Giants Win First Half Title, Clinch Playoff Berth: Giants

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Giants Win First Half Title, Clinch Playoff Berth: Giants

June 20, 2025 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


Playoff baseball is coming to San Jose in September! The San Jose Giants have won the first half North Division title and clinched a berth in the postseason. It's the sixth consecutive season that the Giants have reached the playoffs and the second time in the last three years winning

Playoff baseball is coming to San Jose in September! The San Jose Giants have won the first half North Division title and clinched a berth in the postseason. It's the sixth consecutive season that the Giants have reached the playoffs and the second time in the last three years winning the first half crown.

San Jose will open the postseason on Tuesday, September 9 with a road game before hosting Games 2 and 3 of the best-of-three North Division Series at Excite Ballpark on Thursday, September 11 and Friday, September 12 respectively.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE - North Division Series

Game 1: Tuesday, September 9 - Road Game

Game 2: Thursday, September 11 - at Excite Ballpark, 6:30 PM

Game 3: Friday, September 12 - at Excite Ballpark, 6:30 PM (if necessary)

Division Series winners will play in the California League Championship Series beginning on Sunday, September 14.

The Giants won the first half North Division title with a league-best 42-24 record. San Jose played especially well late in the half winning 21 out of their last 26 games. A highlight of their run to the division crown was a six-game sweep of South Division-leading and Dodgers affiliate Rancho Cucamonga during the first week of June. The sweep of the Quakes vaulted the Giants into sole possession of first place in the division for the first time and San Jose would not relinquish the top spot for the remainder of the half. The Giants then clinched the division title during the second-to-last game of the half with a 5-2 victory at second-place Modesto on June 18. Cal League RBI-leader Jakob Christian provided the two biggest hits in the clinching contest with a game-tying solo home run in the top of the seventh and a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning.

The Giants celebrate after winning the first half North Division title

The Giants excelled on the mound throughout the first half posting a league-best 3.29 team ERA. The six-man starting rotation of Hunter Dryden, Niko Mazza, Jacob Bresnahan, Greg Farone, Gerelmi Maldonado and Drake George combined for a stellar 3.07 ERA. Dryden (2.19 ERA in 11 starts) and Mazza (2.00 ERA in 11 starts) were the standouts of San Jose's deep rotation. Farone led the staff with 62 strikeouts over 45 2/3 IP and had a stretch of 21 consecutive scoreless innings early in the first half. Bresnahan also shined late in the half with a sparkling 1.35 ERA over his final seven starts. Out of the bullpen, Ben Peterson collected seven saves to rank second in the California League, Evan Gray fashioned a 1.84 ERA in a late-inning role while Charlie McDaniel amassed six wins to go with a 2.20 ERA as a piggyback long reliever.

At the plate, the Giants hit a league-high 53 home runs in the first half while ranking second in runs scored. At the halfway point of the season, San Jose averaged 6.3 runs per game, which would surpass the club record of 5.9 runs per contest set by the 2021 championship team. Offensive leaders for the Giants in the first half included OF Carlos Gutierrez, who posted a league-leading .352 batting average. 1B/OF Jakob Christian, in addition to leading the league with 53 RBI's, finished the first half tied for third in home runs (9) and sixth in OPS (.839). OF Dakota Jordan ended the half top 10 in the Cal League in RBI's (2nd, 50), batting average (6th, .302) and stolen bases (8th, 19). 3B/SS Walker Martin added 10 home runs (second in the league), including a remarkable stretch of six homers over seven games in mid-May.

The Giants sat at 21-19 on May 20 and were three games behind first-place Modesto in the standings before rattling off four straight series wins: 4-2 at Fresno (May 20-25), 5-1 vs. Inland Empire (May 26-June 1), 6-0 at Rancho Cucamonga (June 3-8) and 4-2 vs. Stockton (June 10-15) en route to taking the division. San Jose was especially tough to beat at home during the first half posting a 22-8 record at Excite Ballpark while averaging over seven runs per game.

The San Jose Giants will attempt to win their 13th championship in franchise history and eighth as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. San Jose's most recent league title came in 2021.

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