CalL1 San Jose Giants

San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants and High Desert Meet for First Time

Published on August 3, 2011 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (72-36) @ High Desert Mavericks (45-62)

At Stater Bros. Stadium

Wednesday, August 3, 7:05 PM

Thursday, August 4, 7:05 PM

Friday, August 5, 7:05 PM

Saturday, August 6, 7:05 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

Wednesday - Tom Vessella (3-0, 2.14) vs. Jandy Sena (1-2, 5.96)

Thursday - Chris Heston (9-4, 3.75) vs. Yoervis Medina (1-11, 6.86)

Friday - Kelvin Marte (9-6, 3.27) vs. Kenn Kasparek (0-1, 4.63)

Saturday - Craig Westcott (11-3, 3.22) vs. Nate Reed (0-1, 11.57)

Giants Begin Four-Game Series At High Desert Tonight...

The two-time defending California League champion San Jose Giants continue their road trip with the opener of a four-game series against the High Desert Mavericks this evening at Stater Bros. Stadium.

San Jose won two out of three games at Inland Empire in their most recent series.

The Giants earned victories of 6-3 and 2-1 (10 innings) in the first two games before the 66ers posted a 4-0 shutout win yesterday afternoon.

In the series finale, four Inland Empire pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout while Matt Long and Dwayne Bailey each connected for a solo home run to lead the offensive attack.

San Jose starting pitcher Andy Reichard, who allowed both home runs, suffered the loss.

Reichard surrendered three runs (all earned) on five hits over six innings of work.

Tommy Joseph (2-for-4) was the only Giants player to finish with a multi-hit game at the plate.

Media Coverage...

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

All 140 games this season will be aired on the club's official website.

Road Warriors...

Last Sunday marked the beginning of a stretch where the Giants will play 14 out of 17 games on the road.

San Jose's 34-18 record away from Municipal Stadium is the top road mark in the California League this season.

Only one other team in the league has a winning record on the road (Stockton 30-26).

The Giants set a team record earlier this year with a remarkable 16-game road winning streak (May 19-June 12).

Winning Ways...

Since losing five straight games from July 17-22, the Giants have won eight out of their last 11.

Versus The South...

The Giants are in the midst of playing 11 consecutive games versus the South Division (July 27-August 6).

San Jose is 17-11 versus South Division teams this season.

Including tonight, their next 15 road games will be played against South Division clubs.

Brown Leads Cal League In Hits...

Center fielder Gary Brown saw his hitting streak end at 13 games yesterday, but the former first round draft pick is still tops in the California League with 137 hits overall.

Brown is also second in the league in stolen bases (42), tied for third in triples (7), fourth in runs scored (82) and ninth in batting average (.319).

Tied For The Best Record In Minor League Baseball...

San Jose (72-36) is currently tied with the Double-A San Antonio Missions (72-36) of the Texas League for the best record in all of Minor League Baseball among full-season teams.

A win tonight would move the Giants to a season-high tying 37 games over .500.

Noonan And Matos Return...

The Giants have added infielder Nick Noonan and relief pitcher Osiris Matos to their roster.

Noonan, a San Jose Giant during the 2009 championship season, was batting .297 with one home run and four RBI's in 13 games with Triple-A Fresno.

Noonan began the year with Double-A Richmond and hit .212 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI's in 71 games with the Flying Squirrels.

A supplemental first round draft pick in 2007, Noonan batted .259 with 26 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs and 64 RBI's in a full season with the Giants two years ago.

Matos was previously on the Richmond disabled list.

The right-hander was 3-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 22 relief appearances with the Flying Squirrels.

Matos pitched in 25 games with the San Francisco Giants over the 2008 and 2009 seasons combining for a 1-2 record with a 5.74 ERA.

He previously pitched in San Jose during the 2007 postseason.

Pitching Leaders...

The Giants enter tonight's game with a league-best 3.50 team ERA - well ahead of the next-closest team (Stockton - 4.42).

San Jose has also thrown 13 shutouts as a pitching staff to lead the California League (Modesto and Inland Empire are second with four shutouts each).

Individually, three Giants pitchers rank among the top seven in the league in ERA: Craig Westcott (3rd, 3.22), Kelvin Marte (4th, 3.27), and Chris Heston (7th, 3.75).

Seventh Consecutive First Half North Division Title...

The Giants won their California League record seventh consecutive first half North Division title (2005-2011) earlier this year.

San Jose posted a 51-19 first half record - 13 games ahead of the second-place Stockton Ports (38-32).

By virtue of winning the division crown, the Giants clinch a spot in the playoffs and earn a first round bye.

San Jose will open the postseason on Saturday, September 10 with Game One of the best-of-five North Division Series at Municipal Stadium.

The Giants will also host Game Two of the series on Sunday, September 11.

Prior to San Jose's current run, the California League record for consecutive first half division titles was three (Visalia).

The 51 victories tied a team record for most wins in a half.

The 2009 team, also under Andy Skeels, won 51 games during the second half.

Opponent Notes: High Desert Mavericks...

The High Desert Mavericks (45-62), an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, enter tonight's game six games behind Inland Empire for the wild card lead in the South Division.

High Desert snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory yesterday afternoon at Lake Elsinore.

The Mavericks are fifth in the league in batting average (.280) and last in ERA (6.50).

This series marks the first meeting of the year between San Jose and High Desert.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from August 3, 2011


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