ONTARIO, CALIF. – One night after an overpowering win against the Giants in game one, 9-2, the Ontario Tower Buzzers got caught in a completely different battle on Wednesday. They lost, 1-0, in a pitcher’s duel that was over before anyone could get too comfortable.
Ontario actually had more hits, seven to San Jose’s four, with three of them being triples. But those hits didn’t add up to a single run. They stranded six runners and went hitless in seven chances with runners in scoring position. All it took was one run, and the Giants stole the win.
Issac Ayon was electric, putting together his best performance yet. He pitched five innings, punched out ten (career high), allowed just one hit, and didn’t walk anybody. The Giants couldn’t solve him at all; retiring nine of the last ten Ayon saw. San Jose only threatened once, right at the beginning, after Cam Maldonado reached on an error and swiped second. But Ayon froze Hayden Jatczak to end that small threat
Ontario, on the other hand, kept knocking on the door but never got an answer. In the bottom of the first, Kellon Lindsey, making his buzzer debut, tripled to right, giving the Buzzers a golden chance right away. But Erik Miller shut it down, striking out Emil Morales and Landyn Vidourek before getting Chase Harlan to fly out.
That became the story of the night: opportunities missed. Easton Shelton tripled in the second, also with two outs. Still, nothing. Over and over, Ontario just couldn’t get that big hit.
That’s when San Jose brought in Jordan Gottesman, and things got tougher. He worked five scoreless innings, scattered four hits, struck out five, and left Ontario empty-handed.
The Giants finally broke through in the sixth, after Ayon was done for the night. Jholbran Herder took over, and Andy Polanco led off with a single. Polanco took matters into his own hands. He stole second, grabbed third on another steal, and then scored on an Isaiah Barkett groundout to make it 1-0 Giants.
Ontario tried to answer in the bottom half. Vidourek singled, but then got picked off in a perfect play by Gottesman, Jatczak, and Meola. Next up, Harlan crushed a triple to center. He tried to score for an inside-the-park homerun, but San Jose nailed the relay and threw him out at the plate. That whole sequence basically swung the game.
The Buzzers still fought back in the seventh. Back-to-back two-out singles from Mairo Martinus and Conner O’Neal gave them hope. Giants pitcher Mauricio Estrella stranded them, getting AJ Soldra to ground out and end the inning.
Ontario’s bullpen locked things down after that. Will Gagnon struck out four in just under two scoreless innings. Mairo Martinus made another key play, throwing out Maldonado at third in the ninth and keeping things close. But Garrett Langrell finished it off for San Jose, notching his sixth save by getting Harlan swinging and then two more easy outs.
Even in a loss, Ontario’s pitching was sharp. They’ve allowed only three runs over the first two games.
Now the Buzzers need their lineup to get consistent as the series rolls on. Game three on May 14th at 6:35 pm.
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Media Contacts:
Adam Serrano
Regional Marketing Director
Diamond Baseball Holdings
Jeff Woolson
Play-by-Play Broadcaster