Monday Baseball Bulletin

Ports Split Series with Fresno, Bolte Named California League Player of the Week

The Ports split their home series against the Fresno Grizzlies this past week at Banner Island Ballpark, taking the first three games and dropping the last three. The Ports will hit the road down to Rancho Cucamonga to take on the Quakes starting Tuesday, May 9th with the opener set for a 11:00 AM first pitch.

PREVIOUS GAMES AGAINST FRESNO

Tuesday, May 2 - The Ports tallied 11 hits and took the lead with a five-run seventh inning as Stockton snapped a six-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Fresno Grizzlies on Tuesday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Wednesday, May 3 - The Ports put together a four-run rally in the eighth inning to climb out of a three-run hole to defeat the Fresno Grizzlies 5-4 on Wednesday night at Banner Island Ballpark. With the victory, the Ports won back-to-back games for the first time this season and have won three straight wins at home.
Thursday, May 4 - The Ports jumped out to a five-run lead after the first inning and never looked back as they won their third straight game with a 12-6 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Friday, May 5 - The Ports scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning but came up just short as Stockton had its three-game winning streak halted with a 6-4 loss to the Fresno Grizzlies on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Saturday, May 6 - The Fresno Grizzlies scored eight runs after the sixth inning and the Ports managed just four hits on the night as Stockton fell 9-4 on Saturday night at Banner Island Ballpark.
Sunday, May 7 - The Fresno Grizzlies scored 12 times in the top of the eighth inning to come from behind for the second straight day to defeat the Ports 15-7 on Sunday afternoon at Banner Island Ballpark.

TOP PERFORMERS

Henry Bolte - Bolte provided a much needed jolt to the Ports offense with 7 RBI while hitting .500 (9-18) for the homestand, eventually earning himself the California League Player of the Week.
T.J. Schofield-Sam: The Ports’ third baseman has been swinging the bat well of late, going 10-for-34 (.294) over his last eight games with 4 2B, a triple and 4 RBI during that stretch with an OPS of .976.
James Gonzalez - Gonzalez had arguably his best start Saturday night giving the Ports six innings while allowing just four hits and one run, unearned, and punching out a season-high seven.

Henry Bolte Named California League Player of the Week

STOCKTON, Calif. - Stockton Ports outfielder Henry Bolte has been named the California League Player of the Week for May 1-May 7.

Bolte, the former 2022 second round pick out of Palo Alto High School, slashed .500/.591/1.369 this past week compiling 9 hits, four doubles, a triple, and seven RBI. He finished second in doubles (3), RBI (7), and average (.500) and his nine hits were tied for fourth during that span.

Bolte has been with Stockton for just two weeks and is already proving to be everything he was drafted for as he provided a spark to the Ports offense helping lead to a series split with the Fresno Grizzlies this past week at Banner Island Ballpark.

The Palo Alto native was drafted by the Oakland A’s last year in the second round, 56th overall. After being drafted, Bolte hit .212 in 11 games at the Arizona Complex League with two RBI and seven hits. He was pulled up to Single-A Stockton on April 24 and played in all six games for the Ports road series in Modesto the following days, finally making his home debut in Stockton on May 2nd and earning Player of the Week shortly thereafter.

The last Port to win the California League Player of the Week was Denzel Clarke back in April of 2022. Bolte joins Clarke and Lawrence Butler as the only Ports to achieve the feat since 2021.

SERIES PREVIEW vs. RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES

The Ports hit the road again, this time to Rancho Cucamonga to take on the Quakes (Los Angeles Dodgers Single-A affiliate) starting Tuesday, May 9th through Sunday, May 14th.

At Bat this Week

vs. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

LoanMart Field // Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Tuesday, May 9 // 11:00 a.m. PT
Wednesday, May 10 // 6:30 p.m. PT
Thursday, May 11 // 6:30 p.m. PT
Friday, May 12 // 6:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, May 13 // 6:30 p.m. PT
Sunday, May 14 // 2:00 p.m. PT

Radio Stream: https://www.iheart.com/live/fox-sports-am-1280-5236/

Twitter: @stocktonports

On Deck

vs. San Jose Giants

Banner Island Ballpark

Tuesday, May 16 - Sunday, May 21 // Times vary

Following their six-game series against the Quakes, the Ports come back home to Stockton to face the San Jose Giants for the first time this season. The Ports went 8-22 against the Giants last season.

Against Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

This will be the first time the the two teams have met this season. The Quakes took the season series in 2022 by just one game going 7-6 against the Ports.

Rancho Cucamonga comes in leading the Southern Division in the California League with a 19-8 record, also good for the best record in all of the California League. The Quakes just took a series win against the Lake Elsinore Storm down at The Diamond to take sole possession of first place.The Ports sit last in the Northern Division and are coming off a series split with the Fresno Grizzlies, having dropped the last three games.

