San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Homestand Against Stockton
August 23, 2011 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
Stockton Ports (69-57) @ San Jose Giants (83-43)
At Municipal Stadium
Tuesday, August 23, 7:00 PM
Wednesday, August 24, 7:00 PM
Thursday, August 25, 7:00 PM
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Tuesday - Dan Straily (10-8, 3.84) vs. Craig Westcott (13-3, 3.08)
Wednesday - Murphy Smith (5-9, 4.31) vs. Andy Reichard (8-2, 2.88)
Thursday - Jake Brown (4-6, 5.46) vs. Tom Vessella (3-3, 3.75)
Giants Begin Three-Game Series Against Stockton Tonight...
The two-time defending California League champion San Jose Giants continue their homestand this evening with the opener of a three-game series against the Stockton Ports at Municipal Stadium.
Last night, the Giants crushed the High Desert Mavericks by an 18-4 score to take three out of four games in the series.
San Jose knocked out 10 extra-base hits, including four triples and three homers, en route to a season-high runs total.
Gary Brown (3-for-5, 2 3B, 3 RBI) tripled twice and Juan Ciriaco (3-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) reached base in all five of his plate appearances to lead the offensive attack.
Tommy Joseph, Ehire Adrianza and Ryan Cavan also each hit a home run.
Kelvin Marte picked-up the win on the mound after tossing five innings with three runs (two earned) and seven hits allowed.
The Giants scored 14 runs over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
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.
Winning Ways...
The Giants enter this evening's contest having won nine out of their last 11 games.
Over the last 11 games, San Jose has averaged 8.1 runs per game, hit .317 as a team and connected for 22 home runs.
Last night's win moved the Giants to a season-high 40 games over .500.
San Jose is two victories away from cracking the top five for most wins in team history.
The 2005 and 2008 clubs both finished 85-55 to rank tied for fifth in single-season wins.
The 2009 squad (93-47) holds the San Jose Giants record for most wins.
The Giants would need to post an 11-3 record in their last 14 games to achieve a new mark for most victories in a single-season.
Joseph's Power Surge...
Over his last 10 games, catcher Tommy Joseph is batting .413 (19-for-46) with eight home runs and 20 RBis.
He's hit 14 of his 20 home runs since July 2 (40 games).
In 17 games this month, Joseph is batting .351 with six doubles, eight home runs and 21 RBI's.
Joseph leads the club in home runs (20) and RBI's (85) while he's second in hits (124) and doubles (30).
Closing In On Homefield Advantage...
The Giants (83-43) are 14 games ahead of the Stockton Ports (69-57) for the top overall record in the North Division.
Homefield advantage (hosting Game Five) of the North Division Series will be awarded to the club with the best overall record that's won a half.
A San Jose victory tonight would clinch the best overall record in the North Division.
The Giants are currently 32-24 in the second half - 1 1/2 games behind the Modesto Nuts (34-23) for the top spot in the North Division.
San Jose is attempting to win both halves for just the third time in the last 10 years (2008, 2009).
Ciriaco And Adrianza Extend Hitting Streaks...
Juan Ciriaco and Ehire Adrianza extended their hitting streaks to 10 and 9 games respectively last night.
Ciriaco is batting .486 (17-for-35) with five doubles, one triple and nine RBI's during his streak to raise his season average from .190 to .301.
Adrianza is batting at a .410 clip (16-for-39) with six doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI's during his streak.
Pitching Leaders...
The Giants enter tonight's game with a league-best 3.43 team ERA - well ahead of the next-closest team (Stockton - 4.36).
San Jose has also thrown 13 shutouts as a pitching staff to lead the California League (Modesto and High Desert are second with five each).
Individually, three Giants pitchers rank among the top six in the league in ERA: Craig Westcott (1st, 3.08), Kelvin Marte (4th, 3.29), and Chris Heston (6th, 3.43).
Brown In The Record Book...
Gary Brown smacked his 11th and 12th triples of the year last night to tie Clay Timpner (2005) for second on the San Jose Giants single-season list.
Francisco Peguero holds the record with 16 triples last season.
Additionally, Brown needs only five runs, seven hits and four stolen bases to crack the Giants single-season top five in each category.
Brown is currently batting .323 this season to go with 10 home runs, 69 RBI's and 47 stolen bases.
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: Stockton Ports...
The Stockton Ports, an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, are 69-57 this season and seven games in front of the Bakersfield Blaze (62-64) for the wild card lead in the North Division.
Stockton is second in the league in ERA (4.36), last in batting average (.262) and second in home runs (130).
The Ports are just 7-12 against the Giants this season, but have won six out of seven meetings in the second half.
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California League Stories from August 23, 2011
- San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Homestand Against Stockton - San Jose Giants
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- Extra-Base Hit Explosion Keys 18-4 Blowout Win - San Jose Giants
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