Giants Complete Four-Game Sweep of Lake Elsinore
July 30, 2007 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
The San Jose Giants completed a four-game sweep of the Lake Elsinore Storm with a 7-2 victory on Monday night in front of 2,714 fans at Municipal Stadium. Joe Martinez tossed seven effective innings with just two runs allowed and five strikeouts to record the win while Antoan Richardson led an 11-hit offensive attack by finishing 4-for-5. San Jose, winners of eight of their last nine games, improves their Second Half record to 22-16.
Eight Giants starters recorded at least one hit in a balanced offensive effort. On the mound, Martinez (9-7) won his team-leading ninth game of the season before Jason Waddell fired two perfect innings to finish the contest.
Shawn Estes, in a Major League rehab start, suffered the loss allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits in five innings. Estes, a former San Jose Giant, walked two and struck out six as he continued his recovery from Tommy John Surgery.
The Giants jumped in front with a single run in the bottom of the first when Richardson led off with a double into deep left center field before scoring two batters later on Ben Copeland's sacrifice fly.
Lake Elsinore tied the game against Martinez in the top of the third when Juan Ciriaco led off with a double before moving to third on Jose Lobaton's fly out and then scoring on Robert Perry's sacrifice fly.
San Jose though immediately answered in the bottom of the third. Brad Boyer started the inning with a single before Richardson reached on an infield single to second base putting a pair of runners on base. Boyer then advanced to third when first baseman Craig Cooper mishandled the throw from the second baseman Keoni Ruth. Brian Bocock followed by grounding into a fielder's choice to score Boyer with the go-ahead run.
In the fourth, Travis Ishikawa started the inning by drawing a walk before moving to third when the next hitter, Pablo Sandoval, lined a double into right field. Adam Witter followed by striking out swinging, but he would reach base safely when the catcher Lobaton mishandled the pitch for a passed ball. The miscue allowed Ishikawa to score pushing the Giants advantage to 3-1.
Mike Mooney then grounded out to second base plating Sandoval with San Jose's fourth run of the evening.
Lake Elsinore scored a single run in the top of the fifth on three consecutive singles from Ciriaco, Lobaton, and Perry to start the frame. After Ruth sacrificed Lobaton and Perry to third and second base respectively with a bunt, Martinez prevented further damage by inducing Mike Baxter to fly out to shallow right field before Craig Cooper grounded out to third.
In the sixth, Sean Kazmar led off by drawing a walk before Josh Alley singled to put runners on first and second. But Martinez again pitched out of trouble as Nic Crosta grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Ciriaco grounded out to shortstop.
The Giants extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh when Copeland brought home Richardson with a single into right field. Ishikawa followed with a double into the right field corner plating Copeland to make the score 6-2.
Then in the eighth, Ruth's fielding error of Boyer's ground ball with two outs allowed Mooney to score from third base.
Notes: The Giants finish their seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record ... San Jose's overall mark of 61-47 is tops among North Division clubs ... Richardson went a perfect 3-for-3 against Estes ... Estes owns a career Major League of 99-90 dating back to his debut season with the San Francisco Giants in 1995 ... Monday marked his third rehab start with the Storm this year ... Every Giants starter recorded a hit with the exception of Mooney (0-for-4, RBI) ... Richardson stole his team-leading 42nd base of the year ... San Jose went 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts during the four-game series ... The Giants finish with a 6-5 record against Lake Elsinore this season ... After five straight losses versus the Storm to begin the season-series, San Jose won six in a row - all at Municipal Stadium ... Martinez leads the California League with 117 strikeouts ... Waddell lowered his ERA to 1.27 (4 ER/28.1 IP).
On Deck: The Giants open a six-game road trip Tuesday night with the first of three games against the High Desert Mavericks. First pitch at Stater Bros. Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. Ronnie Ray (8-7, 5.06 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while High Desert is expected to counter with Nathan Adcock (0-2, 14.85 ERA). The game can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com.
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