Sports stats

CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Pitching Overpowers Lake Elsinore in 2â€Â"1 Victory

May 31, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose pitchers combined to record 19 strikeouts in a dominant performance on the mound Sunday night as the Giants posted a 2-1 victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm at Excite Ballpark. Starter Will Jensen fanned 10 over five scoreless innings before relievers Justin Crump, Jorge Labrador, Wilkelma Castillo and Brooks Crawford maintained the lead to secure San Jose's fourth consecutive win. With the victory, the Giants claimed another series as they took four of six games from the Storm.

San Jose won despite managing only two hits in the contest. Both hits came during the Giants' two-run bottom of the first inning. A one-out bloop double down the right field line from Abdiel Layer started the rally before Luis Matos singled sharply into left to put runners on the corners. Marco Luciano was up next and during his at-bat, a passed ball on Lake Elsinore catcher Brandon Valenzuela moved Matos to second. Luciano then hit a comebacker that was misplayed by Storm starting pitcher Noel Vela for an error. Layer scored on the play with Matos advancing to third and Luciano reaching first safely. Brett Auerbach followed with a grounder to third that saw Luciano forced out at second, but Lake Elsinore was unable to turn the double play. Matos scored on the fielder's choice as San Jose pushed their lead to 2-0.

The Giants would not record another hit for the remainder of the game, but the two runs would stand thanks to the spectacular work of the pitching staff.

Jensen began his start by retiring seven straight Storm batters, including five via the strikeout. Lake Elsinore threatened in the top of the fourth as Euribiel Angeles led off with a bunt single - the Storm's first hit of the game. Valenzuela followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Jensen came back with consecutive strikeouts of the next two hitters before a walk to Joshua Mears loaded the bases. Jensen though induced the next hitter, Matthew Acosta, to foul out to catcher Ricardo Genoves to end the inning. Jensen then finished his outing with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth registering two more punchouts.

With the score still 2-0, Crump entered from the bullpen in the top of the sixth and ran into trouble as Valenzuela walked with one out before Jarryd Dale's double into the left field corner put runners on second and third. Following a walk to Jack Stronach that loaded the bases, Crump uncorked a wild pitch plating Valenzuela to cut the San Jose lead in half. However with the potential tying run at third and go-ahead run at second, Crump recovered to strikeout Mears on a 3-2 pitch and then retired Acosta on a routine groundout to second to keep the Giants ahead.

In the seventh, Labrador collected back-to-back strikeouts to start the inning before consecutive singles from Robert Hassell and Angeles again put the tying and go-ahead runs aboard. Labrador though escaped when the set down Valenzuela on a groundout to end the inning.

Castillo pitched the top of the eighth for San Jose and struck out three batters in his inning as he pitched around a one-out hit batter. Then in the ninth, with the lead still at one run, Crawford fanned three more to slam the door. With one out, Angel Solarte singled to right center, but consecutive punchouts of Hassell and Angeles followed for strikeouts #18 and #19 of the night as the Giants held on for the victory.

GIANTS NOTES

Strikeouts

The 19 strikeouts by Giants pitching on Sunday matched a season-high. San Jose also struck out 19 in a win at Stockton on May 11. During the current four-game winning streak, Giants pitchers have struck out 62 batters (15.5 per game) while posting a 1.00 team ERA.

Finishing Strong

After dropping consecutive games to the Storm on Tuesday and Wednesday to open the six-game set, the Giants bounced back with four straight wins over the next four days to take the series.

First Career Win

Wil Jensen earned his first win as a professional. He surrendered only two hits over five scoreless innings on Sunday with two walks and 10 strikeouts. He threw 43 of his 66 pitches for strikes. Jensen is in his debut professional season after signing with the San Francisco Giants last June.

In The 'Pen

Justin Crump (1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SO), Jorge Labrador (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 SO), Wilkelma Castillo (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 SO) and Brooks Crawford (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 SO) combined to strikeout nine batters over the final four innings. Crawford picked-up his second save of the season.

Inside The Box Score

Lake Elsinore out-hit the Giants by a 6-2 margin, but the Storm went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.

May Review

San Jose closes the opening month of May with a 15-9 record. The Giants currently boast the second-best record in Low-A West.

On Deck

Following an off day, the Giants continue their homestand on Tuesday night with the opener of a six-game series against the Modesto Nuts. First pitch at Excite Ballpark is scheduled for 6:30 PM. Kyle Harrison is expected to make the start on the mound for San Jose.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics



California League Stories from May 31, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent San Jose Giants Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central