Rancho Cucamonga ranks atop the California League in power rankings placing first in home runs (24), second in RBI (124), and third in slugging (.388). The Ports will look to neutralize the Quakes with a starting staff that allowed just four runs in 21.2 IP (1.66 ERA) against the Fresno Grizzlies.

MOUND TURNAROUND:

While the Ports’ pitching staff has begun the season at or near the bottom of the California League in nearly every major statistical category, Stockton’s arms have performed much better of late. Over their last 13 games since April 23, the Ports have compiled an ERA of 4.27, 3rd best in the Cal League, and have allowed just 90 hits in 105.1 IP with 115 K and 56 BB during that span. Stockton’s opponents are batting just .227 during that time, the 3rd best mark in the circuit.

BATS HEATING UP:

It’s a small sample size, but over the first four games of their series against the Grizzlies the Ports’ offense is showing signs of gaining traction. Stockton is batting .264 with a league-best 13 2B and 9 SB, second best in the league. The .264 batting average is fourth-best in the Cal League this week. The offensive production is welcome; the Ports batted just .188 in their six-game series in Modesto and .175 over their previous 10 games coming into this series against Fresno at Banner Island Ballpark.

GAINING TRACTION IN THE CLUTCH:

So far in 2023, the Ports have scuffled at the plate when in a position to score. For the season, Stockton is hitting .209 with runners in scoring position, which is 7th in the league.The Ports scuffled in those situations last week in Modesto, going 10-for-69 (.145) during the six-game series. However, the Ports are picked up the pace against the Grizzlies at Banner Island Ballpark this week going 15-for-53 (.283) through six games.

WORK TO DO WITH THE LEATHER:

The Ports committed three errors on Sunday afternoon and have now made 19 errors over their last nine games. Their 49 errors on the season are the most in the Cal League. Stockton’s fielding percentage of .952 is also lowest in the circuit. The Ports have made as many as five errors in a game this season.

WHO’S HOT

HENRY BOLTE, OF:

Bolte is 9 for his last 18 including seven RBI, three doubles, and a triple, earning himself the California League Player of the Week.

BRENNAN MILONE, INF:

After missing all but one game last week with back tightness, Milone is 7-for-18 (.388) through four games this week with 3 2B and 5 RBI.

About the Quakes

The Quakes are 19-8 through the first 27 games of the season coming off a series win taking four out of six against the Lake Elsinore Storm at The Diamond.
The Quakes are 10-9 against the Ports since 2021.
Quakes (19-8) currently sit first in the California League Southern Division.
Kyle Nevin leads the team in average (.385).
Maddux Bruns leads the starting rotation with a 1.029 earned run average in six starts with 33 strikeouts, and opponents hitting just .149 against him.

ROSTER MOVES

4/24: The Ports welcomed in three new players on Monday, April 24: OF Henry Bolte, INF Bjay Cooke and C/INF Tommy Stevenson. Bolte is the highest-regarded prospect of the group; the A’s 2022 2nd round pick out of Palo Alto High School in the Bay Area is Oakland’s 11th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. Cooke is a two-way prospect signed out of Australia last May, while Stevenson was selected in the 19th round last season and had an end-of-season cameo with Stockton in 2022. To make room on the roster, OF Nelson Beltran, INF Darlyn Montero and C Hansen Lopez were transferred to the Arizona Complex League.

4/30: Micah Dallas was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, April 30th to open for the Aviators. The outing didn't go as expected for the former Aggie as he lasted just 1.2 IP giving up five hits, eight runs, and four walks while punching out three.

5/2: OF Kevin Richards placed on 7-day IL

5/2: C Mario Gomez added from ACL

QUICK HITS

Ports starting pitching held up it's end of the bargain this past week allowing just four runs in 21.2 IP, good for a 1.66 ERA.
James Gonzalez had his best start of the season so far in 2023 going six innings on Saturday night allowing just four hits and one run while striking out a season high seven batters.
Clark Elliott has reached bases safely in all but two games he's played compiling a .410 - good for a team high along with 19 walks which ranks seventh in the California League.
Colby Thomas ranks fifth in extra base hits, (11) and total bases (46), and seventh in hits (27) in the California League.
Brayan Buelvas sits ted for fourth in triples(4) in the California League.
With the addition of Henry Bolte, the Ports now have four of the A's top 30 prospects (Bolte - No.11, Elliott - No. 16, Thomas - No. 19, and Buelvas - No.23).

Stockton Ports Alumni Night - Saturday, May 20th

Mark your calendar as the Stockton Ports annual Alumni Night is back once again in 2023! Alumni Night is scheduled for Saturday, May 20th, 2023, at Banner Island Ballpark where the Ports will take on the San Jose Giants. Alumni will be available to sign autographs and take pictures all throughout the night - bring your gear!