CalL1 San Jose Giants

Modesto Nuts at San Jose Giants, July 4-6

Published on July 4, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Modesto Nuts (43-36) at San Jose Giants (49-30)

At Municipal Stadium

- Saturday, July 4th at 6:30 PM

- Sunday, July 5th at 6:30 PM

- Monday, July 6th at 7:00 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Saturday - Joey Williamson (8-0, 3.00) at Clayton Tanner (6-2, 3.16)

- Sunday - Ethan Hollingsworth (0-1, 8.53) at Paul Oseguera (0-3, 5.32)

- Monday - Kenny Durst (2-7, 5.10) at Craig Clark (7-2, 2.97)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... begin a six-game homestand Saturday evening with the first of three straight contests against the Modesto Nuts at Municipal Stadium. San Jose posted a 4-2 record on their recently completed road trip taking two out of three games at Modesto and at Stockton. The Giants were unable to complete their first road sweep of the season last night managing a season-low two hits in a 6-2 defeat to the Ports. Oliver Odle suffered the loss on the mound after surrendering five runs (all earned) on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. San Jose quickly took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning before Stockton answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Grant Desme's three-run homer. The Giants did win the first two games of the series, 3-2 and 10-0.

Winning Ways... The Giants are off to a 7-2 start in the second half, have won 10 out of their last 12 games overall and are 20-5 dating back to June 5. San Jose achieved their first 20-win month since May of 2005 when they posted a 20-6 record in June. The Giants, who have won their last eight series', need a win tonight to avoid their first back-to-back losses since May 30-31.

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 3.34. The San Jose pitching staff has also allowed the fewest hits (659) in the league, issued the least amount of walks (208) while they've thrown the most shutouts (7). The Giants boast two of the top five pitchers individually in ERA: Craig Clark (3rd - 2.97) and Scott Barnes (5th - 3.16) while Clayton Tanner (3.16) would also rank among the league leaders if he had enough innings to qualify. San Jose has shown improvement throughout the first three months of the season having posted a 3.81 team ERA in April, a 3.51 ERA in May and a 2.83 earned run average during June.

Kieschnick Continues Power Surge... Right fielder Roger Kieschnick continued his recent power surge two nights ago with his 16th home run of the season. Kieschnick, a California League All-Star, has 10 home runs and 31 RBI's in his last 22 games (he did not play yesterday). He's currently tied for second in the league in RBI's (60), fifth in home runs (16) and sixth in hits (91).

Home Dominance... The Giants enter tonight's game with an 11-1 record in their last 12 home games, including five straight wins. San Jose's 26-12 mark at Municipal Stadium this season is the best home record in the California League. The Giants hit .285 as a team at home (.263 on the road) while they boast a 2.78 ERA (3.87 on the road).

Neal Torches Nuts Pitching... Thomas Neal, third in the California League with a .340 batting average, has enjoyed tremendous success against Modesto this season. In 20 games versus the Nuts, Neal is hitting at a .387 clip (29-for-75) with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 17 RBI's. He's posted three hits in three out of his last four games against Modesto.

Bullpen Excels... The Giants bullpen owns a sparkling 0.99 ERA (9 ER/81.2 IP) in the last 27 games (21-6 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 (9.0 IP) since joining the club on June 8 from Augusta while fellow left-hander Wilmin Rodriguez has gone 10 straight appearances without allowing a run (10 1/3 IP). Steve Edlefsen has surrendered just three hits and no runs over his last 10 innings of relief spanning eight outings and David Mixon has not yielded a run over his last eight appearances (12 1/3 IP). Meanwhile, Daniel Turpen has been impressive all season with a 1.49 ERA in 26 games.

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

Tanner To Start Series Opener... Clayton Tanner is expected to get the ball for the Giants in the series opener on Saturday evening. Tanner, who will be making his fifth start against Modesto over his last eight appearances, is 6-2 overall this season with a 3.16 ERA. The left-hander earned the win in his last start on June 28 at Modesto after surrendering just one run over 5 1/3 innings. His last home start came on June 12 against the Nuts when he fanned a career-high 13 over seven innings to pick-up the win. He also took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his May 24 appearance versus Modesto (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R).

Media Coverage... Saturday's game will be televised live on Comcast Hometown Network (Channel 104 throughout most Northern California regions) with Joe Ritzo and Dan Dibley handling the play-by-play and color commentary duties respectively. Additionally, the entire series can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com.

Modesto Nuts... The Modesto Nuts, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, enter Saturday's match-up with a 43-36 overall record and a 3-6 mark in the second half (last in the North Division). Modesto has lost their last six games at Municipal Stadium by a combined margin of 47-21. The Nuts are currently eighth in the league in hitting (.260), last in home runs (36) and third in ERA (3.81). Right-hander Joey Williamson, who owns a perfect 8-0 on the season, is slated to start the series opener on the mound. Williamson has made 20 overall appearances this year, but only four starts. He is tied for second in the league in wins and possesses a remarkable 17-0 record over his three-year professional career (73 games, six starts).

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California League Stories from July 4, 2009


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