Luciano's Blast Highlights 3âÃâ¬Ã"1 Giants Victory
May 30, 2021 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
Marco Luciano hit a tape-measure home run and the San Jose bullpen was dominant over the final five innings on Saturday night in a 3-1 Giants victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm at Excite Ballpark. The win was San Jose's (14-9) third straight in the series.
Luciano (2-for-4, HR, RBI) had half of the Giants' four hits, including a 452-foot solo homer to straightaway center, to lead the way at the plate. Meanwhile, relievers Ty Weber, Haydn King and Clay Helvey combined to retire 14 of the final 15 Lake Elsinore hitters that came to the plate to secure the San Jose win.
The Storm enjoyed an early 1-0 lead when Sean Guilbe connected for a solo home run to left off of Giants starter Ryan Murphy in the top of the second. The Giants though immediately answered as Luciano led off the bottom of the inning by crushing a 2-0 pitch from Lake Elsinore's Levi Thomas well over the fence in straightaway center. The home run, which registered an exit velocity of 113 MPH, was Luciano's fifth of the season.
Murphy then bounced back with consecutive scoreless innings in the third and fourth to keep the game tied with catcher Brett Auerbach throwing out a runner on the bases in each frame to help his cause. Weber entered out of the bullpen to begin the top of the fifth and pitched around a pair of one-out singles in what turned out to be the Storm's final hits of the night.
San Jose then took advantage of a Lake Elsinore error to score twice in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Jimmy Glowenke singled to start the rally before Auerbach worked a walk. Edison Mora was up next and he beat out a slow grounder to third for an infield single to load the bases. Luis Matos followed with a grounder to short as the Storm forced out Mora at second, but the relay throw to first from second baseman Jordy Barley sailed high and into the Giants dugout. Matos was credited with one RBI on the play as Glowenke came home with the go-ahead run while Auerbach was also allowed to score on the error to make it 3-1.
The three runs would be enough for the San Jose bullpen as Lake Elsinore was completely shut down at the plate for the remainder of the contest. Weber breezed through a 1-2-3 top of the sixth before King struck out a pair in a perfect seventh inning. Helvey came on in the eighth and struck out two more as he set down the side in order. In the top of the ninth, Joshua Mears drew a leadoff walk to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but Helvey came back to retire the next three hitters on a strikeout, fly out and groundout to end the game.
GIANTS NOTES
Series Update
After dropping the first two games of the series, the Giants have won three straight against Lake Elsinore. Saturday's victory guarantees at least a split as San Jose has yet to lose a series in 2021. All series' this season in Minor League Baseball are six games in length.
Luciano's Long Ball
Saturday's round-tripper was Luciano's second of the series. His five homers overall this season are tied for the league lead. Over the last four games, Luciano is 9-for-15 (.600 AVG) with three doubles and two home runs.
Pitching Shines
The Giants have allowed only three runs to Lake Elsinore over the last three games - all wins. During the three games, San Jose pitchers have recorded a whopping 43 strikeouts in 27 innings.
Saturday's Hurlers
Ryan Murphy pitched the first four innings on Saturday and scattered seven hits with one run allowed. He walked two and struck out four. Ty Weber (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) was credited with the win out of the bullpen. Haydn King (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) was making his professional debut after joining San Jose from Extended Spring Training earlier in the week. Clay Helvey (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) earned his second save of the year.
Overall Record
The Giants moved five games above .500 for the first time this season (14-9).
On Deck
The Giants and Storm conclude their six-game set on Sunday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark scheduled for 5:00 PM. Wil Jensen is expected to make the start on the mound for San Jose.
• Discuss this story on the California League message board...
California League Stories from May 30, 2021
- Jackson's Two-Homer Night Leads 66ers to 9-3 Win - Inland Empire 66ers
- Ports Beat Quakes on Getaway Day - Stockton Ports
- Casetta-Stubbs Says No-No to Rawhide in 6-3 Win - Modesto Nuts
- Grizzlies Drop Series Finale to 66ers 3-1 Despite Aeilts Clout - Fresno Grizzlies
- Ports Hold off Quakes on Sunday - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Fresno Falls to Inland Empire 9-3 After Rocky 1st Inning - Fresno Grizzlies
- Ports Fall to Quakes in Heartbreaker - Stockton Ports
- Luciano's Blast Highlights 3âÃâ¬Ãâ1 Giants Victory - San Jose Giants
- Carlson Deals Nuts Lopsided Win - Modesto Nuts
- Cartaya Slam Crushes Stockton - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
