Giants Open 12-Game Homestand With 12–2 Win
The San Jose Giants opened their 12-game homestand in style on Tuesday night with a 12–2 win over the Stockton Ports at Excite Ballpark. Aeverson Arteaga, Grant McCray and Adrian Sugastey each homered while the Giants scored in six straight innings to finish the game en route to the convincing victory. The win was San Jose’s (59–44, 19–18 second half) ninth in a row over Stockton dating back to June.
Sugastey (4-for-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) had four hits as part of a perfect night at the plate to lead the Giants offensive attack. Arteaga (3-for-5, 2B, HR, RBI) added three hits while McCray’s (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) blast was his team-leading 17th homer of the year. Jared Dupere (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) contributed a pair of hits and reached base four times and Yorlis Rodriguez (2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI) smacked a three-run double.
Trevor McDonald started on the mound for San Jose and battled through his four innings yielding only one unearned run. The Ports put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the first against McDonald, but failed to score. The Giants right-hander then pitched around a leadoff walk in the second and a pair of singles in the third to keep the game scoreless.
San Jose then took a 1–0 lead when Arteaga connected for a two-out solo home run to deep left center in the bottom of the third. The round-tripper was Arteaga’s 11th of the season.
Stockton tied the game in the top of the fourth against McDonald as Junior Perez drew a leadoff walk before CJ Rodriguez singled. A wild pick-off throw to second from the catcher Sugastey then allowed the runners to move up to second and third. After McDonald struck out Brennan Milone, a sacrifice fly from Jhoan Paulino plated Perez to make it 1–1.
The Giants though immediately answered with a single run in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good. Sugastey led off with a double to deep left center and was still at second base with two outs until Anyesber Sivira laced an RBI double off the fence in left.
After Ben Madison struck out two in a perfect top of the fifth out of the bullpen, San Jose kept the pressure on with another run in the bottom of the inning. Arteaga started the rally with a double down the left field line before a two-out single into center from Sugastey extended the lead to 3–1.
Madison threw another scoreless inning in the sixth and then McCray blasted a towering two-out, two-run home run in the bottom half for a 5–1 cushion.
The Ports got one run back in the top of the seventh on Paulino’s solo homer off of Jose Cruz, but seven Giants runs over the next two innings allowed the home team to cruise to victory. In the bottom of the seventh, Dupere drew a leadoff walk before Sugastey stepped to the plate with one out and launched a two-run home run to left. The homer was Sugastey’s fifth this year and it pushed the lead to 7–2.
San Jose then rallied for five runs in the bottom of the eighth after their were two outs and no one on base. McCray was hit by a pitch to start the rally before Arteaga singled to right putting runners on the corners. A wild pitch then brought home McCray with the first run of the inning. Moments later, Dupere singled sharply into right plating Arteaga to make it 9–2. Back-to-back singles from Victor Bericoto and Sugastey then loaded the bases before Rodriguez came up and doubled off the left field wall to clear the bases and extend the lead to 12–2.
Julio Rodriguez and Tyler Myrick tossed scoreless eighth and ninth innings respectively out of the bullpen for the Giants to seal the victory.
GIANTS NOTES
Versus The Ports: The Giants improved to 15–4 against Stockton this season. With three more round-trippers on Tuesday, San Jose has now hit 41 home runs in the 19 games versus the Ports.
Clutch Hits: Nine of the Giants’ 12 runs came on two-out hits.
Inside The Box Score: San Jose out-hit Stockton 14–8. The Giants were 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position compared to 0-for-8 for the Ports. Stockton left 11 runners on base. San Jose had eight extra-base hits: five doubles and three home runs.
12-Game Homestand: Tuesday marked the beginning of San Jose’s 12-game, 13-day homestand. It’s their longest homestand of the season. The Giants are 26–12 at home since the beginning of May.
On The Mound: Trevor McDonald pitched four innings in his start with three hits and one unearned run allowed. He walked three, struck out six and lowered his season ERA to 2.52. Ben Madison (1–1) was credited with the win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief with one hit surrendered and three strikeouts. Giants pitching combined for 13 strikeouts.
Roster Moves: The Giants made a flurry of roster moves prior to the start of the homestand. Outfielder Carter Williams (.386 AVG, 7 HR, 38 RBI) and pitcher John Gavin (2.53 ERA, 17 SO in 10 2/3 IP) were both promoted to High-A Eugene. Pitcher Melvin Adon was elevated to Double-A Richmond as he continues his comeback from shoulder surgery. Pitcher Esmerlin Vinicio was transferred to the Arizona Complex League (Rookie) while pitcher JJ Santa Cruz was released by the organization. San Jose also added two pitchers as Yoniel Ramirez and Willian Suarez both joined the club from the Complex League.
On Deck: The Giants and Ports play the second game of their six-game series on Wednesday afternoon with first pitch at Excite Ballpark set for 1:00 PM. Manuel Mercedes is San Jose’s scheduled starting pitcher.
