Stein, Balog help Modesto top San Jose, end 5-game skid in Cal League

Modesto Nuts catcher Troy Stein hit his third home run of the season – his third of the week, as a matter of fact – to help his team beat the San Jose Giants 4-2 Friday night and halt a five-game California League losing streak.

Stein, who hit two homers and drove in five an 8-7 loss Monday in Lancaster, belted a two-run bomb in the fifth inning Friday to snap a scoreless tie and put the Nuts ahead to stay.

An inning later, Max White led off with a triple to right and, after Giants starter Jason Forjet struck out the next two batters, raced home on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

San Jose pulled within one in the seventh when Ty Ross singled home Chris Shaw and Jonah Arenado, the younger brother of Colorado Rockies all-star Nolan Arenado, who played for the Nuts in 2011.

Modesto tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when White stole home. White ranks fourth in the California League with 19 stolen bases.

Mike Balog, making his 2016 debut, pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk while fanning two. Forjet went 6 2/3, surrendering three runs on five hits and two walks with seven punchouts. He retired 12 in a row during one stretch.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Adam Ottavino (Tommy John surgery) made his first rehab appearance, pitching for Modesto on Friday. He tossed 21 pitches in two-thirds of an inning in the seventh, allowing two hits, two earned runs and a walk with one strikeout.

The Nuts (22-38) and Giants (34-26) will wrap their four-game set Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at John Thurman Field.

This story was originally published June 11, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Stein, Balog help Modesto top San Jose, end 5-game skid in Cal League."