Giants Rally Falls Short In 6-5 Loss To Mavericks

ADELANTO - The High Desert Mavericks held off a late San Jose Giants rally to earn a 6-5 victory on Monday evening at Stater Bros. Stadium. The Giants plated single runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but could not overcome High Desert's lead in dropping the opener of a three-game series. With the loss, San Jose's season record fell to 3-2.

Adam Duvall (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) led a nine-hit Giants offensive attack in defeat. Chris Lofton (1-for-4, 2 RBI) also drove home a pair of runs.

Trailing 6-3, San Jose rallied in the top of the seventh as Duvall was hit by a pitch with one out before taking second on a passed ball. Ricky Oropesa followed with a single up the middle to plate Duvall and bring the Giants to within 6-4. After Alex Burg grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out, Jarrett Parker doubled into the left field corner to put runners at second and third. Carter Jurica then walked to load the bases, however Lofton struck out looking to retire the side.

In the top of the eighth, the Giants struck for another run as Joe Panik doubled to deep center field with two outs before coming home when the next hitter, Duvall, bounced a single into left. Oropesa followed with a line drive to center, but High Desert's Julio Morban made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning and keep the Mavericks ahead by a run.

Mavericks reliever Jonathan Arias then struck out two in a perfect top of the ninth to seal the High Desert victory.

Jandy Sena (1-0) was credited with the win out of the bullpen after holding San Jose scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. Arias, who pitched the eighth and ninth, picked-up his second save of the year.

The Giants initially took a 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. Duvall led off with a double into the right field corner before Oropesa drew a walk. With one out, Parker walked to load the bases and then Jurica delivered a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the night. On the play, Oropesa and Parker also advanced to third and second respectively and both runners scored when the next batter, Lofton, lined a single into center.

Jack Snodgrass started on the mound for San Jose and retired the first five batters that he faced before Steven Proscia belted a solo homer to left center with two outs in the bottom of the second. The Mavericks then took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Morban started the rally with a triple into the right center field gap before scoring on Jack Marder's single. After Marder was caught stealing and Brad Miller struck out, Stefan Romero restarted the rally with a single. John Hicks then reached on a Burg fielding error at third base before Mike McGee's game-tying RBI single. Proscia followed with an RBI double to give High Desert a 4-3 lead.

Snodgrass held the Mavericks scoreless in the fourth before running into trouble in the fifth inning. Hicks led off with a single before stealing second when McGee struck out swinging. On the play, Hicks took third as catcher Andrew Susac's throw skipped into center field for an error. Luis Rojas (1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2 SO) was then summoned from the bullpen, but he promptly allowed an RBI single to Proscia. A two-out walk to Mario Martinez moved Proscia to second before consecutive wild pitches scored another run.

Snodgrass (0-1) was saddled with the loss after yielding five runs (three earned) on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked none.

The Giants failed to score in the third through sixth innings despite putting runners on base in each frame. In the top of the third, Susac drew a leadoff walk, Duvall singled with one out and Burg was hit by a pitch with two outs, but Mavericks starter Roenis Elias struck out Parker to end the threat. In the fourth, Ryan Lollis drew a two-out walk, but was stranded. An inning later, Panik walked to leadoff and Burg produced a two-out single, however Parker grounded out back to the mound for the final out. Then in the sixth, Lollis connected for a double, but was left in scoring position when Susac flied out.

Josh Osich (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) and Drew Bowlin (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) tossed scoreless seventh and eighth innings respectively out of the San Jose bullpen as the Giants attempted to mount a comeback.

Notes: High Desert out-hit San Jose by a 13-9 margin ... Lollis (1-for-4, 2B) has hit safely in all five games this season ... Duvall was just 1-for-16 this season prior to Monday's three-hit performance ... Snodgrass was making his California League debut after pitching last year for Salem-Keizer (Short-Season) ... Proscia was 3-for-3 with a single, double, home run and three RBI's to lead the Mavericks offensively ... High Desert is 5-0 this season.

On Deck: The Giants and Mavericks continue their three-game series on Tuesday evening with first pitch at Stater Bros. Stadium scheduled for 7:05 PM. Shawn Sanford (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while High Desert is expected to counter with Anthony Fernandez (0-0, 5.40 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:35 PM.