San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Host 66ers in Three-Game Weekend Series
Published on July 20, 2012 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
Inland Empire 66ers (43-55) at San Jose Giants (50-48)
At Municipal Stadium Friday, July 20, 7:00 PM Saturday, July 21, 5:00 PM Sunday, July 22, 5:00 PM
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups Friday - Fabio Martinez (0-4, 9.00) vs. Ryan Bradley (5-5, 4.51) Saturday - Max Russell (4-9, 7.14) vs. Justin Schumer (5-4, 4.50) Sunday - Nick Maronde (1-1, 2.11) vs. Taylor Rogers (7-8, 3.93)
Giants Begin Three-Game Series Against Inland Empire Tonight... The San Jose Giants return home this evening to begin a three-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers at Municipal Stadium. San Jose dropped two out of three games to the host Lancaster JetHawks in their most recent series. Lancaster earned victories of 4-3 and 9-0 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively before the Giants bounced back with a 15-8 win last night. In yesterday's series finale, Ricky Oropesa was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI's to lead San Jose offensively. Jarrett Parker (2-for-4, 3B, 4 RBI) added a key three- run triple as part of a four-RBI night while Joe Panik (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) scored four runs. Phil McCormick picked-up the win with two scoreless innings of relief.
Media Coverage... The games on Friday and Saturday will be televised live on Comcast Hometown Network, Channel 104. Joe Ritzo will handle the play-by-play for both games with Greg Young providing color commentary on Friday and Rocky Koplik on Saturday. The entire series can also be heard live on sjgiants.com and inside Municipal Stadium at 92.9 FM.
Offensive Outburst... The Giants matched a season-high with 15 runs in last night's 15-8 victory at Lancaster. It marked the third time this year that San Jose scored 15 runs in a game (April 6 at Modesto and April 10 at High Desert). Ricky Oropesa also became the first Giants player to drive home five runs in a game this season. Prior to last night's outburst, San Jose was hitting just .204 as a team in their last 13 games while averaging 2.8 runs per contest (4-9 record). The Giants are currently last in the California League in batting average (.260), ninth in slugging percentage (.396) and sixth in runs scored (5.0 per game).
Home Woes... Since beginning the season 19-4 at home, the Giants have posted just an 8-19 record at Municipal Stadium. San Jose won two out of three games from Visalia in their most recent home series (July 14-16) - their first home series win of the second half. The Giants are hitting just .244 overall at Municipal Stadium this season compared to .274 on the road.
Jurica Excels In Leadoff Spot... Over the last eight games since moving into the leadoff spot in the batting order, second baseman Carter Jurica is 12-for-36 (.333) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and three RBI's. Prior to this stretch, Jurica had hit leadoff in just one game this season. He's batting .279 overall with three homers and 33 RBI's in 68 games. Jurica owns a .338 batting average in July (15 games).
Giants-66ers Season Series... The Giants own a 5-1 record against the Inland Empire 66ers this season. San Jose won all three games of a series versus the 66ers at Municipal Stadium from May 4-6 before taking two out of a three at Inland Empire from June 11-13. The Giants have one trip remaining to San Bernardino this season (three games, August 3-5).
Burg's Second Half Surge... After hitting just .212 in 35 games during the first half, outfielder Alex Burg is batting at a .333 clip in the second half (26 games). Burg has hit four out of his eight home runs this year since the All-Star break. Last season, Burg finished tied for second on the Giants with 14 home runs (12 in the second half).
Parker Extends Hit Streak To Eight Games... Outfielder Jarrett Parker brings an eight-game hit streak into tonight's contest. During the streak, Parker is 9-for-25 (.360) with a home run and seven RBI's. Prior to the hit streak, Parker was mired in a 3-for-39 slump (.077) spanning 11 games.
Odds And Ends... The Giants are a league-best 18-11 (.621) in one-run games this season ... San Jose has lost only one game this year when holding a lead after the seventh inning (41-1) ... The Giants are 33-11 (.750) when scoring first in a game, but just 17-37 (.315) when their opponent scores first.
Record-Setting First Half Championship Streak Ends... San Jose concluded the first half with a 38-32 record and in second place in the North Division. It marked the first time since 2004 that the Giants didn't win the first half North Division crown. San Jose finished three games behind the Bakersfield Blaze (41-29) for the top spot. The Giants had won a California League record seven straight first half North Division titles (2005-2011). The previous league record for consecutive first half championships was three (Visalia Oaks, 1981-83). After sweeping Bakersfield in a series that ended on May 26, San Jose owned a 5 1/2 game lead in the standings over the Blaze with 21 games remaining. However, the Giants went just 6-15 to finish the half, including a 10-game losing streak from May 27-June 5. San Jose now needs to win either the second half North Division title or secure the wild card to extend their streak of consecutive playoff appearances to nine seasons (2004-2011).
Opponent Notes: Inland Empire 66ers... The Inland Empire 66ers, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, are currently 12-16 in the second half - six games behind the High Desert Mavericks (18-10) and Lake Elsinore Storm (18-10) for the top spot in the South Division. Inland Empire is tied for seventh in the league in batting average (.264), last in runs scored (4.6 per game) and eighth in ERA (4.89). 66ers first baseman C.J. Cron leads the league with 81 RBI's. Right-hander Fabio Martinez (5 GS, 0-4, 9.00 ERA) is slated to make the start on the mound tonight.
California League Stories from July 20, 2012
- Martinez Evens Record with Scoreless Outing - Lancaster JetHawks
- San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Host 66ers in Three-Game Weekend Series - San Jose Giants
- Athletics LHP Brett Anderson to Make MLB Rehab Appearance Tomorrow - Stockton Ports
- Giants Erupt for 15-8 Victory over Lancaster - San Jose Giants
- Storm Fall Late 4-2, Fall in Series to Quakes - Lake Elsinore Storm
- Quakes Take Two of Three from Storm - Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- JetHawks Sweepless After 15-8 Loss - Lancaster JetHawks
- Bats Go Quiet as Blaze Swept in Adelanto - Bakersfield Blaze
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