CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Suffer Third Straight Loss to Quakes

Published on May 5, 2013 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


SAN JOSE - The San Jose Giants were held to four hits for a second straight game in a 4-1 loss to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. San Jose has scored only four runs in the first three games of the series - all losses to the Quakes. With the defeat, the Giants' overall record dropped to 19-11.

Angel Villalona (1-for-3, HR, RBI) hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to account for San Jose's only run of the contest. The home run was Villalona's sixth of the season. Ryan Cavan (1-for-4) also extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a first-inning single.

Rancho Cucamonga starting pitcher Ross Stripling (2-0) fired eight dominant innings with just one run and three hits allowed to pick-up the win. Stripling, who retired 21 out of the last 22 batters that he faced, struck out six and walked none during his stint on the mound.

The Quakes jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Casio Grider started the game with an infield single before stealing second. After Scott Wingo struck out, Darnell Sweeney lined a single into center to plate Grider with the first run of the game.

Giants starter Austin Fleet kept Rancho Cucamonga off the scoreboard in the second, third and fourth innings to keep the deficit at 1-0. Fleet pitched around a leadoff triple in the top of the fourth inducing a pop-out before two strikeouts to end the inning. The Quakes though would push across two runs in the fifth against Fleet to extend their lead to 3-0. Scott Schebler drew a leadoff walk before moving to second on Chris O'Brien's sacrifice bunt. Ron Garvey then tried to bunt for a hit and was able to reach base when Fleet threw wildly to first for an error. The miscue put runners on the corners and both scored when the next batter, Grider, hammered a triple to deep left.

Villalona's home run in the bottom of the fifth trimmed the lead to 3-1, but Rancho Cucamonga got the run right back in the sixth as O'Keyea Dickson led off with a solo homer to left.

Meanwhile, the Giants managed only four baserunners for the entire game. Cavan reached on a two-out infield single in the bottom of the first while Mac Williamson singled to begin the second. After Villalona's leadoff home run in the fifth, Stripling retired 12 straight hitters to end his outing. In the bottom of the ninth, Chris Lofton bounced a one-out double down the right field line, but Cavan followed by lining out to first before Harris flied out to right to end the game.

Owen Jones was credited with first save of the season after working a scoreless ninth inning.

Fleet (2-1) allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings to suffer the loss for San Jose. He walked one and struck out four.

Notes: San Jose has lost three games in a row for the first time this season ... The Giants are 1-5 on their current homestand ... Rancho Cucamonga out-hit San Jose by a 7-4 margin ... The Giants have only 14 hits in the first three games of the series ... Jeff Arnold's (0-for-3) hitting streak was snapped at 10 games ... Luis Rojas (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) and Jeff Soptic (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO) combined for three hitless innings of relief for San Jose ... Villalona is tied for fourth in the California League in home runs ... The Giants are one game behind the Visalia Rawhide (20-10) for first place in the North Division standings.

On Deck: The Giants and Quakes will conclude their four-game series on Monday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 7:00 PM. Clayton Blackburn (2-0, 2.57 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Rancho Cucamonga is expected to counter with Jarret Martin (0-5, 5.40 ERA). Tickets can be purchased by calling (408) 297-1435 or by visiting sjgiants.com.

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California League Stories from May 5, 2013


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