SAN JOSE, CA -Jonah Arenado hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Giants to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Modesto Nuts on Sunday evening at Municipal Stadium. San Jose (38-50 overall, 8-10 second half) rallied from a 4-1 deficit to
SAN JOSE, CA -Jonah Arenado hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to propel the Giants to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Modesto Nuts on Sunday evening at Municipal Stadium. San Jose (38-50 overall, 8-10 second half) rallied from a 4-1 deficit to secure their first win in three games during the series.
Arenado (2-for-2, HR, 3 RBI) also singled and walked twice as part of a perfect night at the plate to lead the way offensively. Jalen Miller (1-for-4, HR, RBI) added a solo home run while Ryan Howard (2-for-3) contributed a pair of hits.
Relievers Connor Kaden, Carlos Diaz and Dylan Rheault combined to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the victory. Rheault pitched around a leadoff triple in the top of the ninth inning to collect the save.
Trailing 4-1, the decisive sixth-inning rally began with Miller launching a solo home run to deep left. The homer was Miller's fifth of the season. Howard then singled before Heath Quinn was hit by a pitch. Gio Brusa followed with a grounder to second that was stopped by a diving Chris Mariscal, who was able to get the force out of Quinn at second. Arenado then stepped to the plate and hammered the first pitch of his at-bat over the fence in left for a dramatic three-run home run. The round-tripper was Arenado's seventh of the season and it gave the Giants a 5-4 lead.
Diaz (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) took over out of the San Jose bullpen to begin the top of the seventh and worked around a two-out single to keep the Giants ahead by a run. In the eighth, Rayder Ascanio led off with a single, but Diaz induced Braden Bishop to ground into a force out before Eric Filia bounced into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
With the score still 5-4, Rheault (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) was summoned in the top of the ninth, but promptly allowed a leadoff triple to deep left center to Mariscal. However with the potential tying run at third, Rheault registered consecutive three-pitch strikeouts of Joey Curletta and Gianfranco Wawoe before retiring pinch-hitter Luis Liberato on a fly out to center ending the game. Rheault earned his 10th save of the season.
Kaden (3-0) was credited with the win after tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Kaden surrendered two hits, walked three and struck out none during his relief appearance.
Modesto starter Reggie McClain (8-6) was saddled with the loss after yielding five runs (all earned) on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. McClain walked two and struck out two.
San Jose initially enjoyed a 1-0 lead scoring once in the bottom of the second. Back-to-back singles from Brusa and Arenado started the frame. John Polonius then hit a grounder back to the mound that McClain fielded and threw to second to force out Arenado. However, the shortstop Ascanio's throw to first, in an effort to complete a double play, skipped away for an error allowing Brusa to score the first run of the night.
Mark Reyes started on the mound for the Giants and began his evening with three scoreless innings. Reyes surrendered just one hit over the first three frames before running into trouble in the top of the fourth. Consecutive doubles from Mariscal and Curletta to start the inning produced the tying run for the Nuts. Then following a two-out walk to Jordan Cowan, Willie Argo delivered an RBI single to give Modesto a 2-1 lead.
The Nuts then stretched their lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the top of the fifth. Reyes issued a leadoff walk to Bishop before a one-out walk to Mariscal ended his night. Kaden entered from the bullpen and retired Curletta on a fly out, but then walked Wawoe to load the bases. Arturo Nieto followed with an RBI single to bring home the first run of the inning before Kaden walked Cowan with the bases to force home another run for a 4-1 Modesto advantage. Kaden though prevented further damage in the inning, then threw a scoreless top of the sixth before San Jose rallied in the bottom of the frame.
Notes
* The Giants improved to 11-10 against Modesto this season. The Nuts own the best overall record in the California League (51-37).
* Arenado increased his season RBI total to 40 with his three-run home run.
* Modesto out-hit San Jose by a 9-8 margin. The Nuts left 11 runners on base.
* Rheault is now 10-for-11 in save opportunities this season.
* Reyes was charged with four runs (all earned) on four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out two.
* The Giants improved to 8-15 in one-run games.
* San Jose had scored a total of only seven runs during the homestand (sixth game) prior to their four-run bottom of the sixth.
On Deck
The Giants and Nuts conclude their four-game series on Monday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium scheduled for 7:00 PM. San Francisco Giant Madison Bumgarner is slated to start for San Jose on a rehabilitation assignment. Nathan Bannister (4-5, 4.88 ERA) is expected to get the ball for Modesto. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.
