SAN JOSE, CA -Carlos Sano struck out a career-high nine batters and allowed only one run in six dominant innings of San Jose's 6-2 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks on Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. With the win, the Giants (53-72 overall, 19-36 second half) evened their series with the
SAN JOSE, CA -Carlos Sano struck out a career-high nine batters and allowed only one run in six dominant innings of San Jose's 6-2 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks on Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. With the win, the Giants (53-72 overall, 19-36 second half) evened their series with the JetHawks at a game apiece.
Sano (4-3) retired 18 out of the 22 batters he faced, including nine in a row to end his start, en route to picking-up the win. The right-hander surrendered only three hits and issued one walk during his six-inning masterpiece. Nolan Riggs recorded the final two outs of the game with the potential tying run at the plate to collect his fifth save of the season.
Gio Brusa (2-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, SB) had a pair of run-scoring hits, including his team-leading fifth triple of the season, to lead the way offensively for San Jose. Jalen Miller (2-for-4, 2B, RBI), Bryce Johnson (2-for-3, RBI, SB) and Chris Corbett (2-for-4, 2B) added two hits apiece.
The Giants took an early 1-0 lead with a single tally in the bottom of the first. Jacob Heyward led off with a walk before Heath Quinn doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third. Miller was up next and he lined a double to right plating Heyward with the first run of the contest. Quinn though was only able to advance to third on the double and San Jose ultimately stranded both runners in scoring position as Lancaster starter Brandon Gold bounced back with consecutive strikeouts of Wander Franco and Brusa before Johnson grounded out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Sano began his start with two hitless innings striking out two batters in each frame. The JetHawks would then tie the game in the top of the third. Wes Rogers led off with a double and immediately scored the tying run when the next batter, Steven Linkous, singled. Linkous then stole second, but Sano came back with three straight swinging strikeouts of Manny Melendez, Carlos Herrera and Alan Trejo to end the inning.
The Giants then took the lead for good with a three-run bottom of the third. With one out, Miller singled and advanced to second on the play when right fielder Vince Fernandez mishandled the ball for an error. After Franco struck out, Brusa stepped to the plate and laced a triple into the right field corner to bring home Miller with the go-ahead run. Johnson was up next and he lined a single into right plating Brusa to make it 3-1. Kelvin Beltre followed with a line drive single into deep right center that scored Johnson all the way from first base for a 4-1 San Jose advantage.
After Sano pitched around a leadoff double in the top of the fourth, the Giants added to their lead with another run in the bottom of the inning. Corbett led off with a double down the left field line before Heyward singled to put runners on the corners. Quinn then lifted a sacrifice fly to right as Corbett came home to make it 5-1.
Sano then finished his outing with perfect fifth and sixth innings. He needed only 12 pitches to cruise through the top of the fifth before a 10-pitch 1-2-3 sixth inning.
Sandro Cabrera (2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) relieved Sano to begin the top of the seventh and surrendered a two-out solo home run to Brian Serven. The homer was Serven's 12th of the season and it brought the JetHawks to within 5-2. Prior to Serven's blast, the Sano/Cabrera duo had retired 11 straight Lancaster batters.
San Jose though got the run back in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Franco doubled to deep left center - his league-leading 36th double of the season. After Franco moved to third on a wild pitch, Brusa delivered an RBI single for a 6-2 cushion.
Cabrera set down the JetHawks in order in the top of the eighth, but would run into trouble in the ninth. Consecutive singles from Trejo and Tyler Nevin started the inning before a walk to Fernandez loaded the bases with none out. However with the potential tying run at the plate, Cabrera induced Bret Boswell to pop out to shortstop before Riggs entered from the bullpen and struck out Serven on three pitches and retired Rogers on a come backer to end the game.
Gold (9-8) suffered the loss after yielding five runs (all earned) on nine hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Notes
* The Giants improved to 7-5 against the JetHawks this season. Saturday's victory clinched a season-series win for San Jose over Lancaster.
* Sano is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA over his last five starts.
* Miller extended his hitting streak to eight games. He's batting .394 (13-for-33) during the hit streak.
* The Giants out-hit the JetHawks 12-6.
* San Jose was 6-for-15 (.400 AVG) with runners in scoring position compared to 1-for-10 (.100 AVG) for Lancaster.
* Johneshwy Fargas stole his league-leading 40th base of the season.
* The Giants are 3-1 in their last four home games after dropping six straight at Municipal Stadium.
* Saturday's attendance was 3,896 - the fourth home sellout of the season for San Jose.
On Deck
The Giants and JetHawks conclude their three-game series on Sunday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 5:00 PM. Mac Marshall (0-4, 5.27 ERA) is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Lancaster is expected to counter with Ty Culbreth (5-7, 6.31 ERA). The San Jose Giants are proud to celebrate Japanese Heritage Night on Sunday with themed booths, decor and more. The first 1,000 fans also receive a San Francisco Giants Hello Kitty Cap giveaway. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.
