Early Deficit Too Much for Giants in 9-6 Loss
September 1, 2014 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
ADELANTO - The High Desert Mavericks scored eight runs over the first two innings and then held off San Jose late to post a 9-6 victory over the Giants on Sunday evening at Heritage Field. High Desert has won two out of the first three games in the series. The defeat drops San Jose to 72-67 with one game remaining in the regular season.
Daniel Carbonell (3-for-5, RBI) and Ryan Lollis (3-for-5, RBI) had three hits apiece while Tyler Horan (2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI) and Chuckie Jones (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) each homered to lead the Giants offensively in the loss.
The Mavericks plated four runs in the first and second innings against San Jose starter Jake Smith to jump out to an 8-1 lead. In the bottom of the first, Jamal Austin led off with a single before advancing to second on Zach Shank's sacrifice bunt. Jake Reinheimer followed with a single plating Austin with the first run of the night. After Gabriel Guerrero singled, Smith registered a strikeout of Burt Reynolds. A walk to Marcus Littlewood then loaded the bases before Smith uncorked a wild pitch allowing Reinheimer to score. Moments later, Tim Lopes ripped a double down the left field line bringing home two more runs for a 4-0 High Desert advantage.
The Giants got one run back in the top of the second as Jared Deacon drew a two-out walk, advanced to third on Ydwin Villegas' single up the middle and then scored on Carbonell's infield single to shortstop.
The Mavericks though kept the pressure on with four more tallies in the bottom of the second inning via back-to-back home runs. Singles from Austin and Reinheimer put two runners on base with two outs before Guerrero lined a three-run homer to left. Reynolds then launched a home run to left center extending the lead to 8-1.
Smith (0-1), who was making his first start of the season after 50 relief appearances between Augusta and San Jose, suffered the loss. The right-hander was charged with eight runs (all earned) on eight hits over 1 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two.
The Giants trimmed the lead to 8-2 in the top of the third when Horan connected for an opposite-field solo homer to left. The home run was Horan's ninth this season in the California League.
High Desert then pushed across another run in the bottom of the fourth as Shank led off with a single, moved to third on Reinheimer's double and scored when Guerrero grounded out to second.
San Jose was held hitless from the fourth through the sixth innings before breaking through in the top of the seventh. Villegas started the frame with a double down the right field line. Carbonell then singled sharply into left putting runners at first and third before a wild pitch brought home Villegas. Lollis then lined a single into right to score Carbonell bringing the Giants to within 9-4. The rally, however, abruptly ended as Mitch Delfino struck out before Brian Ragira grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
In the top of the eighth, Horan led off with a double into the right center field gap before Jones stepped to the plate with one out and crushed a two-run homer to left center. The home run, Jones' 15th of the season, cut the Mavericks advantage to 9-6.
San Jose though would get no closer as the next two batters after Jones' homer were retired to end the top of the eighth. In the ninth, Lollis singled with one out, but Delfino flied out to center and Ragira grounded out to end the game and leave the potential tying run in the on-deck circle.
High Desert starter Lars Huijer (2-4) picked-up the win after tossing five innings with two runs (both earned) and six hits allowed. He walked two and struck out five.
The Giants bullpen trio of Stephen Johnson (3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO), Tyler Rogers (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) and Tyler Mizenko (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) combined to limit the Mavericks to just one run over the final 6 1/3 innings.
Notes: The Giants fell to 3-3 on their season-ending road trip with one game remaining ... High Desert out-hit San Jose 13-12 ... The Giants were 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position ... Horan has hit safely in his last six games (11-for-25, .440 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI) ... Carbonell is 7-for-13 (.538) over the first three games of the series versus the Mavericks ... Smith, who joined San Jose from Augusta (A) on August 22, made four starts with Salem-Keizer (Short-Season) last season ... In his first two relief appearances with the Giants before Sunday, Smith fired five hitless innings ... High Desert has scored 19 runs over the last two games (both Mavericks wins) ... San Jose finished August with a 15-14 record.
On Deck: The Giants conclude their season on Monday evening with the finale of a four-game series against the High Desert Mavericks. First pitch at Heritage Field is scheduled for 5:05 PM. Matt Lujan (5-2, 3.38 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while High Desert is expected to counter with Dylan Unsworth (6-9, 5.61 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 4:35 PM.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from September 1, 2014
- 'Hawks Lose in Regular Season Finale, Finish 78-62 - Lancaster JetHawks
- 66ers 1st Home Playoff Game this Thursday - Inland Empire 66ers
- Quakes Cap Season with Ten-Inning Win over Storm - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Flemer Shines in Finale - Modesto Nuts
- Wright Wins 11th as Blaze Take 11-7 Finale - Bakersfield Blaze
- Ports Blanked 8-0 in Regular Season Finale - Stockton Ports
- Playoff Bound 66ers Face Storm in First Round - Inland Empire 66ers
- Olson Homers as Stockton Notches Sixth Straight Win - Stockton Ports
- Early Deficit Too Much for Giants in 9-6 Loss - San Jose Giants
- Nuts Miss Opportunities in 6-2 Loss - Modesto Nuts
- 66ers Clinch 2nd Half with Win over 'Hawks - Lancaster JetHawks
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.
