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CalL San Jose Giants

Giants' Pitching Shines in Shutout of Storm

June 8, 2022 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose hurlers Will Bednar, Spencer Bivens and Seth Lonsway combined on a three-hitter Tuesday night in a 7-0 shutout of the host Lake Elsinore Storm at The Diamond. The Giants earned their league-leading fourth shutout of the season to claim the opener of a pivotal six-game series against the South Division leaders. The win was San Jose's (31-21) third in a row overall.

Bednar worked the first five innings and surrendered only one hit during his dominant start. The right-hander walked one, struck out six and retired 14 of the 16 batters he faced. Bivens then pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth before Lonsway tossed three scoreless innings to finish the game. The trio combined to record 11 strikeouts and Lake Elsinore never had a runner advance past second base.

The Giants scored once in the top of the first to take an early lead before using a pair of three-run frames to extend their advantage. The first-inning rally began with a two-out walk to Vaun Brown. After Brown stole second, Riley Mahan walked. The duo then successfully executed a double steal before a balk committed by Storm starting pitcher Wilton Castillo forced home the run.

San Jose then stretched their lead to 4-0 with three runs in the top of the fourth. Mahan led off with a single before stealing another base. A one-out single from Garrett Frechette and Yorlis Rodriguez getting hit by a pitch then loaded the bases. Max Wright was up next and he grounded a sharp single into right center plating both Mahan and Frechette with the first two runs of the inning. Najee Gaskins followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

Meanwhile, Bednar was cruising throughout his start. Lake Elsinore's only baserunner over the first four innings was a one-out walk to Justin Farmer in the bottom of the second. Bednar struck out two in a perfect bottom of the third before fanning two more in a 1-2-3 fourth inning. In the fifth, Farmer led off with a single to right - the Storm's first hit of the game. Jared Alvarez-Lopez then hit a grounder up the middle that was stopped by a diving Aeverson Arteaga at shortstop, who was able to start a spectacular 6-4-3 double play. Victor Duarte followed with a fly out to left ending the inning and completing Bednar's start.

With the lead at four runs, Bivens took over on the mound to begin the bottom of the sixth and immediately ran into trouble. Kervin Pichardo began the inning with a double off the right field wall before Charlis Aquino walked. Bivens though came back with consecutive three-pitch strikeouts of Max Ferguson and Nerwilian Cedeno before Cole Cummings fouled out to third for the final out

Lonsway then entered in the bottom of the seventh and would use double plays to end each of his first two innings. In the seventh, Farmer walked with one out, but Alvarez-Lopez hit a comebacker to Lonsway that resulted in an inning-ending double play. Then in the eighth, Duarte led off with a single, but was doubled off at first to end the inning on Aquino's soft lineout to shortstop.

The Giants then broke the game open with a three-run top of the ninth. Rodriguez singled with one out before Wright walked and Gaskins singled to load the bases. Then with two down, Arteaga stepped to the plate and laced a double to deep right center that cleared the bases and put San Jose in front by a 7-0 margin.

Lonsway finished the game with a flourish as he struck out the side in a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to seal the shutout.

Will Bednar earned his first career win as a professional with a masterful start on Tuesday night

GIANTS NOTES

League-Leading Pitching Staff: The Giants entered Tuesday leading the California League in ERA (3.78), strikeouts (11.9 per game), fewest home runs allowed (32) and lowest opponents batting average (.215). The shutout was their first since a 10-0 win over Lake Elsinore on May 15 at Excite Ballpark.

Versus The Storm: San Jose improved to 6-1 against the South Division-leading Lake Elsinore Storm this season with a +33 run differential (54-21).

Opportunistic Offense: The Giants were 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday. Lake Elsinore finished 0-for-5 and had only two baserunners advance past first base.

Hitting Leaders: Riley Mahan (2-for-3, 2 SB) and Garrett Frechette (2-for-4) had multi-hit games for the Giants. Frechette extended his hitting streak to eight games. Aeverson Arteaga's (1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI) ninth-inning double was San Jose's lone extra-base hit. The Giants out-hit the Storm 9-3.

Lonsway Locked In: Over his last three appearances, Seth Lonsway has struck out 16 and walked only two in 10 innings pitched (2 ER allowed). Lonsway was credited with his first save of the season on Tuesday.

Standings Update: The Giants (31-21) remained two games behind first-place Fresno (33-19) in the North Division race. 14 games are left in the first half.

On Deck: The Giants and Storm continue their series on Wednesday evening with first pitch at The Diamond set for 6:05 PM. Nick Sinacola is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

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