CalL1 San Jose Giants

San Jose Giants at Bakersfield Blaze, May 5-7

Published on May 5, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (15-10) at Bakersfield Blaze (9-15)

At Sam Lynn Ballpark

- Tuesday, May 5th at 7:15 PM

- Wednesday, May 6th at 7:15 PM

- Thursday, May 7th at 7:15 PM

Pitching Match Ups

- Tuesday - Scott Barnes (2-1, 3.86) at Tim Murphy (2-2, 7.23)

- Wednesday - Clayton Tanner (1-0, 4.26) at Michael Main (1-3, 8.69)

- Thursday - Craig Clark (1-1, 2.57) at Blake Beavan (0-4, 7.88)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... begin a season-long 13-game road trip Tuesday evening with the first of three straight contests against the Bakersfield Blaze at Sam Lynn Ballpark. San Jose split four games with the visiting Modesto Nuts in their most recent series. The Giants were unable to secure an outright series win over the Nuts after falling by a 2-0 score last night. The loss, San Jose's first shutout defeat of the season, saw the Giants' overall record drop to 15-10. San Jose is currently in third place in the first half North Division race - four games behind the Visalia Rawhide (19-6) for the top spot.

Marathon Road Trip... The Giants embark on a 13-game road trip Tuesday in Bakersfield - their longest stretch away from Municipal Stadium this season. San Jose begins the trip with three games against the Blaze before a three-game weekend series at Modesto. The Giants will enjoy an off day back in the Bay Area on Monday before a three-game series at first-place Visalia and then four more games against the Nuts. San Jose's next home game is in 14 days when they host the Inland Empire 66ers on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 PM.

San Jose Boasts Five .300 Hitters... Entering play Tuesday, there are five regulars in the San Jose lineup that possess batting averages of over .300. Shortstop Brandon Crawford leads the way with the third-highest batting average in the California League (.372) while left fielder Thomas Neal's .359 average is sixth-best in the league. First baseman Angel Villalona (.319), catcher Buster Posey (.316) and right fielder Roger Kieschnick (.304) are also currently batting over the .300 mark. San Jose is second in the California League in batting average (.295) and home runs (27) while they're third in runs scored (5.6 per game).

No Free Passes... The Giants pitching staff has done an excellent job this season of not beating themselves as they've walked only 55 batters through the first 25 games (2.2 per game) to lead the league. Lancaster is the next-closest team in that category with 75 walks. San Jose has not walked more than four hitters in any game this year and no starting pitcher has issued more than six walks overall. The Giants are currently third in the league with a 3.56 ERA, but the pitching staff has allowed the third-most home runs (28).

Neal Continues Hot Hitting... Left fielder Thomas Neal has been one of the hottest hitters in the California League over the past two weeks. Neal owns a remarkable .479 (23-for-48) batting average with eight doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI's over his last 14 games. The San Diego native was batting only .172 on April 18, but is now hitting at a .359 clip. Neal also became the third player in San Jose Giants history (Carlos Valderrama in 2002 and Kevin Frandsen in 2005) to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat on April 28 at Lancaster.

Hitting Streaks... Nick Noonan (8), Angel Villalona (7) and Thomas Neal (6) bring long hitting streaks into Tuesday's series opener.

Media Coverage... The entire series from Bakersfield can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action.

Bakersfield Blaze... The Blaze, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, enter tonight's game in fourth place in the North Division with a 9-15 record - 9 1/2 games behind Visalia. Bakersfield is fifth in the California League in batting average (.261), eighth in runs scored (4.4 per game) and seventh in ERA (4.58). The Blaze have struggled at Sam Lynn Ballpark this season with a 2-8 record - the worst home mark in the league. Outfielder Tim Smith (.353, 3 HR, 9 RBI), first baseman Mitch Moreland (.316, 5 HR, 16 RBI) and second baseman Matthew Lawson (.303, 4 HR, 16 RBI) are all batting over the .300 mark. Left-hander Tim Murphy is slated to make the start on the mound Tuesday for the Blaze. Murphy, a third round draft pick last year out of UCLA (teammates for three years with Brandon Crawford), is 2-2 with a 7.23 ERA through five starts this season. Murphy earned a victory against the Giants on April 14 despite allowing five runs in five innings.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



California League Stories from May 5, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central