Visalia, CA – The Visalia Rawhide (5-17) scored three runs in the ninth inning but fell to the San Jose Giants (15-7) 8-5 on Tuesday afternoon at Valley Strong Ballpark.
In the ninth Kayson Cunningham walked and Jose Mejia later with two outs blasted a two run home run to right field. Pedro Blanco then tripled down the right field line and Jose Alpuria drove him home with a double. A strikeout then ended the rally.
The teams traded runs in the early innings. Alpuria hit an RBI single to open the scoring in the first. San Jose tied the game with a home run in the second and took the lead on an RBI double in the fourth.
Visalia then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on an Enyervert Perez RBI double down the left field line.
The Giants retook the lead using four hits to plate three runs in the sixth inning and extended the lead with another three runs in the ninth courtesy of a hit-by-pitch, single and double to begin the frame.
Jaitoine Kelly was solid in his first start at Valley Strong Ballpark tossing four innings with just two runs allowed and two strikeouts.
Jose Mejia led the Rawhide with three hits and a walk. He now holds a .512 OBP for the season, the best mark in the California League. Alpuria added two hits and Cunningham scored twice with a hit and two walks.
Visalia native and Redwood High School alum Sam Bower earned the win for San Jose tossing 2.1 innings scoreless.
The series continues on Wednesday with the first 200 members of the Rawhide Rustlers’ club at the ballpark receiving Rawhide socks courtesy of Park Visalia. Fans 55 and older can join the Rawhide Rustlers senior club to receive a ticket to every Wednesday game plus giveaways throughout the season.
Great8 Wednesdays also offer $8 tickets to the Kaweah Health Grandstands. Plus fans 21 and older can enjoy $8 cocktails. And all fans can play ballpark bingo on Wednesdays. 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 10 AM on weekday 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.