Giants Cruise to Fourth Straight Win
August 27, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Angel Villalona hit a pair of two-run home runs and Andrew Suarez tossed six strong innings to lead the San Jose Giants to a convincing 8-1 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers on Wednesday evening at San Manuel Stadium. The win was the Giants' third straight to begin the series and fourth in a row overall. With the victory, San Jose (66-63 overall, 36-23 Second Half) moves into a first-place tie with Visalia (36-23) in the second half race and extends their lead over Modesto (64-65) to two games for the second Wild Card spot. 11 games remain in the regular season.
Villalona (3-for-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI) produced his second multi-homer game of the season to pace a 14-hit Giants offensive outburst. Tyler Horan (2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI) also drove home three runs while Seth Harrison (3-for-4, RBI) contributed three hits.
Suarez (1-0) allowed just one run and five hits during his six-inning performance to pick-up his first win with San Jose. The left-hander struck out five and did not issue a walk. Luis Ysla (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) and Jeff Soptic (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) then combined for three scoreless innings of relief to seal the victory.
The Giants jumped out early as Villalona slugged a home run in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead. Jeff Kobernus began the game with an infield single and then with two down, Villalona stepped to the plate and lined a pitch from 66ers starter Harrison Cooney over the fence in left center for a two-run homer.
San Jose extended their lead with two more runs in the top of the second. Aramis Garcia led off with a single and then scored all the way first when Horan laced a one-out double into the left field corner. Harrison then produced a line drive single into center plating Horan for a 4-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Suarez pitched around a one-out single in the first, a leadoff single in the second and a two-out base hit in the third. Garcia threw out a runner at second attempting to steal in both the second and third innings. Suarez then struck out two in a perfect bottom of the fourth to maintain the 4-0 lead.
The Giants blew the game open with a four-run top of the fifth. With one out, Daniel Carbonell drew a walk before Villalona launched a towering two-run home run to left center. The homer was Villalona's second of the night and 12th this season. The rally continued as Garcia and Brian Ragira knocked out back-to-back two-out singles. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third before both came home when Horan lined a single to right center. San Jose sent eight batters to the plate in the top of the fifth and scored four runs on four hits to push their lead to 8-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Inland Empire's Caleb Adams lined a one-out double into right center, but was thrown out at third on the play attempting to stretch the hit into a triple. An inning later, Wade Wass connected for a solo homer to right center trimming the Giants lead to 8-1, but Suarez recovered setting down the next three hitters ending the inning.
Ysla relieved Suarez to start the bottom of the seventh and worked back-to-back 1-2-3 frames. In the ninth, Bo Way singled with one out against Soptic to snap a string of 10 straight Sixers batters that had been retired. Soptic though quickly retired the following two batters to finish the game.
Cooney (1-13) was saddled with his league-leading 13th loss after surrendering eight runs (all earned) on 10 hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Notes:
* San Jose extended their road winning streak to a season-high five games.
* The Giants have allowed only one run over their last two games.
* San Jose out-hit Inland Empire by a 14-6 margin.
* The Giants' eight-run output on Wednesday was their highest scoring game in August.
* Villalona (35 home runs) moved into fifth place on the San Jose Giants all-time home run list. Travis Ishikawa ranks fourth with 36 career home runs in San Jose.
* Over his first two starts with the Giants, Suarez has pitched 10 innings and allowed just one run.
* San Jose moved to a season-high three games above .500 overall.
On Deck: The Giants will look for a four-game sweep of the 66ers when the teams conclude their series on Thursday evening. First pitch at San Manuel Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Jose Reyes (3-6, 6.93 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Inland Empire is expected to counter with Jordan Kipper (6-10, 5.42 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.
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California League Stories from August 27, 2015
- San Jose Giants Homestand Preview: September 1 - September 3 - San Jose Giants
- Ports Surge Early, Beat Mavs 10-4 - Stockton Ports
- Giants Cruise to Fourth Straight Win - San Jose Giants
- JetHawks Fall on Missed Scoring Chances - Lancaster JetHawks
- Pitchers Shine in Giants 1-0 Win over Sixers - Inland Empire 66ers
- Villalona Powers Giants to 8-1 Win - Inland Empire 66ers
- Bullpen Locks Down in Speedy 8-6 Win - Bakersfield Blaze
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