Giants again dash Storm's title dreams
By: ED WEHDE - Staff Writer
Story on the Storm-Giants gamer | ∞
SAN JOSE -- For the second time in three years, the Storm had the unenviable task of watching San Jose celebrate a California League championship after a title that seemed within their grasp slipped through their fingers.
After Lake Elsinore won the first two games of the championship series at The Diamond and San Jose won the next two at San Jose Municipal Stadium, the Giants completed their turnaround of the series by holding the Storm to one run on two hits in a 7-1 win over the Storm in the deciding Game 5 in San Jose on Monday.
"We had a lot of anxious moments, but I can't say enough about the way the kids played," Giants manager Lenn Sakata said. "We pitched well, we got timely hitting and we played good defense. We had all the ingredients it takes to win.
"That's all it was. The kids wanted to win."
The win gives San Jose its ninth title and fourth since becoming affiliated with the Giants in 1988. Their last championship came in 2005 when they beat the Storm in eerily similar circumstances, losing the first two at The Diamond and rallying for three straight wins at home.
"It's tough," Storm manager Carlos Lezcano said. "We were so close, but we couldn't get that last victory. They got the job done. We got them twice at home with a couple of big innings, but we couldn't score any runs here."
In the three championship series games in San Jose this week, Lake Elsinore managed just 11 hits and two runs.
San Jose starter Henry Sosa, who was pitching for the first time in two weeks, gave up one run on just two hits -- both to Josh Alley -- and a walk while striking out three in four innings.
Adam Cowart, a side-arming right-hander who started and took the loss in Game 2, followed Sosa with three perfect innings in which he struck out four. Jason Waddell and Sergio Romo each pitched a 1-2-3 inning as the Giants retired the final 19 Storm batters in order.
"Their pitching did an outstanding job," Lezcano said. "I don't think Visalia scored any runs in two games here (in the North Division finals). Their pitching won the championship. When you pitch like that, it's tough to lose."
The bottom third of the Giants' order did most of the offensive damage Monday.
Number-eight hitter Mike Mooney singled and scored in the third. And number-seven hitter Anthony Contreras and Mooney each singled with two outs in the fourth and trotted home when number-nine hitter Brian Bocock blasted the first pitch he saw from Richie Daigle well over the left-field fence for a three-run homer and a 5-1 San Jose lead. The home run ended Daigle's night.
The right-handed starter gave up five runs, all earned, on seven hits while striking out three in 3 2/3 innings.
Travis Ishikawa put the icing on the cake with a two-run homer off Ernesto Frieri in the eighth.
Alley put the Storm ahead leading off the game, belting a 3-2 pitch from Sosa over the over the right-field wall. Mark Minicozzi, who was voted MVP of the series, drew the Giants even when he drove Daigle's first pitch of the second inning over the right-center field fence just to the left of the scoreboard.
Et cetera
Alley hit safely in all 12 playoff games this season. ... After injuring an oblique muscle in Game 2, San Jose INF Travis Denker was assigned to the Giants Low-A team in Augusta (Ga.) -- which is not involved in the playoffs -- but Monday he was reassigned to San Jose and hit third and played second base. ... San Jose LF Fred Lewis, who left Sunday's game after being hit in the foot with a Corey Kluber pitch, was in the original lineup as DH on Monday, but was a late scratch. ... The Storm lost their final nine games in San Jose this season.
-- Staff writer Ed Wehde can be reached at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2633 or ewehde@californian.com.
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