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CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Close out Homestand with 6-3 Victory

August 2, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants closed out their 12-game homestand on Sunday night with a 6-3 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers at Excite Ballpark. Luis Matos hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh before Abdiel Layer's two-run home run the following inning helped propel the Giants to the win. San Jose (51-27) took five of six games in the series from the Sixers and finished the homestand with an 8-4 record.

Inland Empire's only lead of the contest came in the top of the first after scoring once against Giants starter Ty Weber. D'Shawn Knowles started the game with a double to deep right. Carson Matthews then struck out swinging on a ball in the dirt and when catcher Patrick Bailey threw to first to record the out, the speedy Knowles took third. Moments later, Weber uncorked a wild pitch allowing Knowles to score for a 1-0 66ers advantage.

San Jose though answered with a two-run bottom of the first to take the lead. Consecutive one-out singles from Luis Toribio and Jairo Pomares and then a wild pitch put runners on second and third. Matos followed with a single up the middle to score both runners and give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

The score remained at 2-1 all the way until the bottom of the sixth. Weber kept Inland Empire off the board in the second, third and fourth innings. He retired 10 consecutive Sixers hitters at one point during his start. Abel Adames then worked two perfect innings out of the bullpen over the fifth and sixth. Adames struck out five of the six batters he faced during the two frames.

San Jose then used a pair of extra-base hits in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 3-1. Matos led off with a double to deep right center field. He was still at second base with two outs when Casey Schmitt hammered a fly ball off the ball in straightaway center. Schmitt's hit went for a triple as Matos came home with the Giants' third run of the night.

Inland Empire, however, would tie the game on a two-run home run in the top of the seventh. With Adames still on the mound, Braxton Martinez led off with a double. Cade Cabbiness then stepped to the plate and launched a towering two-run home run to deep right. The homer was Cabbiness' second of the series and it tied the score 3-3.

Adames later surrendered a one-out double to Gabe Matthews in the top of the seventh as the 66ers put the potential go-ahead run into scoring position, but Brooks Crawford entered from the bullpen and quickly induced a groundout and a pop out of the next two hitters to keep the game tied.

San Jose then went right back in front with a single tally in the bottom of the seventh. Layer led off with a single into right and moved to second on Carter Williams' sacrifice bunt. After Toribio drew a walk, Pomares struck out swinging for the second out. Matos was up next and on a 2-2 pitch, he grounded a single through the hole on the left side. Layer easily scored from second on the hit giving the Giants a 4-3 lead.

Crawford returned to the mound in the top of the eighth and needed only nine pitches to work a 1-2-3 inning. Then in the bottom of the frame, Bailey hit a leadoff single before Layer came up with two outs and lined a 403-foot home run to left. The round-tripper, Layer's eighth of the season, stretched the lead to 6-3.

In the top of the ninth, Crawford struck out the first two batters before Paxton Wallace blooped a single into shallow right. Crawford though came back to retire Gabe Matthews on a groundout to seal the Giants victory.

GIANTS NOTES

Series Review

The Giants won the final three games of the series to take five of six from Inland Empire this week. San Jose knocked out 39 hits and scored 20 runs over the last three games. The series marked the only meeting of the season between the Giants and 66ers.

Matos Extends Hitting Streak

Luis Matos finished Sunday's game 3-for-4 with two singles, his team-leading 22nd double and three RBI's. Matos has 18 hits in 34 at-bats (.529 AVG) during his current eight-game hitting streak. His .325 batting average this season ranks third in Low-A West.

Other Hitting Standouts

Casey Schmitt (3-for-4, 2B, 3B, RBI) finished a home run shy of the cycle on Sunday. Schmitt's triple was his first of the season. Abdiel Layer (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI), Luis Toribio (2-for-3) and Jairo Pomares (2-for-4) also finished with multi-hit games. The Giants out-hit the Sixers 14-6.

On The Mound

Ty Weber pitched four strong innings in his first start of the season. Weber, who had previously made 17 relief appearances for San Jose this year, gave up only one run and two hits. He walked none, struck out three and retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced. Weber, Abel Adames (2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 6 SO) and Brooks Crawford (2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 SO) combined to record 11 strikeouts without issuing a walk. Crawford, who set down eight of the nine batters he faced to end the game, earned the win.

Roster Moves

Pitcher Jesus Tona and outfielder Najee Gaskins were added to the Giants roster from the Arizona Complex League (Rookie-level) before the game on Sunday. Tona has prior experience in San Jose having made 14 relief appearances with the Giants during the 2019 season.

Standings Update

The Giants (51-27) pulled to within one game of the Fresno Grizzlies (52-26) for the best record in the league. San Jose also remained 6 1/2 games ahead of the third-place Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (44-33) for the final playoff spot in the Low-A West. The Giants have won 14 out of their last 18 games overall.

On Deck

Following an off day, the Giants travel to Fresno for a six-game set against the Grizzlies. Tuesday's series opener at Chukchansi Park is a 6:50 PM first pitch. Wil Jensen is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher. The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com.

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