SJ Giants Series Preview: August 13-18 vs. Stockton
August 13, 2024 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
Stockton Ports @ San Jose Giants
Tuesday, August 13 - Sunday, August 18
Excite Ballpark
GIANTS HOST PORTS THIS WEEK: The San Jose Giants return from their two-week Southern California road trip to host the Stockton Ports (Athletics affiliate) at Excite Ballpark. The penultimate homestand of the regular season is a six-game series versus the Ports beginning Tuesday and continuing through Sunday. The Giants will be looking to get back on track this week after losing 11 out of their last 15 games since July 26.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: This week's series in the South Bay is a matchup of the team with best record in the league (Giants 61-46) against the club with the worst record (Ports 39-67). Despite the 21 1/2 game difference in their overall records, the season-series between the Giants and Ports is even entering the week. San Jose has posted a 9-9 record against Stockton (5-4 at Excite Ballpark, 4-5 at Banner Island Ballpark) with the current series marking their final meeting of the season.
ROAD TRIP REVIEW: The Giants went 4-8 on their Southern California road trip over the last two weeks dropping four of six games to both Rancho Cucamonga (July 30-August 4) and Inland Empire (August 6-11). San Jose began the trip by winning two of their first three games but then lost seven of the next eight contests before taking the road trip finale last Sunday. Two of the losses to Inland Empire last week saw the Giants fail to hold ninth-inning leads.
PLAYOFF RACE: The Giants begin the week with a 24-18 second half record - six games ahead of Fresno (18-24) and 11 games in front of Stockton (13-29) for the final playoff spot in the North Division. Modesto has already qualified for the postseason in the North after winning the first half title. The Giants are attempting to reach the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season (2019, 2021-23). Entering the week, San Jose has 24 games remaining in the regular season.
LEAGUE-LEADING PITCHING STAFF: The Giants enter the week with a league-best 3.88 team ERA (Fresno next-closest at 4.06). San Jose is attempting to lead the California League in ERA for a fourth consecutive season (2021-23). The Giants have also issued the second-fewest walks (3.7 per game) and allowed the second-fewest home runs (62 HR in 107 games) in the league. San Jose continues to lead the league in earned run average despite recent struggles on the mound as the club owns a 6.28 ERA through their first 10 games of August.
BO'S BACK: Bo Davidson was reinstated from the injured list on July 19 and has made an immediate impact in the middle of the Giants lineup. Davidson, who was on the IL for eight weeks, is batting .458 (27-for-59) in 18 games played since his return with eight doubles, one triple, four home runs and 17 RBI's. Two of the four homers during the stretch have been grand slams. Davidson has raised his season AVG from .224 at time of his injury on May 24 to its current mark of .312.
2024 DRAFT CLASS: Two members of the 2024 San Francisco Giants draft class - outfielder James Tibbs III (1st round) and third baseman Robert Hipwell (6th round) - joined San Jose during the road trip. The duo are the first two players from this year's Giants draft class to play in San Jose. Tibbs was the 13th overall selection last month after a standout collegiate career at Florida State University. Tibbs batted .363 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI's in 66 games last spring for the Seminoles to earn ACC Player of the Year and First Team All-American honors. He hit .338 with a .462 on-base percentage during his three-year career at FSU. Tibbs was also an All-Star in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2023. Hipwell is a local product from nearby Santa Cruz who attended Scotts Valley High School and Santa Clara University. He batted .297 with 18 home runs and a .462 on-base percentage during his career at Santa Clara (76 games).
STREAKY: The Giants have lost their last three series' (2-4 vs. Modesto, 2-4 at Rancho Cucamonga, 2-4 at Inland Empire) following an impressive streak of six consecutive series victories from June 11-July 21 (24-9 combined record). Since six-game series' were implemented across Minor League Baseball beginning in 2021, the Giants have had two streaks of more than three series wins in a row (7 straight series wins during 2021 championship season & 6 straight series wins this year).
STARTING PITCHERS THIS SERIES: Cale Lansville is slated to start on the mound for the Giants in Tuesday's series opener and Sunday's series finale against Stockton. Lansville bounced back in his last start on August 7 at Inland Empire tossing four strong innings with only one run allowed after yielding 10 runs over 1 1/3 innings in his previous start on the road trip (August 1 at Rancho Cucamonga). Jacob Bresnahan is scheduled to make his Excite Ballpark debut on Wednesday afternoon.
Bresnahan, the youngest pitcher on San Jose's staff (19), was acquired via trade from the Cleveland Guardians on July 30 in exchange for major league pitcher Alex Cobb. Ubert Mejias is Thursday's scheduled starter for the Giants. Mejias leads the staff and ranks third in the Cal League in innings (98 2/3), but has struggled in the second half with a 6.45 ERA (3.69 ERA in first half). Ryan Vanderhei gets the ball on Friday for the Giants. In two starts since moving into the rotation, Vanderhei has pitched a total of six innings with two earned runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. Josh Bostick is expected to start on Saturday.
Bostick has fashioned a 3.95 ERA in the second half (45 SO/6 BB in 41 IP) after a 5.47 ERA in the first half (56 SO/30 BB in 49 1/3 IP). Last Tuesday at Inland Empire, Bostick struck out a career-high 10 batters over six scoreless innings. He ranks fourth in the California League with 101 strikeouts this season (in 90 1/3 IP).
ON DECK: Following the current series against Stockton, the Giants head back out on the road for a six-game set in Modesto from August 20-25. San Jose returns to Excite Ballpark on August 27 for a series against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
SERIES SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Date Time Giants Pitcher Ports Pitcher Broadcast
Tuesday, August 13 6:30 PM RHP Cale Lansville (1-4, 5.76) RHP Corey Avant (2-4, 7.06) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
Wednesday, August 14 1:00 PM LHP Jacob Bresnahan (0-2, 24.55) RHP Tom Reisinger (1-4, 8.18) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
Thursday, August 15 6:30 PM RHP Ubert Mejias (3-5, 4.74) RHP Jackson Finley (1-7, 6.49) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
Friday, August 16 7:00 PM RHP Ryan Vanderhei (2-2, 3.13) RHP Steven Echavarria (0-4, 6.27) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
Saturday, August 17 6:00 PM RHP Josh Bostick (1-8, 4.78) RHP Jose Dicochea (1-6, 5.05) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
Sunday, August 18 5:00 PM RHP Cale Lansville (1-4, 5.76) RHP Tzu-Chen Sha (2-4, 6.07) sjgiants.com/MiLB.TV
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California League Stories from August 13, 2024
- SJ Giants Series Preview: August 13-18 vs. Stockton - San Jose Giants
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