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CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Score Early, Cruise To 10-3 Win Over Lancaster

August 30, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Darren Ford had a perfect night at the plate and the San Jose Giants scored 10 runs in the first three innings before cruising to a 10-3 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks on Saturday evening at Municipal Stadium. Ford hit his ninth home run of the season as a part of a 4-for-4 effort at the plate that included three runs scored, three RBI's and two stolen bases. The win, San Jose's fourth in a row, improved the Giants' overall record to a season-high 40 games over the .500 mark at 86-46.

Thomas Neal (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) also homered and finished with a multi-hit game as the Giants plated three runs each in the first and second innings before scoring four times in the bottom of the third.

Kyle Nicholson (4-0) earned the win on the mound to remain perfect with San Jose. The right-hander tossed six innings and allowed three runs (all earned) while scattering nine hits. Nicholson struck out six, walked one and retired the last six batters of his outing.

The Giants took advantage of wildness from Lancaster starting pitcher Tip Fairchild scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Ford began the frame by drawing a walk before stealing second base. After Nick Noonan walked, Ford promptly stole third to put runners on the corners. Neal then drew the third straight walk in the inning to load the bases before Fairchild uncorked a wild pitch to bring home the first run. Roger Kieschnick followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop and then two batters later, Nestor Rojas reached on a fielding error committed by shortstop Ronnie Ramirez to score Neal for a 3-0 lead.

The JetHawks responded with a run in the top of the second when Matt Weston belted a solo homer to deep center field, but San Jose kept the pressure on in the bottom of the frame. C.J. Ziegler started the inning by reaching on an error before Ford stepped to the plate with one out and drove a fly ball over the fence in left field for a two-run homer. Two batters later, Neal ripped a line drive to straightaway center that carried over the wall for the Giants' second homer of the inning and a 6-1 advantage.

Lancaster answered with a home run of their own in the top of the third as Marcos Cabral led off with a single before Jon Gaston connected for his league-leading 32nd round-tripper of the season, a two-run shot to deep right center field. The blast cut the San Jose lead to 6-3, but the JetHawks would get no closer.

In the bottom of the third, consecutive one-out singles from Brian Bocock and Ziegler forced a pitching change as Bryan Hallberg was summoned from the bullpen to replace Fairchild. Tyler Graham then hit a slow ground ball to the right side of the infield that was fielded by the second baseman Andy Simunic. However, Simunic's throw to Hallberg covering first bounced off the pitcher's glove and rolled into foul territory. The play was ruled a single for Graham while Bocock raced around third and came home on the throwing error.

Ford followed with a line drive single into right center field plating Ziegler while Graham would eventually score on a wild pitch. Then with two outs, Neal singled sharply into right to bring home Ford with San Jose's 10th and final run of the evening.

Nicholson settled down in the middle innings using a double play in the top of the fourth to keep the JetHawks off the scoreboard. In the fifth, Gaston led off with a double, but Nicholson retired the next three hitters to end the inning before firing a 1-2-3 top of the sixth.

Ryan Shaver (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) relieved Nicholson to start the top of the seventh and tossed two scoreless innings before Daniel Turpen (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) made quick work of the Lancaster hitters in the ninth to seal the victory.

Fairchild (2-3) suffered the loss for the JetHawks after surrendering eight runs (five earned) on five hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Notes: The Giants have won the first three games of the series and are 5-1 on the current homestand ... San Jose won their 50th home game of the year becoming the first Giants team in history to accomplish the feat ... They are 50-19 at Municipal Stadium with one regular season home game remaining ... Ford's two stolen bases give him 30 this season - fifth in the California League ... He also raised his batting average to a season-high .290 ... San Jose out-hit Lancaster by a 12-11 margin ... The JetHawks were 0-for-7 batting with runners in scoring position ... Gillaspie (0-for-5) saw his 13-game hitting streak come to an end ... Neal's home run was his 22nd of the year - one behind Kieschnick for the team lead ... Craig Clark (15-2, 3.01 ERA) was honored as the 2009 San Jose Giants Pitcher of the Year before the game.

On Deck: The Giants play their final regular season home game when they conclude their four-game set with Lancaster on Sunday evening. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 5:00 PM. Oliver Odle (7-11, 5.64 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while the JetHawks are expected to counter with Chris Salamida (4-1, 7.20 ERA). Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling (408)297-1435 or by visiting www.sjgiants.com.

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