Giants Pitching Strikes out 20 in Shutout Win
August 26, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
Four Giants hurlers - Nick Swiney, Randy Rodriguez, Abel Adames and Clay Helvey - combined on a season-high 20 strikeouts Wednesday night in a 7-0 victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm at The Diamond. The dominant pitching performance combined with an offensive attack that saw San Jose pound out eight extra-base hits carried the Giants (62-36) to a second straight win to open the series.
San Jose used back-to-back three-run innings in the second and third to take early control of Wednesday's contest. Luis Matos led off the top of the second with a single before Patrick Bailey laced a double into the left field corner to put runners on second and third. Fabian Pena was up next and he drove home the first Giants run as his groundout plated Matos to make it 1-0. Harrison Freed was up next and he blasted a double to deep center to score Bailey. Then with two down, Edison Mora's single up the middle brought home Freed for a 3-0 advantage.
The extra-base hit barrage continued as San Jose knocked out four doubles in a three-run top of the third to extend their lead. Back-to-back doubles from Yorlis Rodriguez and Ghordy Santos to start the inning produced the first run of the frame. Bailey's one-out RBI double to left then made it 5-0. Two batters later, Freed smacked an RBI double into the left center gap- his sixth hit in six at-bats to open the series - to stretch the lead to 6-0. The Giants had eight hits over the first three innings, six of which were doubles.
Meanwhile, Swiney gave San Jose a dominant three-inning start. The left-hander worked around a one-out double in the bottom of the first and another one-out double in the second. Swiney struck out three batters in the second inning before three more punchouts in the bottom of the third.
Rodriguez took over to begin the bottom of the fourth and the reigning Low-A West Pitcher of the Week fanned three in his first inning of work. Bailey then pushed the lead to 7-0 with a towering solo home run over the 36-foot high fence in right. The homer was Bailey's fourth of the season with the Giants and third in his his last five games.
The Storm threatened in the bottom of the fifth as consecutive two-out singles put runners on the corners, but Rodriguez came back with a strikeout of Lake Elsinore's #3 hitter Joshua Mears to end the inning. It was Rodriguez's sixth strikeouts in his two innings of work.
Adames was then summoned in the bottom of the sixth and he struck out two in a perfect inning of work. In the seventh, Adames struck out the first two batters, yielded a two-out single and then induced a groundout to retire the side.
Helvey came on in the bottom of the eighth and collected one strikeout in an eight-pitch 1-2-3 inning. In the ninth, Lucas Dunn singled with two outs for the Storm before Helvey fanned Sean Guilbe - San Jose's 20th strikeout of the night - to end the game.
GIANTS NOTES
20 Strikeouts
Wednesday's 20 strikeout output achieved a new season-high for the Giants. San Jose's previous high was 19 strikeouts (accomplished twice). The Giants pitching staff continues to lead all of Minor League Baseball in strikeouts (1,187 strikeouts this season, 12.1 per game).
Swiney's Start
Nick Swiney struck out seven over three scoreless innings in his start on Wednesday. The left-hander allowed two hits and walked one during his 51-pitch outing. In three starts with San Jose this season, Swiney has tossed 9 1/3 innings with no earned runs allowed and 18 strikeouts.
Bullpen Dominance
The bullpen trio of Randy Rodriguez, Abel Adames and Clay Helvey combined for 13 strikeouts over the final six innings. Rodriguez (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 6 SO) has thrown 14 2/3 scoreless innings in the month of August - the longest scoreless inning streak by a Giants reliever this season. Rodriguez (4-3) was credited with the win on Wednesday. Adames (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 SO) and Helvey (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 SO) completed San Jose's eighth shutout of the year - tied with Fresno for the league lead.
Hitting Leaders
Patrick Bailey finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI's to lead the way offensively in the victory. Bailey is 9-for-21 with four doubles and three home runs since returning from the injured list (five games). Harrison Freed (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) and Edison Mora (2-for-3, 3B, RBI) also had multi-hit games on Wednesday. The Giants out-hit the Storm 10-6.
Road Trip Update
The Giants have now won seven of eight games on their Southern California road trip. San Jose improved their road record to a league-best 35-15.
Playoff Race
The Giants (62-36) increased their lead in the Low-A West playoff race with Wednesday's victory. San Jose is now eight games ahead of third-place Modesto (54-44) and 8 1/2 games in front of fourth-place Rancho Cucamonga (53-44) in the race for the final playoff spot with 22 games remaining in the regular season. The Giants have also moved to within two games of Fresno (64-34) for the best record in the league.
On Deck
The Giants and Storm continue their series on Thursday evening with first pitch at The Diamond set for 7:05 PM. Wil Jensen is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
California League Stories from August 26, 2021
- Swanda Suffocates Ports, Sixers Blast Three Homers - Inland Empire 66ers
- Del Moral Dominance; 'Hide Finally Take Down Quakes - Visalia Rawhide
- Fresno Falters 6-3 to Modesto on Wednesday - Fresno Grizzlies
- Giants Pitching Strikes out 20 in Shutout Win - San Jose Giants
- Ports' Bats Stifled in 3-1 Loss to 66ers - Stockton Ports
- Big Third Propels Nuts to 6-3 Win - Modesto Nuts
- Visalia Gets First Home Win over Rancho - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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