Giants Stay Hot With 8-4 Victory Over Storm
Published on May 14, 2023 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
The San Jose Giants won for the 11th time in their last 14 games with an 8-4 victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm on Saturday night. In front of a sellout crowd of 3,110 at Excite Ballpark, the Giants knocked out 11 hits and received solid pitching performances from the tandem of Hayden Birdsong and Hayden Wynja en route to the win. With the victory, San Jose (21-11) has now claimed four of the first five contests in the series against Lake Elsinore and moved a season-high 10 games above .500 overall.
Diego Velasquez (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, SB), Matt Higgins (2-for-4) and P.J. Hilson (2-for-4, SB) had two hits apiece to lead the Giants offensively.
San Jose scored seven runs over the first four innings on Saturday to build a 7-1 lead. In the bottom of the first, Velasquez walked with one out before back-to-back singles from Higgins and Tanner O'Tremba loaded the bases. Andrew Kachel followed with a grounder up the middle for a single to plate both Velasquez and Higgins with the first two runs of the night.
Later in the inning, Dilan Rosario stepped to the plate with two down and lined an RBI single into left to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Giants kept the pressure on with two more runs in the bottom of the third. Singles from Higgins and Edison Mora put runners on the corners with one out before Zach Morgan delivered a line drive RBI single into left for a 4-0 lead.
Then with Rosario at the plate, San Jose executed a double steal with Morgan swiping second and Mora stealing home to push the advantage to 5-0.
Meanwhile, Birdsong had another effective start for the Giants tossing 3 2/3 innings with only one run allowed. The right-hander surrendered four hits, walked two and struck out four during his outing. Birdsong escaped a bases loaded jam in the top of the third when he registered a strikeout of Storm cleanup hitter Griffin Doersching. Lake Elsinore was able to plate a single run off of Birdsong in the fourth as Rosman Verdugo led off with a double and eventually came home on a Wyatt Hoffman sacrifice fly to cut the San Jose lead to 5-1. A two-out walk would then end Birdsong's night, but Wynja entered and promptly struck out Charlis Aquino to finish the inning.
The Giants then came right back with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Hilson led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. After Carter Howell walked, Velasquez singled sharply into center to bring home Hilson for a 6-1 margin. Three batters later, Mora's sacrifice fly stretched the San Jose lead to 7-1.
Wynja was excellent in the piggyback role for the Giants firing 3 1/3 innings of long relief with only one run and one hit allowed. Lake Elsinore turned a leadoff double into a run in the top of the sixth to trim the San Jose advantage to 7-2, but Wynja managed to get out of the inning. Wynja then finished his night with an immaculate inning in the top of the seventh as he struck out the side on nine pitches.
A two-run rally for the Storm in the top of the eighth brought the visitors within 7-4, but a key double play prevented further damage for the Giants. Sam Delaplane, who joined San Jose earlier in the day on a minor league rehab assignment, was only able to retire one of the six batters he faced. Albert Fabian led off with a double down the right field line before Delaplane walked three straight hitters to force home a run. Following a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Braedon Karpathios singled into right plating another run to cut the Giants lead to 7-4. However with the potential tying runs on base, Dylan Cumming was summoned from the bullpen and he induced Aquino to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
San Jose scored their eighth and final run of the evening in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-4 as Howell walked to leadoff and immediately came home when the next batter, Velasquez, blasted a double to the fence in deep left center.
Cumming then slammed the door with a perfect top of the ninth finishing the game with consecutive strikeouts.
Wynja (3-0) earned the win with his impressive performance on the mound while Cumming collected his team-leading fourth save of the year.
The Giants out-hit the Storm by an 11-7 margin. San Jose was 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position compared to just 1-for-9 for Lake Elsinore. The Giants were also a perfect 4-for-4 in stealing bases. San Jose improved to 8-3 on their current homestand.
The Giants conclude their 12-game homestand on Sunday afternoon with the finale of their series against Lake Elsinore. First pitch at Excite Ballpark is set for 1:00 PM. Jack Choate is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
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