CalL1 San Jose Giants

Modesto Nuts at San Jose Giants, June 12-14

Published on June 12, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Modesto Nuts (36-24) at San Jose Giants (34-26)

At Municipal Stadium

- Friday, June 12th at 7:00 PM

- Saturday, June 13th at 6:00 PM

- Sunday, June 14th at 2:00 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Friday - Connor Graham (3-2, 3.08) at Clayton Tanner (4-1, 3.02)

- Saturday - Kenny Durst (2-3, 4.70) at Craig Clark (5-2, 3.21)

- Sunday - Bruce Billings (5-5, 4.03) at Oliver Odle (2-6, 5.86)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... return home Friday evening to begin a three-game series against the Modesto Nuts at Municipal Stadium. San Jose completed a stretch of seven consecutive games versus the Bakersfield Blaze last night with a 12-2 victory. Tyler Graham, Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick each blasted home runs while the Giants finished the contest with 16 hits. Scott Barnes was credited with the win on the mound after limiting the Blaze to two runs on three hits over a season-high seven innings. The Giants won two out of three games in the series at Sam Lynn Ballpark after claiming three out of four from Bakersfield at Municipal Stadium last week.

San Jose Looks To Make Late Push In Division Race During Homestand... The Giants are attempting to make a late push toward the first half North Division title as they enter Friday's contest with a 34-26 overall record - three games behind the Visalia Rawhide (37-23) for the top spot in the division. San Jose also trails the Modesto Nuts (36-24) by two games for second place. Tonight marks the beginning of a critical six-game homestand for the Giants against the two frontrunners. After the current series versus the Nuts, the Rawhide make their first trip to Municipal Stadium for a three-game set beginning on Monday night. San Jose set a California League record last year by winning their fourth consecutive first half title. Only 10 games remain in the first half for the Giants.

Winning Ways... The Giants have won five out of their last six games having outscored the opposition by a 43-20 margin during the span. San Jose is coming off of back-to-back double-digit run outputs for the first time this season scoring 10-5 and 12-2 victories over Bakersfield during the last two nights.

Graham Making Immediate Impact... Outfielder Tyler Graham has made an immediate impact with the Giants since joining the club from Fresno (AAA) on June 2. In nine games, Graham is batting at a .366 clip with four home runs, nine RBI's and 10 runs scored. He's also stolen a remarkable 10 bases in 10 attempts to lead the team in that category. Graham, who hit only two home runs in 84 games all of last season with San Jose, has smacked four homers in his last five games.

Balanced Team Effort... The Giants are currently third in the California League in batting average (.277), second in runs scored (5.3 per game), third in ERA (3.71) and first in fielding percentage (.977).

Three Giants Selected To All-Star Game... Three San Jose Giants players have been named to the California League All-Star Team and will participate in a game versus the Carolina League All-Stars on June 23rd at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore. Catcher Buster Posey and outfielder Thomas Neal have both been selected as starters while outfielder Roger Kieschnick was chosen as a reserve in the all-star contest. Posey is tied for third in the league in RBI's (44) and tied for fifth in home runs (10) in addition to battling at a .310 clip while he's also thrown out 46.9% of attempted base stealers. Neal leads all California League outfielders in hitting (.332) and is ranked among the top 10 in home runs (T5th), batting average (6th), on-base percentage (6th), slugging percentage (6th) and doubles (T7th). Kieschnick, who has homered in his last two games, is currently batting .301 with nine homers, four triples and 34 RBI's. High Desert (4) is the only team that boasts more All-Star starters than the Giants while just the Lake Elsinore Storm (5) and Mavericks (4) feature more players overall.

Starting Slow In A Series... The Giants have lost five consecutive series openers with their last victory coming on May 19 against the visiting Inland Empire 66ers. San Jose has also dropped eight out of their last nine opening games to series' dating back to May 8.

Bullpen Excels... Since a 16-7 blowout loss to the Stockton Ports on June 2 that saw the Giants bullpen combine to allow 11 runs, San Jose relievers have posted a stellar 1.32 ERA (4 ER/27.1 IP) over the last eight games. Right-handers Daniel Turpen (3-1, 1.23 ERA, 3 SV) and Steve Edlefsen (0-1, 1.59 ERA, 4 SV) have played leading roles in the late innings throughout most of the season while left-hander Wilmin Rodriguez (1-0, 2.84 ERA, 1 SV) has not allowed an earned run in six straight appearances. Meanwhile, the Giants also added lefty Dan Runzler (0.68 ERA, 11 SV) to their bullpen from Augusta (Low-A) four days ago.

Media Coverage... The entire series can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo and Rocky Koplik calling all of the action.

Modesto Nuts... The Modesto Nuts, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, enter tonight's match-up in second place in the North Division with a 36-24 record - one game behind Visalia. Modesto has won three games in a row and seven out of their last nine. The Nuts are currently first in the California League in ERA (3.44), but eighth in batting average (.258) and last in home runs (24). Over half of Modesto's wins this year have come in one-run games (19-9). Right-hander Connor Graham is slated to start on the mound in Friday's series opener. Graham is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two starts versus the Giants.

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California League Stories from June 12, 2009


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