Giants Shutout Sixers For First Win

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - The San Jose Giants earned their first victory of the 2018 season with a 5-0 shutout of the Inland Empire 66ers on Saturday evening at San Manuel Stadium. Conner Menez, Dylan Rheault and Rodolfo Martinez combined on a four-hitter as San Jose improved their season record to 1-2.
Menez (1-0) worked the first five innings for the Giants on Saturday to pick-up the win. The left-hander surrendered three hits, walked none and struck out seven during his dominant start. Menez retired 15 out of the 18 batters he faced. Rheault (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) and Martinez (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) then each tossed two scoreless innings of relief to complete the shutout. The trio combined to record 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Jacob Heyward (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) had two hits and drove home a pair of runs while Jeff Arnold (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) had a late two-RBI double to lead San Jose offensively.
The Giants took their first lead of the season with a two-run top of the second against 66ers starter Jose Suarez. Gio Brusa was hit by a pitch to start the inning before a Sandro Fabian one-out single put runners on the corners. Heyward then stepped to the plate and smashed the first pitch of his at-bat down the left field line for a double. The hit scored both Brusa and Fabian for a 2-0 San Jose advantage.
Meanwhile, Menez cruised throughout his start to preserve the Giants lead. Menez worked around a two-out double off the bat of Jack Kruger in the bottom of the first and a Jordan Zimmerman leadoff single in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, with the score still at 2-0, Roberto Baldoquin tripled down the right field line with one out, but was stranded when Menez retired Jonah Todd on a soft line out to shortstop and then struck out Kevin Williams Jr. to retire the side. Menez finished his night with a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth.
After Rheault worked a scoreless bottom of the sixth, San Jose added to their lead with a single tally in the top of the seventh. Brusa led off by drawing a walk before taking second on an errant pick-off throw. Moments later, Heath Quinn ripped a double down the left field line to plate Brusa to make it 3-0.
Rheault then breezed through the bottom of the seventh registering two strikeouts before Martinez pitched around a two-out single in the eighth to maintain the 3-0 cushion.
The Giants then completed the scoring with a two-run top of the ninth. Quinn led off by drawing a walk before Heyward singled with one out. Arnold then crushed a fly ball off the fence in deep right center for a double as both Quinn and Heyward raced home extending the lead to 5-0.
Martinez completed the shutout with a perfect bottom of the ninth to earn the save.
Suarez (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Inland Empire despite striking out 10 batters over five innings of work. The left-hander, who retired 11 hitters in a row to end his outing, allowed two hits and two runs (both earned).
Notes
* The Giants out-hit the Sixers 7-4.
* The teams combined for 30 strikeouts. San Jose pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts while Inland Empire hurlers collected 18 punchouts.
* Heyward's third-inning double came in his first at-bat of the season.
* The Giants own a team ERA of 1.80 through the first three games of the year.
* Menez had a 4.41 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) with San Jose last season. He led the Giants staff with seven wins.
* Martinez earned his 22nd career save with San Jose. He led the California League with 21 saves in 2016.
On Deck
The Giants and 66ers conclude their four-game series on Sunday afternoon with first pitch at San Manuel Stadium scheduled for 2:05 PM. Mac Marshall is slated to start on the mound for San Jose while Inland Empire is expected to counter with Connor Riley. The game can be heard live on sjgiants.com with coverage beginning at 1:45 PM.