San Jose Giants at Stockton Ports, July 1-3
July 1, 2009 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... continue their road trip Wednesday evening with the opener of a three-game series against the Stockton Ports at Banner Island Ballpark. San Jose began their trip by taking two out of three games from the Modesto Nuts in a series that concluded last night. The Giants claimed the rubber game yesterday scoring 10 runs over the seventh and eighth innings to post a convincing 13-1 victory. Thomas Neal, Angel Villalona and Brian Bocock each collected three RBI's while San Jose finished the contest with 16 hits overall. David Mixon earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief after San Francisco Giant Joe Martinez tossed 4 1/3 innings with just one run allowed in his second rehabilitation start with San Jose.
San Jose Achieves First 20-Win Month Since 2005... The Giants put the finishing touches on an exceptional June yesterday as the club concluded the month with a spectacular 20-6 record. It marked the first time since May of 2005 that a San Jose team recorded at least 20 wins in a month (22-9). The Giants have won 18 out of their last 22 games dating back to June 5 and did not lose consecutive games at any point during the month. Individually, Thomas Neal hit .414 with nine doubles, two triples, six home runs and 14 RBI's in 22 June games while Buster Posey contributed a .385 batting average and three homers. Additionally, fellow all-star Roger Kieschnick hit nine home runs and had 33 RBI's in 26 games during the month.
Pitching Leaders... The Giants have led the California League in ERA the past five seasons and are once again pacing the league this year with a team mark of 3.36. The San Jose pitching staff has also allowed the fewest hits (637) in the league, issued the least amount of walks (196) while they're tied for first with six shutouts. The Giants boast three of the top six pitchers individually in ERA: Craig Clark (2nd - 3.01), Clayton Tanner (5th - 3.16) and Scott Barnes (T6th - 3.44). San Jose has shown improvement throughout the first three months of the season having posted a 3.81 team ERA in April, a 3.51 ERA in May and a 2.83 earned run average during June.
Kieschnick Earns California League Offensive Player Of The Week Award... Right fielder Roger Kieschnick was named California League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the week ending last Sunday, June 28. In four games last week, Kieschnick collected eight hits in 14 at-bats (.571) with three home runs and nine RBI's. Kieschnick was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate last Friday before enjoying his first multi-hit homer game of the season on Saturday. The first-year player saw his 13-game hitting streak come to an end two nights ago, but he is still third in the league in RBI's (58), fourth in hits (90) and fifth in home runs (15) to go with a .308 batting average. Kieschnick has 27 RBI's in his last 17 games since June 11.
Bullpen Excels... The Giants bullpen owns a sparkling 0.97 ERA (8 ER/74.1 IP) in the last 24 games (19-5 record) beginning with their contest on June 3. The San Jose bullpen allowed 11 runs in their 16-7 loss at Stockton on June 2 before the current run. Dan Runzler boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA (8.0 IP) since joining the club on June 8 from Augusta while fellow left-hander Wilmin Rodriguez has gone 10 straight appearances without allowing a run (10 1/3 IP). Steve Edlefsen has surrendered just two hits and no runs over his last nine innings of relief spanning seven outings and David Mixon has not yielded a run over his last eight appearances (12 1/3 IP). Meanwhile, Daniel Turpen has been impressive all season with a 1.49 ERA in 26 games.
San Jose Wins League Record Fifth Consecutive First Half Title... The Giants won their fifth consecutive first half North Division title last month, despite sitting in sole possession of the top spot for only three out of 74 days (the final three days). San Jose finished the half with a 42-28 record - two games ahead of the Modesto Nuts (40-30) and three games in front of the Visalia Rawhide (39-31). The Giants are the first team in California League history to win five consecutive first half titles. San Jose achieved the new record last year with their fourth straight division crown. By virtue of winning the first half, the Giants reach the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season while they also earn a first round bye. San Jose opens the post-season on Saturday, September 12 at Municipal Stadium with Game One of the best-of-five North Division Series.
Broshuis, Martinez Headed To Fresno... Right-handed pitchers Garrett Broshuis and Joe Martinez were both transferred to Fresno (AAA) today. Broshuis, San Jose's career leader in victories (22), was 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 13 appearances (seven starts) with the Giants this season. Martinez made two rehab starts in San Jose and allowed just two runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings.
Clark To Start Series Opener... Craig Clark is expected to make the start on the mound for the Giants in Wednesday's series opener. Clark is currently tied for second in the California League in ERA (3.01), tied for fourth in wins (7) and seventh in strikeouts (81). He is 6-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last eight appearances and is unbeaten against Stockton this year (2-0, 1.80 ERA) in five outings. Clark set a San Jose Giants record and tied the California League mark when he struck out 10 consecutive hitters in a start versus the Ports on June 1. The 24-year old has dominated left-handed hitting this season (.169 AVG), but has given up 11 home runs overall - tied for fourth-most in the league.
Media Coverage... The entire series from Stockton can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action.
Stockton Ports... The Stockton Ports, an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, enter tonight's match-up with a 28-48 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the second half. Stockton began the half with three straight losses at San Jose before sweeping a three-game set from Lancaster in their most recent series. The Ports have lost their last six games to the Giants overall. Stockton is currently ninth in the league in hitting (.254), sixth in pitching (4.56) and last in fielding (.963).
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California League Stories from July 1, 2009
- Only Standing Room Tickets Available for July 3 Game, Fireworks Extravaganza - Stockton Ports
- Independence Day Celebration Highlights San Jose Giants Homestand Preview: July 4th - 9th - San Jose Giants
- San Jose Giants at Stockton Ports, July 1-3 - San Jose Giants
- Giants Explode In Late Innings To Rout Modesto, 13-1 - San Jose Giants
- Ports Sweep JetHawks with 9-8 Victory - Stockton Ports
- JetHawks Rally Falls Just Short in 9-8 Loss - Lancaster JetHawks
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