CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Overcome Early Deficit, Win 6-5 Over Sixers

Published on April 20, 2023 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants posted their third consecutive win with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers on Wednesday night at Excite Ballpark. The Giants scored five times over the first three innings to overcome an early 3-0 deficit and then held off the Sixers late to secure the win. San Jose (7-4) has now claimed the first two games of this week's series against Inland Empire.

Three Giants pitchers - Carson Whisenhunt, Liam Simon and Tyler Vogel - combined to record 16 strikeouts on Wednesday. Simon, the piggyback reliever, earned the win after a dominant four-inning stint out of the bullpen in which he allowed only one run on one hit while registering eight strikeouts. Vogel struck out the final three batters of the game to collect his first save of the year.

San Jose found themselves trailing 3-0 before even coming to bat in the contest. A walk to Nelson Rada started the game before Jorge Ruiz dropped down a bunt in front of home plate. On the play, Giants catcher Zach Morgan threw wildly to first and down the right field line allowing Rada to score while Ruiz advanced all the way to third. Ruiz was credited with a single on the play while the two-base throwing error brought home the run. Johan Macias followed with an RBI groundout as Ruiz scored to make it 2-0. Then with two outs, Denzer Guzman launched a solo home run to left off of Whisenhunt for a 3-0 Sixers advantage.

The Giants though immediately answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back singles from Andrew Kachel and Jose Ramos started the inning before Matt Higgins' grounder to shortstop was misplayed for an error to load the bases. Morgan was up next and he worked a full-count walk to force home the first San Jose run. Thomas Gavello then lined a sharp single into right plating Ramos to bring the Giants within 3-2. The bases remained loaded after the Gavello hit, however San Jose was unable to add anything further in the inning as Alexander Suarez popped out before consecutive strikeouts of Garrett Frechette and Tanner O'Tremba.

The Giants would keep the pressure on, however, with two more runs in the bottom of the second. Once again, back-to-back singles from Kachel and Ramos started the rally - this time with one out in the inning. After Higgins was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Morgan singled into shallow center scoring both Kachel and Ramos for a 4-3 San Jose lead.

The Giants then added another run in the bottom of the third as O'Tremba was hit by a pitch with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Kachel's two-out single into right to make it a 5-3 game.

Meanwhile, Whisenhunt settled down after a rocky beginning to his start as the left-hander fired three straight scoreless innings from the second through the fourth. Whisenhunt, who completed four innings in his start, retired eight of the last 10 batters he faced. The left-hander was charged with three runs - all in the first inning - on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Simon relieved Whisenhunt to begin the top of the fifth and immediately ran into trouble when Rada belted a leadoff triple to deep right center. Ruiz followed with a grounder to first that Kachel fielded and then threw home, however Rada slid safely at the plate to score the run and cut the San Jose lead to 5-4. From there, Simon cruised as the Giants reliever promptly struck out the next three Sixers hitters to end the inning. Simon then fanned two more in the top of the sixth as he worked around a one-out walk.

In the bottom of the sixth, San Jose reclaimed their two-run lead thanks to the speed of Ramos on the bases. Ramos walked to leadoff the inning before stealing second and third base. Moments later, Morgan hit a sacrifice fly to right as Ramos raced home for a 6-4 cushion.

Simon then continued to dominate on the mound with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh before picking up two more punchouts in a perfect eighth inning. With the lead still at two runs, Vogel was summoned from the bullpen to begin the top of the ninth and was greeted by Dylan Phillips, who smacked a solo home run down the right field line to trim the Giants lead to 6-5. Vogel though bounced back by striking out the next three hitters to secure the San Jose victory.

Kachel went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI from the leadoff spot to lead the Giants offensively. He extended his hitting streak to eight games. Ramos (2-for-3, 2 SB) added two hits and scored three runs from the second spot in the lineup while Morgan (1-for-2, 4 RBI, SB) drove in four runs. San Jose out-hit Inland Empire 7-6.

The Giants and 66ers continue their series on Thursday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 6:30 PM. Hayden Birdsong is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

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California League Stories from April 20, 2023


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