Giants Comeback Not Enough in 10-Inning Loss
Published on August 14, 2021 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
The San Jose Giants rallied from a six-run deficit to tie the game on Friday night, but ultimately suffered a 9-7, 10-inning loss to the Modesto Nuts at Excite Ballpark. Modesto's Corey Rosier hit a tiebreaking RBI triple in the top of the 10th as the Nuts evened the series at two games apiece. Luis Matos homered twice for the Giants (55-33) in defeat.
Friday's wild affair saw Modesto build a 7-1 lead after 2 1/2 innings before San Jose mounted a comeback. The Nuts jumped out early with a single tally in the top of the second before Matos tied the game when he crushed a towering solo home run down the left field line in the bottom of the inning.
Modesto then erupted for six runs in the top of the third against Giants starter Ty Weber. Three straight singles from James Parker, Robert Perez Jr. and Spencer Packard to start the inning produced the first run. Colin Davis then stepped to the plate and launched a three-run home run to deep left center for a 5-1 Nuts advantage. Later in the inning, Ty Duvall singled with one out before Cesar Izturis Jr. smacked a two-run homer to right to make it 7-1.
San Jose though would immediately answer with four runs in the bottom of the inning on a pair of round-trippers. Fabian Pena led off with a 404-foot solo shot to left center - his second home run with the Giants this season. Then with two down, Luis Toribio drew a walk, Jimmy Glowenke was hit by a pitch before Matos came up and belted his second home run of the night - a deep drive to left center bringing San Jose to within 7-5. The home run was Matos' 11th of the season.
Randy Rodriguez entered from the bullpen to begin the top of the fourth and kept the Giants close with a fantastic long relief appearance. Rodriguez began his outing with three scoreless innings over the fourth, fifth and sixth frames yielding only one hit during the stretch. San Jose then came all the way back with a two-run bottom of the sixth. Jairo Pomares was hit by a pitch to start the inning before Tyler Wyatt singled with one out and Pena walked to load the bases. After Abdiel Layer struck out for the second out, Najee Gaskins delivered the clutch hit as he singled through the hole on the left side to bring home both Pomares and Wyatt tying the game 7-7.
The contest would remain deadlocked all the way until the 10th inning, but the Giants had several opportunities late to move in front. In the bottom of the seventh, Pomares hammered a two-out double off the top of the wall in left center. Pomares though was stranded when the next batter, Carter Williams, struck out. In the eighth, Layer singled with two outs and stole second, but Gaskins struck out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Juan Sanchez kept the Nuts off the board over the top of the eighth and ninth innings as the left-hander retired six of the seven batters he faced during those two frames. San Jose then attempted to win the game in the bottom of the ninth as Matos was hit by a pitch with two outs before Pomares singled to move the potential winning run into second. Williams though lined out to second for the final out to send the game into extra innings.
Sanchez returned to the mound in the top of the 10th with the free runner at second base and immediately saw Modesto reclaim the lead as Rosier began the inning by hitting a bouncer over the head of the first baseman Toribio and down the right field line. The hit went for an RBI triple putting the Nuts ahead by an 8-7 score. Duvall followed with an RBI single to make it 9-7.
Modesto's Luis Curvelo then shut down the Giants in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory for the Nuts. With the automatic runner at second to start the inning, Curvelo retired three hitters in a row as Wyatt grounded out, Pena lined out and Layer struck out to end the game.
Matthew Willrodt (3-3) earned the win for the Nuts with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen over the eighth and ninth. Curvelo picked-up his sixth save of the year. Sanchez (3-1) was charged with both runs in the top of the 10th to take the loss.
GIANTS NOTES
Comeback Falls Short
The six-run deficit would have been the largest comeback win of the season for the Giants. San Jose overcame a season-high five-run deficit in a 6-5 victory at Modesto on June 16.
Extra Innings
The Giants fell to 2-4 in extra-inning games this season, including 1-3 at home.
Matos' Big Night
Luis Matos finished 3-for-4 with a single, two home runs and four RBI's to lead the Giants at the plate. Matos now leads Low-A West in hits (109) and RBI's (68) this season. His .330 batting average ranks third.
Other Hitting Standouts
Jairo Pomares (3-for-4, 2B) added three hits, including his 21st double of the season. Najee Gaskins (2-for-5, 2 RBI) also had a multi-hit game.
In The 'Pen
The Giants bullpen trio of Randy Rodriguez (3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO), Juan Sanchez (2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) and Clay Helvey (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) combined to throw the final seven innings with only one earned run allowed.
Odds And Ends
Matos had the Giants' eighth multi-homer game of the season (his first) ... The Nuts have 31 hits over the last two games, including 15 in Friday's extra-inning contest ... Ty Weber was tagged for a season-high seven runs (all earned) on nine hits over three innings in his start ... San Jose left seven runners on base over the final five innings, including five in scoring position ... Catcher Patrick Bailey was placed on the 7-day injured list before the game on Friday ... The Giants' (55-33) lead over third-place Rancho Cucamonga (49-37) was trimmed to five games for the final playoff spot in the Low-A West race.
On Deck
The Giants and Nuts continue their series on Saturday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 6:00 PM. Wil Jensen is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
California League Stories from August 14, 2021
- Two Homers Back Carlson in 5-4 Win - Modesto Nuts
- Beerfest Details for Sunday, August 15th - Lake Elsinore Storm
- Giants Comeback Not Enough in 10-Inning Loss - San Jose Giants
- Friday Fun: Fresno Growers Plant 19 Hits in 14-3 Landslide of Stockton: Grizzlies - Fresno Grizzlies
- Grizzly Bats Too Much for Ports on Friday Night - Stockton Ports
- Tenth Inning Offense Secures 9-7 Win - Modesto Nuts
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.
