Visalia, CA – Junior Ciprian tossed five excellent innings and Raul Garayzar pitched four shutout innings as the Visalia Rawhide (7-18) defeated the San Jose Giants (16-9) by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at Valley Strong Ballpark in front of a soldout crowd of 2,468 fans.
Ciprian continued a strong start to the season with three in-order innings as part of a five inning start. He allowed just two hits and one run with two strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
The right hander from the Dominican Republic now holds a 2.14 ERA in five starts- the best of any qualified pitcher in the California League.
Raul Garayzar entered in the sixth and tossed four shutout innings for the save. He allowed just three baserunners and no walks while tallying four strikeouts. The Arizona native has not allowed a run in four straight appearances over 8.2 innings.
San Jose scored first with a run in the top of the second. Visalia answered with two in the bottom of the frame.
Jose Mejia led off with a walk. Pedro Catuy then doubled to the left field gap to score Mejia. Jose Alpuria drove in Catuy with an RBI single to give Visalia a 2-1 lead.
The Rawhide added to the lead in the eighth. Enyervert Perez led off with a single and Abdias De La Cruz then banged an RBI triple to the centerfield wall.
Catuy finished with two hits and Mejia reached twice on two walks to improve his California League best .511 OBP.
Visalia evens the week’s series at two games apiece heading into game five on Saturday night.
Saturday’s game at Valley Strong Ballpark is highlighted by a Dave Flemming bobblehead giveaway for the first 500 fans thanks to Toyota. Flemming was the Assistant General Manager and Voice of the Visalia Oaks in 2000 and is now one of the TV and radio broadcasters for the San Francisco Giants.
The Rawhide will again transform into the Central Valley Sir Loins on Saturday and fans can enjoy a drink special of two beers for just $25. The game will be followed by postgame fireworks thanks to Spirit Radio.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM with gates opening for season ticket holders at 5:15 PM and the general public at 5:30 PM.
Rawhide tickets are available through the team’s website and at the stadium box office presented by Kaweah Health starting at Noon on weekend gamedays.
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The Visalia Rawhide are the Single-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks playing professional baseball in the Central Valley since 1946. The Rawhide's 2026 theme is "Savor the Season" as the team transforms into the Central Valley Sir Loins on Saturday gamedays.
Stay up to date with the Rawhide on the team’s website and by following the Rawhide on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and X. The Rawhide play all home games at Valley Strong Ballpark located at 300 N Giddings Street Visalia, CA 93291.
Fans can purchase season ticket packages, group ticket plans, single game tickets and team merchandise through the Rawhide website and at the stadium ticket office sponsored by Kaweah Health. All Rawhide games can be watched on MLB.TV and the Bally Sports Live App with a free radio broadcast also available online. Select home games will be aired on KNXT MyTV53. For more information, visit milb.com/visalia, email info@rawhidebaseball.com or call (559) 732-4433.