Brusa, Miller Both Hit For Cycle In Giants Rout

LANCASTER, CA - San Jose's Gio Brusa and Jalen Miller both hit for the cycle on Wednesday night in an 18-6 Giants blowout win over the host Lancaster JetHawks at The Hangar. The duo became the fourth and fifth players in the 31-year history of the San Jose Giants to hit for the cycle. The Giants knocked out 25 hits in the contest - one off their team record for most hits in a single game. With the victory, San Jose (4-3) took two out of three games in the series from Lancaster.
Brusa (4-for-6, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI) homered in the first inning, singled in the second, doubled in the fourth and then tripled in the top of the eighth to hit for the cycle. Miller (5-for-7, 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, SB) tied a San Jose Giants single-game record with five hits on the way to his cycle. Miller singled in his first two at-bats, doubled in the sixth, homered in the eighth and then completed the cycle with a triple in the top of the ninth.
Before Wednesday, the last San Jose Giant to hit for the cycle was Thomas Neal on April 28, 2009 - also in Lancaster.
Sandro Fabian (4-for-6, 2 RBI) added four hits in the convincing win while Frandy De La Rosa (1-for-6, HR, RBI) added a home run. Bryce Johnson (3-for-7, 2 RBI, SB) and Wander Franco (3-for-7, 2B, RBI) also contributed three hits apiece.
The Giants scored nine runs over the first two innings to build an early 9-0 lead and never looked back to crush the JetHawks. Johnson started the game with a first-pitch single before stealing second base. Miller then grounded a single up the middle to bring home Johnson with the first run of the game. Following Miller's steal of second base, Franco laced an RBI double down the left field line for a 2-0 advantage. Two batters later, Brusa belted an opposite-field two-run homer to deep left to make it 4-0.
San Jose kept the pressure on with five more runs in the top of the second. Jeff Arnold led off by drawing a walk before Jacob Heyward singled and Johnson reached on an error to load the bases with none out. Miller then stepped to the plate and lined a single into right center plating Arnold for a 5-0 cushion. After Franco popped out, Heath Quinn singled home another run. Brusa then launched a high fly ball that carried to the fence in deep left center. Lancaster center fielder Forrest Wall made a leaping effort, but the ball bounced high off the fence. Both Johnson and Miller scored on the hit to make it 8-0. Quinn only was able to advance to second with Brusa at first with a long two-RBI single. Two batters later, Fabian delivered another RBI single extending the lead to 9-0.
Logan Webb started on the mound for the Giants and worked the first three innings with just one unearned run allowed. Webb surrendered three hits, walked one and struck out two during his 56-pitch outing. Lancaster's only run against Webb came in the bottom of the second after two San Jose errors.
The Giants stretched their lead to 10-1 in the top of the fourth as Brusa led off with a double into the left center field gap. Brusa moved to third on De La Rosa's ground out and scored when the next batter, Fabian, lined a single into left center.
The JetHawks closed to within 10-3 in the bottom of the fourth when Joel Diaz connected for a two-run home run off of San Jose reliever DJ Myers. The Giants though came back with a three-run top of the sixth. Three straight one-out singles from Fabian, Arnold and Heyward loaded the bases. Johnson then singled home the first run of the inning before Miller doubled down the left field line - the Giants' fifth straight hit - plating two more for a 13-3 advantage.
In the top of the seventh, De La Rosa crushed a solo home run to deep right center to make it 14-3. The home run was De La Rosa's second of the season.
Following a JetHawks tally in the bottom of the seventh, San Jose capped their scoring for the night with a four-run top of the eighth. Miller led off the inning with a home run to left - his fourth hit of the game. After back-to-back singles from Franco and Quinn, Brusa stepped to the plate and smacked a fly ball off the fence in straightaway center. Both Franco and Quinn scored on the play with Brusa racing into third with a triple. The hit completed the cycle for Brusa and extended the lead to 17-3. Brusa later scored the 18th and final Giants run of the game on a wild pitch.
With Brusa having already hit for the cycle, it was Miller's opportunity in the top of the ninth. With the score 18-5, Miller came to the plate with two outs and the bases empty and ripped a line drive into center that eluded the diving Wall. As the ball rolled towards the warning track, Miller sprinted into third with a stand-up triple for San Jose's second cycle of the night.
Myers (1-0) was credited with his first win of the season after tossing five innings of long relief with four runs (all earned) and four hits allowed. He walked one and struck out six.
Lancaster starter Matt Dennis (0-2) was tagged for nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits over the first two innings to take the loss.
Notes
* The five players who have hit for the cycle in San Jose Giants history: Carlos Valderrama (8/19/2002 at Stockton), Kevin Frandsen (7/2/2005 vs. Modesto), Neal (4/28/2009 at Lancaster), Brusa and Miller.
* Miller became the 37th player in San Jose Giants history to record five hits in a game. There has never been a six-hit game in SJ Giants history.
* Miller is batting .400 (12-for-30) this season. Brusa is hitting at a .348 clip (8-for-23).
* San Jose's 25 hits was one shy of their team record - 26 hits on May 13, 2010 at Visalia (21-9 win).
* The Giants were 12-for-26 (.462 AVG) with runners in scoring position. San Jose was just 10-for-61 (.164 AVG) with runners in scoring position this season (six games) before Wednesday's outburst.
* All nine Giants players in the lineup had at least one hit on Wednesday. Seven players had multi-hit games.
* San Jose finished their season-opening seven-game road trip with a 4-3 record.
On Deck
The Giants host the Stockton Ports on Thursday evening in their home opener at Municipal Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM. All fans in attendance will receive a 2018 San Jose Giants magnet schedule while a spectacular fireworks show will follow the game. Other festivities include an opening night pregame celebration, Krazy George appearance, Diamond Season jersey auction and a Craft Beer Thursday. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.