Peguero, San Jose rally for sweep

Both Francisco Peguero and the San Jose Giants are looking for a repeat performance.

Peguero delivered an RBI single to tie the game and came around to score in the fifth inning as San Jose rallied to sweep Modesto, 8-2, in its California League semifinal series.

Peguero, who was signed by the Giants as a non-drafted free agent before the 2006 season, batted .329, led the league with 16 triples and was second with 40 stolen bases. He was called up to San Jose in time for the 2009 playoffs, in which he was named Championship Series MVP as the Giants swept the High Desert Mavericks in the Finals.

"He's an exciting player," manager Brian Harper said. "When he gets going swinging the bat, running the bases, he's an exciting kid and plays with a lot of energy. When he gets going, it gets us going. Frankie's a great kid, loves to play the game."

Peguero's lone hit came in the midst of a five-run inning, which began with San Jose trailing, 2-0. Brandon Crawford opened the frame with a walk and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt and Michael Sandoval laced an RBI single to left field. After James Simmons walked, Peguero chased home Sandoval to tie the game. Juan Perez produced the eventual game-winning run with a single that plated Simmons. Johnny Monell's sacrifice fly and Charlie Culberson's RBI single closed out the frame.

"We really wanted to try and finish off the series," Harper said. "The guys played with a lot of energy tonight and really the whole series. I was really proud of how they played."

Sandoval and Ehire Adrianza clubbed solo homers and Culberson added an RBI groundout as San Jose scored eight times over the final five frames.

Starter Kyle Woodruff (1-0) settled down after a rocky first inning in which he allowed a pair of unearned runs. He allowed four hits and one walk while fanning five over five innings.

"It was a really gutty performance," Harper said. "He didn't get down after the two runs in the first and kept us in the ballgame."

The Giants bullpen nailed down the game with four shutout innings, allowing three hits the rest of the way.

"We decided to go with a little deeper bullpen -- nine relievers and four starters -- so our bullpen is deep and we have a lot of good arms," Harper said. "We knew if we could get the game in the hands of the bullpen things would turn out real well."

Harper is in his first season with San Jose, after spending the past two seasons as the Giants roving catching instructor. He spent 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, mostly as a catcher, batting .316 in 17 postseason games and winning a World Series with the Twins in 1991.

"I was joking around last night that I was more nervous managing that game than I was playing in Game 7 of the World Series because when you're managing you don't have a whole lot of control," Harper said.

Ken Durst (0-1) absorbed the loss, allowing five runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings.

In other California League action:

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6, Lake Elsinore Storm 1
Gabe Jacobo tripled, homered and drove in two runs, while Dillon Baird hit a two-run blast as the Quakes pulled within a win of the Cal League Finals. Box score