San Jose Giants Baseball (4/23/10 Game Recap): Offensive Woes Continue In 4-1 Loss
April 24, 2010 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
The San Jose Giants were held to three hits in a 4-1 loss to the Bakersfield Blaze on Friday evening at Sam Lynn Ballpark marking their third consecutive defeat. Blaze starting pitcher Carlos Pimentel limited the Giants to a pair of hits and one run over five-plus innings of work before three Bakersfield relievers combined to blank San Jose over the final four frames. The loss drops the Giants to 7-6 this season.
Brandon Belt was responsible for the only San Jose run of the contest as the first baseman smacked a home run to leadoff the top of the second inning. The round-tripper was Belt's second of the season while it also extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Giants starting pitcher Craig Westcott maintained his perfect 0.00 ERA with five scoreless innings of work. Westcott surrendered only two hits with two walks and four strikeouts during his 75-pitch performance. The right-hander set down the first 10 Blaze hitters that he faced before working out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the fourth when he induced Mitch Holligoss to ground into an inning-ending double play. Westcott then pitched around a leadoff walk in the fifth stranding Jared Bolden at third base after he struck out Andrus James to retire the side.
San Jose continued to hold a 1-0 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning as Eric Stolp was summoned from the bullpen to replace Westcott. Engel Beltre and Davis Stoneburner started the frame with consecutive singles to put runners on first and second before Tommy Mendonca reached on a bunt single. However on the play, Stolp fielded the bunt and threw wildly down the right field line for an error allowing Beltre to score the tying run while Stoneburner and Mendonca advanced to third and second respectively.
After the miscue, David Paisano lined a broken-bat single into shallow right field plating Stoneburner to give Bakersfield their first lead of the night.
David Quinowski (2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO) was then brought into pitch, but he promptly walked the first two batters that he faced to force home a third run. Then after a strikeout, Jacob Kaase's fielder's choice groundout to second base scored Paisano to make it 4-1.
Stolp (0-2) was charged with the loss after yielding four runs (all earned) on four hits. The right-hander did not retire any of the four batters that he faced.
The Giants had several baserunners over the final three innings, but were unable to cut into the Blaze lead. In the seventh, Johnny Monell led off by drawing a walk, but Ehire Adrianza flied out before Ryan Lormand and James Simmons both struck out to end the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Wendell Fairley drew a leadoff walk while Francisco Peguero singled with one out to put runners on first and second. However, Belt grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out before Drew Biery also grounded out to end the threat.
Then in the ninth, Bakersfield closer Adalberto Flores issued back-to- back one-out walks to Adrianza and Lormand to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but Simmons flied out to left on the first pitch of his at-bat before Fairley struck out on three pitches. Flores was credited with his second save in the series while Corey Young (1-0) earned the victory after tossing two no-hit innings of relief.
Notes: The Giants have scored only two runs on eight hits in the first two games of the series ... San Jose has also scored only two runs in their last 26 innings going back to Monday ... The three consecutive defeats marks the Giants' longest losing streak of the season ... Westcott has not allowed a run in his first three starts totaling 14 innings ... Scott Nestor (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO) and Jason Stoffel (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) also pitched out of the San Jose bullpen ... Bakersfield out-hit the Giants by a 9-3 margin ... San Jose left nine runners on base and was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position ... Belt is batting at a .515 (17-for-33) clip during his current hitting streak ... His home run was San Jose's first round- tripper in seven games (April 14, Charlie Culberson).
On Deck: The Giants and Blaze continue their four-game series on Saturday evening with first pitch at Sam Lynn Ballpark scheduled for 7:15 PM. Justin Fitzgerald (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Bakersfield is expected to counter with Kennil Gomez (0-1, 4.76 ERA). The game can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com .
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from April 24, 2010
- San Jose Giants Baseball (4/23/10 Game Recap): Offensive Woes Continue In 4-1 Loss - San Jose Giants
- Detour Doesn't Bother JetHawks, Lancaster Wins 7-3 - Lancaster JetHawks
- 66ers Drop Pitching Dual 1-0 - Inland Empire 66ers
- Quakes Drop Third Straight, 7-3 To JetHawks - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
