MODESTO, CA -Evan White's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored pinch-runner Jorge Solano from second base to give the Modesto Nuts a 6-5 victory over the Giants on Friday night at John Thurman Field. In the opener of a three-game series, San Jose rallied to tie
MODESTO, CA -Evan White's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored pinch-runner Jorge Solano from second base to give the Modesto Nuts a 6-5 victory over the Giants on Friday night at John Thurman Field. In the opener of a three-game series, San Jose rallied to tie the game with a run in the top of the ninth only to see the Nuts secure the walk-off win in the bottom of the frame. The loss was just the Giants' (13-9) second in their last seven games overall.
Brandon Van Horn (2-for-4, 2 RBI) had a pair of RBI singles to lead San Jose offensively in defeat. Matt Winn (2-for-4, 3B) and Wander Franco (2-for-4) added two hits apiece. The Giants were out-hit in the contest by a 16-9 margin and finished just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
Trailing 5-4, San Jose rallied in the top of the ninth scoring the tying run thanks to a Nuts error. Winn led off the inning with a sharp single into left. Pinch-runner Johneshwy Fargas then stole second before Van Horn grounded out to third. Bryce Johnson followed with a groundout to shortstop advancing Fargas, the potential tying run, to third base before Jalen Miller was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners. Then with Frandy De La Rosa at the plate, Modesto reliever Wyatt Mills threw wildly to first in an attempt to pick-off Miller. As the ball rolled into foul territory, Fargas raced home to tie the game 5-5. Miller though was ultimately stranded in scoring position as De La Rosa grounded out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Giants reliever Carlos Diaz (1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) struck out Gareth Morgan to start the inning before Tyler Baker singled to right. Dylan Rheault (1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO) was then summoned from the bullpen and he retired Anthony Jimenez on a fly out for the second out of the inning. Bryson Brigman though walked on four pitches to advance the pinch-runner Solano to second. White then blooped a 2-1 pitch from Rheault into shallow right field for a single as Solano easily scored from second base with the game-winning run.
Mills (2-0) was credited with the win for Modesto despite allowing the game-tying run in the top of the ninth.
Diaz (0-1) was charged with the loss.
San Jose's only lead on Friday was brief as the Giants scored once in the top of the first against Nuts starter Ljay Newsome. Johnson led off the game with a triple off the fence in deep center. Two batters later, he scored when De La Rosa's grounder to first was thrown away to home by White for an error.
Logan Webb started on the mound for San Jose and immediately ran into trouble as Modesto scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. With a runner at first and one out, White hit a potential inning-ending double grounder to second that was misplayed by Miler for an error. The Nuts would take advantage of the error as Luke Zammarelli followed with an RBI single to tie the game. After Logan Taylor singled to load the bases, Webb issued a walk to Joe Rizzo forcing home another run. Donnie Walton then hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
The game went back-and-forth early as the Giants responded with two runs of their own in the top of the second to draw even 3-3. Sandro Fabian led off by drawing a walk before Franco singled. With one out, Van Horn lined a single into left center plating Fabian with the first run of the inning. Johnson then brought home the tying run with a fielder's choice groundout.
Webb pitched three innings during his start yielding three runs (one earned) on five hits. The right-hander walked three and struck out three during his 57-pitch outing. Webb stranded six runners on base over his three innings of work.
With the game still tied, DJ Myers (4 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO) relieved Webb to begin the bottom of the fourth. Modesto reclaimed the lead in Myers' first inning of long relief as three straight one-out singles from Brigman, White and Zammarelli produced a run. The Nuts then extended their lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth against Myers on three consecutive two-out singles from Zammarelli, Taylor and Rizzo.
San Jose pulled back to within a run at 5-4 in the top of the seventh as Winn led off with a triple to deep right center and immediately scored when the next batter, Van Horn, lined a single to left. The Giants later had runners at first and third with one out, but De La Rosa grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the top of the eighth, Gio Brusa singled with one out, but was stranded before San Jose rallied to tie the game in the ninth.
Notes
* The Giants suffered their first walk-off loss of the season. San Jose has five walk-off victories.
* The 16 hits allowed by the Giants were a season-high.
* Modesto left 16 runners on base.
* The #3 through #6 hitters in the San Jose lineup were a combined 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts.
* Eight of the Giants' first 22 games this season have been decided by one run. San Jose is 5-3 in one-run games.
On Deck
The Giants and Nuts continue their three-game series on Saturday evening with first pitch at John Thurman Field scheduled for 7:05 PM. Conner Menez (2-0, 0.60 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Modesto is expected to counter with Reggie McClain (0-0, --- ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM.
