San Jose Collects 17 Hits In 12-2 Rout Of High Desert
July 8, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
Every San Jose starter recorded at least one hit while Roger Kieschnick and Buster Posey each blasted home runs leading the Giants to a 12-2 victory over the High Desert Mavericks on Tuesday night in front of 5,225 fans at Municipal Stadium. San Jose went ahead for good with a five-run bottom of the fourth inning and finished the contest with 17 hits to take the opener of the three-game series. With the win, the third in a row on the homestand, the Giants improve their overall record to a California League-best 52-31.
Kieschnick (3-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Posey (3-for-5, 2B, HR, RBI) and Conor Gillaspie (3-for-5, 2B) each rapped out three hits to lead the San Jose offensive attack. Angel Villalona (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Skyler Stromsmoe (2-for-3, RBI) also finished with more than one hit.
Scott Barnes (9-3) moved into a tie for the league-lead in victories with six effective innings of work. The left-hander allowed six hits and two unearned runs during his stint on the mound while walking two and striking out nine. Barnes has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts - a span of 18 innings.
High Desert's Jamie McOwen (1-for-4) extended his California League-record hitting streak to 44 games with a broken bat, line drive single into left field in the top of the eighth inning. It marked the seventh time during the streak that McOwen picked up a hit in his final at-bat of the game.
With the score tied 2-2, Gillaspie led off the key fourth inning rally with a sharp ground ball single into right. Posey was up next and he grounded a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third. After Kieschnick walked to load the bases, Darren Ford delivered a sacrifice fly to right plating Gillaspie with the go-ahead run. Villalona then blooped a single into shallow right field to score another run to make it 4-2 before Stromsmoe came through with a two-out single down the left field line to score the third run of the frame. Tyler Graham followed with a single of his own into right field scoring two more runs for a 7-2 advantage.
The Giants kept the pressure on in the bottom of the fifth inning with three runs as Posey belted a one-out, solo homer to deep left field to score the first run of the frame. Then with two outs, Ford drew a walk before Villalona lined an RBI double off of the fence in left. Nick Noonan capped the fifth-inning scoring with a single to bring home Villalona giving San Jose a 10-2 cushion.
The Giants added a single run in the bottom of the sixth on Ford's RBI single while Kieschnick brought home the final run of the night with an eighth-inning, RBI single.
Barnes was impressive on the mound as the left-hander has now struck out 51 batters in his last five starts spanning 34 2/3 innings. He surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third as a Brian Bocock fielding error at shortstop set up the Mavericks rally. With runners on second and third and one out, Edilio Colina grounded a single up the middle to score two runs tying the game at 2-2. Barnes though recovered to strikeout the next two batters, McOwen and Carlos Peguero, to keep the score deadlocked.
Barnes then worked through a pair of singles in a scoreless top of the fourth before striking out two batters each in the fifth and sixth innings to complete his outing.
David Mixon was credited with his second save of the season after tossing three shutout innings to finish the contest. Mixon allowed just one hit with no walks and four strikeouts.
The Giants initially took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Posey led off with a single before Kieschnick smacked a two-run homer to straightaway center field. Kieschnick leads San Jose and is fifth in the California League with 17 home runs.
High Desert's Donnie Hume (9-4), who entered the game tied for the league-lead in wins, suffered the loss. Hume allowed a season-high eight runs (all earned) on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Notes: The Giants have won their last three games by a combined margin of 32-6 ... San Jose is one game better than the Mavericks (51-32) for the top overall record in the California League ... The Giants were 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position ... Barnes has surrendered just one earned run over his last 29 2/3 innings (0.31 ERA) spanning his last five starts ... Mixon has not allowed a run over his last 10 appearances (17 2/3 IP) ... The 3-4-5 trio of Gillaspie, Posey and Kieschnick combined to finish 9-for-14 with seven runs scored and four RBI's ... Posey is 6-for-9 in his last two games ... He is 5-for-5 with two home runs this season against Hume ... High Desert suffered their worst road loss of the year ... The Giants improved their second half record to 10-3.
On Deck: The Giants and Mavericks continue their three-game series on Wednesday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 7:00 PM. Oliver Odle (4-7, 5.70 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while High Desert is expected to counter with Nate Adcock (5-4, 4.23 ERA). Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling (408)297-1435 or by visiting www.sjgiants.com.
California League Stories from July 8, 2009
- Quakes Pitchers Strike Out 12 in 6-3 Win - Lancaster JetHawks
- Sexton, Bullpen Shutout Storm as Road Streak Continues - Inland Empire 66ers
- San Jose Collects 17 Hits In 12-2 Rout Of High Desert - San Jose Giants
- JetHawks Pitching Strong Again in 7-3 Win - Lancaster JetHawks
- Quakes Fall to JetHawks 7-3 - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Herrera, 66ers Win Another on Road - Inland Empire 66ers
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