Giants Win Fourth Straight over Quakes
Published on August 21, 2021 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
Patrick Bailey homered twice and Fabian Pena hit a key three-run double in San Jose's 8-4 victory over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Friday night at LoanMart Field. The Giants used a five-run top of the seventh inning to take the lead for good en route to their fourth straight win against the Quakes to open the series. San Jose (59-35) now leads Rancho Cucamonga (51-42) by 7 1/2 games in the Low-A West playoff race.
A pair of solo homers gave the Giants an early 2-0 lead on Friday. Grant McCray joined the team earlier in the day from the Arizona Complex League and in his first at-bat with San Jose, he launched a 455-foot solo homer to right to make it 1-0 in the top of the second.
In the fourth, Bailey led off with a towering drive that carried over the fence in right center for a solo home run and a 2-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Giants starter Wil Jensen began his outing with three scoreless innings. Jensen had retired seven straight Quakes hitters until Jorbit Vivas led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. A walk to Sauryn Lao followed and then Alex DeJesus singled to load the bases with none out. Imanol Vargas' RBI groundout got Rancho Cucamonga on the board before Edwin Mateo stepped to the plate and blasted a double into the left center gap plating two more giving the Quakes a 3-2 lead. A two-out error scored another run for Rancho Cucamonga to make it 4-2.
Trailing for the first time in the series, San Jose immediately answered with a single tally in the top of the fifth. A one-out walk to Ghordy Santos started the rally. Santos then stole second and moved to third on a two-out wild pitch. Santos would score when the next hitter, Pena, reached on a throwing error committed by Lao at third base.
Jensen finished his outing with back-to-back scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth to keep the deficit at a single run. The right-hander retired seven of the final eight batters that he faced.
The Giants then erupted in the top of the seventh with a big inning to move in front for good. Still down by a 4-3 margin, Yorlis Rodriguez led off with a double to left. After Luis Toribio worked a full-count walk, Santos lined a single into left to load the bases. Luis Matos was up next and he struck out, but Pena followed by hitting a sharp grounder inside third base and down the left field line for a double. The hit cleared the bases as Rodriguez, Toribio and Santos all scored giving San Jose a 6-4 lead.
The Giants though weren't done in the seventh as the next hitter was Bailey and he belted a 3-0 pitch over the fence in right for a two-run home run. The homer was Bailey's second of the game and it extended the San Jose lead to 8-4.
The bullpen trio of Haydn King, Abel Adames and Clay Helvey then combined on three scoreless innings to finish the contest. King recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh and left the game with two runners on base. Adames entered and plunked Lao to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate, but recovered to strikeout DeJesus to end the threat. In the bottom of the eighth, Adames worked around a one-out walk to maintain the four-run cushion. Then in the ninth, Helvey issued a leadoff walk and gave up a two-out infield hit, but with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle, struck out DeJesus to seal the victory.
GIANTS NOTES
Four In A Row
The Giants have scored 32 runs over the first four games in the series (eight runs per game). San Jose has trailed for a total of only three innings in the entire the series (all on Friday). The Giants improved to 9-1 against Rancho Cucamonga this season.
Bailey's Two Homers
Patrick Bailey (3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI) had the first multi-homer game of his career. The 2020 first round pick was activated off the injured list before the game on Friday. He was playing in his first game since August 12. It was the ninth two-homer game of the season for the Giants.
Other Hitting Standouts
Fabian Pena (1-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, SB) has driven in six runs over his last two games. He also stole his first base of the season on Friday. Grant McCray (1-for-4, HR, RBI, SB) hit one home run in 21 games in the AZ Complex League (Rookie-level) prior to joining San Jose. McCray was a third round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2019. Luis Matos (1-for-5) extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The Giants out-hit the Quakes 9-7.
Jensen's Start
Wil Jensen (6-3) earned the win after tossing six innings with four runs (three earned) allowed. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five. Jensen's six wins are tied with Carson Ragsdale for the team lead.
On Deck
The Giants and Quakes continue their series on Saturday evening with first pitch at LoanMart Field set for 6:30 PM. Kyle Harrison is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.
California League Stories from August 21, 2021
- 15 Hits Support Carlson in the Nuts' Eighth Straight Win - Modesto Nuts
- Pitcher's Duel Ends with a Walk-Off by Espinal in Extras - Visalia Rawhide
- Giants Win Fourth Straight over Quakes - San Jose Giants
- Pilar Shines in Spot Start as Fresno Loses 3-2 to Visalia in 10 Innings - Fresno Grizzlies
- Ports Edged by Nuts in Ninth, Drop Third Straight - Stockton Ports
- Quakes Slip Late, Lose to Giants on Friday - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Second Straight Walk-Off Gives Nuts Seven Straight Wins - Modesto Nuts
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