Giants Can't Complete Sweep, Road Streak Ends at 11
Published on May 19, 2013 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - The San Jose Giants saw their road winning streak end at 11 games with an 8-3 defeat to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Saturday evening at LoanMart Field. The Quakes jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings en route to salvaging the final game of the four-game series.
Rancho Cucamonga starting pitcher Lindsey Caughel (1-1) picked-up his first win of the season after limiting the Giants to one run on five hits over six innings. Caughel struck out four and walked none during his stint on the mound.
The Quakes out-hit the Giants by a 10-8 margin. No San Jose player finished with more than one hit while the Giants were just 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
Rancho Cucamonga took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when three singles from O'Koyea Dickson, Angelo Songco and Ryan Mount off of Clayton Blackburn produced a run. Blackburn did induce Pratt Maynard to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to limit the damage in the frame.
The Quakes though kept the pressure on with four more runs against Blackburn in the third. Bobby Coyle was hit by a pitch with one out to start the rally before Darnell Sweeney doubled. Dickson then brought home one run with a single before Songco ripped a two-RBI triple into the right field corner to make it 4-0. Songco eventually scored the fourth run of the inning on a Blackburn wild pitch.
San Jose produced leadoff doubles in the second (Mac Williamson) and fifth innings (Jeff Arnold) against Caughel, but failed to score in each frame. The Giants finally broke through in the top of the sixth as Brock Bond led off with a double down the right field line before scoring on Ryan Cavan's one-out single.
Trailing 5-1, the Giants threatened to further cut into the Rancho Cucamonga lead in the top of the seventh. Arnold drew a leadoff walk before Chris Lofton singled to right. Arnold advanced to third on the hit while Lofton took second on the throw. Quakes reliever Raydal Sanchez though pitched out of it as Elliott Blair flied out to right and Arnold was thrown out at the plate as he attempted to score on the play. John Polonius then struck out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Luis Rojas (2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) relieved Blackburn to begin the bottom of the fifth and initially threw two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the seventh. A Scott Wingo leadoff single, a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases with none out. Then with one out, Songco laced a single to right scoring two runs for a 7-1 advantage. Two batters later, Ryan Mount delivered an RBI fielder's choice with Jeff Soptic (1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO) on the mound to extend the lead to 8-1.
San Jose pushed across two runs in the top of the ninth inning, but still fell well short in their comeback effort. Angel Villalona led off with a double before walks to Arnold and Lofton loaded the bases. After Blair struck out, Polonius lined an RBI single to right. Bond then grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out as Arnold scored to bring the Giants to within 8-3. However, Shawn Payne followed by lining out to right to end the game.
Blackburn (2-2) was saddled with the loss after yielding five runs (all earned) on six hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Notes: San Jose lost a road game for the first time since April 19 (at Inland Empire) ... The 11-game road winning streak was the second-longest in team history (record is 16 held by the 2011 club) ... Blackburn has allowed five runs in each of his last three starts ... The Giants finish the season with a 4-4 record against Rancho Cucamonga ... San Jose's (28-14) first half North Division lead has been trimmed to two games over the Visalia Rawhide (26-16).
On Deck: The Giants continue their road trip on Sunday afternoon with the opener of a three-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers. First pitch at San Manuel Stadium is scheduled for 2:05 PM. Edwin Escobar (0-1, 3.34 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Inland Empire is expected to counter with Kramer Sneed (3-1, 4.34 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 1:35 PM.
California League Stories from May 19, 2013
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- San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Road Trip at Inland Empire - San Jose Giants
- 11th Inning Blasts Sink Ports 5-2 - Stockton Ports
- Late Inning Rallies Provide Series Win - Visalia Rawhide
- Giants Can't Complete Sweep, Road Streak Ends at 11 - San Jose Giants
- Caughel, Songco Lead Quakes to Win over Giants - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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