Surging Giants Cruise To 13-5 Win
September 3, 2022 – California League (CalL) – San Jose Giants News Release
The San Jose Giants continued their late-season surge with a 13-5 victory over the Stockton Ports on Friday night at Banner Island Ballpark. Every player in the Giants lineup had at least one hit as part of an 18-hit offensive attack with San Jose scoring nine runs over the final four innings to cruise to the win. The Giants (70-54, 30-28 second half) have now claimed three straight games over Stockton this week and have won six out of their last seven contests overall.
Yorlis Rodriguez (2-for-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI) drove in four, including a key three-run home run, to lead the way offensively for San Jose. Damon Dues (4-for-6, 2B, 2 SB) added four hits and scored four runs while Wade Meckler (3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI) and Logan Wyatt (3-for-6) also contributed three hits apiece. Meanwhile, five Giants pitchers combined to record 15 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
San Jose built a 4-0 lead on Friday and would never trail in the game. In the top of the first, Wyatt started the evening with a single before he was forced at second on Dues’ grounder. A balk then moved Dues to second, Aeverson Arteaga’s groundout advanced the runner to third before a wild pitch brought home the first run.
The Giants added two more runs in the third inning as Wyatt again started a rally with a single. Dues followed with a double to deep center putting runners on second and third before Arteaga’s knocked in a run with a single. Later in the inning, San Jose perfectly executed a double steal with Arteaga swiping second and Dues stealing home to make it a 3-0 game.
Meanwhile, 2022 second round pick Carson Whisenhunt made the start on the mound for San Jose in his California League debut. The left-hander struck out five over his 2 2/3 scoreless innings in an impressive outing. Whisenhunt allowed three hits – all infield singles – and did not issue a walk. He struck out two batters in each of the first two innings and was then removed from the game with two on and two outs in the bottom of the third. Spencer Miles, another 2022 draftee (fourth round), was summoned from the bullpen and he promptly struck out Stockton clean-up hitter Daniel Susac to retire the side. Miles then pitched around a pair of singles in the bottom of the fourth to maintain the 3-0 lead.
The Giants pushed across another run in the top of the fifth as Dues singled with one out, stole second and eventually scored on Victor Bericoto’s two-out double into the left center gap for a 4-0 advantage. A three-run Ports rally though in the bottom of the fifth tightened the game. With Miles still on the mound, Caeden Trenkle led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and came home on a wild pitch to get Stockton on the scoreboard. Later in the inning with a runner at first and two outs, Julio Rodriguez was brought into pitch, but he was greeted by a two-run home run off the bat of Junior Perez as the Ports pulled within 4-3. Rodriguez though prevented further damage and San Jose would immediately take back the momentum in the next inning.
Back-to-back singles from Meckler and Diego Velasquez started the top of the sixth before Yorlis Rodriguez stepped to the plate and launched a towering three-run home run down the left field line. The round-tripper was Rodriguez’s 15th of the season and it gave the Giants back their four-run lead at 7-3. Alexander Suarez followed the long ball with a single before Wyatt also singled – the fifth straight hit to begin the inning. Two batters later, Arteaga lifted a sacrifice fly to left for an 8-3 cushion.
San Jose kept the pressure on with three more runs in the top of the seventh. Adrian Sugastey reached on an error to leadoff before Meckler doubled down the right field line. After Velasquez grounded out, Rodriguez blooped a double into shallow right that scored Sugastey. Suarez followed with a single up the middle to plate Meckler and Rodriguez as the lead grew to 11-3.
The Giants then scored their final two runs of the night in the top of the eighth. Singles from Dues and Sugastey put a couple of runners on base before Meckler doubled to left to score one. Velasquez’s grounder to second was then misplayed for an error as Sugastey came home for a 13-3 lead.
Jose Cruz pitched two shutout innings and struck out four over the seventh and eighth before Stockton scored twice in the bottom of the ninth off of Ben Madison to bring the game to its final margin of 13-5.
GIANTS NOTES
Playoff Race: With Friday’s victory, the Giants clinched the second-best overall record in the North Division. San Jose (70-54) is now nine games ahead of Modesto (61-63) with only eight games remaining in the regular season. The Giants can now clinch a playoff spot when Fresno wins the second half North Division title. The Grizzlies (37-21) are six games ahead of the Nuts (31-27) in the second half race with eight to play.
Winning Ways: The Giants have won three straight over Stockton, six out of their last seven overall and are 7-3 on their current road trip. San Jose has scored 28 runs during their current three-game win streak. The Giants are the third team in the California League this season to reach the 70-win mark (Fresno, Lake Elsinore). San Jose also improved to 13-3 at Banner Island Ballpark this year.
Inside The Box Score: The Giants out-hit the Ports 18-13. San Jose was 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-9 for Stockton. Spencer Miles (2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) was credited with the win out of the bullpen in his California League debut.
Hitting Streak Extended: Aeverson Arteaga (1-for-5, 2 RBI, SB) extended his hitting streak to nine games. He’s also collected at least one RBI in nine straight games.
On Deck: The Giants and Ports continue their series on Saturday evening with first pitch at Banner Island Ballpark set for 7:05 PM. The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com.
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