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Sports - Modesto Nuts

Saturday, Jul. 04, 2009

Bakersfield homers doom Nuts

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Home runs have become so scarce this season at John Thurman Field that the long ball has become as integral a part of Modesto's offense as a tennis racquet.

That is, not at all relevant, since the Nuts have hit all of nine home runs in 41 home games.

But Bakersfield doesn't have to follow that same offensive game plan, and the Blaze proved Friday night that Thurman Field's fences do not present an insurmountable challenge. Bakersfield blasted four home runs, including two by Joey Butler, to burn the Nuts 7-3 in front of 5,424 fans -- the largest crowd in Modesto baseball history.

That crowd was kept silent nearly the entire night -- except for RBI hits by Maikol Gonzalez and Warren Schaefer in the second and another by Charlie Blackmon in the eighth. There was a moment of hope later in the eighth when Hector Gomez came to the plate with the bases loaded and the Nuts still trailing by four runs, but Gomez's bloop down the right-field line was run down by Butler for the third out.

Butler, who now has nine homers, offers the kind of American baseball story that might be considered fitting as the nation celebrates its own glory.

He has his own tale of perseverance as a native of Pascagoula, Miss., a town heavily damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

"The only thing we had at our home was a lot of wind damage," Butler said. "Houses closer to the water were destroyed, but we were blessed to lose only some shingles off the roof and some trees. We were very fortunate."

Butler stayed home to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and then the University of New Orleans, from where he was drafted in the 15th round by Texas in the 2007 draft.

The night's first three homers came off Modesto starter Brandon Durden (3-4.) The first was a two-run shot in the first by Jonathan Greene following a one-out walk. Butler came up with two outs and hit a solo shot to make it 3-0.

After Modesto countered with two runs in the second, Butler again connected off Durden for a solo shot in the third for a 4-2 lead.

Durden allowed six runs in 5º innings on 10 hits. Reliever Carlos Luna allowed one run in his 1ª innings -- a solo homer by Mauro Gomez.

Blackmon had two of Modesto's seven hits -- not nearly enough to counter Bakersfield's power surge.

"We just try to transfer what we work on the cage into the game," Butler said. "It is surprising to see the balls fly out of here, but the wind was blowing out, so give a little credit to the wind, or the bats -- anyway you want to look at it."

Even in early July, there is a playoff component to this series. By taking two of the three games, the Blaze moved within five games of the Nuts for a wild-card spot.

"We struggled a little in the first half and still finished well," Butler said. "It's good for us to finish the second half strong."

NOTES: Friday's crowd pushed Modesto over the 100,000 mark in attendance at the earliest point in team history. In 2008, en route to a record 164,306 fans (2,347 average for 70 dates,) the Nuts eclipsed 100,000 on their 42nd date. Friday was Modesto's 40th opening this season, and the Nuts now have drawn 104,616 for an average of 2,615. ... Former Nuts' closer Andrew Johnston picked up the save as the North beat the South 2-1 in Thursday's Texas League All-Star Game. He was one of five Tulsa Drillers in the game who previously played for Modesto. Jhoulys Chacin and Esmil Rogers each threw a scoreless inning for the North, while first baseman Jeff Kindel and shortstop Daniel Mayora also saw action.

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com or 578-2300.