Ports Sweep Giants with 4-3 win
Published on July 31, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
Stockton Ports News Release
STOCKTON, Calif.- The Stockton Ports (45-60) were locked in a pitcher's duel with the San Jose Giants (68-37) on Thursday night, and tough pitching enabled the Ports to edge the Giants, 4-3 at Banner Island Ballpark.
The victory sealed the sweep for the Ports, giving their Giants their first losing sweep of the season. The Giants have not been swept since dropping a three-game set at Lancaster from July 16-18, 2008.
Stockton starter Carlos Hernandez had another great outing, allowing one run on four hits in 6.2 innings of work. Reliever Justin Friend picked up his fifth save of the season, knuckling down on the Giants in the ninth frame.
The score remained locked at 0-0 until the bottom of the sixth, although the Ports had an opportunity to score as early as the fourth. They loaded the bases with no out on a pair of hits and a Giants error. But Matt Smith and Frank Martinez struck out and Jermaine Mitchell grounded out to end the inning.
The Ports broke the scoreless stretch in the bottom of the sixth, pulling ahead, 2-0. First baseman Steve Kleen slammed his fifth home run of the season, dropping a 1-0 pitch over the Food 4 Less sign in center field to lead off the inning. Catcher Yusuf Carter then stepped up to the plate, and notched an infield single. He advanced to second on a throwing error by first baseman David Maroul, who was trying to throw the ball to pitcher Clayton Tanner who was covering first. Carter advanced to third as center fielder Grant Desme grounded out to third baseman Conor Gillaspie. Maroul tried to get Carter out at third, but the throw went errant, and Carter scored on the play. Smith singled to continue the offensive push, but the Giants retired the next two batters to get out of the inning.
The Giants responded in the top of the seventh. Maroul walked to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a single by Gillaspie. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice by catcher Nestor Rojas. A sacrifice fly to right field by second baseman Nick Noonan allowed Maroul to score the first San Jose run. With a runner on third and two out, Ports manager Aaron Nieckula pulled southpaw Hernandez from the game and called on right-handed reliever Jamie Richmond. Richmond induced Tyler Graham to pop out to short on the first pitch to end the inning.
The Ports added to their lead and went up 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Giants reliever Rafael Cova issued back-to-back walks to Shane Keough and Michael Richard to start the inning. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice by Jemile Weeks. Weeks, however, reached first safely on an error by Cova to load the bases with no out. Cova then retired the next two batters, to bring up Desme. Desme notched a single to score Keough and Richard.
But the Giants would not go quietly. In the top of the eighth, San Jose collected three consecutive hits, including one RBI single. The Ports called on Nick Walters to pitch, facing off against Roger Kieschnick first. He got Kieschnick to strikeout to bring up Maroul. While Maroul was at-bat, a wild pitch by Walters allowed Brian Bocock to score the third Giants run. Walters got Gillaspie to pop out to Richard to end the frame. The Ports went down in order in the bottom of the eighth.
In the top of the ninth, Justin Friend came out to face the Giants. He walked Shane Jordan, who was pinch-hitting for Rojas. Friend then struck out Noonan, and next allowed a single to Graham, which allowed Jordan to advance to third. While Darren Ford was at-bat, Friend tossed the ball to Kleen to pick-off Graham. Kleen tossed the ball to Weeks to continue the run-down on Graham, and Weeks faked toward home plate to keep Jordan at third. Graham ran past Weeks, but Weeks threw to Richard, who tagged second to put out Graham. Ford then flew out to Desme to end the game and secure the sweep.
The Ports travel to Modesto for a three-game series starting at 7:05 p.m. on Friday at John Thurman Field. LHP Daniel Haigwood (0-0, 6.23) will take the mound for the Ports, while the Nuts will have RHP Joey Williamson (11-1, 3.15) start the contest.
California League Stories from July 31, 2009
- Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at San Jose Giants, July 31-August 2 - San Jose Giants
- Go Green Weekend - Lake Elsinore Storm
- Ports to Host Community Fund Weekend - Stockton Ports
- Ports host Faith Night, Mascot Mania and Community Fund Weekend - Stockton Ports
- Giant Mistakes Prove Costly As Ports Sweep San Jose - San Jose Giants
- Quakes Outlast Modesto in 11 - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- JetHawks Hammer Mavericks, Win Critical Series - Lancaster JetHawks
- Ports Sweep Giants with 4-3 win - Stockton Ports
- Storm ends Season Series with Win in Ninth - Inland Empire 66ers
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.
