One Run Enough For Giants In Shutout Win

STOCKTON, CA - Giants pitchers Carlos Sano, Ryan Walker and Connor Overton combined on a three-hit shutout Wednesday evening in a 1-0 victory over the Stockton Ports at Banner Island Ballpark. Bryce Johnson drove home the only run of the contest with a two-out single in the top of the seventh as San Jose (41-50 overall, 7-14 second half) won for the second time in three games during the series.
Sano fired 5 2/3 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed during his masterful start for the Giants. The right-hander walked three and struck out two.
Walker (1-0) was credited with the win in his California League debut after recording the final out of the bottom of the sixth. Overton then pitched the last three innings to collect his second save of the year. Overton surrendered just one hit and worked around a pair of walks to maintain the one-run lead over the late-innings. He struck out four.
Johnson (2-for-4, RBI), Wander Franco (2-for-4), Gio Brusa (2-for-4, SB) and Dillon Dobson (2-for-4, 2B) had two hits apiece for San Jose offensively.
Wednesday's affair was scoreless through the first six innings. Ports starter Matt Milburn pitched around back-to-back singles from Johnson and Jalen Miller to start the game and had retired 11 straight Giants hitters until Brusa singled with two outs in the top of the fourth. After threatening in the first inning, San Jose did advance another runner into scoring position against Milburn until the top of the seventh.
Meanwhile, Sano escaped a jam in the bottom of the second as Chase Calabuig doubled with one out before taking third on a wild pitch. A walk to Sandber Pimentel followed, but Sano came back to strikeout Santiago Chávez before Trace Loehr grounded out to end the inning. Sano then set down Stockton 1-2-3 in the third and fourth frames before working around a one-out walk in the fifth. Sano began the bottom of the sixth by retiring the first two batters before Nate Mondou singled - only the Ports' second hit of the game. The hit led to a pitching change as Walker entered from the bullpen and he promptly walked Luke Persico to advance the potential go-ahead run to second. Walker though recovered to strikeout the next batter, Will Toffey, to retire the side.
The Giants then broke through against Milburn in the top of the seventh. With one out, Dobson belted a double off the fence in deep center. Tanner Murphy was then hit by a pitch before Brandon Van Horn struck out. Johnson was up next and he lined a 2-2 pitch from Milburn into center field for a single. The hit easily scored Dobson from second to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.
With the Giants ahead by a run, Overton was summoned to begin the bottom of the seventh. Overton issued a one-out walk to Pimentel, but struck out Chavez and retired Loehr on a groundout to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Brallan Perez drew a leadoff walk before a Persico two-out single put runners on the corners. However with the potential tying run at third base, Overton struck out Toffey to keep San Jose in front by a 1-0 margin.
Overton then returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and quickly set down the Ports in order on a deep fly out to right center and back-to-back strikeouts to seal the victory.
Milburn (5-3) took the loss for Stockton after allowing one run on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and did not issue a walk.
Notes
* The Giants earned their seventh shutout of the season (first since June 1 vs. Modesto).
* Wednesday was San Jose's first 1-0 victory of the year.
* Sano was making just his second start of the season (10th appearance). Over his last four outings (two starts), Sano has pitched 15 1/3 innings with only one earned run allowed (0.59 ERA).
* Overton rejoined the Giants from Richmond (AA) before the game on Wednesday. He was making his first appearance in the California League since June 15.
* Johnson is 6-for-11 (.545 AVG) through the first three games of the series.
* San Jose out-hit Stockton 10-3.
* The Giants played their league-leading 31st one-run game of the season (14-17 record).
* Walker was added to San Jose's roster from the Arizona Rookie League on Wednesday. He was making only the fifth appearance of his professional career (31st round pick in the 2018 draft).
On Deck
The Giants and Ports conclude their four-game series on Thursday evening with first pitch at Banner Island Ballpark scheduled for 7:10 PM. DJ Myers (3-3, 5.21 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Stockton is expected to counter with Zack Erwin (7-6, 4.83 ERA). The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 6:50 PM.