CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Drop Series Finale to Fresno in 10 Innings

Published on July 12, 2021 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


Fresno's Eddy Diaz hit a tiebreaking two-RBI double in the top of the 10th inning to propel the Grizzlies to a 5-3 victory over the Giants on Sunday night at Excite Ballpark. San Jose overcame a late 3-0 deficit scoring once in the eighth and twice in the bottom of the ninth to force extras before Fresno ultimately prevailed in 10 innings. The Grizzlies won two extra-inning games in the series en route to taking five of six from the Giants. With the loss, San Jose reaches the halfway mark of the season with a 37-23 record.

The Giants managed only two hits over the first seven innings on Sunday while Fresno plated single runs in the second, sixth and eighth frames to build a 3-0 lead. San Jose finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth scoring once without the benefit of a hit to pull within 3-1. Alex Canario led off the inning by drawing a walk before taking second on a passed ball. A one-out balk moved to Canario to third and then Abdiel Layer hit a sacrifice fly to plate the run.

Still down 3-1, the Giants then rallied in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth. Jimmy Glowenke led off the inning with a line drive home run down the left field line. The solo shot was Glowenke's second homer of the season and third overall this season.

Luis Toribio followed the home run with a single to put the tying run on base before consecutive strikeouts of Carter Williams and Jairo Pomares brought the club to the brink of defeat. Casey Schmitt though kept the game alive with a single to right advancing Toribio to second. Canario then came up and hit a sharp grounder past Fresno shortstop Julio Carreras and into left center field for a single. The hit easily scored Toribio from second to tie the game 3-3. Schmitt advanced into third on the play while Canario took second on the throw towards third base. Harrison Freed was then intentionally walked to load the bases, but with the potential winning run at third, Layer struck out swinging to send the contest into extras.

Justin Crump entered from the San Jose bullpen to begin the top of the 10th with Fresno's free runner at second base. Carreras was up first and he dropped down a bunt in front of home plate. Giants catcher Rodolfo Bone fielded the bunt, but his throw to third was late as Mateo Gil slid into safely. Crump came back to retire the next hitter, Bladimir Restituyo, on a slow grounder to third for the first out as Gil remained at third base with Carreras advancing to second. Diaz was up next and he hit a grounder inside first base and down the right field line for a double as both Gil and Carreras scored to put the Grizzlies back ahead at 5-3.

San Jose threatened in the bottom of the 10th, but would leave the bases loaded as Fresno closed out the win. Layer was the free runner at second base to start the inning. After pinch-hitter Luis Matos struck out, Glowenke and Toribio worked back-to-back full count walks to put the tying run at second and potential winning run at first. Carter Williams though struck out swinging and Pomares grounded out to second to end the game.

GIANTS NOTES

Extra-Inning Heartbreak

Dating back to last Sunday in Stockton, San Jose has played three extra-inning games and lost all three.

Inside The Box Score

The Grizzlies out-hit the Giants 8-6. San Jose was only 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The lone hit was Canario's game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Fresno starter Andrew DiPiazza threw six scoreless innings with two hits allowed, no walks and six strikeouts. Tanner Propst pitched the bottom of the 10th for his first save of the year.

Hitting Leaders

Luis Toribio (2-for-4, 2B) and Alex Canario (2-for-3, RBI) both had multi-hit games for the Giants. Toribio finished the series with seven hits in 15 at-bats. Jimmy Glowenke (1-for-4, HR, RBI) has hit all three of his home runs this season over his last eight games. He has a .400 batting average (12-for-30) during the eight-game span.

Harrison's Start

Kyle Harrison started on the mound for the Giants on Sunday and tossed a career-high seven innings. Harrison allowed only two runs (both earned) and six hits. He walked none and struck out seven. Harrison threw 63 of his 83 pitches for strikes. It was his first start this season without issuing a walk. Fresno's only two runs against Harrison came on Mateo Gil's RBI groundout in the top of the second and Ezequiel Tovar's two-out RBI single in the sixth. At one point in his start, Harrison retired 12 of 13 batters (second through the sixth innings).

Standings Update

The Giants (37-23) are now two games behind Fresno (39-21) for the best record in Low-A West. San Jose is one game ahead of the Modesto Nuts (36-24) for the final playoff spot at the halfway point of the 120-game regular season.

On Deck

Following an off day, the Giants begin the second half of the season with a six-game series in Modesto. Tuesday's series opener versus the Nuts is a 7:05 PM first pitch at John Thurman Field. Prelander Berroa is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher. The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



California League Stories from July 12, 2021


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.

OurSports Central