CalL1 San Jose Giants

Ninth Inning Run Sinks Giants in Road Trip Opener

August 3, 2019 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Inland Empire's Orlando Martinez hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the host Inland Empire 66ers to a 5-4 victory over the Giants on Friday night at San Manuel Stadium. The series-opening defeat was San Jose's third loss in a row overall and dropped the club back to .500 in the second half at 21-21.

Friday's contest was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading the lead throughout the night. Inland Empire jumped out early with a single tally in the bottom of the first in what would turn out to be the only run allowed by Giants starter Jake Wong. San Jose immediately answered with a two-run top of the second to take their first lead of the game. David Villar led off with a single, advanced to second on a Courtney Hawkins sacrifice bunt and moved to third when Dalton Combs singled to left. Fabian Pena was up next and he lined a single into right plating Villar with the tying run. After a successful double steal with Combs swiping third and Pena taking second, Brandon Van Horn hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

San Jose added another run in the fourth to stretch their advantage to 3-1. Hawkins led off with a ringing double off the left center field wall and immediately when the next batter, Combs, singled to right.

Meanwhile, Wong put together a solid start. The right-hander worked back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the second and third and had retired 11 straight Sixers hitters until a two-out walk in the bottom of the fourth. Zane Gurwitz led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple, but was stranded at third when Wong struck out the next three hitters in impressive fashion.

With the score still 3-1 in favor of the Giants, Jesus Tona was summoned from the bullpen to begin the bottom of the sixth. Tona allowed a leadoff double to Leonardo Rivas and a one-out single to Franklin Torres, but was in position to escape the inning. With two outs and runners at the corners, Tona jumped ahead of Spencer Griffin 0-2, but would give up a two-strike RBI single as Inland Empire cut the San Jose lead in half. Gurwitz then stepped to the plate and hammered a double into the right field corner plating both Torres and Griffin to put the 66ers back in front at 4-3.

The Giants though would respond. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Heliot Ramos lined a single into center. Heath Quinn was up next and he laced a double down the left field line. The hit easily scored Ramos from first to tie the game 4-4.

Unfortunately, San Jose did not score again. Quinn was stranded at second in the top of the seventh when Villar grounded out to end the inning. In the eighth, Pena and Van Horn produced back-to-back two-out singles, however Logan Baldwin grounded out to end the threat. Quinn then worked a two-out walk in the ninth, but was stranded as Villar once again grounded out.

With the game tied 4-4 and Rodolfo Martinez on the mound, the 66ers then scratched across the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Ryan Scott was hit by a pitch to start the rally. Rivas then bounced a single through the hole on the right side advancing Scott to third. Martinez was up next and he lifted a fly ball to straightaway left that caught by Hawkins for the second out. Scott though tagged up on the play and was able to score the game-winning run when Hawkins' accurate one-hop throw home bounced off the glove of the catcher Pena.

GIANTS NOTES

Three Straight Losses

The Giants have dropped three consecutive games for the first time since the first three games of the second half (June 20-22). San Jose had won 10 of 12 prior to the current three-game skid.

Quinn Extends Hitting Streak

Heath Quinn (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) extended his hitting streak to 12 games. It's the longest hit streak by a Giants player this season. Quinn is batting at a .452 (19-for-42) during his hit streak.

Wong's Start

Jake Wong pitched five strong innings on Friday with only one run and two hits allowed. He walked two and struck out four during his 81-pitch outing. Wong retired 14 of the 18 batters he faced.

Versus The Sixers

San Jose was playing Inland Empire for the first time since sweeping a four-game set against the 66ers from May 13-16 at Excite Ballpark. The Giants are now 6-3 versus Inland Empire this season.

Roster Moves

Relief pitcher Jamie Callahan was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento before the game on Friday. Callahan struck out 11 in five innings with only one run allowed for the Giants. Pitcher Tristan Beck was added to San Jose's roster after he was acquired via trade from the Atlanta Braves on July 31. Beck is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale against the 66ers.

On Deck

The Giants and 66ers play the middle game of their three-game series on Saturday evening with first pitch set for 6:05 PM. Jose Marte is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics



California League Stories from August 3, 2019


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.

OurSports Central