Deaton celebrates birthday in style

Kevin Deaton tossed a complete-game one-hitter on his 26th birthday as Stockton blanked host San Jose, 4-0, on Tuesday.

Deaton (1-1), who struck out a season-high nine, gave up a two-out double to David Maroul in the third inning and a leadoff walk to Brian Bocock in the seventh. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.29 in four appearances for the Ports (18-28).

He faced one batter over the minimum, getting Ben Copeland to ground into a double in the seventh.

"I went 2-0 on [Copeland]," he said. "He hit a fastball into a double play. It was huge. It let me stay in the game."

Deaton, who appeared in five games for the Arizona League Athletics and one for Double-A Midland earlier this season, is rehabbing from shoulder tendonitis and entered with a pitch count of "around 90," though he finished with 101.

"They let me go back out, which was cool," he said. "I just wanted to get my team a win. I'm trying to get these innings, and I want to finish strong."

A native of Vero Beach, Fla., Deaton threw mostly fastballs and changeups, but mixed in some curves and sliders.

"I didn't have much of a game plan," he said. "I was fortunate to get pitches for strikes."

Deaton tossed an eight-inning four-hitter with Double-A Binghamton on June 21, 2005, but it couldn't compare to his most recent achievement.

"I've never done anything like this before," he said. "[My teammates] stayed on their toes, and they made some good plays. They were aggressive, which helped a lot."

Stockton's Raul Padron ripped an RBI double and scored on Justin Sellers' two-run homer, his fourth, in the third for the Ports.

Giants starter Gregorio Martinez (5-10) gave up four runs on seven hits over six frames. He struck out seven and walked one en route to his third consecutive loss.

Darren Sack and Ryan Paul combined on three hitless frames for San Jose (25-21).