Big 5th inning lifts San Jose over Modesto in Cal League baseball

San Jose Giants pitcher Andrew Suarez kept the Modesto Nuts off-balance Thursday in a 5-2 victory at Municipal Stadium.

Suarez, a left-hander out of the University of Miami, threw 82 pitches over seven innings – 62 of them for strikes – and struck out nine while walking none.

The Nuts tied the score 1-1 in the fourth when Dom Nunez doubled and scored on a single by Drew Weeks.

But things fell apart for the Nuts in the fifth. After Brandon Bednar singled to lead off the frame, starter Carlos Polanco plunked back-to-back batters to load the bases. A walk then forced in a run to make it 2-1, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chris Shaw made it 3-1. Run-scoring singles by Jose Vizcaino Jr. and Steven Duggar put the lead at 5-1 and forced the Nuts to make a pitching change.

Modesto’s Drew Weeks was 3 for 4 while leadoff man Wes Rogers was 2 for 4 to raise his season average to .327.

The Nuts take on San Jose on Friday at 7 p.m. and again on Saturday at 5 p.m. The teams close out their four-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 7:42 AM with the headline "Big 5th inning lifts San Jose over Modesto in Cal League baseball."