Storm Swat Seven Homers in 17-3 Rout of Giants
Published on April 21, 2016 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
LAKE ELSINORE, CA - The Lake Elsinore Storm hit a franchise-record seven home runs en route to a 17-3 thrashing of the San Jose Giants on Wednesday evening at The Diamond. With the loss, San Jose (5-6) drops two out of three games in the series and finishes their Southern California road trip with a 3-4 record.
Franchy Cordero (3-for-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI) and Edwin Moreno (2-for-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI) each homered twice and drove in four runs to lead a 16-hit Lake Elsinore offensive attack. Three other Storm hitters homered once in the convincing win.
Jason Forjet (1-1) suffered the loss for the Giants after surrendering six runs (all earned) on six hits over the first three innings. Forjet, who allowed a career-high four home runs, saw his scoreless inning streak snapped at 28.
Lake Elsinore jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the second against Forjet. With one out, Jose Ruiz doubled to deep right center before Chase Jensen drew a two-out walk. River Stevens then blasted a three-run homer over the 36 foot high wall in right to put the Storm in front. Stevens had hit only one home run in 548 career at-bats prior to Wednesday's round-tripper. Cordero followed with a home run of his own - a solo shot to right center - pushing the Storm lead to 4-0.
Lake Elsinore then used a pair of solo homers off Forjet in the bottom of the third to increase their advantage. With one out, Josh Van Meter went deep before a two-out home run from Moreno made it 6-0.
San Jose cut into the Storm lead with single runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Chris Shaw drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a walk to Steven Duggar and then took third when Jose Vizcaino, Jr. reached on an error. Jonah Arenado followed by lifting a sacrifice fly to center plating Shaw for the first Giants run of the contest.
In the fifth, Ronnie Jebavy smacked a triple to deep left center and scored two batters later on Shaw's two-out line drive single into center. The hit brought the Giants to within 6-2, but San Jose would get no closer in the game.
Jose Reyes (2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth out of the bullpen, but surrendered a run in the fifth when Van Meter delivered a one-out RBI single. Then in the bottom of the sixth, a pair of singles for the Storm put runners on the corners before Luis Urias hit a sacrifice fly to right. Javier Guerra was up next and he crushed a towering two-run homer to right center - Lake Elsinore's fifth home run of the night - for a 10-2 Storm cushion.
The Giants' final run came in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Jebavy was hit by a pitch and he immediately scored when the next batter, C.J Hinojosa, clubbed a double off the wall in right.
Jeff Soptic (1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO) was then charged with four runs during the bottom of the seventh. Three walks issued by Soptic loaded the bases with one out before a Stevens RBI groundout pushed the lead to 11-3. Cordero then smoked a line drive to left that saw San Jose left fielder Johneshwy Fargas lose the ball in the lights. As the ball zoomed past Fargas and rolled to the wall, Cordero raced around the bases for a three-run inside-the-park home run and a 14-3 lead.
Lake Elsinore capped the scoring for the night with a three-run bottom of the eighth against Dusten Knight (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO). Singles from Guerra and Franmil Reyes started the inning before Moreno belted a two-out, three-run homer to right - the seventh Storm home run of the game - to make it 17-3.
Brad Wieck (2-0) was credited with the win out of the Lake Elsinore bullpen. Wieck, who entered the game with two outs in the top of the fifth, pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed one run on one hit. Storm starting pitcher Martires Arias pitched the first 4 2/3 innings and yielded two runs (one earned) on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Notes:
* The 17 runs allowed was the most surrendered by the Giants since a 17-6 loss to Stockton on July 4, 2014.
* The seven home runs given up was the most allowed by San Jose pitching in a game since the 2009 season (April 26, 2009 at High Desert).
* Lake Elsinore out-hit the Giants 16-5 on Wednesday. No San Jose player finished with more than one hit.
* Shaw (1-for-3, RBI) extended his hitting streak to eight games with his fifth-inning single.
* Forjet's 28-inning scoreless streak spanned six starts dating back to last season. It's the fourth-longest scoreless inning streak in the 29-year history of the San Jose Giants (record: 36 consecutive scoreless innings by Rick Huisman in 1991).
* Hinojosa's double was his team-leading fourth of the season.
* Lake Elsinore had hit just seven home runs in 13 games this season before Wednesday's seven-homer barrage.
On Deck: The Giants begin a seven-game homestand on Thursday evening with the first of four straight contests against the Modesto Nuts. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Andrew Suarez (0-1, 5.00 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Modesto is expected to counter with Carlos Polanco (0-0, 2.08 ERA). It's a KFOX 98.5 Classic Rock Thursday at the ballpark and tickets can be purchased by calling (408) 297-1435 or by visiting sjgiants.com.
California League Stories from April 21, 2016
- Road Trip Ends Quietly for Blaze - Bakersfield Blaze
- Giants Host Modesto to Begin Homestand - San Jose Giants
- Stockton Takes Rubber Match at Visalia 5-4 - Stockton Ports
- Storm Swat Seven Homers in 17-3 Rout of Giants - San Jose Giants
- Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short in 5-4 Defeat - Visalia Rawhide
- LE Storm Set Franchise Record with 7 Home Runs - Lake Elsinore Storm
- 66ers Drop Seventh Straight to High Desert in 6-4 Loss - Inland Empire 66ers
- Grill Helps 'Hawks End Series on High Note - Lancaster JetHawks
- Quakes Complete 5-2 Road Trip with Loss in Lancaster - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Stout Arms, Big Bat Send Nuts to 1-0 Win - Modesto Nuts
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