by Ethan Kassel / A’s Farm Stockton Correspondent
Stockton starter Brian Howard suffered his second loss of the season on Thursday night. It was just the third time this year that a Ports starting pitcher has been saddled with a loss and, just like the other two times, it was much less a product of poor pitching than it was a result of offensive struggles.
Howard allowed just one run, which came on a double steal, and struck out nine over five innings, but Visalia starter Connor Grey and reliever Kevin Ginkel silenced the Ports offense, handing the hosts a 4-0 defeat in Thursday’s series opener.
In all, the Ports had just four hits, all singles, and saw just four pitches all night with a man in scoring position. Left fielder Dairon Blanco stole second with two outs in the fourth inning, but first baseman Greg Deichmann struck out looking. Right fielder Luis Barrera singled in the eighth then stole second, but second baseman Nate Mondou struck out against Ginkel to end the threat.
Barrera’s line-drive single was the only solid contact registered all night for the Ports, who are now 9-6 on the season. Blanco’s hit was an infield tapper that barely got past the mound, while center fielder Eric Marinez singled on a bunt, and third baseman Edwin Diaz reached on a shallow fly ball that dropped into no-man’s land.
Other than that, the best piece of hitting for the Ports was shortstop Kevin Merrell’s flyout to lead off the game. Grey induced soft contact throughout the first two innings and then hardly got any more contact the rest of the night, striking out 12 over his final five innings of work.
Stockton’s offensive woes left Howard with little to show for a very solid performance. When a wild pitch put men on second and third with one out in the first inning, he got out of the jam by striking out left fielder Mark Karaviotis and then getting designated hitter Daulton Varsho to ground out to second.
Visalia got on the board against Howard in the fourth with a two-out rally. Third baseman Drew Ellis drew a walk and then a single by right fielder Stephen Smith put men on the corners. Smith then attempted to steal second and managed to prolong the rundown long enough for Ellis to score well before the out was recorded.
Howard allowed a double to catcher Dominic Miroglio and a single to second baseman Raymel Flores to open the fifth. Visalia had a chance to break the game open when Flores stole second to put two men in scoring position, but the 6’9″ hurler from TCU managed to escape the jam, striking out the top three hitters in the Rawhide order, finishing off by fanning last year’s seventh overall draft pick, first baseman Pavin Smith, to escape unscathed.
While the entire Stockton offense had its problems, catcher Collin Theroux seemed to wear the worst of it, striking out in all three of his at-bats and showing visible frustration after his passed ball allowed the fourth Visalia run to score in the ninth.
His counterpart behind the dish had a much better night, however. Miroglio, a Bishop O’Dowd and USF alum, doubled twice on a pair of hard-hit balls and hit a sacrifice fly. His second double came against Ports reliever Brandon Marsonek in the seventh inning, and Miroglio went on to score on center fielder Marcus Wilson’s two-out single to make it 2-0. He also drove in a run in the eighth with the sacrifice fly against Stockton reliever Andrew Tomasovich on a play that could have yielded much more damage if not for a diving catch by Blanco in left.
Visalia’s final run was charged to reliever Angel Duno. It was the first he’d allowed in 10 1/3 innings of work this season. Wilson singled, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, then crossed the plate on Theroux’s passed ball.
The biggest positive for Stockton, aside from the pitching, was certainly the defense. Diaz made a pair of impressive stops at third, while Deichmann dug out multiple throws in his fourth start of the season at first base, and Mondou also impressed with his play at second for the Ports.
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