Giants Power to Series-Opening Win over Quakes
August 18, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
The Giants snapped their four-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Tuesday night at LoanMart Field. In the opener of their Southern California road trip, San Jose (56-35) scored all six of their runs on homers as Luis Matos, Harrison Freed and Abdiel Layer each went deep in the win.
The Giants never trailed on Tuesday as Matos' first-inning blast off rehabbing Dodgers pitcher Victor Gonzalez gave San Jose a 3-0 lead just four batters into the game. A one-out single from Yorlis Rodriguez started the rally before Luis Toribio drew a four-pitch walk. Matos was up next and he launched a 1-2 offering from Gonzalez over the fence in straightaway center for a 435-foot three-run home run.
Prelander Berroa started on the mound for the Giants and delivered another excellent pitching performance. The right-hander began his outing with three hitless innings retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced. San Jose then used another homer in the top of the fourth to extend their lead. After Fabian Pena singled to begin the inning, Freed stepped to the plate and hit an opposite field two-run home run to right center for a 5-0 advantage. The home run was Freed's sixth of the season.
Rancho Cucamonga's first hit of the game was a two-out infield single from Jose Ramos in the bottom of the fourth, but Berroa came back to strikeout the next hitter - his sixth punchout of the contest - to quickly end the inning. The Quakes finally broke through when Sauryn Lao hit the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth over the wall in left center for a home run. The round-tripper cut the Giants lead to 5-1, however Berroa followed with consecutive strikeouts and then worked around a two-out walk to finish the inning.
Cole Waites was summoned from the bullpen to begin the bottom of the sixth and showcased a 100 MPH fastball in a 1-2-3 inning to maintain the four-run cushion. Waites struck out two batters in his San Jose Giants debut.
The Giants then hit their third home run of the night when Layer belted a towering solo shot off the scoreboard in deep right center field. The home run, a 440-foot drive, was Layer's ninth of the year and it pushed the lead to 6-1.
Ty Weber worked the bottom of the seventh for the Giants and surrendered a one-out, two-run home run to Imanol Vargas as Rancho Cucamonga closed to within 6-3. A single from Marco Hernandez followed, but with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle, Weber set down Edwin Mateo on a groundout and then struck out Jake Vogel to retire the side.
Clay Helvey then finished the game with two dominant innings to pick-up the save. Helvey fanned two batters in a perfect bottom of the eighth before striking out the side in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory.
GIANTS NOTES
Road Trip Opener
Tuesday was the opener of San Jose's 12-game, 13-day Southern California road trip. Following the current series in Rancho Cucamonga, the Giants travel to Lake Elsinore for a six-game set against the Storm. San Jose is now 29-14 on the road this year.
Long Balls
This week's Giants-Quakes tilt is a matchup of the top two home run hitting teams in the Low-A West. All nine runs scored on Tuesday came via the long ball. Rancho Cucamonga leads the league with 133 home runs while San Jose has now hit 117 homers.
On The Mound
Giants pitching combined to record 16 strikeouts while issuing only two walks in the series-opening victory. Prelander Berroa (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO) earned the win and his lowered his ERA to a league-best 2.87. Cole Waites (1 IP, 0 R, 2 SO) was added to the San Jose roster on Sunday from the Arizona Complex League (rookie-level) while Ty Weber (1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 SO) was making his first relief appearance after three consecutive starts. Clay Helvey (2 IP, 0 R, 5 SO) notched his 10th save of the year - second in Low-A West.
Magnificent Matos
Luis Matos (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) hit his third home run in the last four games. The three-run homer on Tuesday gave him 71 RBI's this season - tied for the league lead. Matos now leads all current San Jose players with 12 home runs.
Inside The Box Score
The Giants out-hit the Quakes by a 9-5 margin. Yorlis Rodriguez (3-for-4, 2B) and Fabian Pena (2-for-4) had multi-hit games for San Jose. Ghordy Santos (0-for-5) batted leadoff and played shortstop in his Giants debut after joining the team from the AZ Complex League last Sunday. Victor Gonzalez, who has made 42 appearances with the Dodgers this season, faced only the first four batters of the game and allowed three runs (all earned) on two hits.
Pomares Promoted, Schmitt To IL
Outfielder Jairo Pomares was promoted to High-A Eugene before the game on Tuesday. Pomares hit .372 with 22 doubles, 14 home runs and 44 RBI's in 51 games for San Jose this season. Third baseman Casey Schmitt was also placed on the injured list. Schmitt left last Tuesday's game against Modesto after getting hit on the hand with a pitch. The Giants currently have only 26 players on their 30-man roster.
Playoff Race
With Tuesday's victory, the Giants (56-35) increased their lead over third-place Rancho Cucamonga (51-39) to 4 1/2 games for the final playoff spot. San Jose has won six of seven games versus the Quakes this season.
On Deck
The Giants and Quakes continue their six-game series on Wednesday evening with first pitch at LoanMart Field set for 6:30 PM. Carson Ragsdale is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
California League Stories from August 18, 2021
- Avery Short Throws Solid Game in 2-0 Rawhide Defeat - Visalia Rawhide
- Sixers Pitching Shines as Big Inning Holds up over Storm - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ports Derailed by Big Innings in 11-4 Loss to Nuts - Stockton Ports
- Giants Power to Series-Opening Win over Quakes - San Jose Giants
- Nuts Lift a Pair of Home Runs in Fifth Straight Win - Modesto Nuts
- Utterly Dominant: Grizzlies Quiet Rawhide 2-0 for 8th Shutout of Year - Fresno Grizzlies
- San Jose Starts Series with Win - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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