San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Road Trip in Modesto
June 9, 2011 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
San Jose Giants (41-17) @ Modesto Nuts (28-30)
At John Thurman Field
Thursday, June 9, 7:05 PM
Friday, June 10, 7:05 PM
Saturday, June 11, 7:05 PM
Sunday, June 12, 1:05 PM
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Thursday - David Mixon (3-0, 1.88) vs. Dan Perkins (0-1, 6.11)
Friday - Kelvin Marte (5-3, 2.63) vs. Dan Houston (6-1, 3.19)
Saturday - Barry Zito (1-0, 1.35) vs. Chad Bettis (4-3, 4.56)
Sunday - Chris Heston (5-2, 3.84) vs. Parker Frazier (3-5, 4.94)
Giants Begin Four-Game Series At Modesto Tonight...
The two-time defending California League champion San Jose Giants continue their road trip this evening with the opener of a four-game series against the Modesto Nuts at John Thurman Field.
San Jose swept a three-game set from the host Stockton Ports in their most recent series earning victories of 5-1 last Sunday, 7-1 on Monday and 10-7 in 11 innings on Tuesday.
In the series finale, Carter Jurica hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the top of the 11th while Hector Correa earned the win on the mound with three perfect innings of relief.
Francisco Peguero added a two-run homer while Tommy Joseph collected a pair of RBI's.
The Giants have won 11 straight over the Ports.
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.
San Jose Leads Division By 10 1/2 Games; Magic Number At 2...
The Giants (41-17) currently own a 10 1/2 game lead over the Bakersfield Blaze (31-28) in the first half North Division race.
San Jose has won a California League record six consecutive first half North Division titles (2004-2010).
Including tonight, the Giants have 12 games remaining in the first half.
San Jose's magic number (combination of Giants wins and Bakersfield losses) to clinch the division is 2.
The Blaze host the Stockton Ports tonight at 7:30 PM.
Record 12-Game Road Winning Streak...
San Jose enters tonight's contest with a team record 12-game road winning streak.
The Giants began the streak on May 19 in Modesto.
The first nine wins of the streak came on San Jose's last road trip.
After two victories against the Nuts, the Giants swept a three-game series in Stockton before earning four straight wins at Bakersfield.
The win streak continued on the current road trip with another three-game sweep of the Ports.
The previous team record for consecutive road wins was eight during the 1995 season (June 5-24).
Five Giants Named To California League All-Star Team...
Five Giants were named to the California League All-Star team today and will participate in a game versus the Carolina League All-Stars on Tuesday, June 21 in Modesto.
Outfielder Gary Brown and pitchers Heath Hembree, Kelvin Marte, Craig Westcott and Zack Wheeler will represent the two-time defending California League champions in the All-Star contest.
Brown, who will start in the outfield, leads the league in stolen bases (31) and is second in hits (88), tied for second in runs scored (52) and seventh in batting average (.359).
Hembree leads the Cal League with 18 saves to go with a stellar 0.83 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings.
Marte boasts the third-lowest ERA in the league at 2.63 in addition to posting a 5-3 record over 10 starts.
Westcott earns his second consecutive All-Star nod after pitching in the game last summer.
He's a perfect 7-0 this season to go with a 2.40 ERA.
Westcott is currently first in the league in wins and second in ERA.
Wheeler is the third member of the Giants starting rotation to garner All-Star recognition.
His .197 opponents batting average is the lowest in the league among starting pitchers while he's tied for third in wins (5-2), tied for fourth in strikeouts (65) and eighth in ERA (3.40).
The five players selected are the most of any team in the league this season.
Tops In Runs Scored And ERA...
The Giants lead the California League in runs scored (6.3 per game) and ERA (3.25).
Their earned run average is over a full run lower than the next closest team (Stockton - 4.42).
San Jose has thrown 10 shutouts as a pitching staff to lead all of Minor League Baseball.
The other nine teams in the California League have combined to throw only 13 shutouts.
Offensively, San Jose is fourth in batting average (.281), third in home runs (58) and fourth in stolen bases (70).
Second-Best Record In Minor League Baseball...
The Giants (41-17, .707) possess the second-best record in all of Minor League Baseball trailing only the High-A Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League (42-17, .712).
Peguero Sets Team Hitting Streak Record...
Outfielder Francisco Peguero set the San Jose Giants record for longest hitting streak last Monday in Stockton.
After a 2-for-5 performance at the plate on Tuesday, Peguero has now hit safely in 25 consecutive games dating back to last season.
He finished the 2010 campaign on a 20-game hitting streak before joining the Giants this year on June 2.
In five games with San Jose this season, Peguero is 9-for-24 (.375).
Peguero was officially on the Double-A Richmond disabled list prior to joining San Jose as he recovered from knee surgery.
He topped Tim Garland's 23-game hitting streak from the 1996 season.
Peguero earned postseason California League All-Star honors last year after hitting .329 with a team-record 16 triples, 10 home runs, 77 RBI's and 40 stolen bases.
Sanchez Promoted To Fresno...
Catcher Hector Sanchez was promoted to Triple-A Fresno today.
Sanchez is leading the team with 46 RBI's to go with eight home runs and a .301 batting average.
On May 23 in Stockton, he tied a Giants single-game record with three home runs.
Opponent Notes: Modesto Nuts...
The Modesto Nuts, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, are currently in fourth place in the North Division with a 28-30 record - 13 games behind the Giants.
Modesto is fifth in the league in ERA (4.96) and ninth in batting average (.264).
The Nuts are 2-6 against San Jose this season.
First baseman Mike Zuanich is second in the league in hitting (.383) to go with team-high totals of 11 home runs and 44 RBI's.
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California League Stories from June 9, 2011
- Three Quakes Named to All-Star Team - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Gilmartin Selected as Mid-Season All-Star - Stockton Ports
- 66ers Closer Named Cal League All-Star - Inland Empire 66ers
- Jedd Gyorko Represents Storm on California League All-Star Roster - Lake Elsinore Storm
- San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Continue Road Trip in Modesto - San Jose Giants
- Five San Jose Giants Players Named to the 2011 California League All- Star Team - San Jose Giants
- 2011 California League All-Stars Announced - CalL1
- Rosters Announced for All-Star Smash - Modesto Nuts
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