Tyler Massey's three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning gave Modesto, which trailed 6-0 early on, its first lead of the game and catapulted the Nuts to an 11-8 victory over the Stockton Ports Thursday night at Banner Island Ballpark.

Shortly after signing his first professional contract last summer, Eddie Butler said in an interview that his goal for the 2013 season was to pitch in Modesto. The lanky right-hander earned his first California League victory Tuesday night as the Nuts defeated San Jose 5-3 at John Thurman Field.

Thanks for bearing with me here, because my chat with Modesto Nuts’ development supervisor Fred Nelson was just too long for one post.

The High Desert Mavericks hate Modesto.

As far as the first half title chase is concerned, the Modesto Nuts are done. They've been lapped by the leaders.

The blogs I have planned for today and tomorrow might run a little long, but I hope you find them interesting.

Dan Winkler's routine on days he pitches does not include checking the weather forecast for his hometown.

In 2009, Angel Villalona was a 19-year-old first baseman with a limitless future.

Tyler Gagnon pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, and the Modesto Nuts eked out just enough offense to pull out a 3-1 victory over the High Desert Mavericks on Saturday at John Thurman Field.

We always talk about the polar opposite ballparks of the California League when Modesto and High Desert meet, simply because it’s a matter of fact. Because of altitude and the prevailing wind, High Desert has the most homer-friendly park in all of professional baseball. And Modesto, well, Modesto does not. So the Mavericks’ starting pitchers can be forgiven for looking ahead to see if their spot in the rotation is fortunate enough to come up when the team visits Thurman Field. Imagine getting a chance to pitch in a ballpark where every decently hit flyball isn’t a home run. But Trevor Miller really wanted to pitch in Modesto. It’s almost a home game for the graduate of Bret Harte High School, drafted in 2011 out of San Joaquin Delta College. “Unfortunately I don’t get to pitch here,” said Miller, who was the starter for the Mavericks on Wednesday at home against Lake Elsinore, getting the win with six solid innings. The 6-feet, 3-inch, 190-pound righty is 2-5 with a 5.83 ERA this season for High Desert, which entered Friday’s game in Modesto with a 5.15 ERA, second-worst in the Cal League. “The season’s going alright for me after starting off a little rocky,” Miller said. “Things have been improving the last couple weeks, so I’m happy with that. My control is getting back to where it needs to be.” And he wanted that Thurman Field start, for more of a reason than just getting a chance to throw in front of family and friends. “Pitching at home is pretty tough,” Miller said. “The ball doesn’t go anywhere in this ballpark, not like our park.” Miller said he played multiple sports growing up, but after playing basketball as a freshman at Bret Harte he decided to concentrate on baseball, and played shortstop for the Bullfrogs when not pitching. He was rewarded his senior season by being named MVP of the Mot...

Ryan Casteel continued the Modesto Nuts' recent power surge with a homer and four RBI, but the Nuts dropped a 9-5 decision to the Visalia Rawhide on Wednesday afternoon. The Modesto loss snapped a four-game win streak and wrapped-up a seven-game road trip.

Just a bunch of notes as we try to catch up with the Modesto Nuts.

The home runs kept coming for the Modesto Nuts in Visalia. One night after hitting five home runs, Modesto drilled four more in a 9-2 victory against the Visalia Rawhide.

Tyler Massey and Will Swanner opened the Modesto Nuts' series against the host Visalia Rawhide with strong at-bats. Modesto hit five home runs, including two each from Massey and Swanner in the Nuts' 9-6 victory Monday. Both of Swanner's came off Visalia starting pitcher Kyle Winkler (1-5, 7.63 ERA). Swanner drove in three runs.

The Modesto Nuts staggered through a difficult 24 hours, during which they nearly lost three games.