RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - Rancho Cucamonga's Rylan Bannon hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Quakes to a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Giants on Saturday evening at LoanMart Field. With the loss, the Giants (35-38 overall, 1-2 second half)
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - Rancho Cucamonga's Rylan Bannon hit a tiebreaking three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Quakes to a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Giants on Saturday evening at LoanMart Field. With the loss, the Giants (35-38 overall, 1-2 second half) have now dropped two out of the first three games in their second half-opening series.
Johneshwy Fargas (2-for-3, 2B, SB) had a pair of hits and stole his team-leading 20th base of the season for San Jose in defeat. Heath Quinn (0-for-4) saw his hitting streak snapped at 15 games. The Giants battled back from an early 2-0 deficit as single runs in the fifth and sixth innings tied the game before Bannon's home run in the eighth put Rancho Cucamonga ahead for good.
With the score even 2-2, San Jose reliever Rodolfo Martinez quickly set down the first two batters of the bottom of the eighth. Zach McKinstry was then hit by a pitch on a 3-2 offering before Jeren Kendall singled sharply to right putting runners on the corners. Bannon was up next and the Quakes' leading home run hitter blasted a 3-2 pitch from Martinez over the fence in deep left center for the go-ahead round-tripper. The home run was Bannon's 16th of the season as Rancho Cucamonga moved in front by a 5-2 margin.
The Giants brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth against Quakes closer Zach Pop, but fell short in their late comeback effort. Gio Brusa singled with one out before Fargas worked a two-out walk, but Pop came back to retire Brandon Van Horn on a foul pop out to first ending the game.
Nolan Long (3-0) picked-up the win out of the Rancho Cucamonga bullpen after tossing two perfect innings in the seventh and eighth. Long struck out four out of the six batters he faced. Pop earned his fifth save of the year.
Martinez (3-5), who entered the game to begin the bottom of the eighth, suffered the loss for San Jose.
The Quakes jumped out early on Saturday scoring single runs in the first and second innings against Giants starter Raffi Vizcaino. In the bottom of the first, Cody Thomas belted a two-out solo home run to right. An inning later, Logan Landon led off with a single before McKinstry drew a one-out walk. Kendall followed with a grounder to second that saw McKinistry forced out on the play. Bannon was up next and he drew a walk. Kendall was attempting to steal second on the ball four pitch though and when San Jose catcher Matt Winn's throw bounced into center, Landon was able to score from third to make it 2-0. Landon was credited with a steal of home on the play.
Meanwhile, Rancho Cucamonga starter Parker Curry began his night with four scoreless innings before the Giants broke through in the top of the fifth. With two outs, Fargas ripped a double into the left field corner and immediately scored when the next batter, Van Horn, lined a single into left.
San Jose then tied the game in the top of the sixth. Wander Franco led off with a double to deep right center. After Quinn flied out to advance Franco to third, Jacob Heyward stepped to the plate and smashed a game-tying RBI double off the fence in right center. Heyward, the potential go-ahead run, though was ultimately stranded at second as Brusa flied out and Winn popped out to end the inning. Long then worked back-to-back 1-2-3 frames over the seventh and eighth for the Quakes.
Giants reliever Jeff Burke (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO) kept Rancho Cucamonga off the board in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before the Quakes reclaimed the lead in the eighth.
Notes
* The Giants fell to 5-13 in their last 18 games.
* San Jose has also lost 10 out of their last 14 road games.
* Quinn was one game away from matching the longest hitting streak by a Giants player this season (Winn - 16 games).
* Both teams finished with eight hits and three errors on Saturday.
* Bannon is 7-for-12 with eight RBI's over the first three games of the series. He ranks second in the California League in home runs and first in RBI's (50).
* Vizcaino pitched four innings in his start with two runs (both earned) allowed. The right-hander gave up four hits, walked four and struck out seven during his 85-pitch outing.
* Franco's double was his 24th of the season - tied for the league lead.
* The Quakes have hit five home runs in the series to increase their league-leading season total to 86.
On Deck
The Giants will look for a split of the four-game series in Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday afternoon. First pitch at LoanMart Field is scheduled for 2:05 PM. Logan Webb (1-2, 2.30 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Rancho Cucamonga is expected to counter with Tony Gonsolin (3-2, 3.97 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 1:45 PM.
