Former Pirates Lead Giants To California League Championship
September 21, 2007 | Baseball
Sept. 21, 2007
By Ryan McConnell/MLB.com
The San Jose Giants used brilliant pitching and a three-run homer by Brian Bocock to capture the California League championship with a 7-1 victory over the visiting Lake Elsinore Storm on Monday.
Four Giant hurlers combined on a two-hitter and set down the final 19 batters. Reliever Adam Cowart (2-1) tossed three perfect innings, striking out four, for the win. Jason Waddell fanned two in a flawless eighth inning before Sergio Romo struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth.
San Jose starter Henry Sosa, making his first appearance since Sept. 3, surrendered one run on two hits, striking out three and walking one in four frames.
Bocock's two-out blast gave San Jose (3-2) a 5-1 lead in the fourth. The light-hitting shortstop entered the contest in a 2-for-19 postseason slide after batting .220 with four home runs in 87 regular-season games with San Jose.
Mark Minicozzi continued his sizzling hitting with a game-tying solo homer in the second. The 24-year-old third baseman hit .437 (14-for-32) in the playoffs, including 10-for-18 in the series, en route to being named Finals MVP. Kyle Haines chopped a go-ahead RBI single in the third, and Travis Ishikawa tacked on a two-run homer in the eighth.
The win sealed a dramatic comeback for San Jose, which dropped the first two games of the series before sweeping the final three at Municipal Stadium to clinch its fourth title as a San Francisco Giants affiliate. It was the second time in three years that San Jose has bounced back from a two-game deficit to the Storm before winning the championship at home. The teams also shared the league title in 2001.
Storm starter Richie Daigle (2-1) surrendered five runs on seven hits while striking out three without a walk in 3 2/3 innings.
Josh Alley led off the game with a homer for Lake Elsinore (2-3). The 24-year-old center fielder also singled in the third for the Storm's only other hit.
