Giants Win On Miller's 11th Inning Grand Slam

SAN JOSE - Blake Miller hit a one-out grand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the San Jose Giants to a dramatic 5-1 victory over the Stockton Ports on Thursday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. Miller's blast gave the Giants their first walk-off win of the season as San Jose salvaged the final game of their three-game series with the Ports.

Steven Okert (1-1) picked-up the win out of the Giants bullpen after keeping Stockton off the scoreboard in the 10th and 11th innings. Okert allowed one hit, walked none and struck out four. 

Miller (1-for-4, HR, 4 RBI) has now hit both of San Jose's grand slams this season. The infielder leads the club with 39 RBI's this year.

With the game tied 1-1, the bottom of the 11th began with Chuckie Jones lining a single into center. Shawn Payne then reached on a bunt single advancing Jones, the potential winning run to second. Mitch Delfino followed with a grounder to shortstop as Payne was forced at second for the first out of the inning while Jones moved to third. After an intentional walk to Mark Minicozzi loaded the bases, Miller stepped to the plate and crushed a 3-2 pitch from Ports reliever Omar Duran over the fence in left center for the game-winning grand slam. The home run was Miller's fifth of the season.

Duran (0-2), who entered the game at the start of the bottom of the 11th, suffered the loss for Stockton.

Chris Stratton started on the mound for the Giants and tossed a season-high seven innings with just one run and five hits allowed. The right-hander walked two and struck out six during his 91-pitch performance. 

Stratton began his afternoon with five scoreless innings using double plays to get out of the second and fifth frames. The Ports finally broke through in the top of the sixth when Chad Pinder launched an opposite field solo homer to right center. The home run, Pinder's ninth of the year, gave Stockton a 1-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Ports starter Zach Neal retired the first 15 batters he faced, including six via the strikeout. Elliott Blair broke up the perfect game with a single up the middle to begin the bottom of the sixth before moving to second on Trevor Brown's one-out single to left. Jesus Galindo was up next and he hit a slow grounder to first. On the play, the Ports forced out Brown at second, however the throw back to first from the shortstop Pinder sailed high and skipped into foul territory. The error allowed Blair to score the tying run.

The contest then remained deadlocked until Miller's grand slam in the 11th. Stratton finished his outing with a scoreless top of the seventh as Stockton hit into their third inning-ending double play of the game. 

Tyler Mizenko (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) worked around a two-out single and a stolen base in the eighth to keep the game tied. In the ninth, Matt Olson led off with a single, but was promptly erased when the next batter, Renato Nunez, hit into the Ports' fourth double play of the afternoon.

After Okert struck out the side in the top of the 10th, the Giants threatened in the bottom of the inning. Miller drew a leadoff walk before Blair reached on a one-out infield single to move the winning run to second. However, Stockton reliever Nolan Sanburn struck out Ydwin Villegas and induced Brown to groundout to end the inning.

Okert returned to the mound in the top of the 11th and fired a 1-2-3 inning to set the stage for Miller's dramatics in the bottom half of the frame.

Notes: The Giants have won their last two extra-inning games after dropping four straight to begin the season … Miller's previous grand slam was on May 1 at Modesto … Miller is tied for third in the California League in RBI's and eighth in batting average (.321) … His two grand slams this year lead the league … Stockton out-hit San Jose 8-7 on Thursday … Blair (2-for-4) was the only Giants player to finish with more than one hit … Neal (8 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO) was added to the Ports roster from Triple-A Sacramento earlier in the week … San Jose improved their record to 21-27.

On Deck: The Giants continue their homestand on Friday evening with the opener of a four-game series against the Visalia Rawhide. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Kendry Flores (2-3, 5.45 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Visalia is expected to counter with Spencer Arroyo (4-1, 2.45 ERA). It's Breast Cancer Awareness Night with a special jersey auction at the ballpark presented by Team KRTY and Sutter Home. A spectacular fireworks show will also follow the game. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling (408) 297-1435 or by visiting sjgiants.com.