CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Extend Division Lead with 9-5 Victory

Published on May 26, 2012 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


BAKERSFIELD - Jarrett Parker and Ricky Oropesa each drove home three runs and the San Jose Giants used a 17-hit offensive attack to earn a 9-5 victory over the Bakersfield Blaze on Friday evening at Sam Lynn Ballpark. The Giants broke a 4-4 tie with a five-run top of the sixth inning and never looked back en route to picking-up their second straight win in the series. The victory extended San Jose's (31-17) lead over the Blaze (26-21) to 4 1/2 games in the first half North Division race.

Parker (3-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI) hit a pair of key run-scoring doubles for the Giants while Ryan Lollis (4-for-5) added four singles to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Adam Duvall (3-for-4, 2 RBI) also contributed three singles while both of Oropesa's (2-for-6, 2B, 3 RBI) hits drove home runs.

With the score tied 4-4, the top of the sixth inning began with Carter Jurica lining a single to center. Consecutive walks to Lollis and Joe Panik loaded the bases with none out before Duvall stepped to the plate and singled sharply up the middle to score two runs. Oropesa followed with a single to deep right center field to plate the third run of the inning and extend the San Jose lead to 7-4. Then with two outs and runners at second and third, Parker lined a two-RBI double into the right center field gap to make it 9-4.

Danny Sandbrink (2-0) was credited with the win out of the Giants bullpen after tossing two innings with three unearned runs allowed. After San Jose reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth, Sandbrink held Bakersfield off the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame pitching around a leadoff walk and a single. Stephen Harrold earned his second save of the year with three innings of long relief to finish the game. Harrold yielded one unearned run and three hits with one walk and two strikeouts during his stint on the mound.

The Blaze initially took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning against San Jose starter Hector Correa. Bryson Smith drew a leadoff walk before advancing to third on Billy Hamilton's one-out single. Devin Lohman then grounded out to shortstop plating Smith with the first run of the contest.

Correa worked four innings for the Giants in his second start of the year. He allowed just one hit and one run with four walks and six strikeouts.

San Jose quickly tied the score with a single run in the top of the fourth inning. Andrew Susac was hit by a pitch to start the rally before advancing to second on Luke Anders' groundout. After Devin Harris struck out, Parker ripped a double off the fence in deep left center to score Susac with the tying run.

The Giants then took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth. Three consecutive singles from Lollis, Panik and Duvall loaded the bases with none out. Oropesa followed with a line drive double into the right center field gap to score two runs. Susac then delivered an RBI single to make it 4-1. San Jose had an opportunity to add to the lead as a walk to Anders loaded the bases again with still none out, but Harris grounded into a double play with a force out at home before Parker struck out to end the inning.

Sandbrink entered the game to begin the bottom of the fifth and immediately allowed three unearned runs as the Blaze tied the score. Smith reached on an error to start the inning before stealing second. With two outs, Lohman reached on an infield single to put runners at first and third before Juan Duran walked to load the bases. Travis Mattair then reached on an infield single and when Panik threw wildly to first for an error, a second run scored on the play. Dominic D'Anna followed with a line drive RBI single to right as Duran scored to tie the game 4-4.

The Giants then sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth inning scoring five times on four hits to take the lead for good.

Brooks Pinckard (0-2) was saddled with the loss out of the Blaze bullpen after allowing the first four runs in the sixth inning.

Bakersfield scored once in the bottom of the eighth against Harrold as Jaren Matthews singled with one out and took second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Theo Bowe reached on an infield single and when the grounder was mishandled by Panik, Matthews raced home to score. Panik was charged with an error on the play as the Blaze cut the San Jose lead to 9-5.

In the bottom of the ninth, Lohman led off with a single before Mattair drew a one-out walk, but D'Anna bounced into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to leave the potential tying run in the on-deck circle.

Notes: The Giants improved to 5-3 on their road trip ... Friday's victory guaranteed San Jose will finish their season-long nine-game road trip with a winning record ... The Giants out-hit the Blaze by a 17-8 margin ... Lollis' hitting streak is the longest for a San Jose player this season ... Susac (2-for-4, RBI) also finished with a multi- hit game for the Giants ... Sandbrink and Harrold combined for five innings of relief with no earned runs allowed ... San Jose's 4 1/2 game lead over second-place Bakersfield is their largest advantage in the standings this season.

On Deck: The Giants will go for the series sweep of the Blaze when the teams conclude their three-game set on Saturday evening at Sam Lynn Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 PM. Ryan Bradley (3-3, 3.77 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Bakersfield is expected to counter with Daniel Renken (3-2, 5.04 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 7:00 PM.

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California League Stories from May 26, 2012


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