CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants End Slide with 3-1 Victory

Published on August 6, 2019 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


The Giants snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 series-opening victory over the host Lake Elsinore Storm on Monday night. Sean Hjelle delivered another excellent start on the mound while the bullpen duo of Luis Amaya and Rodolfo Martinez combined to shut down the Storm late. Offensively, Dalton Combs blasted a solo home run and Joey Bart knocked out a pair of hits, including a key RBI double.

All three San Jose runs came in the middle frames as single tallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings gave the Giants a 3-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, Courtney Hawkins led off with a single and was at second base with two outs when Sandro Fabian lined an RBI single into right. An inning later, Manuel Geraldo started things off with a triple out to the 425-foot marker in deep left center. Two batters later, Bart laced a double into the right field corner to plate Geraldo with the second San Jose run. Then in the sixth, Combs led off with a home run as he belted a fly ball over the 36-foot high wall in straightaway right. The homer was Combs' second of the season.

The three Giants runs would be enough on Monday at The Diamond. Hjelle had another terrific start as the San Jose ace pitched into the sixth inning and allowed only one run. Hjelle worked around back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the first inducing a key double play in the frame from the league's leading hitter Luis Campusano. Hjelle had retired eight of the last nine Storm hitters when Campusano led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to deep left center. A groundout from Gabriel Arias then advanced Campusano to third, but the runner was stranded as Jack Suwinski also grounded out with the infield playing in before Eguy Rosario struck out.

Hjelle then tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth before Lake Elsinore finally broke through in the sixth. Xavier Edwards led off with a bunt single and stole second with one out. Campusano then lined a single into center to bring home Edwards cutting the San Jose lead to 3-1. The RBI hit knocked Hjelle out of the game, but Amaya entered and quickly retired the next two hitters on a pop out and a strikeout to retire the side.

After Amaya set down the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, Martinez needed just five pitches to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning. With the Giants still ahead by two runs, Martinez returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and saw the Storm put the potential tying runs on base. With one out, Arias singled and advanced to second on a balk before Suwinski walked. However with the winning run at the plate, Martinez struck out Eguy Rosario and retired Jeisson Rosario on a routine grounder to shortstop ending the game.

GIANTS NOTES

Losing Streak Snapped

With Monday's victory, the Giants avoided matching their longest losing streak of the season (six games, April 23-28).

Hjelle's Start

Sean Hjelle (5-5) tossed 5 1/3 innings with only one run allowed to pick-up the win. The right-hander scattered six hits, walked none and struck out five during his 93-pitch outing. Hjelle's out breakdown: 10 groundouts, five strikeouts and one fly out.

Bullpen Shines

Luis Amaya (1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 SO) retired all five batters that he faced during his relief outing. Rodolfo Martinez (2 IP, 0 R, 2 SO) then notched a six-out save. It was Martinez's second save of the year and his 28th all-time with the San Jose Giants.

Hitting Standouts

Joey Bart (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, SB) had a multi-hit game for the Giants. Heliot Ramos (2-for-3) also collected a pair of hits before leaving the game in the fifth inning. Dalton Combs (1-for-3, HR, RBI) has now hit safely in 17 out of his last 19 games. Manuel Geraldo's (1-for-3, 3B) triple was his team-leading sixth of the season.

Series Opener Success

The Giants improved to 11-2 in their last 13 series openers.

Inside The Box Score

The Giants out-hit the Storm by an 8-7 margin. San Jose was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-8 for Lake Elsinore.

Rare Win At The Diamond

Monday's triumph was only San Jose's third win in their last 14 games at The Diamond dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season.

On Deck

The Giants and Storm play the middle game of their three-game series on Tuesday evening with first pitch at The Diamond set for 6:00 PM. Aaron Phillips is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from August 6, 2019


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