Modesto Nuts lose at San Jose; wild card is last hope

The Modesto Nuts were eliminated from one California League race Tuesday night, and they’re on the verge of having the postseason door slammed on them altogether.

Modesto’s 2-0 loss at San Jose left the Nuts seven games behind the Giants in the North division’s second-half standings with six games remaining. The Nuts also trail San Jose by four games in the wild-card race. The teams play Wednesday and Thursday night at 7 p.m. When the Nuts begin their final series of the regular season Friday at Stockton, they could be back within two games of San Jose or eliminated.

Tuesday’s game sent Modesto backward in front of an announced crowd of 3,146 at Municipal Stadium. The Nuts were held to three hits – their only three base runners, none of whom advanced beyond first base – by Giants pitchers Jason Forjet (7-4) and Jake Smith (16 saves), wasting a strong outing by Modesto starter Alex Balog (3-7), who allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks in seven innings with four strikeouts.

The Nuts struck out 11 times, 10 against Forjet. After Michael Benjamin singled with one out in the top of the first inning, Forjet retired 16 consecutive hitters.

San Jose didn’t exactly score with authority, but the runs counted. Angel Villalona scored the Giants’ first run on a double-play grounder in the bottom of the second. In the third, Seth Harrison scored on a strikeout/caught stealing double play.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Modesto Nuts lose at San Jose; wild card is last hope."