Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008

Record crowd watches Nuts beat Ports

4,959 see Modesto finish 3-game sweep of Stockton

Since the largest crowd in the history of John Thurman Field was on hand Friday night, it only follows that Daniel Mayora's game-winning ninth-inning single to center prompted the loudest cheer this ballpark has heard.

Mayora's first-pitch line drive to center scored Michael McKenry from second base as the Nuts completed a three-game sweep of Stockton with a 4-3 win.

The crowd of 4,959 was the largest in the history of Modesto minor league baseball, eclipsing the 4,853 in the park May 10. It also was the ninth sellout of the season at John Thurman Field and put the Nuts within 3,546 fans of the all-time single-season attendance mark of 158,936 set last season.

Modesto has three home games remaining in the regular season, next Wednesday-Friday against North Division first-half champion San Jose.

"I think when I came in the game that I was warmed up in three throws because my adrenaline was pumping," said McKenry, who entered in the eighth inning after first baseman Matt Repec was hit in the eye with a thrown ball. "With a good crowd behind you, it's hard not to play your guts out."

McKenry's first at-bat came to lead off the ninth, and he stroked a single to left off Patrick Curran (0-1). Nick Haley followed with a sacrifice bunt, and Mayora picked on the first pitch he saw and smoked it to center field.

"We talked before the game about being ready for the first-pitch fastball, because early in the season we saw a lot of first-pitch breaking balls and swung at them," Mayora said. "I wanted the fastball, and I was ready for the fastball and I just wanted to take it up the middle."

For a second, it appeared Mayora might have hit the ball too hard. McKenry froze at second base for a split second, then started home once he saw the ball was not going to be caught by center fielder Corey Brown.

"Fortunately, it was hit far enough into the gap in left-center, and the center fielder was a left-hander," said Nuts manager Jerry Weinstein. "If he spins and throws he has no chance, so he just had to let it fly."

The throw was weak, sailing about 25 feet up the third-base line, allowing McKenry to score without a slide.

"I thought McKenry might score, but then I thought maybe I hit the ball too hard and he might be out at home with a good throw," Mayora said.

Modesto grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second on Nick Haley's bases-loaded, two-out single, and for much of the game it appeared the lead would hold up.

Nuts starter Esmil Rogers was cruising through the Ports lineup, giving up a lone run in the sixth on Josh Donaldson's two-out RBI single.

Modesto got that run right back when Lino Garcia bounced a home run off the scoreboard, but proceeded to strand runners in scoring position in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

Rogers left after seven innings on the good side of a 3-1 lead, having allowed four hits and no walks, but the Ports tied it up in the eighth against reliever Will Harris, who allowed a two-out single and a walk ahead of Donaldson's two-run double.

David Patton (4-4) entered with two out in the eighth and the go-ahead run at third, and struck out Cal League home run leader Chris Carter to end the threat. Patton then worked a scoreless ninth to set up the walk-off heroics.

"Every game is important, and this is one we had to win twice," Weinstein said.

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