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| Highlights Of A Championship Season |
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10/9/2007
Joe Ritzo And Rocky Koplik Bring You The Top Moments From The 2007 Season
Tyler Von Schell was a key contributor for the Giants
on their way to the First Half North Division title
(photo by Damon Tarver) |
Here’s your chance to experience the top moments from the 2007 San Jose Giants Championship season all over again with exciting radio calls from both the regular season and the playoffs. The Giants won their second California League title in the last three years after a dramatic comeback against the Lake Elsinore Storm in the Championship Series. Here are all of the top home runs, clutch hits, and strikeouts from the 2007 championship journey.
FIRST HALF
The Giants opened the season in style with a four-game sweep at division rival Stockton. It was the first four-game sweep in Stockton for San Jose in the 20-year history of the franchise. Up next was a three-game set against another division rival, the Modesto Nuts. The Giants continued their winning ways in the first game with a dramatic 7-6, 12-inning victory. The next night, San Jose held off a Modesto ninth-inning rally when left fielder Ben Copeland threw out Cole Garner at the plate to end the game and send the Giants to a 6-5 win. The victory was San Jose’s sixth in a row to begin 2007.
With a 6-1 record, the Giants opened their home schedule on April 12. On a fireworks night at Municipal Stadium, a crowd of 3,333 witnessed Barry Gunther driving home the winning run with a 16th inning double. The final game time registered four hours and 26 minutes in what proved to be the longest contest of the season.
San Jose enjoyed a successful first homestand and boasted a league-best 14-3 record heading into their April 23 contest at Rancho Cucamonga. A late Quakes rally though on that night coupled with an injury sustained to Copeland (that would knock him out of action for five weeks) sent the Giants into a mini-tailspin. San Jose was then swept at Lancaster, the eventual South Division First Half champion, before returning home. And an extended stay at Municipal Stadium was just what the Giants needed as Anthony Contreras kicked off the homestand with a game-winning single in the bottom of the 11th inning to defeat the High Desert Mavericks.
After a record-setting 17-8 mark during the month of April, San Jose continued their winning ways in May. Series wins over Stockton, Bakersfield, and Lancaster highlighted the first half of the month. On May 11, the Giants defeated the JetHawks 4-1 in front of 4,827 fans at Municipal Stadium – the largest home crowd of the season.
San Jose started a road trip on May 18 with an exciting game at High Desert. The Giants rallied with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the score before Will Thompson delivered a clutch two-run single in the top of tenth propelling San Jose to victory. Later in the road trip, Mike Mooney supplied a memorable moment when he blasted a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning to break a 2-2 tie against Modesto.
The Giants suffered their first home series loss of the year over Memorial Day Weekend when Stockton took two-of-three at Municipal Stadium. But San Jose bounced back with Bakersfield in town as Tyler Von Schell led a spirited 13-run output with a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was the Giants’ only grand slam of the year at Municipal Stadium.
Brian Bocock came through with a number of clutch
hits in the regular season and the playoffs
(photo by Damon Tarver) |
San Jose maintained their lead in the First Half race after a series win against the Blaze before taking two-of-three at Visalia during the first week of June. Then came a weekend to forget as the Giants were swept in a four-game series at Lake Elsinore. One of the contests was played at Petco Park (the home of the major league San Diego Padres), but saw San Jose suffer perhaps their most gut-wrenching loss of the regular season. The Giants were one out away from a victory in the ninth and tenth innings only to see the Storm rally before ultimately winning in the bottom of the 12th.
San Jose returned home for the final week of the First Half with just a one-game lead in the standings. The Giants won two of the first three games in their series against Visalia before a dramatic final contest. San Jose trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth before Brian Bocock and Copeland came through with back-to-back, two-out RBI singles to push the Giants in front, 3-2. All-Star closer Taylor Wilding then worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the ninth to preserve the victory.
The next night, Modesto was in town and it was again a late-inning San Jose rally that led the home team to a win. Down 3-1 and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants mounted a rally that sent the fans at Municipal Stadium into a frenzy. The game-winning hit came off the bat of Von Schell as the slugging first baseman belted a two-run double into the left center field gap to clinch the North Division First Half title for San Jose. The Giants (39-31) went wire-to-wire to claim the division crown and earn a berth in the postseason.
SECOND HALF
San Jose opened the Second Half just as they did in the First Half with a road sweep. This time, it was the Giants taking three straight at Bakersfield before splitting a four-game series at Inland Empire. On the next homestand, San Jose welcomed big crowds to Municipal Stadium as part of the Fourth of July celebration. On July 3rd, in front of a capacity crowd of 4,404, Adam Witter crushed a key three-run homer to propel the Giants to a 9-3 win over Lake Elsinore. The victory gave San Jose a series win as they exacted some revenge after losing four straight to the Storm near the end of the First Half weeks earlier.
The Giants then endured a tough road trip managing just one victory in six games against division rivals Modesto and Visalia. Back at home though, San Jose took care of the Nuts before an exciting series versus Inland Empire. After losing the first game, the Giants responded with a dominant 14-2 win. Then in the rubber contest, Travis Ishikawa singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th as San Jose remained tops in the league in extra inning affairs.
After a .500 road trip against Visalia and Stockton, the Giants returned home for an important week against a pair of playoff-caliber opponents. First, San Jose won two-of-three over the Oaks that included consecutive double-digit strikeout performances from Joe Martinez and Ronnie Ray. Then against the Storm, the Giants posted an eye-catching four-game sweep extending their winning streak to six against the South Division power. In the third game of the series, Sergio Romo pitched through a leadoff triple in the ninth inning to lead San Jose to a 2-1 victory.
