One night after they were shut out with a chance to earn a spot in the Arizona League Championship Game, the Giants were down to their final five outs. They did not go quietly on Sunday. Ryan Scoma and Hector Sanchez hit RBI singles in a three-run eighth inning as the Giants rallied past the Angels, 4-3, in the East Division playoff. The Giants, who posted the league's best overall record during the regular season, will face the Mariners on Monday night with a chance to win a second straight Arizona League title. The team from Scottsdale could have avoided Sunday's one-game playoff but dropped a 1-0, 12-inning decision to the Angels on Saturday. Facing the same team again, the Giants trailed, 2-1, heading to the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Quintana started the rally with a bloop single but was erased on Nick Liles' forceout. Base hits by Ydwin Villegas and Jesse Shriner loaded the bases and chased Angels reliever C.J. Bressoud. Scoma, the Giants' 36th-round pick in this year's Draft, greeted Young-Il Jung with a line drive to right field that scored Liles with the tying run. Sanchez singled home Villegas to make it 3-2, and Shriner came all the way around to score when the ball was misplayed by center fielder Mike Trout. Jose Jimenez got the Angels within 4-3 with an RBI double in the ninth, but 13th-round pick Shawn Ford struck out pinch-hitter Nicholas Farnsworth and Trout to set off a celebration at Scottsdale Stadium. Angels starter Ariel Pena fanned five and allowed a run on three hits over six innings. Randal Grichuk, the 24th overall pick in the June Draft, delivered an RBI triple in the second and doubled home another run in the fourth to stake Pena to a 2-0 lead. The Giants got on the board in the sixth. Jake Dunning led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch and a groundout and scored on Liles' base hit. Daren Smith is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs. |
