CalL1 San Jose Giants

San Jose Giants at Lancaster JetHawks, April 27-29

Published on April 27, 2009 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (12-6) at Lancaster JetHawks (6-12)

At Clear Channel Stadium

- Monday, April 27th at 7:00 PM

- Tuesday, April 28th at 7:00 PM

- Wednesday, April 29th at 11:00 AM

Pitching Match Ups

- Monday - Tim Alderson (0-0, 3.14) at Chris Hicks (2-1, 3.07)

- Tuesday - Madison Bumgarner (3-0, 0.56) at David Duncan (0-3, 11.25)

- Wednesday - Scott Barnes (2-1, 3.86) at Shane Wolf (0-2, 8.05)

THE SAN JOSE GIANTS... continue their road trip Monday evening with the opener of a three-game series against the Lancaster JetHawks at Clear Channel Stadium. San Jose split a four-game set with the host High Desert Mavericks in their most recent series. The Mavericks hit seven home runs in yesterday's contest to rally for an 11-8 victory over the Giants. Buster Posey and Darren Ford both homered for San Jose to lead an 11-hit offensive attack in a losing cause. The Giants enter tonight's game in a tie for second place in the North Division with a 12-6 record - one game behind the Visalia Rawhide (13-5) for the top spot.

San Jose Searching For Success In Lancaster... Wins have been hard to come by in recent years for the Giants at Clear Channel Stadium as San Jose has lost 12 out of their last 13 games in Lancaster dating back to the 2005 season. The Giants' only victory during that stretch was a 9-5 win on August 28, 2007 behind Travis Denker's grand slam and six RBI's. San Jose was swept in a three-game series at Lancaster last season after posting a 1-5 record at Clear Channel Stadium during the previous year. The Giants lost all three games to the host JetHawks in 2006 in addition to dropping their final game in Lancaster during the 2005 campaign.

Road Warriors... The Giants began a stretch last Thursday in which they'll play 20 out of 24 games on the road. After the current three-game series in Lancaster, San Jose returns home on Friday to begin a four-game set against the Modesto Nuts. However, the club will quickly leave Municipal Stadium four days later for a season-long 13-game road trip from May 5-18. The Giants played 10 out of their first 14 games at home to open the 2009 campaign.

San Jose Using The Long Ball... The Giants have hit 22 home runs in their first 18 games this season - second in the California League (five behind High Desert). Nine different players have gone deep with Brandon Crawford leading the way with five round-trippers - tied for third in the league. Buster Posey has belted four homers while Thomas Neal and Angel Villalona have also hit three home runs each.

Crawford Among The League Leaders... Shortstop Brandon Crawford has enjoyed a tremendous start to the 2009 season. The Pleasanton native has hit safely in 15 out of his 17 games played and is currently tied for fourth in the league in batting average (.388) and tied for third in home runs (5). Crawford is also tied for third in hits (26), tied for first in on-base percentage (.481) and tied for fourth in slugging percentage (.672). The 22-year old is in his first full professional season after San Francisco drafted him in the fourth round last year out of UCLA.

Alderson To Start Series Opener On The Mound... 20-year old right-hander Tim Alderson is slated to start on the mound in Monday's series opener against the JetHawks. Alderson was impressive in his last start on April 21 versus Lake Elsinore when he tossed six innings and allowed just one run on three hits. Alderson received a no-decision in the start after the bullpen was unable to hold the lead. The Phoenix, Arizona native owns a 3.14 ERA this season through 14 1/3 innings with two walks and 12 strikeouts. Last season, Alderson was 13-4 with a 2.73 ERA over 26 starts with the Giants. Entering 2009, Alderson was rated the #4 prospect in the San Francisco organization according to Baseball America. Monday will make his first road start of the season.

The Posey File... Buster Posey has caught fire again as the catcher is 5-for-9 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI's over his last two games. The former Golden Spikes Award winner boasts a .388 batting average this season while he leads the California League with 18 RBI's and a .481 on-base percentage (tied with Brandon Crawford). Posey has been especially tough with runners in scoring position having collected 11 hits in 22 at-bats (.500 AVG) while slugging at a .955 clip. Posey, who is in his first full professional season, was the fifth overall pick in last year's draft out of Florida State University.

Media Coverage... The entire series with Lancaster can be heard live on www.sjgiants.com with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action. All 140 games this season will be aired live on the club's official website. The San Jose Giants and Comcast have also joined forces to bring fans 14 live television broadcasts during the 2009 season. The games can be viewed live on Comcast Hometown Network Channel 104 throughout most Northern California regions and anytime through Comcast On Demand Channel 1. The next scheduled television broadcast is on Friday, May 1st against the Modesto Nuts.

Lancaster JetHawks... The JetHawks, an affiliate of the Houston Astros, enter the series in last place in the South Division with a 6-12 record. Lancaster is tied for third in the league with 18 home runs while they're fifth in batting average (.265) and sixth in runs scored (4.7 per game). On the mound, the JetHawks have struggled with a league-worst 5.98 ERA. First baseman/outfielder Brian Pellegrini leads the league with seven home runs. Right-hander Chris Hicks is slated to start on the mound in the series opener for Lancaster. Hicks is 2-1 with a 3.07 ERA through three starts this year and has struck out 18 over just 14 2/3 innings.

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