A's walk, not run past Lancaster

Modesto drew 11 walks and Caonabo Cosme hit a basesloaded double to give the A's the win over Lancaster.

The Modesto A's had problems running the bases Saturday, getting four runners thrown out. But the A's also drew 11 walks in the game to spur them to a 5-2 win over the Lancaster JetHawks before 3,293 fans at John Thurman Field.

Caonabo Cosme's bases-loaded double down the left-field line in the eighth inning proved to be the back-breaker as it drove in Adam Piatt and Todd Mensik. The hit broke a 2-2 tie.

Pinch-hitter Mike Wolff scored an insurance run on Kevin Miller's sacrifice fly.

Not surprisingly, that rally was spurred by three walks by Justin Kaye (0-2) to load the bases with only one out.

"Both teams had a chance in the eighth inning," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "Then we walk their No. 4 hitter. We walked 11 tonight. That pretty much tells the story."

Lancaster lost its second straight and its sixth in eight games, falling to 3-6 on its 13-game road trip.

"It's not one group of guys you can point the finger at," Burleson said. "Every area has hurt us at different times during this losing streak."

On Saturday, it was both the walks and a lack of offense, as Lancaster was held to four hits and the two runs.

But Modesto still found a way to keep the JetHawks in the game with two errors and numerous baserunning blunders. Three Modesto runners were caught stealing and another was picked off.

"That was the only reason we were even in this game tonight," Burleson said.

Tim Jones got Modesto started by drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on Cody McKay's single in the bottom of the first inning. But Jason Regan answered the challenge by leading off the top of the second by sending a blast over the left-field wall to tie the game at 1-1.

The game stayed tied until the fourth inning when Monty Davis was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a strange play.

With the bases loaded and one out, Miller lined out to Regan at third base. Regan tried to double off Todd Mensik at second base on the play to end the inning, but Davis tagged up at third base and scored in front of the throw from second baseman Giomar Guevara to give the A's a 2-1 lead.

Guevara, who was playing in his first game since joining the JetHawks on a rehabilitation assignment on Saturday, got the JetHawks even again in the top of the fifth.

Guevara reached base on an error and scored on Cirilo Cruz's double into right field. Ramon Vazquez, who represented the goahead run, was called out at home on a disputed play later in the frame when he tried to score on Jayson Bass' ground ball against a drawn-in Modesto infield.

But Cruz's run took starter Brian Fuentes off the hook. Fuentes, who grew up in nearby Merced and attended Merced Junior College, struggled in his second start at John Thurman Field.

The left-hander, who has yet to win on the road, lasted only four innings after throwing 85 pitches, 43 of which were strikes. He walked six and allowed four hits, while striking out two.

John Kelly pitched three solid innings of relief, holding the A's scoreless on one hit and two walks. But Kaye struggled, allowing the three game-winning runs on three walks and a hit.

"I'm getting awful tired of seeing (Lancaster pitchers) behind 1-0, 2-1 or 3-0," Burleson said.