CalL1 San Jose Giants

San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Homestand against Rancho Cucamonga

Published on May 3, 2013 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (13-14) at San Jose Giants (19-8)

At Municipal Stadium

- Friday, May 3, 7:00 PM

- Saturday, May 4, 5:00 PM

- Sunday, May 5, 1:00 PM

- Monday, May 6, 7:00 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups

Friday

Rancho Cucamonga - James Campbell (1-1, 2.08)

San Jose - Chris Marlowe (1-0, 1.71)

Saturday

Rancho Cucamonga - Garrett Gould (0-2, 10.53)

San Jose - Adalberto Mejia (2-0, 4.19)

Sunday

Rancho Cucamonga - Ross Stripling (1-0, 3.51)

San Jose - Austin Fleet (2-0, 1.84)

Monday

Rancho Cucamonga - Jarret Martin (0-5, 5.40)

San Jose - Clayton Blackburn (2-0, 2.57)

Broadcast Information

Friday's series opener will be televised live on Comcast Hometown Network, Channel 104 with Joe Ritzo and Rocky Koplik handling the play-by-play and color commentary duties respectively. The entire series can also be heard live on sjgiants.com. Radio broadcasts begin 30 minutes prior to first pitch with The Giants Pregame Show. All 140 games this season will be aired on the club's official website and streamed through the San Jose Giants Mobile App. Additionally, every home game this year is available live and on demand through MiLB.TV.

Giants Begin Four-Game Series Against Rancho Cucamonga Tonight

The San Jose Giants continue their homestand this evening with the opener of a four-game series against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at Municipal Stadium. San Jose dropped two out of three games to the visiting Bakersfield Blaze in their most recent series. Bakersfield earned victories of 8-5 and 6-4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively before the Giants salvaged the final game of the series with a 4-2 win yesterday afternoon. Shawn Payne's sixth-inning two-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the finale before the San Jose bullpen shut down the Blaze over the final three innings to record the victory. Josh Osich was credited with the win after firing 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief while Hunter Strickland notched the save after holding Bakersfield scoreless over the last two frames.

League-Leading Pitching Staff

The Giants pitching staff has posted a stellar 3.18 ERA this season to lead the California League. San Jose hurlers have also limited the opposition to a .234 batting average. Giants starting pitchers have been particularly impressive with a combined 2.26 ERA. Three of San Jose's starters are among the top seven in the league in ERA (#5 Ty Blach - 1.88, #6 Edwin Escobar - 2.16, #7 Clayton Blackburn - 2.57).

First Series Loss

San Jose is coming off their first series loss of the season after dropping two out of three to the Bakersfield Blaze to open the homestand. The Giants had started the year with seven straight series victories. San Jose's losses on Tuesday and Wednesday to the Blaze also marked their first back-to-back defeats of the season.

Harris' Home Run Barrage

Outfielder Devin Harris set a team-record by homering in six consecutive games from April 24-30. Harris hit seven home runs and had 16 RBI's during the six-game stretch. He currently leads the league in home runs (9 - tied), RBI's (26), extra-base hits (18) and slugging percentage (.693). Harris, who has also hit safely in his last 11 games, was named California League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Division Leaders

San Jose (19-8) has won eight out of their last 11 and currently owns a one-game lead over the Visalia Rawhide (18-9) for first place in the North Division. The Giants have held sole possession of first place in the division since April 15.

Cavan Extends Hitting Streak To 12 Games

Infielder Ryan Cavan enters this evening's contest riding a 12-game hitting streak. He's batting .396 (21-for-53) with seven RBI's during the streak. Cavan ranks first in the California League in hits (42), tied for second in batting average (.362) and tied for third in doubles (9). Cavan has multi-hits in 15 of San Jose's first 27 games this season. He leads the Giants in batting average, hits and doubles while he's second in RBI's (19) and tied for second in runs scored (18). Last year, Cavan played for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels and hit just .228 in 129 games, but won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the top fielding second baseman in Minor League Baseball. Cavan played for San Jose in 2011 (.270, 12 HR, 90 RBI).

April Review

The Giants finished April with a league-best 18-7 record. It marked San Jose's most wins in April since the 2008 team went 18-9 during the opening month of their season. It was also the Giants' highest winning percentage in a month since May of 2011 (22-7). San Jose hit .275 as a team in April - third in California League.

Top Prospects

Nine players on San Jose's roster are among the top 30 prospects in the organization according to Baseball America. Giants players among the top 30 prospects include: pitcher Kyle Crick (#1), pitcher Clayton Blackburn (#6), pitcher Adalberto Mejia (#10), pitcher Edwin Escobar (#14), outfielder Mac Williamson (#16), pitcher Chris Marlowe (#19), pitcher Josh Osich (#20), pitcher Cody Hall (#26) and outfielder Shawn Payne (#29).

Villalona Breaks Out Of Early-Season Slump

Since beginning the season in a 2-for-41 slump, first baseman Angel Villalona has batted .339 (21-for-62) in 17 games with five home runs and 17 RBI's. Villalona's five home runs overall are tied for sixth in the California League.

Opponent Notes: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, own a 13-14 record this season and are in fourth place in the South Division - 3 1/2 games behind the Lancaster JetHawks for the top spot. The Quakes are fifth in the league in batting average (.256) and seventh in ERA (4.90). This series marks Rancho Cucamonga's only visit to San Jose this season.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

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California League Stories from May 3, 2013


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