Modesto Nuts are not Grateful Dead fans

The Modesto Nuts added nearly four hours of bus time to their itinerary last weekend. Why? Blame the Grateful Dead.

And so what if the band embarked on its long, strange trip before many of the Nuts’ parents were born.

“I’ve never heard of them,” outfielder Jordan Patterson said.

Minor League Baseball advises its teams to commute to all games less than 100 miles from home (the San Jose trip barely qualifies for Modesto), but they can stay overnight for a day game after a night game. The Nuts lost at San Jose 6-5 on Saturday night and, in a perfect world, would have found a South Bay hotel for rest before their 1 p.m. starting time Sunday at Municipal Stadium.

One problem: All hotel rooms were taken that night in the San Jose area. Giants officials tried to help but had no success. All lodging was taken by Deadheads for the band’s concerts Friday and Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

So the Nuts, no doubt frayed around the edges after their tough loss Saturday, motored over the Altamont Pass only to return the next morning. To their credit, they put together one of their better games Sunday to beat San Jose 9-4 and took the four-game series 3-1.

“That (commuting to games) in itself is a difficult proposition,” said Jerry Weinstein, Modesto’s supervisor of development and a former Nuts manager. “You do it four days in a row and the last game was a day game. It was a draining proposition for these young guys, but they played extremely well in all phases.”

If the Nuts lacked sleep, they didn’t show it Sunday. Ryan McMahon’s three-run double and Correlle Prime’s grand slam, both swatted over the first four innings, turned the game toward Modesto.

Drew Saylor, the Nuts’ hitting coach, filled in as manager last weekend while Fred Ocasio went home to Tucson, Ariz., for his furlough break. Saylor gave the green light to Prime on a 3-0 pitch, resulting in the slam. Ocasio is back with the team, though he’s been slowed this week by a stomach virus.

Modesto is 4-1 in the second half after its 10-inning win over Bakersfield on Tuesday night.

Notes – Cal League all-star pitcher Antonio Senzatela (3-1, 2.76 ERA), who hasn’t seen action since his knee injury May 9, returns to the mound tonight for the Nuts. ... Infielder Zach Osborne was promoted to Double-A New Britain (Conn.). He was replaced by switch-hitting shortstop Emerson Jimenez, 20, of the Dominican Republic. Jimenez reported to Modesto from Asheville (N.C.). ... Catcher Wilfredo Rodriguez and infielder Michael Benjamin are on injury rehab and could return in two weeks. Benjamin has been out since May 9, Rodriguez since June 6.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Modesto Nuts are not Grateful Dead fans."