Giants, Nuts Meet in North Division Series
September 9, 2024 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
NORTH DIVISION SERIES SCHEDULE & PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Game 1 at San Jose - Tuesday, September 10 6:30 PM SJ - Josh Bostick (2-9, 4.78) vs. MOD - Ashton Izzi (6-5, 2.85)
Game 2 at Modesto - Thursday, September 12 7:05 PM SJ - TBA vs. MOD - TBA
Game 3 at Modesto - Friday, September 13 7:05 PM SJ - TBA vs. MOD - TBA
GIANTS, NUTS MEET IN DIVISION SERIES: The San Jose Giants play the Modesto Nuts (Mariners affiliate) this week in the best-of-three North Division Series. The Giants host Game 1 on Tuesday night at Excite Ballpark before the series shifts to Modesto's John Thurman Field for Games 2 and 3 on Thursday and Friday (Game 3 if necessary). The winner advances to the best-of-three California League Championship Series beginning on Sunday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: All San Jose Giants postseason games will be broadcast live on sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo and Justin Allegri calling the action. Radio broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to first pitch with the Giants Pregame Show. Additionally, a live video feed of all home playoff games through MiLB.TV will be available.
FAMILIAR FOE: The Giants and Nuts met 30 times during the regular season with each team collecting 15 wins. The road team had the advantage in the season-series claiming 21 of the 30 matchups. The Giants went just 3-9 against the Nuts at Excite Ballpark, but posted a 12-6 record at John Thurman Field. These two teams boasted the two best overall records in the California League this season and were separated by only a half-game (Giants 74-57, Nuts 73-57). This marks the second straight year that San Jose and Modesto will meet in the postseason. Last year, the Nuts swept the Giants in the North Division Series earning victories of 6-5 (10 innings) in Game 1 and 13-4 in Game 2. Prior to last season, the Giants and Nuts hadn't met in a playoff series since 2012.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Giants are in the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season (2019, 2021-24) - the longest active streak in the California League. Since 2004, the Giants have reached the playoffs an impressive 17 times out of 20 seasons. San Jose is attempting to win their second league title in the last four years after claiming the 2021 crown. Since their inception in 1988, the San Jose Giants have won seven league championships (1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2021).
REGULAR SEASON REVIEW: The Giants finished the regular season with a league-best 74-57 record. It's the first time in 11 years (2013) that San Jose has posted the top overall record in the California League. The Giants qualified for the playoffs after winning the second half North Division title (Modesto won the first half). San Jose went 37-29 in the second half - five games ahead of Modesto (32-34), eight games in front of Fresno (29-37) and 17 games ahead of Stockton (20-46). The Giants went wire-to-wire spending the entire second half (June 21-September 8) in first place. San Jose had at least a five-game lead in the division every day since the All-Star break (July 18). The Giants actually had a slightly better record in the first half (37-28), but finished 4 1/2 games behind Modesto (41-23) for the top spot in the division. San Jose started the year slow with a 5-11 record through April 24, but then went a remarkable 52-24 (.684) over the next three months from April 25-July 25. The Giants went 10-1-2 in their 13 series' during that stretch. San Jose suffered three straight series losses from July 23-August 11, but recovered to go 14-11 in their final 25 regular season games.
BOSTICK GETS GAME 1 NOD: Josh Bostick is the Giants' scheduled starting pitcher for Game 1 of the Division Series on Tuesday night. Bostick spent the entire season in San Jose (4.78 ERA in 107 1/3 IP) and was recently named August California League Pitcher of the Month. In five starts last month, Bostick fashioned a 3.00 ERA over 24 innings with only 18 hits allowed (.209 opp. AVG), six walks and 30 strikeouts. An eighth round pick of the San Francisco Giants in the 2023 draft, Bostick enjoyed success against Modesto during the regular season logging a 2.41 ERA with only 11 hits surrendered in 18 2/3 innings (21 SO). His most recent start versus the Nuts came on August 23 at John Thurman Field when he tossed five scoreless innings with two hits allowed, no walks and six strikeouts. The Giants have not announced starting pitchers for Games 2 and 3 of the Division Series.
LEAGUE-LEADING PITCHING STAFF: The Giants finished the regular season with a league-best 4.01 team ERA. It's the fourth straight season (2021-24) that San Jose has led the California League in earned run average. The Giants also issued the second-fewest walks (3.9 per game) and allowed the second-fewest home runs (76 HR in 131 games) in the league this year. 15 different Giants pitchers recorded a save this season. San Jose led the league in earned run average despite some late struggles on the mound as the club owned a 5.08 ERA from August 1 through the end of the regular season.
POWER SURGE: The Giants enjoyed a late-season power surge at the plate. From August 1 through the end of the regular season, San Jose blasted a league-best 37 home runs (in 34 games). The Giants also led the league averaging 6.2 runs per game during that stretch.
BO'S BACK: The Giants welcomed back a key hitter last weekend when outfielder Bo Davidson was reinstated from the injured list. Davidson missed 15 games from August 21-September 6 before returning for the final two regular season contests. Davidson had an incredible second half with the Giants batting .440 in 26 games with eight doubles, five triples, seven home runs and 31 RBI's. He had a .564 on-base percentage and a 1.432 OPS. Davidson earned back-to-back California League Player of the Week honors August 5-11 and August 12-18.
HOT HITTERS: Several Giants are swinging hot bats entering the playoffs. Lisbel Diaz hit .426 (26-for-61) over his last 13 regular season games and was California League Player of the Week from August 19-25. Walker Martin recovered from a slow start with the Giants (.148 AVG first 15 games) to hit .289 with two home runs and a .449 on-base percentage in his last 10 games. Zander Darby, who joined the team on August 24, smacked four home runs over his final 10 regular season games. Guillermo Williamson had a record-setting eight RBI game on August 23 at Modesto and hit .341 (14-for-41) with four homers and 16 RBI's over his last 11 contests. Jeremiah Jenkins was 8-for-21 (.381 AVG) with two doubles, one triple and one home run last week in Fresno during the final series of the regular season.
ODDS AND ENDS: The Giants went 45-21 (.682) when scoring first in a game during the regular season compared to 29-36 (.446) when their opponent scored first ... Not including rehab assignments, 62 players saw action for the Giants this season ... San Jose was 7-8 in extra-inning games (4-2 home, 3-6 road) ... The Giants had a 24-16 (.600) record in one-run games.
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California League Stories from September 9, 2024
- Giants, Nuts Meet in North Division Series - San Jose Giants
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