Modesto gets dramatic win for its biggest crowd ever

Friday’s crowd of 5,376 was the largest home crowd ever to see Modesto win. The Nuts lost on the two occasions they played in front of larger home crowds and are 3-4 all-time in front of home crowds in excess of 5,000 ...

The Nuts came into Saturday’s game with a 38-23 home record, with Friday’s 10-inning thriller their ninth walk-off win of the season. It’s the second-best home mark in the league to San Jose’s 39-21 …

Chad Bettis, who will start tonight’s 6:05 p.m. start, has 165 strikeouts this season. That number ranks him second in the league and is 14 short of the Nuts’ record of 179, set by Franklin Morales in 2006. If the rotation holds, Bettis will have two more starts, making it unlikely he would become the first Modesto pitcher to notch 200 strikeouts since Donald Durham did it for the 1971 Modesto Reds. Also if the rotation holds, Bettis would be on target to start Game One of the best-of-three North Division first-round series should the Nuts qualify …

Nolan Arenado has set a Nuts’ record with his 108 RBI, which leads all of professional baseball, but he has no shot at the Modesto record of 162 set by Richard Greco in 1956. He does have a chance to reach the post-Thurman Field renovation (since 1997) record of 123, set by Jason Hart in 1999. The last Modesto player to lead the league in RBI was Adam Piatt, who drove in 107 runs in 1998.

— BRIAN VanderBEEK