Gulls Squander 3-Run Lead in 9th, Lose in 10th

William Shanks, who is usually reliable, failed to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning Friday night in Modesto as the Ventura County Gulls suffered one of their toughest defeats of the season.

After rallying to tie the Gulls in the ninth, Modesto ended the game with one swing of the bat in the 10th when Mike Duncan hit reliever Pablo Reyes’ first pitch over the right-field fence to give the A’s a 4-3 California League win over Ventura County.

The defeat squandered an outstanding outing by Gulls starter Hugh Brinson, who limited the A’s to one hit and four walks while striking out eight over seven innings. He was replaced by Shanks, who sought his 16th save of the season. The 6-1, 190-pound right-hander retired Modesto without incident in the eighth and came within an out from victory, before the game unraveled for the Gulls.

With one out, Tyler Brilinski doubled off the center-field fence, but Shanks struck out Steve Howard for the second out of the inning. He then walked Lance Blankenship and balked the runners up a base before allowing an infield single to Jim Jones that scored Brilinski and moved Blankenship to third.

Jerry Peguero then lofted a soft fly to shallow right field that barely eluded Darryl Landrum for a double, scoring Blankenship to cut the Gulls’ lead to 3-2. Shanks then walked Joe Xavier intentionally to load the bases for Felix Jose, who worked the count to 3-2, fouled off two pitches and then took ball four to tie the game.