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CalL1 San Jose Giants

Three Giants Combine To No-Hit Inland Empire

September 4, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


David Mixon, Ryan Shaver and Rafael Cova combined on the second no-hitter in San Jose Giants history during a 3-0 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers on Thursday evening at Arrowhead Credit Union Park. Mixon struck out 10 over six dominant innings of work before Shaver (2 IP) and Cova (1 IP) continued the no-hitter out of the Giants bullpen. The win secured a sweep of the series for San Jose while it also marked their 90th victory of the season. The Giants (90-46) have won eight consecutive games and are now tied for the best record among full-season teams in all of Minor League Baseball.

Mixon (3-1), who was making just his third career start as a professional and second this season with San Jose, retired the first 17 batters of his outing. The right-hander struck out three in a perfect bottom of the first before fanning one batter each in the second and third frames. Mixon continued his dominance the second trip through the order striking out two in the bottom of the fourth while he ended the fifth inning with back-to-back punchouts. In the bottom of the sixth, the first two batters each grounded out before Jessie Mier drew a full-count walk for the first Inland Empire baserunner of the night. However, Mixon recovered to strikeout the next hitter, Jovanny Rosario, to end the inning.

Shaver (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO) relieved Mixon to begin the bottom of the seventh and after setting down Elian Herrera on a fly out, walked Scott Van Slyke to put a runner on first. Andres Perez was then hit by a pitch before Steven Caseres drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Shaver though would get out of the inning with the shutout and no-hitter still intact as Preston Mattingly was up next and he bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

In the eighth, Shaver retired Christian Lara on a line out to left before consecutive strikeouts of Johan Garcia and Mier. Cova (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) relieved Shaver in the ninth and quickly recorded two outs when Rosario bounced out to first and Herrera struck out swinging. Van Slyke followed by drawing a walk to put a runner on first, but Cova needed only three pitches to strikeout Andres Perez and put the finishing touches on the no-hitter.

The only previous no-hitter in San Jose Giants history occurred on May 5, 2002 when Boof Bonser and R.D. Spiehs combined on the feat in a victory at Rancho Cucamonga. Bonser worked the first six innings before Spiehs retired all nine batters that he faced to end the game.

Offensively, Brian Bocock supplied the biggest hit of the contest for the Giants when he smacked a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie. Bocock (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Darren Ford (2-for-3, 3B, 2 SB) each finished with a pair of hits to lead the Giants at the plate.

In the fifth, C.J. Ziegler began the rally by drawing a one-out walk before Bocock stepped to the plate and launched a 1-0 pitch over the fence in straightaway left for a two-run homer. San Jose added to their lead in the sixth when Thomas Neal drew a walk and scored on Nestor Rojas' two-out double down the right field line. The Giants out-hit Inland Empire by a 7-0 margin.

Notes: The trio of Mixon, Shaver and Cova combined for 14 strikeouts and four walks ... The victory tied San Jose's (48-18) team record for most wins in a half ... The Giants have reached 90 wins in a single-season for the third time in team history ... San Jose is two victories shy of the team record for most overall wins (1991, 92-44) ... Ford is 15-for-21 (.714) in his last five games ... The Giants are tied with the Low-A Fort Wayne TinCaps (90-46) for the best record in Minor League Baseball.

On Deck: The Giants begin their final series of the regular season on Friday evening when they play the first of four straight games against the Lake Elsinore Storm. First pitch at The Diamond is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Kyle Nicholson (4-0, 3.18 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Lake Elsinore is expected to counter with Wynn Pelzer (11-8, 4.13). The game can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com.

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