Giants Win 1-0 On Oropesa's 10th Inning Home Run
SAN JOSE - Ricky Oropesa hit a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the San Jose Giants to a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Lake Elsinore Storm on Tuesday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. Oropesa walk-off homer was the only run in the contest as San Jose completed a sweep of the three-game series. The Giants have now won five games in a row and 10 out of their last 11.
Oropesa (2-for-4, HR, RBI) had the only two San Jose hits on Tuesday. The Giants first baseman broke up Lake Elsinore's no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh before his game-winning home run in the 10th.
Stephen Harrold (3-0) picked-up the win out of the bullpen after tossing a perfect top of the 10th inning.
Kyle Crick started on the mound for San Jose and pitched the first five innings with just one hit and no runs allowed. Crick struck out four and worked around a season-high five walks.
The Storm threatened in the top of the first against Crick as back-to-back one-out walks put runners on first and second, but A.J. Kirby-Jones followed by grounding into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Crick had retired six straight hitters until Travis Jankowski doubled down the right field line with two outs in the top of the third - the only hit allowed by the Giants starter. B.J. Guinn then drew a walk, but Crick induced the next batter, Jace Peterson, to fly out to left.
After a 1-2-3 top of the fourth, Crick ran into trouble in the fifth issuing consecutive one-out walks. However, facing the top two hitters in the lineup, Crick settled down to pitch out of it as Jankowski popped out to shortstop and Guinn grounded out to second.
Kelvin Marte (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) relieved Crick to begin the top of the sixth and keep the shutout intact by holding Lake Elsinore off the scoreboard over the next three innings. Marte retired nine out of the ten batters he faced.
Meanwhile, Storm starting pitcher Frank Garces began his afternoon with six no-hit innings. San Jose's only baserunners over the first six frames were Devin Harris reaching on an error with one out in the bottom of the second and walks to Mac Williamson and Kelby Tomlinson in the fourth and sixth innings respectively. Tomlinson drew his walk with two outs before stealing second to give the Giants their first runner in scoring position. Garces though recovered to set down Williamson on a groundout to keep the game scoreless.
San Jose finally picked-up their first hit of the day when Oropesa lined a single to left to begin the bottom of the seventh. The inning though quickly ended as Johnny Barbato relieved Garces and induced Harris to ground into a force out before Jeff Arnold bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.
Jose Casilla (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) pitched out of a jam in the top of the ninth for the Giants as game remained at 0-0. Kirby-Jones led off with a single before the next two batters were retired. A passed ball then moved pinch-runner Reynaldo Bruguera to second, but Casilla struck out the next hitter, Travis Whitmore, to end the inning.
Barbeto was perfect over three innings out of the Storm bullpen striking out two batters in both the eighth and ninth. In the top of the 10th, Harrold worked a 1-2-3 inning before Oropesa greeted new pitcher Dennis O'Grady with the game-winning home run in the bottom of the frame.
O'Grady (2-5), who threw just one pitch during his outing, was saddled with the loss.
Garces surrendered just one hit over six-plus innings of work for Lake Elsinore. He walked two and struck out three.
Notes: San Jose allowed only one run during the three-game series against Lake Elsinore … Tuesday was the Giants' league-leading seventh shutout of the season … The teams combined for just five hits (San Jose - 2, Lake Elsinore - 3) … The Giants have won their last four extra-inning games (5-4 overall) … The walk-off home run was San Jose's second of the year (Brock Bond, June 12 vs. Modesto, 11th inning) … Crick lowered his season ERA to 1.21 … Oropesa extended his hitting streak to nine games … The Giants improved their second half record to 14-6 (57-33 overall).
On Deck: The Giants begin a six-game road trip on Wednesday evening with the first of three straight contests in Visalia. First pitch at Recreation Park is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Adalberto Mejia (2-2, 3.63 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while the Rawhide are expected to counter with Andrew Barbosa (5-6, 5.04 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:30 PM.