Giants Pitching Shines in 3âÃâ¬Ã"1 Win
May 9, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
Four San Jose pitchers - Kyle Harrison, Ty Weber, Wil Jensen and Chris Wright - combined to strikeout 15 Fresno batters on Saturday evening in a 3-1 Giants victory over the Grizzlies at the Excite Ballpark. The dominant effort from the pitching staff keyed a second consecutive win in the series for San Jose.
Harrison made his much-anticipated professional debut on the mound in Saturday's win and the top prospect did not disappoint. Despite battling some control issues early, Harrison managed to keep Fresno off the scoreboard with several timely strikeouts.
Harrison began the game by issuing a walk to Issac Collins before Ezequiel Tovar was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt from Mateo Gil followed to advance the runners to second and third. Harrison then struck out cleanup hitter Drew Romo on three pitches for the second out of the inning. After another walk that loaded the bases, Harrison escaped trouble when he struck out Bladimir Restituyo to end the inning.
The Giants jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a clutch RBI hit in the bottom of the first. With two down, Luis Matos ripped a double into the left field corner. Ricardo Geneves then stepped to the plate and blooped a single into shallow center to bring home Matos with the first run of the game.
Meanwhile, Harrison returned to the mound in the top of the second and again had to deal with traffic on the base paths. Joe Aeilts was plunked to start the inning before a walk to Daniel Montano put another runner on base. Harrison though recovered with three straight strikeouts of Cristopher Navarro, Collins and Tovar to retire the side.
Harrison then finished his start with a scoreless top of the third. Gil led off the frame with a bouncer up the middle for a single. Harrison, however, promptly picked off Gil at first and then registered back-to-back strikeouts of Romo and Grant Lavigne to end the inning.
San Jose added to their lead with a single tally in the bottom of the third. With one out, Marco Luciano lined a single into right. Then with two down, Matos clubbed a double into the left center field gap that scored Luciano all the way from first to make it 2-0.
The Giants bullpen then took over to begin the top of the fourth and continued to keep the Grizzles at bay. Weber tossed three scoreless innings of long relief scattering four hits during his outing. Weber pitched around a one-out double in the fourth and a leadoff single in the fifth. Still down by two runs, the Grizzlies put runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the sixth, but Weber induced Montano to groundout to end the threat.
After Jensen put up a zero in the top of the seventh, San Jose scored their third and final run of the night in the bottom of the inning. Armani Smith started the frame with a double down the left field line. Smith then took third on Casey Schmitt's fly out to right and scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 advantage.
Jensen kept the lead at three runs with a 1-2-3 top of the eighth before Wright took over in the ninth. The first two batters of the ninth inning were set down, but a Navarro single kept the Grizzlies alive. Navarro then stole second before Collins produced an RBI single into center to break-up the shutout. Wright though settled down as he struck out Tovar, the potential tying run, on three pitches to seal the Giants victory.
Kyle Harrison struck out seven over three scoreless innings in his pro debut on Saturday
GIANTS NOTES
Harrison's Debut
Kyle Harrison struck out seven over his three scoreless innings on Saturday. The 19-year old left-hander gave up one hit and worked around three walks and two hit batters during his 58-pitch outing. Harrison, a third round draft pick last June out of De La Salle High School in Concord, is rated the #1 pitching prospect in the organization by Baseball America.
In The 'Pen
Ty Weber (3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO) was credited with his first career win. Wil Jensen (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) has now thrown four scoreless innings over two relief appearances this season while Chris Wright (1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) notched his first career save.
Strikeouts
The Giants pitching staff has collected 30 strikeouts over the last two games.
Matos Heating Up
Center fielder Luis Matos (2-for-4, 2 2B) doubled twice and has five hits over his last two games after starting the season 1-for-13. Matos was the only San Jose player with a multi-hit game on Saturday.
First Career Hit
Casey Schmitt (1-for-3) picked-up his first career hit as a professional with a second-inning single. Schmitt was a second round pick of the SF Giants last year.
On Deck
The Giants and Grizzlies conclude their six-game series on Sunday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 5:00 PM. Prelander Berroa is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
California League Stories from May 9, 2021
- Quakes Drop Sixers Behind Four-Hit, Two-Homer Game from De Jesus - Inland Empire 66ers
- Rawhide Get Their First Win of the Season - Visalia Rawhide
- Quakes Trip Late in Extras on Sunday - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Ports Snap Skid in Comeback Victory over Nuts - Stockton Ports
- A Trio of Midgame Errors Lead to 10-8 Loss - Modesto Nuts
- De Jesus with Two Blasts in Win - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Giants Pitching Shines in 3âÃâ¬Ãâ1 Win - San Jose Giants
- Ports Drop Third Straight to Nuts - Stockton Ports
- String of Second-Inning Singles Secures 5-2 Win - Modesto Nuts
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