LAKE ELSINORE, CA - The first two games of a week-long series against San Jose have not exactly gone according to plan for Lake Elsinore. After the Storm lost 9-2 last night, the Giants kept their foot on the gas to extend the run differential to +17 through the first two days with an 11-1 win over Lake Elsinore.
San Jose’s offense got going early. The first three batters in the second inning all reached safely…. Two of them hit home runs. Rod Barajas Jr. led off the frame with a solo shot. Then, Tanner Mally singled to center and Angel Guzman promptly followed with a two-run blast to right. In the blink of an eye, it was 3-0 Giants.
The scoring continued for the next three innings. San Jose added one in the third on an RBI-single from Mally. It nearly scored two, but a perfect relay throw from Storm right fielder Jesmaylin Arias cut down Barajas Jr. at the plate. In the fourth, the Giants tacked on four more. The first came on a run-scoring triple from Josuar Gonzalez. The final three on another home run, this time from Lorenzo Meola. Broedy Poppell doubled in a run in the fifth to cap off the four consecutive scoring innings for San Jose. Yesterday entering the bottom of the fifth, Lake Elsinore trailed 7-0. Today, the Storm trailed 9-0 entering the second half of the contest.
In those five innings, Giants starter Argenis Cayama recorded likely the best appearance of his life. The right-handed pitcher retired the first fourteen batters he faced and completed the fifth after allowing a single to Arias for the Storm’s first baserunner. Cayama set up the Giants in an excellent position to win, and his team came through in the end.
San Jose added the final two to its tally in the seventh on a two-run single from Gonzalez. Lake Elsinore got on the board in the eighth when Arias came around to score on a wild pitch. Other than that, it was a quiet day for the bats. The Storm were limited to just two hits and seven total baserunners; six of which came in the seventh inning or later after it was already 11-0. That marks three consecutive losses for Lake Elsinore dating back to the final game against Inland Empire last series with now four more to play against the Giants.
Lake Elsinore returns to action on Thursday to face San Jose for game three of the six-game set from Diamond Stadium. This is the second series of the year between the Storm and the Giants with San Jose leading Lake Elsinore 5-3. The Storm will send RHP Lan-Hong Su (0-4, 5.75) to the mound to face off against Giants RHP Ben Bybee (2-3, 4.96). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.
About the Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm are the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the California League. For more information on the Storm, visit milb.com/lake-elsinore. For information about tickets to any of Lake Elsinore’s 66 home games, call (951) 245-4487 or email: info@stormbaseball.com.