Giants, Nuts Meet at Excite Ballpark
April 16, 2024 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
SERIES SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday, April 16 6:30 PM SJ - Ubert Mejias (0-0, 0.00) vs. MOD - Elijah Dale (0-0, 2.25)
Wednesday, April 17 6:30 PM SJ - Dylan Carmouche (0-0, 6.00) vs. MOD - Ashton Izzi (0-0, 9.00)
Thursday, April 18 6:30 PM SJ - Josh Bostick (0-1, 3.38) vs. MOD - Brody Hopkins (0-1, 13.50)
Friday, April 19 7:00 PM SJ - Cale Lansville (0-1, 5.63) vs. MOD - Tyler Gough (1-0, 3.00)
Saturday, April 20 5:00 PM SJ - Joe Whitman (0-1, 4.05) vs. MOD - Will Schomberg (0-1, 5.00)
Sunday, April 21 1:00 PM SJ - Ubert Mejias (0-0, 0.00) vs. MOD - Elijah Dale (0-0, 2.25)
GIANTS HOST MODESTO THIS WEEK: The San Jose Giants host the defending California League champion Modesto Nuts (Mariners affiliate) in a six-game series this week at Excite Ballpark. This series marks the first meeting of the season between the Giants and Nuts. The two teams are scheduled to play 30 games against each other this year. Last September, Modesto swept San Jose two-games-to-none in the North Division Series to end the Giants' season. This series begins a stretch for the Giants playing 18 out of their next 24 games at home through May 12.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo and Justin Allegri calling all of the action. A live video feed through MiLB.TV will also be available.
BOUNCE BACK IN VISALIA: After getting swept in a three-game series by visiting Fresno to open the regular season, the Giants bounced back in Visalia last week during their first road trip taking four of five games from the Rawhide. The sixth and final game of the series was postponed due to rain and will not be made up. Included in the series victory was San Jose's first shutout of the season last Thursday (3-0) and a pair of one-run victories during a doubleheader sweep last Friday (2-1 and 4-3). The Giants enjoyed a successful week despite hitting only .213 as a team while not hitting a home run during the entire series. However on the mound, San Jose pitchers boasted a stellar 1.98 ERA - a significant improvement from the 9.00 ERA during the opening series versus Fresno.
SEEING DOUBLE: The Giants enter the week with a league-leading 19 doubles through their first eight games (Lake Elsinore next-closest with 15 doubles). Individually, Elian Rayo is tied for the league lead with four doubles. Interestingly, San Jose is the only California League team to have yet to hit a triple this season while the Giants haven't homered since April 7.
STARTING STRONG: Giants starting pitchers - Ubert Mejias, Dylan Carmouche, Josh Bostick, Cale Lansville and Joe Whitman - logged an excellent 1.35 ERA during last week's five-game series in Visalia (3 ER allowed in 20 innings). A San Jose starting pitcher hasn't allowed more than two runs in an outing since April 6 versus Fresno (second game of the season). Carmouche was named California League Pitcher of the Week on Monday. In his start last Wednesday against Visalia, Carmouche fired four scoreless innings with no hits allowed, one walk and five strikeouts. He is the first San Jose Giants player to win a weekly award this season.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: The Giants enter the week a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts this season. The 12 steals is tops in the California League. San Jose has been led on the basepaths by Jonah Cox, who has successfully stolen seven bases in his first seven games of the season. Cox's seven steals leads the league and is more than five of the other seven teams in the California League. Cox is also tops on the Giants in batting average (.385), hits (10) and on-base percentage (.515).
LAST YEAR: The Giants went 14-16 against Modesto last season with the road team winning 20 out of the 30 matchups. San Jose was 12-6 versus the Nuts in the first half last year on their way to winning the North Division title. However, the Nuts then won 10 of the 12 meetings between the teams in the second half en route to the division crown before sweeping San Jose in the Division Series. Last year's playoff tilt was the first postseason matchup between the Giants and Nuts since 2012.
SAN FRANCISCO AFFILIATION: This year marks San Jose's 36th season as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Since their inception in 1988, the San Jose Giants have won seven league championships (1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2021) and graduated 240 players to the major leagues. The Giants have posted a winning record in 27 out of their 35 seasons, including each of the last three years.
TOP PROSPECTS: Three of the top 10 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization according to MLB.com are opening the season in San Jose: 1B Bryce Eldridge (#3), SS Maui Ahuna (#9) and LHP Joe Whitman (#10). Eldridge, 19, was drafted in the first round last year as a two-way player, but will focus only on hitting this year. In 31 games between the Arizona Complex League (Rookie-level) and San Jose last season, Eldridge hit a combined .294 with five doubles, six home runs and 18 RBI's (.905 OPS). Ahuna, a fourth round selection last year, made his professional debut last weekend after hitting .341 over three collegiate seasons between Kansas and Tennessee. Whitman was a second round pick in 2023 out of Kent State University and made the start last Sunday (2 2/3 IP, 1 R). He's next scheduled to get the ball on Saturday night in Visalia. 2B/SS Cole Foster (#26) and OF Jonah Cox (#30) give San Jose two more prospects on the SF Giants MLB.com top 30 list.
ON DECK: Following the current series against Modesto, the Giants travel to Fresno for a six-game set against the Grizzlies from April 23-28. San Jose returns to Excite Ballpark on Tuesday, April 30 for their longest homestand of the season - a stretch of 12 games versus the Lake Elsinore Storm (six games) and Stockton Ports (six games).
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California League Stories from April 16, 2024
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