CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Roll to 7-1 Victory, Series Win over Rawhide

Published on September 6, 2021 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants secured a series win over the Visalia Rawhide with a 7-1 victory on Sunday evening at Excite Ballpark. The Giants pounded out 13 hits in the contest and used a five-run bottom of the fourth inning to break the game open. Four San Jose pitchers also combined on 16 strikeouts as the Giants took four of six games in the series from the Rawhide.

With the win, San Jose (67-41) maintained their eight-game lead over Modesto and Rancho Cucamonga in the Low-A West playoff race. Only 12 games remain in the regular season as the Giants' magic number to clinch was reduced to four.

San Jose was in control for the majority of Sunday's affair scoring single runs in the second and third innings to take an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, Patrick Bailey led off with a double to left center and was eventually at third base with two outs. Harrison Freed then stepped to the plate and laced a double into the left center gap to bring home Bailey with the first run of the night.

In the bottom of the third, Yorlis Rodriguez led off with a towering 418-foot solo home run to left center. The homer, Rodriguez's second with the Giants, extended the lead to 2-0.

San Jose then sent 10 batters to the plate during their five-run, five-hit bottom of the third to break the game open. Carter Williams led off with a double to the fence in left center and immediately scored when the next batter, Freed, smacked a double down the left field line. A single from Najee Gaskins followed before Abdiel Layer struck out and then Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jimmy Glowenke then popped out for the second out of the inning. Ghordy Santos was up next and during his at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Freed to score the second run of the inning. Moments later, Santos grounded a single up the middle plating Gaskins and Rodriguez to make it 6-0. After Bailey singled to extend the inning, Luis Matos' line drive into center was dropped by Wildred Patino for an error scoring Santos for a 7-0 cushion.

The seven runs would be more than enough support for the Giants pitching staff as Nick Swiney and relievers Randy Rodriguez, Cole Waites and Clay Helvey combined on a five-hitter. At one point during his start, Swiney retired 10 consecutive Visalia hitters and faced just one batter over the minimum in four scoreless innings. Swiney returned to the mound in the top of the fifth and recorded two more outs before he was removed from the game with a runner on first base. Rodriguez entered from the bullpen and quickly recorded the final out before he fanned two in a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

In the top of the seventh, Rodriguez surrendered a leadoff double to Neyfy Castillo, but responded with strikeouts of the next two hitters. Patino was then hit by a pitch before Rodriguez registered his third strikeout of the inning to retire the side.

Waites then cruised through a 1-2-3 top of the eighth striking out the side to maintain the seven-run advantage. In the ninth, Waites issued back-to-back walks to Tim Tawa and Castillo to start the inning. Deyvison De Los Santos then hit into a force play with Tawa out at third base for the first out of the inning. Helvey was then summoned and he promptly allowed an RBI single to Ramses Malave as Visalia broke up the shutout. Helvey though came back to strikeout Patino for the second out. After Mason Berne walked to load the bases, Helvey fanned S.P. Chen - San Jose's 16th strikeout of the contest - to end the game.

GIANTS NOTES

Series Review

The Giants earned victories of 7-0 on Tuesday, 5-2 on Thursday and 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday, in addition to Sunday's triumph. The Rawhide's two wins came on Wednesday (7-3) and Saturday (7-1). San Jose handed Visalia their first series loss since the final week of July.

Hitting Leaders

Patrick Bailey went 3-for-4 on Sunday with two singles and a double. Bailey finished the series with 10 hits in 22 at-bats (.455 AVG). Harrison Freed (2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) and Ghordy Santos (2-for-5, 2 RBI) added two hits and two RBI's each for the Giants. Yorlis Rodriguez (2-for-4, HR, RBI) and Najee Gaskins (2-for-3) also finished with multi-hit games. Gaskins, who was activated from the injured list before the game, was playing for the first time since August 15.

Swiney's Start

Nick Swiney fired 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his start with only three hits allowed. Swiney walked none, struck out six and retired 13 of the 16 batters he faced. Swiney still boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA with the Giants this season (16 2/3 innings pitched).

In The 'Pen

Randy Rodriguez struck out five over 2 1/3 scoreless innings of long relief to earn the win. Rodriguez, who turned 22 on Sunday, extended his scoreless inning streak to 20 - the longest by a San Jose pitcher this season. Cole Waites (1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 SO) allowed his first run as a member of the Giants, but has still not given up a hit in 7 1/3 innings pitched.

Inside The Box Score

The Giants out-hit the Rawhide 13-5. San Jose was 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-10 for Visalia.

Standings Update

While the second-place Giants inched closer to a playoff berth on Sunday, they remained four games behind Fresno (71-37) for the best record in the league. Home field advantage in the best-of-five Championship Series (September 21-26) is awarded to the team with the best regular season record.

On Deck

Following an off day, the Giants continue their homestand with a six-game set against the Stockton Ports at Excite Ballpark. Tuesday's series opener is a 6:30 PM first pitch. The match-up with the Ports marks San Jose's final home series of the regular season.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from September 6, 2021


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