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Sports

Friday, Jul. 03, 2009

Nuts get offense going, rally to beat Blaze

Davis' walk-off single in bottom of ninth produces an 8-7 victory

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Lars Davis signed autographs and posed for photos, the spoils of victory Thursday night.

Moments before, the Modesto Nuts catcher won the game with a walk-off single to right field to bring in Hector Gomez and produce an 8-7 victory over the Bakersfield Blaze.

The at-bat was as sweet as the result for the Nuts, whose offense awakened after nearly being no-hit Wednesday. Davis, who waved at a curve as he was struck out by Blaze reliever Corey Young (0-3) to end the seventh, worked the count to 2-2 in the ninth.

Standing at third base was Gomez, whose fourth hit of the game — a double off the wall in center to begin the ninth — gave Modesto its chance. Now it was up to Davis, a lefty, vs. Young, a lefty.

Young tried another curve but the pitch was up. Davis responded and his 0-for-4 before that pitch was flushed into history.

"He (Young) finally made a mistake," Davis said. "He gave me a pitch to hit."

A crowd of 1,984 at Thurman Field went home in a happy mood but in no better spirits than the Nuts, who had managed only two runs in their previous two games. Modesto, 3-5 in the second half. hopes it's a harbinger.

"Sometimes it's hard to come back after the all-star break," Davis said. "Injuries have played a part. We're starting to get back to full strength. We should be back at first-half caliber in no time."

The Modesto bullpen shared the stage with Davis and Gomez. Ching-Lung Lo and Matt Reynolds (5-3) combined for 4 2/3 innings of shutout relief while the Nuts — their offense back up to speed with 14 hits and three triples — rallied in the late innings.

"We are resilient and we forget what happened the night before," Nuts manager Jerry Weinstein said. "We've done that all season."

Modesto, which trailed 4-1 at one point, pushed across two runs for a 7-7 tie in the seventh.

Back-to-back doubles by Radames Nazario and Gomez down the left field line put the Nuts in business, but the equalizer took a little ingenuity. With Davis down to his last strike at 1-2, Matt Repec broke from first and drew a throw from relief pitcher Corey Young. That's all the opening Gomez needed to break for the plate and slide with room to spare.

The double steal took Nuts starter Cory Riordan off the hook. He struggled during his 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven earned runs and eight hits.

Six-foot-five starter Jared Hyatt, relocated from the Texas Rangers' Double-A team in Frisco, Texas, also labored in his first appearance for the Blaze. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits in five innings.

• NOTES — The Nuts' injury-mangled starting rotation won't be assisted by Thursday's trade. Chicago Cubs minor-leaguer Alberto Alburquerque, the 23-year-old prospect acquired by Colorado in exchange for Rockies infielder Jeff Baker, will report to Colorado's Double-A team in Tulsa. Alburquerque, who did not pitch last year, was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 24 relief appearances for Daytona (Class A).

The trade was confirmed after Baker (hand injury) came off the disabled list. Baker, 28, who appeared in two games for Modesto during his rehab last month, stroked 12 homers and drove in 48 runs for Colorado in 2008. ... Center fielder Michael Mitchell made what several observers called the play of the season with his diving catch on the warning track, the ball clearly visible in the webbing, of Joey Butler's rip in the second.

Bee sports writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.