Giants Return Home for Three-Game Series against Bakersfield
June 27, 2016 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
At Municipal Stadium (San Jose, CA) * Monday, June 27, 7:00 PM * Tuesday, June 28, 7:00 PM * Wednesday, June 29, 12:30 PM
Records Bakersfield: 40-34 (3-1 Second Half) San Jose: 40-33 (1-3 Second Half)
Probable Starting Pitchers Monday Bakersfield - Tyler Herb (7-2, 3.10) San Jose - Phil Bickford (1-0, 3.00)
Tuesday Bakersfield - Anthony Misiewicz (3-6, 5.13) San Jose - Jose Reyes (2-1, 4.34)
Wednesday Bakersfield - Osmer Morales (0-1, 6.12) San Jose - D.J. Snelten (3-6, 4.95)
Broadcast Information The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com and inside Municipal Stadium on 92.9 FM with Joe Ritzo and Justin Allegri 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. Additionally, every home game is streamed live and available on demand through MiLB.TV.
Giants Begin Three-Game Series Against Bakersfield Tonight The San Jose Giants return home this evening to begin a three-game series against the Bakersfield Blaze at Municipal Stadium. Phil Bickford is slated to make the start on the mound for the Giants tonight. This evening marks Bickford's second start with San Jose after receiving a promotion from Class-A Augusta on June 19. In his California League debut eight days ago, Bickford struck out a career-high 13 batters over six innings against Rancho Cucamonga to pick-up the win (two runs allowed). The 20-year old right-hander was a first round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2015 out of the College of Southern Nevada. Bickford entered the year ranked as the #3 prospect in the Giants organization according to MLB.com.
Lost 3 Of 4 To Open Second Half The Giants opened the second half by dropping three out of four games in Stockton in a series that concluded yesterday. The Ports earned back-to-back wins of 5-0 and 6-4 to open the series before San Jose posted a 7-4 victory last Saturday. Stockton then secured the series win with a 7-4 triumph yesterday afternoon. The Giants open the second half with 19 consecutive games against North Division clubs.
Versus The Blaze The road team has won all seven games of the Giants-Blaze season series this year. San Jose swept a three-game set in Bakersfield from May 10-12. The Blaze then won all four games of the series at Municipal Stadium from June 4-7. It marked only the second time in the last five seasons that the Giants were swept in a four-game series at home. Tonight is the first of 19 meetings in the second half between San Jose and Bakersfield. The Blaze are the Giants' most frequent opponent this half.
June Swoon The Giants are 9-13 in June after a league-best 21-9 record during May. San Jose has yet to win more than two games in a row this month. The Giants are only batting .239 as a team and averaging 3.5 runs per game in June (.260 April, .261 May). San Jose has scored over five runs just three times in 22 games this month. The Giants have been held to three runs or fewer in 12 out of 22 games in June.
Shaw Among League Leaders All-Star first baseman Chris Shaw currently ranks among the league leaders in several offensive categories. Shaw is second in the league in home runs (15), tied for second in doubles (22), third in RBI's (52) and third in slugging (.545). Over his last six games, Shaw is 8-for-18 (.444) with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI's.
Scoring Early After scoring another run in the top of the first yesterday, San Jose has now plated 50 runs in the first inning this season - their highest scoring inning of the year. The Giants are 30-14 (.682) when scoring first in a game this season compared to 10-19 (.345) when their opponent scores first.
Late Innings The Giants have suffered only one defeat this season when leading after seven innings (37-1) - tied for the fewest losses in the league (Rancho Cucamonga). Closer Rodolfo Martinez leads the California League with 21 saves to go with a sparkling 0.88 ERA. Conversely, San Jose is one of only two teams in the league (Inland Empire) that has not won a game this year when trailing after seven innings (0-29).
Brief Homestand This series against Bakersfield serves as a brief three-game homestand for the Giants. San Jose next travels to Visalia for a four-game set beginning on Thursday. The Giants then return to Muni on July 4 for an eight-game homestand against Modesto (four games) and Stockton (four games). San Jose is 19-15 at home this season.
First Half Review The Giants posted a 39-30 record during the first half and finished in second place in the North Division - 6 1/2 games behind Visalia (46-24) for the top spot. San Jose moved into a tie for first with the Rawhide after defeating Visalia on June 3. The Giants then went 6-9 to close the half while the Rawhide posted a sizzling 13-3 record. Officially, San Jose still has one first half game remaining this season on July 14 in Lancaster (second game of the doubleheader - make-up of April 10 rainout at Municipal Stadium).
Opponent Notes: Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, went 37-33 in the first half. The Blaze opened the second half by taking three out of four games from visiting Modesto in a series that ended last night. Since May 16, Bakersfield has posted a 26-11 record. The Blaze are currently riding an 11-game road winning streak. All-Star Tyler Herb is expected to get the ball for Bakersfield in tonight's series opener. Herb leads the league in strikeouts (86), is tied for second in wins (7) and eighth in ERA (3.10). Blaze outfielder Chantz Mack is tops in the league with 58 RBI's.
California League Stories from June 27, 2016
- Sixth Sinks Nuts to Third Straight Loss - Modesto Nuts
- Giants Return Home for Three-Game Series against Bakersfield - San Jose Giants
- Blaze Kick Nuts out of Town, 5-1 - Bakersfield Blaze
- Pitching Staff Secures Series Win for Sixers - Inland Empire 66ers
- Lake Elsinore Storms Ahead Early, Takes Finale 17-11 - Lancaster JetHawks
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