BASEBALL NOTES: Black back in majors

Mason Black made his return to the major leagues Friday night.

Called up by the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, the Valley View graduate appeared in an 11-2 loss to the Athletics. It was his first game in the majors since last season at Arizona on Sept. 25.

Black entered the game in the fourth inning in relief of starter Justin Verlander and the score 6-0. He pitched four innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Two of the hits he allowed were home runs. He threw 74 pitches, 53 for strikes.

In 15 games (14 starts) at Triple-A with the Sacramento River Cats, Black was 1-5 with a 4.75 earned-run average. However, he ranks fifth in the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (72.0) and tied for sixth in strikeouts (70). Opponents are batting a league-low .206 against him.

Last season with the Giants, Black was 1-5 with a 6.44 ERA and 31 strikeouts in nine games (eight starts) and 36.1 innings. He is the Giants’ No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Game winners

Another Valley View grad, Ryan Cesarini, came through for the Lynchburg Hillcats on Friday night. His second hit of the game, a two-run single, capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth that gave Lynchburg a 4-3 victory over the Salem Red Sox.

Cesarini leads the Hillcats — Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians — with 36 RBIs. He is batting .229 (46 for 201) with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 27 stolen bases in 62 games.

• On Thursday, Lakeland graduate Adam Retzbach hit a three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to break a tie and give the Chesapeake Baysox a 5-4 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

It was Retzbach’s seventh home run of the season in 66 games, matching the total he had last season in 82 games at Single-A with the Aberdeen Ironbirds. He is batting .246 (49 for 199) this season for the Baltimore Orioles’ Double-A affiliate with 12 doubles, one triple and 30 RBIs.