CalL San Jose Giants

Rodriguez's Blast, Stellar Pitching Key 3-2 Giants Victory

Published on July 31, 2022 under California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


Yorlis Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the San Jose Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in front of a spirted Saturday night crowd of 3,009 at Excite Ballpark. Giants hurlers Eric Silva and Joe Kemlage combined on a three-hitter in a dominant effort on the mound with Rodriguez's blast proving to be the difference in the contest. With the win, San Jose (55-40, 15-14 second half) has now claimed three of the first five games in the series against the Dodgers affiliate.

Silva fired five strong innings in his start allowing only one hit and one run. The right-hander walked one, struck out six and retired the final 14 batters of his outing. Kemlage (1-0) earned the win after pitching the final four innings yielding just one run on two hits. He struck out four, including back-to-back punchouts in the top of the ninth with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base to end the game.

The only hit surrendered by Silva was on the first pitch of the night as Quakes leadoff man Austin Gauthier doubled into the right center field gap. After Silva struck out #2 hitter Jake Vogel, a walk issued to Damon Keith put runners on first and second. Silva then uncorked a wild pitch to advance the runners before Yunior Garcia's ground out to third plated Gauthier giving Rancho Cucamonga a 1-0 lead. The Quakes would then not manage another baserunner until the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile, the Giants rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take their first lead of the game. With one out, Rayner Santana was hit by a pitch before Aeverson Arteaga worked a walk. Hayden Cantrelle then beat out a slow grounder behind third for an infield single as San Jose loaded the bases. A strikeout of Grant McCray followed for the second out, but then with Carter Williams at the plate, back-to-back wild pitches thrown by Rancho's Ronan Kopp allowed both the tying and go-ahead runs to score for a 2-1 Giants advantage.

Silva set down the Quakes 1-2-3 in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. He needed only 10 pitches to get through the second before a seven-pitch top of the third. He fanned two in a perfect fourth inning and then completed his outing with a 10-pitch fifth.

Kemlage relieved Silva to begin the top of the sixth and promptly induced three straight groundouts on a total of only six pitches to maintain the one-run lead. However in the top of the seventh, Rancho Cucamonga's Luis Rodriguez launched a two-out solo home run to left to tie the game 2-2. The round-tripper snapped a streak of 19 straight Quakes hitters retired by the Silva/Kemlage duo.

After San Jose stranded two runners in the bottom of the seventh, Kemlage returned to the mound in the eighth and worked around a two-out walk to keep the game tied. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Rodriguez stepped to the plate with one out and belted a towering solo home run to left putting the Giants back ahead at 3-2. The 410-foot blast was Rodriguez's 10th home run of the season.

Rancho Cucamonga threatened in the top of the ninth, but Kemlage would slam the door to seal the victory. With one out, Keith worked a walk before Garcia grounded a single into right to put runners on first and second. Kemlage through recovered with consecutive swinging strikeouts of Luis Rodriguez and Marco Hernandez to end the game.

GIANTS NOTES

Stellar Pitching: Saturday marked the third time in five games during the series that the Giants held Rancho Cucamonga to only three hits. San Jose owns a sparkling 1.60 team ERA in the five games against the Quakes this week.

Silva Sensational: Eric Silva retired 15 of the 17 batters he faced and needed only 61 pitches to get through his five innings. Over his last two starts, Silva has pitched 10 innings and allowed only three hits and three runs with 14 strikeouts and three walks.

Inside The Box Score: The Giants won despite also finishing with only three hits. In addition to Hayden Cantrelle's third-inning single and Yorlis Rodriguez's late home run, Rayner Santana singled in the bottom of the seventh. The teams were a combined 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position (San Jose 1-for-6, Rancho Cucamonga 0-for-5). The Quakes had only six baserunners for the entire game.

Recent Success: The Giants improved to 9-4 over their last 13 games overall.

On Deck: The Giants and Quakes will conclude their six-game series on Sunday evening with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 5:00 PM. Nick Sinacola is San Jose's scheduled starting pitcher.

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California League Stories from July 31, 2022


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