Stottlemyre Is Too Much for Modesto

After Saturday’s game with the Modesto A’s, Ventura County pitcher Todd Stottlemyre had to laugh.

Not just because he pitched seven innings and gained his fifth win of the season in the Gulls’ 7-1 victory at Ventura College. And not just because he struck out 11 batters and allowed only three hits. Although all of that had something to do with it.

Through 4 innings, Stottlemyre had eight strikeouts, had not allowed a baserunner, and had only one batted ball make it past the infield. Whispers of a perfect game filtered through the crowd, but when Modesto’s Mike Duncan stepped to the plate with two outs in the fifth, Stottlemyre had an inkling that his bid for a perfect game might not last.

Sure enough, Duncan walked when Stottlemyre’s 3-1 fastball was low and inside. Stottlemyre struck out Jerry Peguero to end the inning, but in the sixth he gave up two hits and Modesto’s only run.

Saturday wasn’t the first time Duncan had sabotaged an otherwise perfect afternoon for Stottlemyre. According to the 20-year-old right-hander, he and Duncan squared off two years ago in a similar situation.

Duncan was the first baseman for Nebraska, and Stottlemyre was pitching a no-hitter for UNLV in the fifth inning. Duncan homered, but UNLV went on to win the game, 2-1. Stottlemyre finished with a one-hitter.

“I just wanted to be sure he didn’t do it again,” Stottlemyre said.

The victory ended the Gulls’ four-game losing streak, a streak that Stottlemyre was aware of.

“I used it for motivation,” he said. “I took the first loss and I wanted to win today. I was ready to get a win and I got it.”

Stottlemyre went into the game as well prepared mentally as he was physically.

“As far as pro ball this was one of my stronger starts,” he said. “I felt strong today, and I was mentally ready. We got ourselves a little bit better prepared.”

As it turned out, Stottlemyre and reliever William Shanks got all of the support they needed in the second inning.

With one out, Luis Reyna sent Modesto starter Bob Sharpnack’s fastball over the right-field fence for his second home run of the season.

On the next pitch, Gulls catcher Greg Myers duplicated the feat, hammering a similar pitch over the same spot in right field. Ventura County scored again with two outs in the third when A’s left fielder Steve Howard dropped Rob Ducey’s pop fly in shallow left-center field, allowing Sandy Guerrero to score all the way from first base.

Mark Tortorice replaced Sharpnack in the fourth and allowed three runs on four hits in the inning. After Reyna was hit by a pitch and Myers singled, Ken Kinnard bounced a ground-rule double over the center-field fence, with Reyna scoring and Myers taking third. Omar Malave singled up the middle to score Myers, and Eric Yelding lined a single to right to bring home Kinnard.

The Gulls completed the scoring in the eighth when A’s right fielder Felix Jose misplayed Kinnard’s fly ball into a triple. Santiago Garcia scored Kinnard with a two-out single. The hit was Garcia’s first of the season after he spent the first 27 games on the disabled list with an injured finger.