CalL1 San Jose Giants

San Jose Giants on Deck: Giants Return Home for Three-Game Series against Visalia

Published on July 14, 2012 under California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release


format=flowed; delsp=yes

On Deck for the San Jose Giants

Visalia Rawhide (45-46) at San Jose Giants (47-45)

At Municipal Stadium Saturday, July 14, 5:00 PM Sunday, July 15, 5:00 PM Monday, July 16, 7:00 PM

Probable Starting Pitching Matchups Saturday - Taylor Siemens (1-2, 4.18) vs. Seth Rosin (2-1, 4.18) Sunday - Bradin Hagens (2-2, 5.03) vs. Ryan Bradley (4-5, 4.77) Monday - Anthony Meo (5-4, 3.55) vs. Justin Schumer (4-4, 4.78)

Giants Begin Three-Game Series Against Visalia Tonight... The San Jose Giants return home this evening to begin a three-game series against the Visalia Rawhide at Municipal Stadium. San Jose won two out of three games at Modesto in their most recent series. After suffering a 9-0 loss to the Nuts in the series opener on Wednesday, the Giants bounced with a 4-0 shutout win on Thursday before posting a 5-4 victory last night. In yesterday's contest, Dan Burkhart delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to propel San Jose to the win. Modesto came back twice to tie the score in the seventh and eighth innings, but could never take the lead before Burkhart's hit in the top of the ninth put the Giants in front for good. San Francisco Giant Aubrey Huff (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) along with Carter Jurica (2-for-4, 2B) and Alex Burg (2-for-4, 2B) had two hits apiece to lead San Jose offensively. Joe Panik (1-for-4, HR, RBI) added his fifth home run of the season. Jose Valdez earned the win out of the bullpen with 1 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the game.

Media Coverage... The entire series can be heard live on sjgiants.com and inside Municipal Stadium at 92.9 FM with Joe Ritzo calling all of the action. Additionally, every home game this season will be streamed live and available on demand through MiLB.TV.

Home Woes/Road Success... The Giants have lost four consecutive home series' to start the second half. Since beginning the season 19-4 at home, San Jose has posted just a 6-18 record at Municipal Stadium, including a 3-9 home mark since the All-Star break. San Jose is hitting .245 overall at home this season compared to .276 on the road. By comparison, the Giants are 8-4 in their last 12 road games dating back to June 12. San Jose hasn't lost a series away from Municipal Stadium since they dropped two out of three at Lancaster from June 5-7.

San Jose Looks For First Three-Game Win Streak Of Second Half... A victory in tonight's contest would give the Giants their first three- game winning streak of the second half. San Jose last won three in a row from June 16-22 (last game of the first half + the first two games of the second half).

League-Leading Seven Shutouts... Thursday's 4-0 win at Modesto was San Jose's league-leading seventh shutout of the season. It was the Giants' first shutout since May 12 (1-0 vs. Visalia). San Jose collected six shutouts over their first 37 games this year before going 53 straight games without holding an opponent scoreless until two nights ago. At the time of the May 12 shutout, the Giants were leading the league in ERA. Entering tonight's game, San Jose is sixth in the league with a 4.68 team ERA.

Burg's Second Half Surge... After hitting just .212 in 35 games during the first half, outfielder Alex Burg is batting at a .342 clip in the second half (20 games). Burg has hit three out of his seven 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). He has started games in left field (20 games), third base (five games), right field (four games), catcher (three games) and second base (two games) this year.

Offensive Drought... Over their last eight games (2-6 record), the Giants are hitting just .198 as a team and averaging 2.9 runs per contest. San Jose has scored two runs or fewer in five out of their last eight games. The Giants are now last in the California League in batting average (.261), ninth in slugging percentage (.400) and seventh in runs (5.0 per game).

Tough Match-Up... The Giants are only 5-11 against Visalia this season, including a 2-4 mark at Municipal Stadium. The clubs split a four- game series in their most recent meeting (June 21-24 at Recreation Park). Joe Panik (.333, 20-for-60, 2 HR, 11 RBI) and Luke Anders (. 333, 11-for-33, HR, 4 RBI) have been San Jose's top hitters against the Rawhide this year.

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: Visalia Rawhide... The Visalia Rawhide, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, are currently 14-7 in the second half - 1 1/2 games ahead of the Modesto Nuts (13-9) for the top spot in the North Division. Visalia has won eight out of their last 10 games. The Rawhide are tied for fourth in the California League in batting average (.271), eighth in runs scored (4.9 per game) and fifth in ERA (4.65). Left-hander Taylor Siemens is slated to make the start on the mound in tonight's series opener. In six starts with Visalia this season, Siemens is 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA.

Check out the San Jose Giants Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



California League Stories from July 14, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central