CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Bats Silenced In 2-1 Loss To Inland Empire

Published on May 20, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Inland Empire starting pitcher Steven Johnson struck out 10 and took a shutout into the ninth inning leading the 66ers to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Giants on Wednesday night in front of 3,423 fans at Municipal Stadium. Johnson, who didn't allow a run until there were two outs in the final frame, retired 18 out of 19 San Jose hitters at one point in the contest. The 66ers scored a pair of unearned runs against Giants starter Oliver Odle in the third and fifth innings en route to evening the series at a game apiece. With the loss, San Jose's overall record drops to 23-17.

Johnson (3-2) allowed only three hits and one run during his spectacular 8 2/3 inning stint on the mound. The right-hander walked only two and threw 114 pitches. After Wednesday's game, Johnson leads the California League with 59 strikeouts.

Odle (2-4) suffered a tough-luck loss for the Giants after yielding two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Odle struck out seven and walked none.

The 66ers jumped ahead in the top of the third inning with a single run against Odle. With one out, Elian Herrera blooped a single over the head of San Jose third baseman Conor Gillaspie. Then when Gillaspie kicked the ball into foul territory for an error, Herrera advanced to second. After Adolfo Gonzalez struck out, Trayvon Robinson stepped to the plate and lined a 3-2 pitch into right field to easily score Herrera with the first run of the contest.

In the top of the fifth, Justin Fuller led off with a bloop single into shallow left field and then he took second base when Shane Jordan mishandled the ball in the outfield for an error. Kenley Jansen followed by grounding a ball to first base that bounced off of the glove of C.J. Ziegler for another error as Fuller moved to third. Then a passed ball on the catcher Buster Posey with Christian Lara at the plate allowed Fuller to score to give Inland Empire a 2-0 advantage.

Odle didn't allow any further damage in the top of the fifth before exiting the game in the sixth after surrendering a two-out single to Steven Caseres. Sergio Romo relieved Odle and promptly fired 2 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Romo, who was appearing in his third game with the Giants over the past week as part of his rehabilitation assignment, yielded just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts during his outing.

The Giants' only hit in the first eight innings against Johnson came in the bottom of the first when Ben Copeland led off with a double to the fence in deep right field. However, Copeland was thrown out at third base on the play attempting to stretch the hit into a triple.

Posey led off the bottom of the second by drawing a walk and Brian Bocock walked to lead off the third, but Johnson quickly retired the next three hitters in each frame.

In the sixth, Jordan led off by reaching on an error to snap a string of nine consecutive Giants hitters that had been set down by Johnson. However, the 66ers starter responded to retire the next three batters before working perfect seventh and eighth innings.

In the bottom of the ninth, Copeland led off with a double down the right field line and stood at third with two outs when Posey lined an RBI single into center field. The hit ended Johnson's night, but Greg Miller came out of the bullpen and struck out Roger Kieschnick on three pitches to end the game.

Notes: The three hits matched a season-low for the Giants ... Copeland (2-for-4, 2 2B) had two of San Jose's hits in the sixth game of his rehabilitation assignment with the Giants ... Copeland is expected to join Triple-A Fresno on Thursday ... Kieschnick (0-for-4) saw his seven-game hitting streak come to an end ... Inland Empire out-hit San Jose by an 8-3 margin ... Mitch Lively (2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO) also worked out of the bullpen for the Giants recording the last two outs of the top of the ninth ... San Jose fell to 3-7 in one-run games.

On Deck: The Giants and 66ers play the rubber game of their three-game series on Thursday morning at Municipal Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 11:35 AM. Garrett Broshuis (2-0, 1.37 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Inland Empire is expected to counter with Chris Withrow (2-3, 7.18 ERA). It's a KRTY Country Thursday and Education Day at the ballpark and tickets can be purchased by calling (408)297-1435 or by visiting www.sjgiants.com.

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California League Stories from May 20, 2009


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