Giants Stymied by Ports, Lose 3-0
September 9, 2023 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
One night after knocking out a season-high 22 hits, the San Jose Giants were shutout by the Stockton Ports in a 3-0 loss on Saturday evening at Excite Ballpark. Three Ports pitchers combined to record 12 strikeouts while the Giants stranded 10 runners on base in defeat. The setback snapped San Jose's (68-63) three-game winning streak. The Giants close out the regular season on Sunday.
Bryce Eldridge (2-for-4, 2B) and Charlie Szykowny (2-for-3) had two hits apiece to lead San Jose offensively in defeat.
Stockton starting pitcher Wander Guante struck out a season-high eight batters over 5 2/3 scoreless innings to pick-up the win. Guante worked around five hits and did not issue a walk during his masterful pitching performance. Ports relievers Junior Tur and Blaze Pontes then combined to keep the Giants off the board over the final 3 1/3 innings to complete the shutout. San Jose left five runners on base over the last two innings, including the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Stockton took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Giants starter Esmerlin Vinicio had begun his night with three scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fourth. A walk to Cooper Uhl started the key rally before Yeniel Laboy bounced a one-out single into right. Following Pedro Pineda's sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, Dereck Salom drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Bjay Cooke was up next and he grounded an 0-2 pitch from Vinicio through the middle for a single as both Uhl and Laboy scored giving the Ports a 2-0 lead.
Stockton extended their advantage to 3-0 in the top of the sixth when Myles Naylor hit the first pitch of the inning thrown by Mauricio Estrella over the wall in left center for a solo home run.
Meanwhile, the Giants had a couple of early opportunities with runners in scoring position as Eldridge doubled with two outs in the bottom of the first, but was stranded. Then in the third with the game still scoreless, Cole Foster hit a one-out single before Turner Hill doubled into the left center gap to put runners on second and third. However, Eldridge would ground out to second and Quinn McDaniel struck out to end the inning.
San Jose didn't manage a hit over the fifth, sixth or seventh innings before threatening again in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Hill walked and Eldridge singled to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but a strikeout of McDaniel ended the inning. Then with the deficit still at 3-0, the Giants' bid for a second ninth-inning comeback this week fell short. A leadoff error allowing Scott Bandura to reach before a one-out error that put Szykowny on base opened the door for San Jose in the ninth. Dilan Rosario then blooped a single into shallow right center that loaded the bases and brought the winning run to the plate. However, Alexander Suarez struck out swinging and Foster hit a grounder to shortstop that resulted in a force out at second as the Ports secured the victory.
Stockton out-hit the Giants by an 11-7 margin. San Jose was 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Vinicio (4-9) was saddled with the loss after yielding two runs (both earned) on four hits over four innings of work. He walked three and struck out four. Estrella (3 IP, 1 R) and Tyler Vogel (2 IP, 0 R) combined to pitch five innings out of the bullpen for the Giants with only one run allowed. Despite the loss, San Jose has still won three of the first five games in the series.
Charlie Szykowny had two hits for the Giants in Saturday's loss
The Giants close out the regular season on Sunday afternoon with the finale of their series against Stockton. First pitch at Excite Ballpark is set for 1:00 PM. Dylan Cumming is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher. The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com.
With Modesto's victory over Fresno on Saturday night, the Nuts clinched the second half North title and will be the Giants' opponent in next week's Division Series. San Jose will open the postseason on Tuesday, September 12 in Modesto with Game 1 of the best-of-three series. The Giants host Game 2 on Thursday, September 14 and Game 3 on Friday, September 15 (if necessary) at Excite Ballpark. It will mark San Jose's first playoff series against Modesto since 2012.
California League Stories from September 9, 2023
- Nothing "Marvel"Ous About Tonight as Fresno Watches Modesto Clinch 2nd Half and Playoff Berth - Fresno Grizzlies
- Quakes Play Long-Ball in Front of Sell-Out Crowd - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Guante Shines, Bullpen Solid as Ports Blank Giants 3-0 - Stockton Ports
- Giants Stymied by Ports, Lose 3-0 - San Jose Giants
- Fresno Grizzlies Game Notes vs Modesto - Fresno Grizzlies
- Stayin' Alive: Grizzlies End Nuts' 16-Game Winning Streak With 3-2 Victory Friday - Fresno Grizzlies
- 22-Hit Outburst Propels Giants to 14-1 Rout of Ports - San Jose Giants
- Ports Fall Victim to San Jose Hit Parade, Dropped 14-1 - Stockton Ports
- George Steals Home...And the Show - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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