The San Jose Giants are the hottest team in the California League and they used both power and strong pitching to down Lancaster 3-1 Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. The Giants (44-48 overall, 14-8 in the second half) got first-inning homers from Angel Villalona and Tyler Horan to jump out to a 3-0 lead and starter Jason Forjet went six shutout innings to pick up the win.
The Giants have now won 10 of their last 11 and are approaching the .500 mark overall after a disastrous start to the season.
Forjet’s final line: W (3-2), 6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K’s. A trio of relievers went an inning apiece to finish the game, allowing just a Chase McDonald home run in the eighth to dent the scoreboard. Christian Jones, Dan Slania and Jake Smith combined to allow just three hits while striking out six with no walks over the final three frames.
Horan has homered in three straight games and is hitting .355 (11-for-31) over his last 10 games. He has raised his batting average from .208 to .233 in that time while taking over the team lead in homers with 10.
SATURDAY SCOREBOARD
MODESTO 5, LAKE ELSINORE 3
Antonio Senzatela (Rockies #11 prospect) goes eight innings for the win (6-5). Dillon Thomas with three hits, including his 6th homer. SHOCK: Raimel Tapia went hitless in four ABs. End of 10-game hitting streak that featured six multi-hit games.
VISALIA 3, RANCHO CUCAMONGA 1
Anthony Banda (8-6) strikes out seven over eight shutout innings. Gerson Montilla with two hits and an RBI, extends hitting streak to six games.
STOCKTON 4, BAKERSFIELD 3 (14th innings)
B.J. Boyd hits walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning. Pinch runner Michael Soto scores from second after walk, passed ball.
INLAND EMPIRE at HIGH DESERT – PPD, RAIN