Two nights later, the Giants broke out offensively in their series-opener at High Desert. With the score tied 5-5, San Jose erupted for 12 runs in the top of the seventh inning. A home run from Ishikawa started the rally before Contreras capped the scoring with an RBI single. The final score registered 18-5 – the most runs scored in a game for the Giants this season. San Jose ended the month of July with nine wins over their last ten games moving the club into contention for the North Division Second Half title.
Later in the road trip, a San Jose Giant made history when Witter blasted three home runs in a 5-1 victory over Bakersfield. Witter became the first player in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game. The series and road trip concluded with an exciting 14-inning victory over the Blaze.
Travis Ishikawa hit a walkoff home run in the tenth
inning to defeat Rancho Cucamonga on August 26
(photo by Damon Tarver) |
Then came the slump. San Jose went through a 2 1/2 week period in August where wins were at a premium. The Giants went just 4-14 over an 18-game stretch that included getting swept at home for the first time in over two years when Stockton handed San Jose three straight defeats at Municipal Stadium. The struggles sent the Giants to below .500 in the Second Half while knocking the club out of the race for the top overall record in the Division, let alone the Second Half crown.
San Jose then turned their attention to finishing the regular season on a high note with the playoffs approaching. On August 26 in the final game of a homestand, the Giants received a hit from Ishikawa that got them out of their slump. With the game against Rancho Cucamonga scoreless in the bottom of the tenth, Ishikawa stepped to the plate and belted a walk-off two-run homer for a 2-0 victory.
The next game, San Jose received a major boost to their roster with the addition of second baseman Travis Denker, who was acquired via trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers just days prior. Denker, who had been playing for Inland Empire, made an immediate contribution when he blasted a grand slam at Lancaster in his first game with San Jose to help the club to a victory.
Over Labor Day weekend, the Giants managed three wins in four games versus Bakersfield to carry some positive momentum into the postseason. Their final regular season win of the year came on September 2 when a Blaze throwing error on the infield sent San Jose to a 7-6, ten-inning victory.
POSTSEASON
By virtue of winning the First Half, the Giants earned a bye through to the North Division Series. The opponent was Visalia – the Second Half champions in the North Division. Game One of the best-of-five series saw Denker continue his hot hitting when he crushed a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to get San Jose on the scoreboard. And the round-tripper would prove to be the only run of the evening as Paul Oseguera and three relievers combined on a shutout in the 1-0 win.
The next night, Denker again homered while newcomer Adam Cowart, just added to the roster from Augusta (Low-A), worked eight scoreless innings on the mound. The end result was another San Jose shutout as the Giants won 5-0 to take a commanding lead in the series.
Visalia returned home for Game Three and posted a 6-3 win to keep their hopes alive for one more day. But in Game Four, San Jose used the long ball to defeat the Oaks, 7-5, and advance to the Championship Series. Pablo Sandoval hammered a key two-run homer in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie. Then later in the frame, Fred Lewis, a 2004 San Jose Giant who was on a rehab assignment, clubbed his second home run of the contest to cap the scoring.
The Championship Series featured the Giants going up against Lake Elsinore – a rematch of the ’05 finale that saw San Jose win in five games. This year, much like in ’05, the Storm won the first two games at their home ballpark. In Game One, the Giants were unable to hold an early 6-0 lead as Lake Elsinore rallied for a 7-6 win. The following night, the Storm held off San Jose en route to a 3-2 victory putting the Giants on the brink of elimination.
San Jose needed three straight wins at Municipal Stadium to claim the title and they got off on the right foot with a 2-0 victory in Game Three. Contreras, who hit just one home run during the entire regular season, supplied a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth inning. Joe Martinez fired six scoreless innings to begin the contest for the Giants.
In Game Four, San Jose used a five-run bottom of the second inning to take early control. Sandoval opened the scoring with an opposite field, three-run home run down the right field line. Later in the inning, Kyle Haines hammered a double to deep left field plating two more runs for a 5-0 Giants lead. Ray was stellar in long relief with four scoreless innings including six strikeouts as San Jose rolled to a 7-1 victory.
The deciding fifth game of the Championship Series was played in front of a large and energetic crowd at Municipal Stadium. The game didn’t start as planned for the home team when Storm leadoff hitter Josh Alley began the contest with a home run off Henry Sosa. But San Jose answered in the bottom of the second inning as Mark Minicozzi connected for a solo home run to right center field.
Sergio Romo was on the mound for the final out of the
Championship Series against Lake Elsinore
(photo by Damon Tarver) |
Haines put the Giants in front for good with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. Then in the fourth, Bocock crushed a two-out, three-run homer to extend the San Jose lead to 5-1.
Ishikawa provided the exclamation point with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 7-1 advantage.
On the mound, Sosa threw well firing four quality innings with just one run and two hits allowed. Cowart, working on short rest, earned the victory with three perfect innings of long relief. Jason Waddell threw a scoreless top of the eighth before Romo closed the game with a perfect ninth. All total, Giants pitchers retired the final 19 Lake Elsinore hitters that came to the plate.
Romo put the finishing touches on the 7-1 victory with a three-pitch strikeout of Sean Kazmar to set off the championship celebration.
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