Nuts’ slump continues – sixth straight loss

If the season ended today, the Modesto Nuts would be packing their equipment and heading home – without a trip to the California League playoffs.

And that’s the good news for Nuts fans. There are still 16 games left for Modesto to right a ship that, for now, has grounded.

The Nuts dropped their sixth straight game Friday night, a 5-4 decision to visiting Stockton that looked not unlike the previous defeats – defensive breakdowns and not enough offense.

The losing streak matched Modesto’s longest of the season, and the postgame fireworks turned out to be the most fun for a crowd of 4,220.

Earlier this month, a playoff berth seemed a foregone conclusion for Modesto. Today, after 14 losses in their last 18 games, the Nuts have been passed by San Jose and the Ports in the wild-card race.

Modesto battled through most of the night to tie the Ports 3-3 in the sixth inning, only to give up costly unearned runs in the seventh and the eighth.

Modesto starter Johendi Jiminian (4-9) quickly allowed two runs as he labored through a 27-pitch, four-hit first inning. He settled down and went 62/3 gutsy innings, however, and yielded only one more earned run to keep the Nuts close.

Cleanup hitter Ryan McMahon, energized after a night off, tripled twice – both times short-hopping line drives past right fielder Tyler Marincov – to jump-start a weary offense.

The second triple chased home Rosell Herrera in the sixth to finally draw Modesto even 3-3.

McMahon accounted for two of only four hits off Stockton right-hander Daniel Mengden (5-3), whose stop-and-start delivery bothered the Nuts for seven innings. It was the second straight strong outing vs. Modesto for Mengden, who started the season in Lancaster and switched dugouts on July 23 after Houston traded him in the Scott Kazmir deal.

A two-out walk and an errant pickoff throw preceded Yairo Munoz’s RBI double to put the Ports in front 4-3 in the seventh. Marincov singled, took second on an error, went to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch for the deciding run an inning later.

Drew Weeks doubled in the eighth and scored on the second of back-to-back groundouts to make it 5-4. Stockton closer Corey Walter retired Modesto in order in the ninth.

Notes – Konner Wade (7-7, 3.94 ERA) starts for Modesto against the Ports’ Raul Alcantara (0-2, 4.22) Saturday night at 7:05. ... The loss evened the Nuts’ season record (62-62).

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Nuts’ slump continues – sixth straight loss."