Giants Bats Stymied In 5-1 Loss
STOCKTON, CA - Stockton's Brian Howard came within one out of a complete-game shutout on Tuesday night in a 5-1 Ports victory over the San Jose Giants at Banner Island Ballpark. Howard dominated on the mound as the All-Star right-hander limited the Giants to just a single run and four
STOCKTON, CA - Stockton's
Howard (7-3) earned his league-leading seventh win of the season. Howard struck out seven, walked one and retired 26 out of the 31 batters he faced.
The Ports took an early lead scoring twice in the bottom of the first against Giants starter
San Jose managed only three baserunners over the first eight innings of the contest against Howard.
Meanwhile, the Ports extended their lead to 5-0 with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth. With reliever
Howard quickly retired the first two batters of the top of the ninth before Brusa stepped to the plate and launched a towering solo home run down the right field line to break-up the shutout bid. Howard then walked
Vizcaino (3-4) suffered the loss despite matching a season-high with six innings pitched. The right-hander allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out five during his 90-pitch outing. Vizcaino gave up only one hit after the first inning and retired 18 out of the final 20 batters he faced.
Notes
* The Giants have lost eight out of their last ten games.
* San Jose has now lost their last five games against Stockton (all in the last eight days).
* Howard ranks third in the California League in ERA (2.38), fifth in strikeouts (77) and first in WHIP (0.93). He has a 1.26 ERA (4 ER/28.2 IP) in four starts against the Giants.
* Brusa has hit five home runs over his last five games. His 11 homers overall are tied for fourth in the league.
* Franco (1-for-4) extended his hitting streak to seven games.
* San Jose has still been shutout only once this season (4-0 loss to Visalia on May 3).
On Deck
The Giants and Ports continue their series on Wednesday evening with first pitch at Banner Island Ballpark scheduled for 7:10 PM.