San Jose Giants Baseball (6/7/10 on Deck): Modesto Nuts at San Jose Giants, June 7-10

Published on June 7, 2010 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release

At Municipal Stadium

Monday, June 7, 7:00 PM

Tuesday, June 8, 7:00 PM

Wednesday, June 9, 7:00 PM

Thursday, June 10, 12:35 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Monday -

Kenny Durst (6-2, 4.50) at Kyle Nicholson (4-3, 6.94)

- Tuesday -

Dan Houston (2-4, 5.76) at Oliver Odle (5-1, 4.06)

- Wednesday -

Juan Nicasio (4-3, 4.48) at Eric Stolp (4-4, 3.38)

- Thursday -

Ethan Hollingsworth (5-4, 3.03) at Eric Surkamp (2-1, 3.51)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS...

begin a seven-game homestand this evening at Municipal Stadium with the first of four straight contests against the Modesto Nuts.

San Jose won three out of four from the host Bakersfield Blaze in their most recent series claming the last three games by the scores of 14-9, 8-2 and 4-1.

In yesterday's contest, the Giants scored four runs in the top of the first inning while Justin Fitzgerald, Brian Anderson and Jason Stoffel combined on a five-hitter to lead San Jose to victory.

Joel Weeks supplied a key two-out, two-run double in the opening frame after RBI singles from Charlie Culberson and Wendell Fairley earlier in the inning.

Fitzgerald improved his record to 5-0 after limiting the Blaze to a single run over 5 1/3 innings while Stoffel was credited with his 11th save of the year.

Media Coverage...

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

San Jose Leads North Division By Six Games; Magic Number At 9...

The Giants (36-21) enter tonight's action with a six-game lead over Modesto (29-26) for the top spot in the first half North Division race.

The six-game margin is San Jose's largest in the standings this season.

The Giants are attempting to win their sixth consecutive first half division title.

Their five straight first half division crowns is a California League record.

Including tonight, there are 13 games remaining in the half for San Jose.

The Giants' magic number (any combination of San Jose wins and Modesto losses) to clinch the division title is nine.

Winning Ways...

The Giants are 20-5 in their last 25 games dating back to the second game of the May 12 doubleheader at Visalia.

San Jose hasn't lost consecutive games since dropping four in a row from May 7-10.

Offensive Surge...

San Jose is hitting .309 as a team and averaging 8.4 runs per game in their last five contests.

Belt, Flores Get Hot Again...

First baseman Brandon Belt has four straight multi-hit games to raise his season batting average to a league-leading .388.

Over his last four games, Belt is 9-for-13 (.692) with four doubles, one home run and seven RBI's.

He also leads the league in doubles (22), on-base percentage (.498) and walks (41).

Infielder Jose Flores is 11-for-23 (.478) with six RBI's in his last five games.

Flores is batting at a .389 clip overall with one homer and 16 RBI's in 27 games with the Giants this season.

Comeback Kids...

San Jose has won eight games this season when trailing after six innings and seven games when trailing after seven innings - both tops in the California League.

The Giants are also tied with Stockton for the most wins when trailing after eight innings (three).

By contrast, San Jose has lost only one game this season when leading after seven innings (26-1) - the fewest defeats in the California League.

Culberson Excels Against Modesto Pitching...

Second baseman Charlie Culberson is batting .395 (17-for-43) with four doubles, two home runs and five RBI's in 11 games against Modesto this season.

The former supplemental first round draft pick brings a season-high seven-game hitting streak into tonight's contest.

During the streak, Culberson is batting at a .385 (10-for-26) clip.

Giants Boast Two Of Top Three In ERA...

Two Giants pitchers are currently among the top three in the California League in ERA.

Craig Westcott owns the lowest earned run average in the league (1.38) while Justin Fitzgerald is third (2.09).

Stolen Base Threats...

The Giants are second in the California League with 98 stolen bases through the first 57 games this season.

Five players have already reached double-digits in steals: Francisco Peguero (19), Ehire Adrianza (14), Brandon Belt (12), Juan Perez (10) and James Simmons (10).

Giants In The Cal League Rankings...

Entering tonight, San Jose is second in the league in batting average (.284), third in runs scored (5.2), fourth in home runs (36) and second in stolen bases (98).

On the mound, their 3.85 ERA is second in the league while their 171 walks is third-fewest.

Defensively, the Giants are fourth in fielding percentage (.974), first in double plays (63) and third in caught stealing efficiency (35.6%).

Modesto Nuts...

The Modesto Nuts, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, enter tonight's action in second place in the North Division with a 29-26 record - six games out of the top spot.

Modesto is currently tied for fourth in the California League in batting average (.278), fifth in runs scored (5.0), seventh in ERA (4.60) and sixth in fielding percentage (.971).

Modesto is 16-9 on the road, but only 13-17 at home.

Catcher Jordan Pacheco (.351, 5th) and infielder Jimmy Cesario (.350, 6th) both rank among the league leaders in batting average.

Left-hander Kenny Durst is slated to make the start on the mound tonight for the Nuts.

Durst is 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 starts this season.

Against the Giants, he's 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA (6 ER/7.1 IP) over two appearances.

Joe Ritzo

Director of Broadcasting

San Jose Giants Baseball Club

2009 California League Champions

588 East Alma Ave. San Jose, CA 95112

Phone: (408) 297-1435 ext. 44

Email: joeritzo@sjgiants.com

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On Deck for the San Jose Giants June 7-10

Modesto Nuts (29-26) at San Jose Giants (36-21)