Giants Walk-Off With 3-2, 10-Inning Victory

SAN JOSE - Tyler Horan's bases loaded RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the San Jose Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Modesto Nuts on Wednesday evening at Municipal Stadium. The win was San Jose's second straight to begin the series as the Giants (68-61) remained tied with Visalia atop the North Division Wild Card standings. 11 games are left in the regular season.

Brian Ragira (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) smacked his team-leading 17th home run in the victory. Ben Turner (3-for-4) and Mitch Delfino (2-for-4, 2B) also produced multi-hit games for San Jose.

Matt Lujan started on the mound for the Giants and fired seven scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. The left-hander, who retired 20 out of the 24 batters he faced, walked two and struck out seven. Tyler Mizenko (4-3) was credited with the win out of the bullpen after tossing scoreless ninth and tenth innings.

The Giants took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Delfino drew a two-out walk before Ragira stepped to the plate and crushed the first pitch of his at-bat over the fence in center for a two-run home run.

Lujan then maintained the two-run advantage throughout his dominant stint on the mound. Modesto's only hit against the San Jose starter came in the top of the second when Francisco Sosa led off with a line drive double into the right center field gap. Lujan though recovered registering consecutive strikeouts of the next two hitters, Dave Bergin and Matt Wessinger, before Alex Mehrten flied out to center.

Lujan had retired seven straight hitters until issuing a one-out walk to Pat Valaika in the top of the fourth, but Sosa followed by grounding into an inning-ending double play. Lujan then worked around a one-out walk in the fifth before tossing perfect sixth and seventh innings. He finished his night by setting down eight consecutive Nuts batters.

Modesto starter Ben Alsup worked six innings and yielded two runs (both earned) on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, the Giants managed just two more hits off of Alsup for the remainder of his outing.

With the score still 2-0, Bryce Bandilla entered from the San Jose bullpen to begin the top of the eighth and promptly struck out Wessinger. After Mehrten reached on an infield single, Michael Ramirez went down swinging for the second out. David Dahl though was up next and he belted a first-pitch two-run home run to deep right center. The home run, Dahl's third in 22 games with the Nuts, tied the score 2-2.

Modesto then threatened to take the lead in the top of the ninth against Mizenko, but a key double play ended the inning. With one out, Valaika lined a single into center before Sosa drew a walk. Bergin though bounced the first pitch of his at-bat to shortstop for a 6-4-3 double play keeping the game tied.

In the bottom of the ninth, Turner singled with one out, but was promptly erased when the next batter, Alberto Robles, grounded into a double play. Mizenko then breezed through a 1-2-3 top of the 10th.

The decisive rally in the bottom of the 10th inning began with a one-out walk to Ryan Lollis. Delfino then singled into left advancing Lollis to third before Ragira walked on a full-count pitch to load the bases. Left-hander Jon Keck was then summoned from the bullpen, but on the first pitch, Horan grounded a sharp single through the hole on the right side to easily score Lollis for the game-winning tally.

Bruce Kern (0-4), who was charged with the 10th inning run, took the loss for the Nuts.

Notes: Horan delivered the game-winning hit (also a single) in San Jose's last walk-off win (August 8 versus Lancaster) … The Giants improved to 7-8 in extra-inning games this season … San Jose had lost their last three extra-inning contests before Wednesday's victory … Ragira has hit five home runs in his last six games … The Giants out-hit the Nuts 9-4 … San Jose has won eight straight games versus Modesto (15-8 overall) … Horan's 10th inning single extended his hitting streak to 10 games … Lujan has pitched at least seven innings in four out of his last seven starts.

On Deck: The Giants and Nuts conclude their three-game series on Thursday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 7:00 PM. Joe Biagini (9-8, 4.23 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Modesto is expected to counter with Matt Flemer (11-9, 5.04 ERA). The San Jose Giants will host an Ice Bucket Challenge Auction to benefit the ALS Emergency Treatment Fund on Thursday. Fans will be able to bid on the opportunity to pour a bucket of ice water on their favorite San Jose Giants player following the final out. Tickets for the game are available and can be purchased by calling (408) 297-1435 or by visiting sjgiants.com.