CalL1 San Jose Giants

Giants Notes for June 28

Published on June 28, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (45-28) at Modesto Nuts (41-32)

At John Thurman Field

- Sunday, June 28th at 6:05 PM

- Monday, June 29th at 7:05 PM

- Tuesday, June 30th at 7:05 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Sunday - Clayton Tanner (5-2, 3.30) at Brandon Durden (3-2, 2.93)

- Monday - Paul Oseguera (0-2, 4.67) at Joey Williamson (7-0, 3.13)

- Tuesday - Joe Martinez (0-0, 3.00) at TBA

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... embark on a six-game road trip Sunday evening with first of three straight contests against the Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field. San Jose enters the series having won a season-high six consecutive games after completing a sweep of the visiting Stockton Ports last night. Roger Kieschnick belted two home runs and collected six RBI's while Garrett Broshuis limited the Ports to four hits and one unearned run over eight-plus innings of work in the Giants' 7-1 victory. San Jose posted 3-2 and 6-2 wins in the first two games of the series after closing out the first half with three straight victories at Stockton last week.

Exceptional Month... San Jose enters Sunday's series opener with a league-best 18-5 record this month while they've won 16 out of their last 19 games dating back to June 5. The Giants have yet to lose consecutive games in June as they've posted an outstanding 2.89 team ERA and hit 27 home runs - most in the California League.

Kieschnick's Hot Streak... Right fielder Roger Kieschnick has been a run-producing machine for the Giants in recent weeks having hit six homers to go with 21 RBI's in his last 10 games. Kieschnick is batting .426 (20-for-47) during his current 12-game hitting streak and became the second San Jose player (Tyler Graham) to hit two homers in a game this season when he accomplished the feat in last night's win over Stockton. The first-year player leads the Giants in home runs (15), RBI's (57), hits (89) and triples (5) while he's also batting .318 with seven stolen bases. Kieschnick is third in the California League in RBI's, fourth in home runs and hits and 10th in batting average.

Don't Forget About Neal And Posey... The Giants have received tremendous production from the middle of the lineup throughout the entire season as Thomas Neal and Buster Posey have also been swinging hot bats of late. Neal enters tonight's action with a .342 batting average (second in the league) while he also ranks among the top six in the California League in runs scored (4th, 51), slugging percentage (5th, .601), on-base percentage (T5th, .421), home runs (T6th, 13). Neal has hit safely in 18 out of his last 19 games and is batting .400 (30-for-75, 6 HR, 11 RBI) in June. Posey has been equally as hot this month with a .385 batting average (25-for-65, 3 HR, 10 RBI) through 21 games in June. The former first round draft pick is ninth in the California League in hitting (.321), seventh in RBI's (48) while he's also smacked 11 home runs.

Joe Martinez To Make Rehab Start In Series Finale... Right-hander Joe Martinez is slated to make his second rehabilitation start with San Jose in Tuesday's series finale. Martinez is currently on San Francisco's 60-day disabled list after suffering a concussion when he was struck in the head with a line drive on April 9 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The 26-year old made his major league debut earlier this season and owns a 6.75 ERA (2 ER/2.2 IP) through two relief appearances. Martinez spent all of 2007 in San Jose and was 10-10 with a 4.26 ERA and a league-high 151 strikeouts before pacing the Eastern League with a 2.49 ERA last season in Connecticut (AA). Martinez worked three innings as a starter on June 25 against Stockton and allowed one run on one hit with five strikeouts.

San Jose Wins League Record Fifth Consecutive First Half Title... The Giants won their fifth consecutive first half North Division title earlier this 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.

Bullpen Excels... The Giants bullpen owns a sparkling 1.01 ERA (7 ER/62.2 IP) in their last 21 games (17-4 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 (7.0 IP) since joining the club on June 8 from Augusta while fellow left-hander Wilmin Rodriguez has gone eight straight appearances without allowing a run (8 2/3 IP). Steve Edlefsen has surrendered just one hit and no runs over his last seven innings of relief spanning six outings and David Mixon has not yielded a run over his last six appearances (9 2/3 IP). Meanwhile, Daniel Turpen has been impressive all season with a 1.52 ERA in 25 games.

One-Run Turnaround... The Giants have won their last three one-run games after losing their previous six one-run affairs. San Jose is still under .500 overall in one-run contests for the season at 6-9 (.400 PCT, seventh in the league).

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 3.39. San Jose has allowed the fewest hits (615), issued the least amount of walks (185) and are tied for the most shutouts in the league (6). Individually, Garrett Broshuis (2.15) is first in ERA, Craig Clark (3.01) is fourth and Scott Barnes is eighth (3.44). Clayton Tanner (3.30) would also rank among the league leaders if he had enough innings to qualify. The Giants have surrendered the fourth-most home runs in the league (63).




California League Stories from June 28, 2009


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