Streaking Giants Begin Road Trip at High Desert
May 27, 2015 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
At Heritage Field (Adelanto, CA) * Wednesday, May 27, 6:35 PM * Thursday, May 28, 6:35 PM * Friday, May 29, 6:35 PM
Records San Jose: 19-26 High Desert: 24-20
Probable Starting Pitchers Wednesday San Jose - Keury Mella (2-1, 3.06) High Desert - David Ledbetter (0-4, 7.24)
Thursday San Jose - D.J. Snelten (0-4, 4.59) High Desert - TBA
Friday San Jose - Martin Agosta (1-2, 4.35) High Desert - Trey Lambert (1-0, 0.00)
Broadcast Information The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action. Radio broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to first pitch with The Giants Pregame Show. All 140 games this season will be aired on the club's official website and the San Jose Giants Mobile App.
Giants Begin Three-Game Series At High Desert Tonight The San Jose Giants begin a seven-game road trip this evening with the first of three straight contests against the High Desert Mavericks at Heritage Field. Keury Mella (2-1, 3.06) is slated to start on the mound for the Giants tonight. After the current series versus the Mavericks, San Jose continues their road trip with a four-game set at Inland Empire beginning on Saturday.
Seven-Game Winning Streak The Giants enter this evening's contest riding a season-high seven-game winning streak. During the streak, San Jose is batting .306 as a team and averaging 5.3 runs per game while the pitching staff has posted a sparkling 2.11 ERA and thrown two shutouts. Prior to the win streak, the Giants hadn't won more than three games in a row this year and were a season-high 14 games under .500 overall (12-26).
Perfect Homestand The Giants completed a 7-0 homestand last Monday with a victory over Rancho Cucamonga. San Jose swept a three-game set from Modesto to begin the homestand before taking four straight games from the South Division-leading Quakes over Memorial Day weekend. It was the first time a San Jose team posted a perfect record on a homestand with two or more series' since May 1-6, 2012 (6-0 record vs. Stockton and Inland Empire). It was the Giants' first 7-0 homestand since earlier in the 2012 season (April 12-18 vs. Bakersfield and Rancho Cucamonga).
Cole Leads League In Hitting Second baseman/outfielder Hunter Cole leads the California League with a .350 batting average. Cole is batting at a .419 clip (26-for-62) over his last 17 games and has multi-hits in eight out of his last 13 contests. Cole homered in back-to-back games last Saturday and Sunday versus Rancho Cucamonga - his first two homers of the season. He's also third in the league with a .419 on-base percentage. A 26th round pick in the 2014 draft, Cole joined the Giants on April 22 after beginning the season with Class-A Augusta (.275 AVG in 10 games).
Recent Surge Since falling to 8-20 (.286) after a loss on May 7, the Giants have posted an 11-6 (.647) record.
Lollis Promoted; Horan Returns Outfielder Ryan Lollis was promoted to Double-A Richmond yesterday. Lollis has played in 30 games for San Jose this season and is second in the California League in batting average (.345) and first in on-base percentage (.431). He also produced eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 11 RBI's with the Giants. In a corresponding roster move, outfielder Tyler Horan (hamstring) was activated from the disabled list. Despite having not played in a game since April 28, Horan is tied for the team-lead with three home runs. Horan clubbed 25 homers last season between Augusta (A) and San Jose to rank second in the San Francisco Giants farm system.
Road Struggles The Giants own a league-worst 6-15 road record and have yet to win a series away from Municipal Stadium this season. San Jose hasn't won back-to-back road games since the opening weekend of the season (April 10-11 at Lancaster). The Giants are batting just .236 as a team to go with a 4.54 ERA on the road (.286 AVG, 2.77 ERA at home).
Out Of The Cellar With Sunday's win over Rancho Cucamonga, the Giants moved out of last place in the first half North Division standings for the first time since April 27. San Jose (19-26) is currently in fourth place.
In The 'Pen The Giants bullpen possesses a stellar 2.99 ERA this season. Dan Slania leads the league with 10 saves. Slania has picked-up four saves during the current seven-game winning streak. Three relievers are limiting the opposition to sub-.200 batting averages: Jeff Soptic (.167), Jake Smith (.176) and Ian Gardeck (.181). San Jose is the only team in the league that has not lost a game when leading after seven innings (14-0).
Opponent Notes: High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, are tied for first in the South Division with a 24-20 record. High Desert has won four games in a row and eight out of their last ten. The Mavericks are second in the league in batting average (.274), first in home runs (47) and last in ERA (4.87). This series marks the first meeting of the season between San Jose and High Desert. Former San Jose Giant Alex Burg leads the Mavericks in batting average (.325), home runs (8 - tied) and is second in RBI's (27). High Desert is 10-10 at home this season (14-10 on the road).
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California League Stories from May 27, 2015
- San Jose Giants 4th and 5th of July Tickets on Sale Monday - San Jose Giants
- Tim Raines to Visit the Hangar on Thursday, June 18 - Lancaster JetHawks
- Nuts Take 3 of 4 against First Place Rawhide - Modesto Nuts
- Streaking Giants Begin Road Trip at High Desert - San Jose Giants
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