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| Giants Swept At Home For First Time Since 2005 |
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By Joe Ritzo 8/9/2007
Stockton Completes Three-Game Sweep With 6-2 Victory
Pablo Sandoval (2-for-3, 2B) was the
only Giants player to finish with more
than one hit in Thursday's 6-2 loss
(photo by Barry Colla) |
The San Jose Giants were swept at home for the first time in over two years after falling to the Stockton Ports by a 6-2 score on Thursday night. In front of 2,888 fans at Municipal Stadium, Ports starting pitcher Luis Ramirez fired six scoreless innings with a season-high nine strikeouts to record the win on the mound. Stockton used a balanced 14-hit offensive attack and never trailed Thursday in posting the three-game sweep. With the loss, San Jose falls to 25-22 in the Second Half, but remains four games behind first-place Modesto (29-18).
The Giants mustered six hits giving them a total of just 11 in the series. San Jose never had a lead during the entire three-game set.
The Giants were last swept at home July 1-3, 2005 when they dropped three straight games to the Modesto Nuts.
Henry Sosa (5-2) saw his five-game winning streak come to an end as he took the loss after surrendering four runs (two earned) on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out four.
Stockton scored all of their runs early in the contest with three in the second, one in the third, and two runs in the top of fourth. In the second, Tommy Everidge led off by reaching on a fielding error committed by first baseman Travis Ishikawa. Chad Boyd followed with a single before Steve Kleen also singled to plate Everidge with the first run of the evening.
After Raul Padron struck out, Michael Affronti singled sharply into center field scoring Boyd with the second run of the frame. Then with two outs, Frank Martinez singled to score Kleen for a 3-0 Ports lead.
Stockton knocked Sosa out of the game in the top of the third when Jose Pineda led off with a single before Boyd connected for a one-out double to put runners on second and third. Darren Sack relieved Sosa and induced the next hitter, Kleen, to ground into a fielder’s choice. The play though did score Pineda from third base extending the Ports lead to 4-0.
Stockton took advantage of a fly ball lost in the lights to score two runs in the top of the fourth. Still facing Sack, Affronti led off with a single before Justin Sellers lofted a high fly ball to deep center field. Center fielder Ben Copeland though was unable to locate the baseball as it dropped in behind him for an RBI double. Sellers later scored on Pineda’s two-out double into the right-center field gap.
San Jose broke up the shutout in the bottom of the seventh when Mike Mooney led off with a single, advanced to second on Kyle Haines’ walk, stole third base, and scored on Brian Bocock’s sacrifice fly.
In the eighth, Ben Copeland led off with a double and eventually scored on Eddy Martinez-Esteve’s ground out to shortstop.
Pablo Sandoval (2-for-3, 2B) was the only Giants player to finish with more than one hit.
Notes: The Giants went just 4-9 at home against the Ports this season … They are 7-3 at Banner Island Ballpark … San Jose was 8-1 in their previous nine home games before this series … Sosa’s two losses have come to Stockton … Sack (3 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO), Ben Cox (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO), and Sergio Romo (1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) all pitched out of the Giants bullpen … Antoan Richardson (ankle sprain) missed his fourth straight game … Stockton outscored San Jose 17-4 in the series.
On Deck: The Giants continue their homestand with the opener of a three-game series against the Bakersfield Blaze on Friday night. First pitch at Municipal Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. with a spectacular fireworks slated for after the game. Joe Martinez (9-8, 4.23 ERA) is expected to start on the mound for San Jose while the Blaze will counter with Michael Ballard (2-2, 5.24 ERA). Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling (408)297-1435 or by visiting www.sjgiants.com.
Click here to view Box Score
Click here to view Game Log
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