CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Outlast Modesto, Hang On For 10-9 Win

Published on May 7, 2023 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants overcame a four-run deficit and then held off Modesto late for a 10-9 victory on Saturday evening at Excite Ballpark. In a see-saw battle, San Jose went ahead for good with a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh and then managed to strand the potential tying run at third base in the top of the ninth to hang on for the win. The Giants (16-10) have now claimed three of the first five games against the Nuts this week.

Alexander Suarez (3-for-4, 2 RBI, SB) and Carter Howell (3-for-4) had three hits apiece for San Jose on Saturday. Jose Ramos (2-for-4, 3B, RBI) also finished with a multi-hit game while Diego Velasquez (1-for-2, 3 RBI) drove in three runs to add to his team-leading RBI total.

The back-and-forth affair saw Modesto take an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs against Giants starter Liam Simon in the top of the second. Freuddy Batista led off with a single before Andrew Miller blooped a double down the right field line to put runners on second and third with none out. Both players would eventually score as Batista came home on Milkar Perez's sacrifice fly while Miller eventually crossed home plate on a wild pitch.

San Jose then took their first lead of the game with a three-run bottom of the third. Suarez drew a leadoff walk, Howell singled and then a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. Moments later, Velasquez singled sharply up the middle to score both Suarez and Howell tying the game 2-2.

Matt Higgins followed by getting hit by a pitch before Tanner O'Tremba flied out. Thomas Gavello then stepped to the plate and singled into right scoring Velasquez for a 3-2 Giants advantage.

Modesto though immediately responded with a run in the fourth to tie the game as Miller walked, Perez doubled before Davis hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-3. Simon pitched four innings in his start yielding three runs (all earned) on five hits. The right-hander walked one and struck out five. He threw 50 of his 69 pitches for strikes.

The Nuts then sent 10 batters to the plate in a four-run top of the fifth to go in front by a 7-3 score. With reliever Julio Rodriguez on the mound, Modesto's Edryn Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead tally on Gabriel Gonzalez's one-out single. Two batters later, Batista's two-out RBI single pushed the Nuts lead to 5-3. An error then prolonged the inning before Rodriguez walked three batters in a row, the latter two with the bases loaded forcing home two more runs to make the score 7-3.

San Jose, however, had an answer scoring four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to quickly tie the game again. Higgins led off with a single before a walk to O'Tremba. Gavello was then plunked to load the bases with none out. Ramos was up next and he grounded a single into right plating Higgins with the first run of the inning.

Zach Morgan followed with a groundout to third as O'Tremba came home to cut the deficit to 7-5. After Dilan Rosario struck out, Suarez came up and singled into center to score Gavello as the Giants pulled within 7-6.

Following the hit, San Jose had runners at the corners with two outs and Howell at the plate. During the at-bat, Suarez successfully stole second and when the throw from the catcher Batista bounced into center field, Ramos raced home to tie the game 7-7.

Esmerlin Vinicio, who had recorded the final out of the top of the fifth, threw two scoreless innings over the sixth and seventh to keep the contest deadlocked. San Jose then rallied in the bottom of the seventh scoring twice to take back the lead. A walk to Morgan started the inning before a wild pitch advanced him to second. Rosario then lined a single into left center to easily score Morgan putting the Giants ahead 8-7.

Consecutive singles from Suarez and Howell followed before Velasquez's sacrifice fly made it 9-7.

Hayden Wynja entered from the bullpen to begin the top of the eighth and needed only five pitches to work a 1-2-3 inning before San Jose plated a key insurance run in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Ramos hit a triple down the right field line and then scored on Suarez's two-out single for a 10-7 advantage.

The extra run would prove to be important as Modesto scored twice in the top of the ninth to pull back within 10-9. With Wynja still on the mound, Batista and Miller produced back-to-back singles to start the inning. Perez then blasted an RBI double to deep left center to make it 10-8. Davis followed with a groundout to second plating Miller to trim the Giants lead to 10-9 while Perez, the potential tying run, advanced to third. Wynja though was able to slam the door as the San Jose lefty registered back-to-back strikeouts of the next two hitters, Josh Hood and Rodriguez, to end the game as the Giants held on for the victory.

Vinicio (1-1) was credited with the win after tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Wynha pitched the final two innings to notch his second save of the year.

Modesto out-hit San Jose 13-12. The Giants were 7-for-19 with runners in scoring position compared to just 3-for-11 for the Nuts. All nine players in San Jose's lineup scored at least one run.

The Giants and Nuts conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 1:00 PM. Hayden Birdsong is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

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California League Stories from May 7, 2023


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