CalL San Jose Giants

Giants Win Third Straight over Rawhide

Published on April 22, 2022 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


The San Jose Giants won their third straight game over Visalia this week with a 5-2 victory on a rainy night at Valley Strong Ballpark. After throwing a one-hitter on Wednesday, Giants pitching combined on a two-hitter Thursday evening in another dominant effort on the mound. San Jose (8-4) has now won five consecutive road games dating back to the opening week of the season.

Giants pitching continued to shine as the trio of Will Bednar, Seth Lonsway and Jose Cruz all excelled in Thursday's triumph. Bednar worked the first four innings in his start and allowed only one run and two hits. Lonsway then fired four hitless innings of long relief with one unearned run surrendered before Cruz tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to collect the save. The Rawhide did not produce a hit after the third inning.

San Jose jumped out early scoring twice in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Aeverson Arteaga started the game with a line drive single into left center before Vaun Brown doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with none out. Arteaga scored two batters later on Abdiel Layer's groundout before Dilan Rosario's two-out single plated Brown with the second run of the frame.

The Giants then added two more runs in the top of the third to extend their lead to 4-0. With one out, Victor Bericoto reached on an error to start the rally. Layer then stepped to the plate and blasted an RBI triple off the fence in deep right center. It was Layer's first triple of the season. Then with two down, Najee Gaskins grounded a double down the left field line bringing home Layer for a 4-0 cushion.

Visalia's only two hits of the game were in the early-innings with Bednar on the mound. The Rawhide threatened in the bottom of the first as Junior Franco reached on a one-out error before Deyvison De Los Santos singled sharply into right to put runners on the corners. Bednar though bounced back with consecutive strikeouts of Jacen Roberson and Oscar Santos to retire the side. Visalia's Juan Batista led off the bottom of the third with a home run to left trimming the San Jose lead to 4-1, but the Rawhide would not muster another hit for the remainder of the night. Bednar finished his start by setting down six straight Visalia hitters, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the bottom of the fourth.

The Giants scored their fifth and final run of the game in the top of the fifth. Layer and Rosario drew consecutive walks to start the inning before the duo executed a successful double steal. A one-out walk to Max Wright then loaded the bases while Rayner Santana's sacrifice fly made it 5-1.

Lonsway relieved Bednar to start the bottom of the fifth and surrendered an unearned run in his first inning of work, but the Rawhide would ultimately get no closer. A hit batter and a walk to start the inning put runners on first and second for Visalia before a San Jose error brought home the run to make it a 5-2 affair. Lonsway though picked-off a baserunner to end the inning and then cruised through the next three frames.

Lonsway induced three groundouts in a perfect bottom of the sixth before pitching around a two-out walk in the seventh. Lonsway completed his outing with a 1-2-3 eighth inning as the Giants maintained their three-run advantage.

Cruz then took over on the mound in the bottom of the ninth and made quick work of the Rawhide on a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to seal the San Jose victory.

GIANTS NOTES

Pitching Dominance: Over the last two games, Giants pitching has allowed a total of only three hits and two runs (one earned) with three walks and 29 strikeouts. Visalia is batting .053 as a team (3-for-57) in the last two games. The Lonsway-Cruz duo combined to retire 14 of the final 15 Visalia hitters on Thursday. Bednar struck out six and did not issue a walk during his four-inning start. Lonsway (4 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) was credited with the win while Cruz (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 SO) earned his first save of the year.

Inside The Box Score: The Giants out-hit the Rawhide 8-2 ... San Jose was 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-5 for Visalia ... The Giants won despite striking out 17 times.

Hitting Leaders: Layer (2-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, SB) was involved in all three Giants run-scoring rallies to lead the way offensively on Thursday. Gaskins (2-for-5, 2B, RBI) also finished with a multi-hit game. Rosario (1-for-2, RBI, 3 BB, SB) reached base in four out of his five plate appearances and leads San Jose with a .333 batting average this season.

On Deck: The Giants and Rawhide play the fourth game of their six-game series on Friday evening with first pitch at Valley Strong Ballpark set for 6:30 PM. Mason Black is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

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California League Stories from April 22, 2022


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