Giants Escape With 3-0 Victory Over Ports

SAN JOSE, CA - The San Jose Giants notched their third shutout of the season on Friday evening with a 3-0 victory over the Stockton Ports at Municipal Stadium. Four San Jose pitchers - Mac Marshall, Michael Cederoth, Sandro Cabrera and Rodolfo Martinez - combined on a four hitter and managed to pitch around eight walks, three hit batters and two errors to keep the Ports off the scoreboard. Stockton went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position, hit into three double plays and left 14 on base. With the win, the Giants (5-4) evened their series with the Ports at a game apiece.
Frandy De La Rosa (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to lead San Jose offensively. The Giants won despite managing only three hits.
Cabrera (2-0) was credited with the win out of the Giants bullpen after tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. The left-hander pitched through three hits and one walk while collecting five strikeouts. Martinez tossed a perfect top of the ninth inning for his second save of the year.
The Giants jumped out early against Ports starter Brian Howard as Bryce Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a walk before De La Rosa stepped to the plate with one out and launched an opposite-field two-run home run to left. The homer was De La Rosa's team-leading third of the season as San Jose moved in front by a 2-0 margin.
Marshall started on the mound for the Giants and tossed three hitless innings. Marshall walked four and hit two batters, but stranded all six baserunners during his outing, four of which were left in scoring position. The left-hander struck out three.
Cederoth relieved Marshall to begin the top of the fourth and pitched 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen with no runs allowed. Cederoth also struggled with his control issuing three walks and also hitting a batter, in addition to surrendering Stockton's first hit of the game - a fifth-inning single to Jonah Heim. Cederoth though induced a pair of key double plays before Cabrera entered with two outs in the top of the fifth and recorded the final out to strand two more runners.
Cabrera then pitched around an error and a walk in the top of the sixth and a one-out double from Heim in the top of the seventh to maintain the shutout. In the eighth, with the score still 2-0, Edwin Diaz and Kevin Merrell produced back-to-back one-out singles to put the tying runs on base. Luke Persico though followed by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
The Giants added to their lead in the bottom of the eighth scoring once without the benefit of a hit. Brandon Van Horn led off by drawing a walk before stealing second. A Johnson sacrifice bunt then advanced Van Horn to third. Following a Jalen Miller strike out, a wild pitch allowed Van Horn to score for a 3-0 San Jose advantage.
Martinez then entered to begin the top of the ninth and set down the Ports in order to seal the victory.
Howard (1-1) suffered the loss despite striking out 10 batters over 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander, who at one point retired 13 straight Giants hitters, gave up two hits and two runs (both earned) while also issuing one walk.
Notes
* The Giants have three shutouts through the first nine games of the season. The three shutouts lead the California League (rest of the league has five combined).
* Stockton put at least one runner in scoring position in each of the first eight innings. The Ports had 17 baserunners in the contest (eight walks, four hits, three HBP's and two runners via an error), but failed to score.
* The teams combined to finish 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position (Stockton 0-for-14, San Jose 0-for-5).
* De La Rosa has hit three home runs over his last four games.
* Marshall has thrown six scoreless innings with just one hit allowed in his first two starts this season.
* The Ports' seven-game winning streak was snapped.
On Deck
The Giants and Ports continue their series on Saturday evening with first pitch at Municipal Stadium slated for 6:00 PM. San Francisco Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija is expected to make a rehab start on the mound for San Jose. Matt Milburn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is the scheduled starter for Stockton. Comic-Con Kickoff Weekend continues with the first 500 fans in attendance receiving a Super-Gigante bobblehead. A spectacular fireworks show, presented by Blossom Valley Pony Baseball, will also follow the game. For tickets, call (408) 297-1435 or visit sjgiants.com.