SF Rehab Trio Key 5-2 San Jose Victory

SAN JOSE, CA -Madison Bumgarner dazzled on the mound in his rehab start, Alen Hanson smacked an early two-run home run and Joe Panik collected a pair of hits to lead the San Jose Giants to a 5-2 win over the Visalia Rawhide on Thursday evening at Municipal Stadium. With the victory, the Giants (29-25) claimed three out of four games in the series from Visalia.
Bumgarner worked 4 2/3 innings with just one run and two hits allowed. The four-time National League All-Star walked none and struck out seven during his 74-pitch outing. Bumgarner, who is recovering from a fractured pinky suffered during spring training, retired 13 out of the 16 batters he faced.
Hanson (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) gave San Jose an early 2-0 lead with his first-inning home run while Panik (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) added a pair of hits, including a key two-out RBI double. Bryce Johnson (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and C.J Hinojosa (2-for-3) also contributed two hits each for the Giants.
The game began with Bumgarner plunking Rawhide leadoff hitter Luis Alejandro Basabe. Bumgarner though came back to strikeout Marcus Wilson before Camden Duzenack bounced into an inning-ending double play. San Jose then took the lead in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Panik lined a single to right before Hanson stepped to the plate and belted an 0-1 pitch over the fence in deep right field for a two-run home run.
Visalia immediately answered in the top of the second against Bumgarner as Pavin Smith launched a two-out solo home run to right center cutting the Giants lead to 2-1. The homer though would turn out to be the only run allowed by Bumgarner during his start. The left-hander induced three straight groundouts in a perfect top of the third before pitching around a two-out single in the fourth. Bumgarner then struck out back-to-back hitters, including Smith, to begin the top of the fifth before he was removed from the game. Nolan Riggs entered from the bullpen and promptly struck out Mark Karaviotis to end the inning and keep San Jose ahead by a run.
The Giants then stretched their lead to 5-1 with three straight two-out RBI doubles in the bottom of the fifth. Hinojosa led off the inning with a single before back-to-back groundouts. Brandon Van Horn was up next and he laced an RBI double into the right center field gap to make the score 3-1. Johnson followed with a bloop double down the left field line plating Van Horn for a 4-1 cushion. Panik then ripped a double down the right field line to bring home Johnson extending the lead to 5-1.
Riggs returned to the mound in the top of the sixth and issued a two-out walk to Wilson, but quickly got out of the inning when the runner was thrown out at second attempting to steal. In the seventh, consecutive one-out walks put runners on first and second, but Riggs got Smith to ground into an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play.
Peter Lannoo (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) then worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth to keep the score at 5-1. The Rawhide though would rally in the top of the ninth scoring once before bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate. Wilson led off with a single before taking second on a wild pitch. Lannoo retired Duzenack on a fly out to deep center before Zack Jones drilled an RBI double off the left center field fence to make it 5-2. Drew Ellis then singled to put runners on the corners before new pitcher Orleny Quiroz issued a walk to Smith to load the bases. However with the potential go-ahead run at the plate, Quiroz set down Dominic Miroglio on a line out to shallow right before Karaviotis grounded out to third to end the game.
Riggs (1-2) picked-up his first win of the season after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He did not allow a hit, walked three and struck out one. Quiroz recorded the final two outs of the game to collect his first save.
Visalia starter Kevin McCanna (3-1) was charged with five runs (all earned) on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings to take the loss. He walked none and struck out seven.
Notes
* Bumgarner was making his eighth career start with the San Jose Giants. He made five starts with San Jose during the 2009 season (3-1, 1.48 ERA) before a pair of rehab appearances last year.
* The Giants out-hit the Rawhide 9-5. Visalia knocked out only two hits over the first eight innings.
* Hanson has hit four home runs in only 14 games with San Francisco this season. He's 2-for-6 with a single and a home run in two rehab games with San Jose. He played the first seven innings at second base on Thursday.
* Panik played the entire game at DH. He went 2-for-7 with a single and a double in two rehab games for the Giants this week.
* The Giants improved their league-best home record to 16-10.
* Quiroz led the Dominican Summer League with 13 saves last season.
* Hinojosa was playing in his first game of 2018 after joining San Jose from Extended Spring Training on Wednesday.
* The Giants remained four games behind first-place Stockton (33-21) in the first half North Division race. 16 games are left in the half.
On Deck
The Giants continue their homestand on Friday evening with the opener of a three-game series against the Modesto Nuts. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Stetson Woods (0-0, --- ERA) is slated to make the start on the mound for San Jose while Modesto has yet to announce a starting pitcher. It's a Fireworks Night at the ballpark while the first 500 fans will receive a Buster Posey Hugs Blanket giveaway. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.