Arroyo Powers Giants to 6-4 Win, Series Split
August 23, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
SAN JOSE, CA - Christian Arroyo homered as part of a three-RBI game and the Giants bullpen tossed six innings with just one earned run allowed in a 6-4 San Jose victory over the Bakersfield Blaze on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. The Giants (63-63) took the lead for good with a two-run bottom of the third inning and held off Bakersfield late to earn a split of the four-game series.
Arroyo (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI), who also singled to start the key third-inning rally and added a sacrifice fly, led an 11-hit San Jose offensive attack. Daniel Carbonell (2-for-3) and Ty Ross (2-for-3) contributed two hits apiece.
Jeff Soptic (2-3) earned the win out of the Giants bullpen after tossing three scoreless innings. Soptic didn't surrender a hit, walked two and struck out one during his long relief outing. Jake Smith kept the Blaze off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth stranding the potential tying runs on base for his 13th save of the season.
San Jose jumped out early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first against Bakersfield All-Star starter Dan Altavilla. Skyler Stromsmoe led off with a double down the right field line before moving to third on a passed ball. Arroyo then lifted a sacrifice fly into center plating Stromsmoe for a 1-0 lead. The rally continued when Carbonell followed with a single. Angel Villalona then hit a slow roller to second that saw Blaze second baseman Tim Lopes field the ball, but his flip to the shortstop Rayder Ascanio, in an effort to force out Carbonell, sailed into shallow left center. The play was scored an infield single for Villalona with Carbonell advancing to third. Ryder Jones was up next and he blasted a long single off the wall in straightaway center to score Carbonell to make it 2-0.
Christian Jones made his first start of the season for the Giants and began his day with two scoreless innings. Jones pitched around a leadoff single in each of the first two frames. Bakersfield though rallied in the top of the third scoring twice to tie the game. Carlton Tanabe drew a leadoff walk before Aaron Barbosa hit a slow grounder in front of the mound. On the play, Jones tried to force out Tanabe at second, but his throw was late as the Blaze put runners on first and second with none out. Ascanio then attempted a sacrifice bunt, but was unsuccessful as Jones fielded the bunt and threw out Tanabe at third for the first out of the inning. A strikeout of Lopes followed, but Tyler O'Neill then walked to load the bases. Austin Wilson was up next and he grounded a 1-2 pitch from Jones into right field for a single scoring both Barbosa and Ascanio to tie the game. Jones did prevent further damage when the next batter, Kyle Petty, grounded into a force out.
San Jose though answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead. Back-to-back singles from Arroyo and Carbonell began the frame before Villalona struck out and Jones flied out. Ragira was up next and he hit a hard grounder up the middle that deflected off the glove of Lopes and into shallow left center. Ragira was awarded a single on the play as Arroyo came home to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. And when Ascanio raced out from his shortstop position to retrieve the ball and threw wildly back into the infield for an error, Carbonell scored with a second run on the play.
With San Jose ahead 4-2, Soptic was summoned from the bullpen to begin the top of the fourth. He issued a leadoff walk to Chantz Mack and a two-out walk to Barbosa, but retired Ascanio on a groundout to end the inning. Soptic then breezed through consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth on a total of just 20 pitches to maintain the two-run Giants lead.
In the seventh, Tyler Rogers entered and surrendered a leadoff single to Tanabe. Barbosa then grounded into a fielder's choice with Tanabe forced out at second. After Ascanio struck out, Barbosa was thrown out at second attempting to steal to end the inning.
San Jose then plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend their lead. Ross led off with a single up the middle and after Stromsmoe struck out, Arroyo launched a two-run homer to deep left center. The home run, Arroyo's ninth of the season, pushed the Giants advantage to 6-2.
With a four-run lead, Rogers returned to the mound in the top of the eighth, but immediately ran into trouble. Lopes drew a leadoff walk before O'Neill grounded a single up the middle. Wilson was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with none out. Rogers recovered to strikeout Petty before Mack hit a grounder to second. On the play, the Giants forced out Wilson at second, but Arroyo's throw to first, in an attempt to turn an inning-ending double play, skipped past Villalona. Mack was credited with one RBI as Lopes scored while O'Neill also came home on the play via the error to trim the lead to 6-4. Then with Jay Baum at the plate, Mack was thrown out at second attempting to steal for the third out of the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Smith surrendered consecutive one-out singles to Tanabe and Barbosa as the Blaze brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate. However, the San Jose closer struck out Ascanio and set down Lopes on a groundout to shortstop to seal the victory.
Altavilla (6-11) suffered the loss for the Blaze after allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked none.
Notes:
* The Giants out-hit the Blaze 11-7.
* Prior to Sunday, San Jose had scored three or fewer runs in six straight games.
* Bakersfield finished 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
* Arroyo raised his batting average to .320 - fourth in the California League.
* Arroyo was also honored as San Jose's Defensive Player of the Year before the game.
* Jones pitched three innings in his first start (after 30 relief appearances) and allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits. He walked two and struck out four.
* The Giants are 25-1 in their last 26 games in which they've scored first.
* Sunday's attendance of 4,058 marked San Jose's fourth home sellout of the season.
* The Giants improved to 33-23 in the second half - 1 1/2 games behind Visalia (34-21) for the North Division lead. San Jose (63-63) is also now a half-game ahead of Modesto (62-63) for the second North Wild Card spot. Visalia and Modesto play their respective games on Sunday night. The Giants have 14 games remaining in the regular season.
On Deck: The Giants next embark on a seven-game road trip to Inland Empire (four games) and Rancho Cucamonga (three games). San Jose opens their series against the 66ers on Monday evening with first pitch at San Manuel Stadium scheduled for 7:05 PM. Jordan Johnson (2-1, 3.00 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for the Giants while Inland Empire is expected to counter with Ryan Etsell (7-3, 4.39 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from August 23, 2015
- Martes Hurls Seven String in Shutout Win - Lancaster JetHawks
- Barlow Dominates Again in Quakes' Win - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Arroyo Powers Giants to 6-4 Win, Series Split - San Jose Giants
- Errors Cost Blaze; Comeback Falls Short, 6-4 - Bakersfield Blaze
- Bellinger, Ogle, LoanMart Field Receive Post-Season Awards - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Quakes Tripped up in Visalia on Friday - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Blaze Homestand Preview August 24-27 - Bakersfield Blaze
- 66ers Fall 6-2 to Mavs, Ninth Consecutive Loss - Inland Empire 66ers
- 66ers Drop Eighth Straight Game - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ports Edge Nuts 2-1 for Third Straight Win - Stockton Ports
- Wade Deals in Nuts 2-1 Loss - Modesto Nuts
- DeCecco Deals, Blaze Win - Bakersfield Blaze
- Bregman Nears Cycle, Leads Way Past Storm - 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.
