Giants Season Ends with 5-3 Loss in Game 3
September 10, 2016 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
BAKERSFIELD, CA - The San Jose Giants season came to a close with a 5-3 loss to the Bakersfield Blaze in the decisive Game 3 of the North Mini Series on Friday night at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Jay Baum's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth gave the Blaze the lead for good as Bakersfield won the series two-games-to-one.
T.J. Bennett (1-for-4, HR, RBI) homered while Robbie Garvey (3-for-4, 2B) knocked out three hits to lead the Giants offensively in defeat. San Jose out-hit the Blaze by a 10-6 margin, but went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
The Giants threatened early against Bakersfield starter Tyler Pike loading the bases with one out in the top of the second. Miguel Gomez led off with a single before Gio Brusa was hit by a pitch. Following an Aramis Garcia sacrifice bunt, Jonah Arenado drew a walk. However, Pike escaped when he struck out Garvey and retired Rando Moreno on a pop out to end the inning.
San Jose would score first in the contest as Bennett led off the top of the third with a home run to straightaway center. The homer, Bennett's second of the series, gave the Giants a 1-0 lead. Consecutive singles from Heath Quinn and Bryan Reynolds followed the home run, but Pike retired the next three hitters to prevent further damage.
In the fourth, Garvey doubled with one out before Bennett was hit by a pitch with two down, but Pike struck out Quinn to end the inning. San Jose left seven runners on base from the second through the fourth innings.
Jake McCasland, who was making his California League debut after joining the team from Augusta (A) at the start of the playoffs, started on the mound for the Giants and began his outing with three hitless innings. McCasland stranded two runners on base in the bottom of the first and had retired 10 straight Blaze hitters until Baum worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth. Two batters later, Joe DeCarlo stepped to the plate and launched a two-out, two-run home run to left giving Bakersfield a 2-1 lead.
After San Jose was retired in order in the top of the fifth, the Blaze added to their lead in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Daniel Torres was hit by a pitch. A Gianfranco Wawoe sacrifice bunt advanced Torres to second before Drew Jackson lined an RBI single into right center to make it 3-1.
McCasland worked five innings during his start yielding three runs (all earned) on just two hits. The right-hander walked two, struck out five and threw 96 pitches.
Trailing by two runs, the Giants rallied in the top of the sixth tying the game. Facing reliever Kody Kerski, Garcia led off with a line drive single into left. Arenado was up next and he doubled into the left field corner. The hit scored Garcia all the way from first to cut the Bakersfield lead to 3-2. Garvey followed with a bunt single to advance Arenado to third before a Moreno groundout plated the tying run. Garvey though was ultimately stranded in scoring position as Bennett grounded out and Quinn struck out as the game remained tied 3-3.
Ryan Halstead was summoned from the San Jose bullpen to begin the bottom of the sixth and immediately saw the Blaze reclaim the lead as Baum led off with a towering solo home run to left center. The homer, Baum's first of the playoffs, put Bakersfield in front by a 4-3 margin.
The Giants threatened in the top of the seventh, but saw their rally cut short due to a double play. With Joe Pistorese on the mound, Gomez hammered a one-out double into the left field corner before a walk to Brusa put the go-ahead run on base. However, new pitcher Vinny Nittoli induced Garcia to ground into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
After Halstead worked a perfect bottom of the seventh, San Jose again put the tying run into scoring position in the eighth. With one out, Garvey lined a single into right center - his third hit of the game. Nittoli then set down Moreno on a fly out before closer Thyago Vieira was brought in from the bullpen. With Bennett at the plate, Garvey, the potential tying run, stole second. Bennett though eventually struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning and keep the score at 4-3.
The Blaze then pushed across an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth against Tyler Cyr. Chantz Mack led off with a single before Baum popped out. A Cyr balk then moved Mack to second before Petty lined an RBI single into center for a 5-3 Bakersfield lead.
In the ninth, Vieira registered back-to-back swinging strikeouts of Quinn and Reynolds to start the inning. Gomez then hit a line drive into left center that was caught by a diving Mack to end the game and San Jose's season.
Kerski (1-0) was credited with the win despite allowing two runs (both earned) in his lone inning of relief work. Vieira notched a four-out save striking out three out of the four batters he faced.
Halstead (0-1) took the loss for the Giants.
Notes - * The home team won all three games of the Mini Series. * Bakersfield hit .284 as a team during the series compared to .217 for the Giants. * San Jose's only hit with a runner in scoring position on Friday was Garvey's bunt single in the top of the sixth. * Including the postseason, Bennett hit seven out of his 11 home runs this year against the Blaze. * Brusa replaced the injured Ronnie Jebavy on San Jose's playoff roster before the game on Friday. Brusa led the Northwest League with 10 home runs during the regular season while playing for Salem-Keizer (Short-Season). * The Giants lost in the Mini Series for the first time since 2012 (Modesto). * Bakersfield advances to play Visalia in the best-of-five North Division Series beginning on Saturday.
On Deck: The Giants open the 2017 season on Thursday, April 6. The team will be releasing next year's schedule in the coming weeks. Visit sjgiants.com then for information on ticket packages for the 2017 season.
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