Giants Power Past Stockton To Complete Sweep
Published on April 12, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Michael Ambort each hit home runs and the Giants pitching staff recorded their third consecutive shutout as San Jose blanked the Stockton Ports 10-0 on Easter Sunday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. Posey and Crawford both homered during a four-run first inning to give the Giants an early advantage while Craig Clark, Craig Whitaker and Daniel Turpen combined on a four-hit shutout. With the victory, San Jose completed a four-game, season-opening sweep of the visiting Ports.
Crawford (3-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) enjoyed a perfect afternoon at the plate to lead the Giants' 17-hit outburst. Conor Gillaspie (3-for-5, 2B, RBI) and Roger Kieschnick (3-for-4, RBI) also contributed three hits while Posey (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Nick Noonan (2-for-4, RBI) added two hits apiece.
Whitaker (1-0), who was making his season debut, earned the victory with four dominant innings of relief. The right-hander entered the contest to begin the top of the fifth inning and promptly retired the first 10 batters that he faced and 12 out of 13 overall during his stint on the mound. Whitaker struck out three, walked none and allowed just one hit.
The Ports threatened against Clark in the top of the first inning when a leadoff walk to Todd Johnson and a double off the bat of Mike Affronti put runners on second and third with none out. However, Clark pitched out of trouble with no runs scoring as Matt Smith grounded out to the mound before Greg Dowling struck out swinging and Matt Spencer bounced out to second base.
The Giants immediately jumped on Stockton starting pitcher Scott Hodsdon in the bottom of the frame when Crawford launched a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right field for a towering solo homer. After Noonan drew a walk, Posey stepped to the plate and lined a two-run homer to left center field extending the San Jose lead to 3-0. The rally continued with consecutive singles from Gillaspie and Kieschnick before Thomas Neal delivered a two-out, RBI single for a 4-0 advantage.
The Giants added to their lead in the bottom of the second inning when Vladimir Frias reached on a leadoff infield single before eventually scoring on Crawford's RBI single. In the fourth, Crawford singled with two outs, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Noonan's single into right field.
Meanwhile, Clark retired nine consecutive Stockton hitters until issuing a leadoff walk to Smith in the top of the fourth inning. Two singles later in the frame loaded the bases with two outs, but Clark induced Alex Valdez to ground out back to the mound ending the threat.
Clark worked four scoreless innings in his California League debut and surrendered three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The left-hander threw 77 pitches.
San Jose used the long ball to increase their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as Kieschnick singled with one out before Michael Ambort belted a two-run homer to deep center field. The home run, Ambort's first of the season, made the score 8-0.
The Giants capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning when five consecutive one-out singles from Skyler Stromsmoe, Noonan, Posey, Gillaspie and Kieschnick produced a pair of runs.
Turpen finished the contest on the mound for San Jose needing just eight pitches to work a perfect top of the ninth inning.
Notes: The Giants outscored Stockton by a 24-1 margin in the four-game series ... The San Jose pitching staff has not allowed a run since the ninth inning on Thursday - a span of 27 innings ... Crawford has six hits in his last eight at-bats, including a pair of home runs ... Kieschnick has hit safely in all four games this season and currently boasts a .400 batting average (6-for-15) ... Hodsdon (0-1) was charged with the loss after yielding five runs (four earned) on eight hits over three innings ... The Giants claimed a season-opening four-game sweep of an opponent for the fourth consecutive season (vs. Visalia 2006, at Stockton 2007, at Bakersfield 2008).
On Deck: The Giants continue their homestand on Monday evening with the opener of a three-game series against the Bakersfield Blaze. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Oliver Odle (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Bakersfield is expected to counter with Kennil Gomez (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling (408)297-1435 or by visiting www.sjgiants.com.
California League Stories from April 12, 2009
- JetHawks Muscle Up in First Win of the Season - Lancaster JetHawks
- Giants Power Past Stockton To Complete Sweep - San Jose Giants
- Easter parade of hits for 66ers as Withrow shuts down Quakes - Inland Empire 66ers
- 66ers Walk Home With First Win Of Season - Inland Empire 66ers
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