CalL1 San Jose Giants

Rawhide Power Past Giants in Series Finale, 8-4

Published on April 13, 2016 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


SAN JOSE, CA - Visalia's Ericson Leonora hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the top of the fifth while the Visalia bullpen held the Giants scoreless over the final six innings in an 8-4 Rawhide victory over San Jose on Wednesday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. The Giants drop two out of three games in the series and finish their rain-shortened opening homestand with a 2-2 record.

Chris Shaw (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) had two hits and two RBI's to lead San Jose offensively in defeat. Brandon Bednar (2-for-4, SB) added a pair of singles for the Giants.

Leonora (2-for-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI) also hit a game-tying three-run home run in the top of the second as part of a career day at the plate. The Visalia #9 hitter drove in seven out of the eight Rawhide runs.

San Jose jumped out early on Wednesday scoring three times in the bottom of the first against Visalia starting pitcher Josh Taylor. Johneshwy Fargas and Steven Duggar began the inning with back-to-back walks before C.J Hinojosa's bunt single loaded the bases with none out. Shaw then stepped to the plate and laced a double down the right field line to plate Fargas and Duggar for a 2-0 lead. Jose Vizcaino, Jr. was up next and he brought home the third run of the inning with an RBI infield single. Following Vizcaino's hit, the Giants had runners on first and third with none out, but were unable to add to the lead as Jonah Arenado and Cristian Paulino both popped out before new pitcher Blake Perry induced Ty Ross to ground out ending the inning.

Mark Reyes started on the mound for San Jose and ran into trouble in the top of the second as the Rawhide evened the score. A leadoff single from Domingo Leyba and a one-out walk to Tyler Baker put runners on first and second. Leonora then belted a three-run homer to left - his first home run of the season - to tie the game 3-3.

Visalia then took the lead with a run in the top of the third. Rudy Flores led off with a single before Grant Heyman reached on an error. Henry Castillo followed with a bloop RBI single into shallow center as Flores came home for a 4-3 Rawhide advantage. Leyba then singled to load the bases with none out to end Reyes' afternoon. Jose Reyes though was summoned from the bullpen and the Giants reliever prevented further damage by retiring the next three hitters without any more runs coming across. The inning ended with left fielder Cristian Paulino making a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in deep left center.

San Jose responded in the bottom of the third with a run of their own to tie the game. Shaw led off with a single before Arenado's one-out single put runners on first and second. Then with two down, Ross singled into right plating Shaw to make the score 4-4.

Reyes breezed through a 1-2-3 top of the fourth for the Giants before the Rawhide rallied in the fifth. Consecutive singles from Heyman and Castillo started the inning before a Leyba sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Reyes then struck out Dawel Lugo for the second out, but new pitcher Carlos Diaz (1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) walked Baker on four pitches to load the bases. Leonora was up next and he drilled a 1-2 pitch from Diaz over the fence in left for a go-ahead grand slam. The home run gave Visalia an 8-4 lead.

Jeff Soptic (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 SO) and Pat Young (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) combined to hold the Rawhide scoreless during the last four innings, but the Giants were unable to mount a comeback. San Jose's only baserunners over the final six innings came in the bottom of the sixth when Bednar singled with two outs before Fargas drew a walk. Duggar though followed by grounding out to end the threat. Five Visalia relievers combined to retire 19 out of the last 21 Giants hitters.

Austin Wright (1-0) was credited with the win for the Rawhide after retiring all six batters he faced over the fourth and fifth innings.

Jose Reyes (0-1) took the loss for San Jose. Reyes was charged with two runs (both earned) on two hits over 2 2/3 innings.

Notes:

* Visalia out-hit San Jose 13-8.

* Shaw is 5-for-8 with two doubles and three RBI's over the last two games.

* Mark Reyes allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits over two-plus innings in his start. Wednesday was his California League debut.

* The teams combined to use 11 pitchers (Rawhide - 6, Giants - 5).

* Leonora hit 13 home runs in 113 games with the High-A Tampa Yankees last season.

On Deck: The Giants embark on a seven-game road trip to Inland Empire (four games) and Lake Elsinore (three games). Thursday's series opener against the 66ers is a 7:05 PM first pitch at San Manuel Stadium. Jason Forjet (0-0, --- ERA) is slated to make the start on the mound for San Jose. The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.

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California League Stories from April 13, 2016


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