Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

It's no contest; San Jose shells Nuts

One of the ongoing promotions at John Thurman Field calls for fans to receive a coupon for a free fast food taco when the Modesto Nuts score 10 or more runs in a game.

When the other team reaches double-digits, fans don't get even an empty shell.

The San Jose Giants, in their final Modesto visit of the regular season, turned the home team into a messy plate of nachos in a 13-1 chopping of the Nuts.

San Francisco Giants' pitcher Joe Martinez, making his second rehabilitation start for San Jose, allowed one run on two hits in 4 1/3 innings on the mound. He retired the first nine batters he faced and left after throwing 64 pitches.

The Nuts scored after Martinez exited in the fifth. Charlie Blackmon led off the fifth with a single and scored when Warren Schaeffer lined a two-out single off reliever David Mixon.

Martinez was matched nearly pitch-for-pitch by Modesto righty Ethan Hollingsworth, who was making his first start for the Nuts since being promoted from low-A Asheville.

Hollingsworth, a fourth-round draft pick of Colorado in the 2008 draft, breezed through five of his first six innings.

He gave up three runs on four hits in the third, but trailed only 3-1 heading into the seventh.

That's when things got ugly for the home team. Hollingsworth was pulled when the Giants scored a run in the seventh on a third-strike wild pitch and two singles.

Carlos Luna entered to slow down the rally, but San Jose pegged Luna for five more hits in the inning to complete a seven-run uprising.

The game was lost at that point, and in the end Hollingsworth was charged with six earned runs in his California League debut, but Nuts manager Jerry Weinstein liked what he saw in his first peek at the right-hander.

"That was a very positive outing from him," Weinstein said. "That seventh inning started with a wild pitch, really an uncatchable ball, and changed the complexion of the game. I was very impressed with him tonight."

San Jose added three more in the eighth as Darren Ford, Thomas Neal and Angel Villalona all completed three-hit efforts. The Giants pounded Nuts' pitching for 16 hits, a season-high for a nine-inning game, while the 13 runs allowed also was a low-water mark for the Nuts' staff.

"For 6 1/3, they weren't the 1927 Yankees," Weinstein said. "And Luna, after that, served up a lot of hittable pitches." Hittable pitches, yes, but for the home crowd of 1,782, no edible tacos.

NOTES: Former Modesto pitcher Brandon Hynick threw a seven-inning perfect game in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday night as Colorado Springs beat Portland 2-0...Former Modesto A's pitcher Justin Lehr, now with Triple-A Louisville, is tied for the minor league lead with 12 victories...San Francisco catching prospect Buster Posey sat out this series after being beaned in a game over the weekend...Tickets remain for Modesto's only fireworks show, which follow Friday night's game against Bakersfield at John Thurman Field.

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com or 578-2300.