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CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Rally Late To Secure Key Series Win Over Nuts

August 29, 2022 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants bolstered their playoff hopes on Sunday night with a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field. Two big hits late in the game keyed the Giants win as Aeverson Arteaga smacked a three-run double in the top of the eighth before Anyesber Sivira's tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth inning propelled San Jose past Modesto. With the victory, the Giants (67-53, 27-27 second half) claimed the final three games in the series and won four of six contests overall against the Nuts during the week.

San Jose trailed for the majority of Sunday's game before their late-inning heroics. The Giants scored first with a single tally in the top of the second as Adrian Sugastey drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored when Damon Dues blasted a double to deep right center field. Modesto though immediately answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. San Jose starter Eric Silva issued a one-out walk to Gabriel Gonzalez before Freuddy Batista doubled to put runners on second and third. Colin Davis was up next and he lined a single into shallow left center that scored both Gonzalez and Batista putting the Nuts in front. After Randy Bednar walked, Cesar Izturis Jr. delivered an RBI double to deep right pushing the Modesto lead to 3-1.

The game would then stay at 3-1 all the way until the eighth inning. Nuts ace Joseph Hernandez, the ERA leader in the California League, fired six strong innings with only one run and three hits allowed. He walked three and struck out six. After the second, the only other inning in which the Giants put a runner into scoring position against Hernandez came in the top of the fifth when Dues walked with one out before Alexander Suarez reached on an infield single. Hernandez though came back to retire Garrett Frechette on a pop out before Sivira struck out to end the threat.

Meanwhile, Joe Kemlage had a spectacular outing out of the San Jose bullpen in a piggyback role. Kemlage, who relieved Silva to begin the bottom of the fourth, tossed four scoreless innings to keep the Giants in the game. The left-hander surrendered only two hits, walked none, struck out six and retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced.

Still down by a 3-1 margin, San Jose then rallied in the top of the eighth against the Modesto bullpen. Frechette led off the inning with a sharp single to left. After Sivira reached on a bunt single, Hayden Cantrelle worked a full-count walk to load the bases. Arteaga was up next and he blasted the first pitch of his at-bat to deep left field for a double. The hit easily cleared the bases as Frechette, Sivira and Cantrelle all scored giving the Giants a 4-3 lead in dramatic fashion.

The Nuts, however, responded in the bottom of the eighth. Spencer Bivens quickly retired the first two batters of the inning, but then Batista stepped to the plate and launched a towering solo home run to left center. The round-tripper, Batista's eighth of the season, tied the game 4-4.

A Modesto error though in the top of the ninth would jumpstart a San Jose rally that proved to be the difference in the game. Dues led off with a chopper to first base that skipped under the glove of the Nuts' Hogan Windish for an error. After Suarez flied out, Dues, the potential go-ahead run, stole second. Frechette then struck out for the second out of the inning, but Sivira followed with a line drive single into shallow center that scored Dues from second giving the Giants back the lead at 5-4.

Bivens then returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and slammed the door to seal the victory. Bivens struck out Bednar and pinch-hitter Harry Ford back-to-back to start the inning. A walk to Jonatan Clase put the potential tying run on base, but Bivens' bare-handed pick-up of Axel Sanchez's comebacker resulted in the final out and secured the series win for San Jose.

GIANTS NOTES

Series Win: After falling in the opener on Tuesday, the Giants won four out of the final five games against Modesto this week to post a key series victory. The series win was San Jose's first since taking four of six games against visiting Rancho Cucamonga during the final week of July. The Giants finish the season with a 10-8 record at John Thurman Field (14-16 overall versus the Nuts).

Another Double: Aeverson Arteaga's (1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI) two-bagger late in the game on Sunday was his league-leading 34th double of the season. Arteaga was 8-for-23 (.348 AVG) during the six-game series in Modesto with five doubles and nine RBI's.

Inside The Box Score: The Giants out-hit the Nuts 7-6. Anyesber Sivira (2-for-4, RBI, SB) and Garrett Frechette (2-for-4) had multi-hit games for San Jose. Eric Silva pitched three innings in his start yielding three runs (all earned) on three hits. He walked four and struck out one. Spencer Bivens earned the win after working the final two innings with one run and one hit allowed.

Playoff Race: The Giants (67-53) are now six games ahead of the Nuts (61-59) in the race for the second-best overall record in the North Division. 12 games remain in the regular season. If Fresno wins the second half in the North (currently two games ahead of Modesto), the club with the second-best overall record in the division will qualify for the playoffs. The Grizzlies will host the Nuts in a crucial six-game series starting Tuesday in Fresno.

On Deck: Following an off day, San Jose continues their road trip on Tuesday night with the opener of a six-game series in Stockton. First pitch at Banner Island Ballpark between the Giants and Ports is at 7:05 PM. The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com.

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