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SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose starter Matt Solter fired five scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and the Giants built a seven-run lead before holding off Stockton late in a 7-4 victory over the Ports on Friday evening at Municipal Stadium. With the win, San Jose (29-32) moves into a three-way tie for second place in the second half North Division standings - just one game behind Visalia (30-31) for the top spot. Nine games remain in the regular season.
Solter (5-1) worked around three walks and struck out six during his dominant start to pick-up the win. The right-hander retired 15 out of the 19 batters he faced.
Jonah Arenado (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Ryan Howard (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) had two hits apiece while Bryan Reynolds (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, SB) smashed a two-run home run to lead the Giants offensively. Gio Brusa (1-for-3, 2 RBI) also drove home a pair of runs.
San Jose never trailed in the contest scoring once in the bottom of the second to take an early 1-0 lead. Arenado led off the frame with a double into the left field corner before coming home on Heath Quinn's two-out single.
The Giants then stretched their lead to 3-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. A walk to Reynolds started the inning for San Jose. Reynolds then stole second and scored when Arenado blooped a single into shallow left. Arenado advanced to second on the throw back to the infield before moving to third on Howard's infield single. Brusa then hit a high fly ball to deep left that was dropped by Stockton's Brett Siddall for an error. Brusa was credited with a sacrifice fly and an RBI on the play as Arenado easily scored for a 3-0 cushion.
Meanwhile, Solter kept the Ports off the board through the first five innings. He worked around a leadoff walk and a two-out walk in the top of the second. In the fourth, Seth Brown singled with one out before Sandber Pimentel drew a two-out walk, but both runners were stranded when Branden Cogswell struck out to end the inning. Solter breezed through 1-2-3 first, third and fifth innings. The Giants starter struck out the side in the top of the fifth to end his night.
Offensively, San Jose kept the pressure on with two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Dillon Dobson led off with a single before stealing second. Reynolds then walked on 11 pitches. Arenado followed by grounding into a fielder's choice with Reynolds forced out at second before Howard laced an RBI double down the right field line. Brusa then brought home another run to make it 5-0 with a line drive single into right.
In the bottom of the sixth, Dobson walked with two outs before Reynolds stepped to the plate and launched a towering two-run home run to left. The homer, Reynolds' ninth of the season, extended the lead to 7-0.
Matt Krook (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO) struck out four batters over two perfect innings of relief in the sixth and seventh for the Giants. Stockton finally broke through in the top of the eighth against Rodolfo Martinez (1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO) as four straight two-out singles produced a pair of runs. Skye Bolt started the rally with a single to snap a string of 12 straight Ports batters retired. Following a Richie Martin single, Siddall and Brown delivered back-to-back RBI singles to trim the Giants lead to 7-2.
Dylan Rheault (1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) took over on the mound in the top of the ninth and saw Bolt hammer a two-out, two-run double to deep left as Stockton pulled within 7-4. However with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle, Rheault retired Martin on a routine groundout to second ending the game.
Ports starter Brandon Bailey (1-1) suffered the loss after yielding three runs (all earned) on four hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out eight.
Notes
* The Giants improved to 12-5 in their last 17 home games.
* Solter is 3-0 with a 3.03 ERA as a starter this season (six starts).
* Reynolds hit his second home run in the last four games.
* San Jose out-hit Stockton 10-7. The Ports were held to just one hit over the first 7 2/3 innings.
* Arenado's double was his league-leading 35th of the season. He has 17 doubles in his last 25 games.
* The Giants are 12-9 against the Ports this season, including a 7-4 mark at Municipal Stadium.
* San Jose is in a three-way tie for second in the North Division with Modesto and Stockton.
On Deck
The Giants and Ports continue their three-game series on Saturday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 5:00 PM. Mark Reyes (4-13, 6.11 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Stockton is expected to counter with Evan Manarino (6-8, 5.17 ERA). The first 1,000 fans in attendance receive an exclusive San Jose Giants Brandon Belt Bobblehead giveaway presented by the Sheet Metal Workers Local 104. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.
