Big Innings Power Quakes Past Giants, 15-6

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes used a pair of five-run innings on Wednesday night to cruise past the Giants, 15-6, in the opener of a three-game series at LoanMart Field. The 15 runs allowed by San Jose matched a season-high as the Giants (44-53 overall, 10-17 second half) suffered a ninth consecutive loss to the South Division-leading Quakes.
Johneshwy Fargas (2-for-5, HR, RBI) homered and scored three times to lead San Jose offensively in defeat. Wander Franco (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) and Jacob Heyward (2-for-4) added two hits apiece while Heath Quinn (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) also drove in two runs.
The Giants enjoyed a brief lead on Wednesday after scoring twice in the top of the first against Rancho Cucamonga starter Dustin May. Fargas led off the game by reaching on an error before Franco delivered a one-out single. Quinn was up next and he hammered a double to the fence in deep right center to score both runners for a 2-0 San Jose advantage.
The Quakes though answered with a five-run bottom of the first to knock Giants starter DJ Myers out of the game. After Myers retired the first two batters of the inning, Cody Thomas drew a walk and Cristian Santana singled. Jeren Kendall followed with a fly ball triple into the left center field gap as Thomas and Santana both easily scored to tie the game 2-2. Connor Wong then walked with the ball four pitch bouncing off the glove of catcher Matt Winn. The passed ball allowed Kendall to score giving Rancho Cucamonga the lead. Zach McKinstry then stepped to the plate and launched a two-run home run to right for a 5-2 Quakes advantage. The round-tripper ended Myers' night as Peter Lannoo was summoned from the bullpen to record the final out of the frame.
San Jose then came right back with three runs of their own in the top of the second to draw even at 5-5. Three straight one-out singles from Heyward, Winn and Fargas produced the first run of the inning. Then with two down, Franco doubled into the right center field gap plating Winn and Fargas to tie the game 5-5.
Lannoo (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) then kept Rancho Cucamonga off the board in the bottom of the second before Rodolfo Martinez pitched a scoreless third inning to keep the game even. The Quakes though would take the lead for good with a three-run bottom of the fourth against Martinez (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO). Logan Landon led off by drawing a walk before Thomas singled to put runners on the corners. Santana then hit a grounder to third that Franco fielded and threw to second to force out Thomas. However, Jalen Miller's relay throw to first skipped low and allowed Santana to reach safely. Santana was credited with an RBI on the play as Landon scored the go-ahead run for the Quakes. Kendall then crushed a two-run home run to right center extending the Rancho Cucamonga lead to 8-5.
The Quakes added to their advantage with single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the fifth with Connor Overton (2 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO) on the mound, Jared Walker connected for Rancho Cucamonga's third homer of the night - a solo shot down the right field line. An inning later, McKinstry collected a two-out RBI single to make it 10-5.
In the top of the seventh, Fargas led off with a solo home run to left center. The homer was Fargas' fifth of the year and it made the score 10-6, but the Giants would get no closer. The Quakes erupted for their second five-run inning of the contest in the bottom of the seventh to blow the game open. With Overton still pitching, three straight singles from Walker, Gavin Lux and Landon to start the inning loaded the bases. Overton then plunked Thomas to force home the first run of the inning. Ryan Walker (2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO) then replaced Overton on the mound and was greeted by a Santana single that scored two more runs. After Saige Jenco singled, Wong became the seventh consecutive Rancho Cucamonga hitter to reach base to start the inning as he singled home another run. McKinstry then grounded into a double play to score the fifth and final run of the inning as the Quakes stretched their lead to 15-6.
May (6-3) picked-up the win after pitching five innings with five runs (four earned) allowed. He surrendered seven hits, walked none and struck out one. May gave up five runs over his first two innings before finishing his outing with three straight scoreless frames. Jason Richman pitched the final three innings and gave up one run to notch his fifth save of the year.
Martinez (3-8) was charged with the loss for San Jose.
Notes
* Wednesday was the opener of a six-game road trip for the Giants. San Jose is 8-17 in their last 25 road games.
* Giants also allowed 15 runs on July 10 at Stockton (15-5 loss).
* Rancho Cucamonga out-hit San Jose 19-10. The 19 hits allowed by the Giants was also a season-high.
* After the Quakes went deep three times on Wednesday, San Jose has now surrendered a league-high 26 home runs in July (17 games).
* Franco extended his hitting streak to seven games. Miller's (0-for-5) hit streak was snapped at eight games.
* Myers (2/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO) matched the shortest start of the season by a Giants pitcher.
* San Jose is 1-9 against Rancho Cucamonga in the second half and has a 9-8 record against all other opponents.
On Deck
The Giants and Quakes continue their series on Thursday evening with first pitch at LoanMart Field scheduled for 7:05 PM. Logan Webb (1-2, 1.96 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Rancho Cucamonga has yet to announce a starting pitcher. The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:45 PM.