Giants Win Sixth in a Row Behind Reyes' Gem
July 13, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
MODESTO, CA - Jose Reyes took a shutout into the ninth inning and the Giants knocked out 12 hits in a 4-1 win over the Modesto Nuts on Sunday evening at John Thurman Field. The victory clinches San Jose's (40-47) first road series win of the season and extends the Giants' overall winning streak to six games.
Reyes (1-4) notched his first California League win after limiting the Nuts to a single run over a season-high eight-plus innings of work. The right-hander scattered nine hits, struck out seven and did not issue a walk during his 96-pitch performance. Dan Slania then struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 13th save of the year.
Christian Arroyo (3-for-5, 2 RBI) had three hits, including a pair of RBI singles, to lead San Jose offensively. Brandon Bednar (3-for-4, RBI) added three hits and an RBI for the Giants.
San Jose jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third against Nuts All-Star starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela. Bednar led off the frame with a single before moving to second on Jeff Kobernus' groundout. A wild pitch then advanced Bednar to third before Arroyo lined an RBI single into right giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. San Jose then pushed their advantage to 2-0 later in the inning when Angel Villalona smacked a two-out RBI double into the left center field gap.
In the top of the fifth, Kobernus grounded a double down the left field line to start the inning and scored to make it 3-0 when the next batter, Arroyo, singled into left. The Giants plated their fourth and final run of the night in the top of the sixth when Tyler Horan walked with one out, stole second and came home on Bednar's two-out single into right.
Meanwhile, Modesto put the leadoff runner on base against Reyes in five out of the first six innings, but failed to score in each frame. With the game still scoreless, Rosell Herrera led off the bottom of the second with a triple, but Reyes stranded the runner after inducing a shallow fly out to right from Mike Benjamin, Jr., striking out Dillon Thomas and then setting down Troy Stein on a deep fly out to left.
In the fourth, Ryan McMahon led off with a single, but was promptly picked-off at first. An inning later, Benjamin doubled to start the frame, but was later thrown out at third by catcher Ben Turner attempting to steal. In the bottom of the sixth, Emerson Jimenez led off with a single, but Wilson Soriano followed by grounding into a double play.
Reyes continued to cruise in the seventh working around a two-out single to keep the score at 4-0. Reyes threw only 71 pitches over the first seven innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Stein singled with one out and Soriano reached on a two-out single, but Reyes recovered to strikeout Jordan Patterson on three pitches to end the inning.
Reyes returned to the mound to begin the bottom of the ninth, but surrendered a leadoff home run to McMahon as the Nuts cut the Giants lead to 4-1. The homer ended Reyes' night as Slania was then summoned from the bullpen. The San Jose reliever struck out Correlle Prime before allowing back-to-back singles to Herrera and Benjamin. However, with the potential tying run at the plate, Slania recorded consecutive swinging strikeouts of Thomas and Stein to finish the game.
Senzatela (5-5), who entered Sunday second in the California League in ERA (2.28), suffered the loss. The right-hander allowed a season-high tying four runs (all earned) on 10 hits over six innings. Senzatela walked one and struck out four.
Kobernus (2-for-5, 2B, SB), Villalona (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Horan (2-for-3, 2B, SB) also finished with two hits apiece for the Giants.
Notes:
* The Giants have won the first two games of the three-game series versus the Nuts.
* McMahon's home run in the bottom of the ninth snapped a string of 21 consecutive scoreless innings thrown by San Jose pitchers.
* The Giants own a team ERA of 0.73 during the current six-game winning streak.
* Reyes' eight innings pitched matched the longest start of his career. He became the first Giants starting pitcher to work into the ninth inning this season.
* San Jose out-hit Modesto 12-11. The Giants were 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position compared to 0-for-9 for the Nuts.
* Villalona has 12 RBI's in his last 11 games. With two hits on Sunday, Villalona raised his batting average to .300.
* San Jose is 9-7 in their last 16 road games dating back to May 31 (after starting the season 7-18 on the road).
On Deck: The Giants will look for a three-game sweep of the Nuts when the series concludes on Monday evening. First pitch at John Thurman Field is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Luis Ysla (0-4, 7.28 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Modesto is expected to counter with Alex Balog (1-2, 2.43 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.
California League Stories from July 13, 2015
- Chase Johnson Named California League Pitcher of the Week - San Jose Giants
- Altavilla Spins Gem in Blaze Second Straight Win - Bakersfield Blaze
- Five Storm Homers Sink Ports 11-7 - Stockton Ports
- Giants Win Sixth in a Row Behind Reyes' Gem - San Jose Giants
- Mavs Hand 'Hawks Loss with Five-Run Seventh - Lancaster JetHawks
- McMahon Homers in 4-1 Loss to Giants - Modesto Nuts
- Quakes Slip Past Sixers to End Skid - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
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