeana Keough, is one of the featured housewives. Hardcore baseball fans may recognize him as the son of former A's star, Matt Keough, and the grandson of former Red Sox star, Marty Keough.


In the bottom of the eighth, Stockton's centerfielder, Jermaine Mitchell, led off by reaching on an error by the first baseman. Shortstop, Michael Richard, tapped a bunt single to third. As Visalia's shortstop failed to slide over to cover the bag, Mitchell motored all the way around to third base on the play. A potential big inning was brewing with runners on first and third and no outs. First baseman Steve Kleen then popped up to shortstop for the first out. With rightfielder, Todd Johnson, batting, Richard stole second to put runners on second and third with one out. The next pitch slipped past Visalia's catcher to the backstop which allowed Mitchell to score and Richard to advance to third. With Johnson still batting, Visalia drew their infield in to keep Richard from scoring on an infield grounder. Johnson defeated Visalia's strategy by slapping a single up the middle to score Richard and give the Ports a 4-3 lead. There was the potential for more scoring but second baseman, Frank Martinez, grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Ports brought in relief ace, Jason Ray, to pitch the ninth. He struck out the first batter but the next batter stroked a clean single. Visalia sent in a pinch runner who promptly stole second, moving the potential tying run into scoring position. With the runner on second, Ray notched another strikeout to put the Ports one out away from victory. Visalia sent up pinch hitter, Ryne White, to face Ray with the game on the line. White took a rip at Ray's first pitch and slammed it over the rightfield fence, just beyond the reach of a leaping Todd Johnson, for a two-run homer to give Visalia a 5-4 lead. It was the first home run surrendered by Ray during the 2009 season.



In the bottom of the ninth, catcher, Gabriel Oritz, hit a drive down the leftfield line that appeared to be good for a double. However, Ortiz hesitated after rounding first, then failed to slide as he reached second, and was tagged out. Instead of having the leadoff man on second base with nobody out, the Ports had nobody on and one out. This was most unfortunate as after Shane Keough struck out, third baseman, Christian Vitters, lashed a single to centerfield that could have driven in the tying run. With two outs and Vitters on first, designated hitter, Matt Smith, popped out to end the game. The final score was Visalia 5, Stockton 4.


Even though the home nine lost, it was an enjoyable game. The Ports' starting pitcher, Julio Ramos had a strong outing, allowing only five hits and two runs in seven innings while striking out nine. If this is indicative of his true level of ability, we should see him pitching for the A's in a couple of years. The Ports had 10 hits in the game with two apiece for Michael Richard, Steve Kleen, and Frank Martinez. Unfortunately, on this night the Visalia Rawhide took better advantage of their opportunities.

Once the game was over, we walked over to an open space near the team clubhouses to pose for some group pictures. Before we could finish, the post-game fireworks show started so we decided to stay and watch it. The Ports provided a bright and colorful pyrotechnic display accompanied by pop-rock music (too much weak soft rock for my tastes but the crowd seemed to like it). Once the fireworks were over, we filed out of the ballpark to the parking lot.



It was a long day and it didn't take long for the youngsters to fall asleep on the way home. Don't let the scowl on Coach Grandpa's face in most of the pictures fool you. Everyone had a great time and we're looking forward to doing this again.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures from our trip.