Nolan Arenado stands at the plate with an open stance, bat waving and held high, waiting to be unleashed. It is the sight California League pitchers have feared all season. Arenado launched a two-run homer to left-center in the eighth inning to lead the Modesto Nuts to a 5-3 win over Stockton.

On April 27, a tornado destroyed the Tuscaloosa, Ala., home of Modesto Nuts' outfielder Kent Matthes. Instead of letting that loss affect his play, Matthes spent the rest of his season blowing through California League pitching at a record clip until stopped by a broken hand on Aug. 3.

Modesto Nuts’ outfielder Kent Matthes was voted the California League’s most valuable player and pitcher Chad Bettis got the nod as the league’s pitcher of the year as the league released its annual yearly honors Wednesday afternoon

A long third inning led to a 17-4 Stockton victory against the Modesto Nuts on Tuesday.

Modesto Nuts players Chad Bettis, Kent Matthes and Josh Rutledge are expected to be among the top vote-getters when today's California League awards are announced.

Up by three runs going into the ninth inning, the Modesto Nuts left nothing to chance. The Nuts built a nice cushion with a five-run outburst, and it was more than enough to beat the Visalia Rawhide 10-4 on Sunday.

One clutch swing of the bat by Josh Rutledge salvaged a long Saturday night at the ballyard for the Modesto Nuts.

Modesto's Edwar Cabrera completely baffled a lot of Visalia batters on Friday night, striking out six of them in seven innings — all swinging.

Excuse the mixed sports metaphor, but Joe Montana once was asked why he didn't lead his teams to as many fourth-quarter comebacks as Denver's John Elway.

Injuries at the catching position have required the presence of Jose Gonzalez behind the plate for the last six Modesto Nuts games.

A special relationship between the players and fans has developed at John Thurman Field this season, and it showed up again Monday night in the final moment of a rare Nuts' home loss.

For the first time in at least 10 years, Modesto players have earned both player and pitcher of the week honors in the California League.

In Sunday's 6-1 victory over Visalia on Sunday, Modesto's Chad Bettis went five strong innings, throwing 82 pitches and facing the minimum 14 hitters over the last 4 2/3 innings. And then he was done. Bettis is facing a five-inning limit for his remaining two scheduled starts of the regular season and perhaps will take the limitation into the playoffs.

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

For possibly the first time in his half-century of managing, Jerry Weinstein was going to be speechless following a game. He had just watched his Modesto Nuts blow a three-run ninth-inning lead on a Visalia rally sparked by a dropped pop-up and a walk, then saw his first two batters in the ninth fail to reach base.