CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Erupt Late to Rally Past Quakes, 9-6

Published on June 24, 2021 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants scored seven runs over the seventh and eighth innings on Wednesday night to rally past the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, 9-6, at Excite Ballpark. Luis Matos' game-tying three-run homer and Jairo Pomares' go-ahead RBI single highlighted a four-run bottom of the seventh before the Giants added three key insurance runs in the eighth on their way to the win. With the victory, San Jose (30-14) became the first team in Low-A West to reach the 30-win mark this season.

For the second straight night, the two first-place teams in Low-A West went back-and-forth in a seesaw affair. Rancho's Sauryn Lao gave the Quakes an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the top of the second before the Giants responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Pomares tied the game with a ringing RBI double to deep right before Abdiel Layer's two-out RBI double put San Jose ahead.

Giants starter Wil Jensen breezed through back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth, but would run into trouble in the top of the fifth. Jonny DeLuca led off with a double to snap a string of seven straight Rancho Cucamonga batters retired by Jensen. After Lao drew a walk, Aldrich de Jongh smacked a game-tying RBI double to deep right center. Two batters later, Eddys Leonard reached on an error with Lao coming home to give the Quakes a 3-2 advantage.

Rancho Cucamonga then pushed across two more runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 5-2. Consecutive singles from Lao and de Jongh started the inning before a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third. San Jose reliever Ty Weber followed with a strikeout of Leonard, but Jorbit Vivas, the Quakes' RBI leader, came up and hit a double into right center to score both Lao and de Jongh for a 5-2 Rancho Cucamonga lead.

Down to their final nine outs, the Giants, though, would rally. Layer led off the bottom of the seventh by reaching on an error committed by Leonard at shortstop. Luis Toribio then drew an eight-pitch walk to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Matos was up next and he crushed a 1-0 pitch over the fence in deep left center for a three-run homer. The 422-foot blast, Matos' fourth home run of the season, tied the game 5-5.

San Jose, however, wasn't done in the bottom of the seventh. Ricardo Genoves followed the home run by drawing a walk. Genoves then advanced to second on a Marco Luciano groundout and moved to third on a two-out wild pitch. Pomares followed with a clutch single into center to bring home Genoves with the fourth run of the frame giving the Giants a 6-5 lead.

Justin Crump entered from the bullpen in the top of the eighth and struck out three in a scoreless inning of work pitching around a two-out walk and stolen base to keep San Jose ahead. The Giants then pushed across three more runs in the bottom of the inning to pad their lead. Back-to-back one-out walks to Toribio and Matos jumpstarted the rally before a Genoves single to left loaded the bases. Luciano then worked a walk to force home Toribio with the first run of the inning. Canario followed by bouncing into a fielder's choice as Luciano was forced out at second, but Matos scored on the play. Genoves then later came across on a passed ball to make it 9-5.

The Quakes scratched across a run in the top of the ninth and had the bases loaded with two outs before San Jose slammed the door. Ivan Armstrong was brought into pitch to start the inning and promptly walked de Jongh to start the inning. De Jongh then moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Ismael Alcantara grounded out to cut the Giants lead to 9-6. Needing just two more outs to seal the victory though, Armstrong continued to struggle as he issued consecutive walks to Leonard and Vivas to bring the tying run to the plate. Wilkelma Castillo was then summoned and he retired Brandon Lewis on a pop out for the second out. Diego Cartaya though was hit by a pitch on a 3-2 offering to load the bases and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Alex De Jesus was up next and Castillo settled back down and notched a swinging strikeout to end the game and secure another San Jose win.

GIANTS NOTES

Back-To-Back Wins

The Giants have won the first two games of the series against the South Division-leading Quakes. San Jose has scored a total of 18 runs in the two games. The Giants have won 13 out of their last 16 games overall.

Matos Extends Hitting Streak

Luis Matos (1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) extended his hitting streak to 15 games with the seventh-inning home run.

Pomares' Big Night

Jairo Pomares went 4-for-5 with two singles, two doubles and two RBI's in Wednesday's victory. He's batting .300 (9-for-30) in seven games with the Giants this season.

Inside The Box Score

The Giants out-hit the Quakes 11-7. San Jose was 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position compared to 2-for-14 for Rancho Cucamonga. Wil Jensen pitched five innings in his start with three runs (all earned) and four hits allowed. He walked one and struck out eight. Ty Weber (2 IP, 2 R, 4 SO) was credited with the win out of the bullpen while Wilkelma Castillo (2/3 IP, 1 SO) collected his first save of the year. Giants pitching recorded 16 strikeouts.

On Deck

The Giants and Quakes continue their series on Thursday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 6:30 PM. Kyle Harrison is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from June 24, 2021


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