SJ Giants Series Preview May 26-June 1 vs. Inland Empire

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SJ Giants Series Preview May 26-June 1 vs. Inland Empire

May 26, 2025 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release


San Jose Giants (25-20) vs Inland Empire 66ers (15-30)

Monday, May 26 - Sunday, June 1

Excite Ballpark (San Jose, CA)

Video: MiLB.TV/Bally Live

Radio: sjgiants.com

GIANTS HOST 66ERS THIS WEEK: The San Jose Giants return to the South Bay for a six-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels affiliate) this week at Excite Ballpark. The series opens with a rare Monday game on the Memorial Day holiday. Following an off day on Tuesday, the Giants and Sixers continue their matchup Wednesday through Sunday. Inland Empire is the only team that the Giants have yet to play this season. San Jose (25-20) enters the week three games behind the Modesto Nuts (28-17) for the top spot in the first half North Division race. Inland Empire (15-30) is in last place in the South Division and has the worst record in the California League.

WINNING ROAD TRIP: The Giants just completed their longest road trip of the season: a 12-game, 13-day stretch in Stockton and Fresno. San Jose posted a winning record on the trip with a 7-5 mark. The Giants started the trip by splitting six games in Stockton before taking four of six contests in Fresno last week for the club's first road series win of the season. The road trip included the Giants' largest comeback victory of the season to date (rallied from seven runs down to win 11-10 in 11 innings at Stockton on May 16), a pair of shutouts (now tied for league-lead with five shutouts) and three games of 10 or more runs. San Jose started the road trip with a 3-4 record before winning four out of the last five games.

PITCHING LEADERS: The Giants enter the week with a league-leading 3.39 team ERA. San Jose has also issued the fewest walks in the California League (3.7 per game) and have allowed the second-fewest home runs (15 HR in 45 games). Giants starting pitchers have been especially impressive with a combined ERA of 3.11. Rotation standouts include Hunter Dryden, who boasts a sparkling 1.16 ERA in 31 innings this season. Dryden has not allowed a run over his last two starts (9 2/3 IP, 3 H, 8 SO).

Niko Mazza was named California League Pitcher of the Week on May 19 after firing five shutout innings with only one hit allowed at Stockton on 5/14.

Greg Farone is tops on the staff with 44 strikeouts over 33 1/3 innings. Farone had a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings earlier this season.

Jacob Bresnahan also owns a 1.04 ERA over his last three starts. The Giants have led the California League in ERA in each of the last four seasons (2021-24).

CLOSE CALLS: In a statistical oddity, the Giants bullpen is leading the California League in ERA (3.61), but is also tops in blown saves (9). Of the Giants' last 10 losses dating back to May 4, the club has had the lead in the seventh inning or later in seven of those 10 setbacks. Three of those contests were games in which San Jose led in the ninth inning. One of the contributing factors to the Giants' late-inning struggles is the team has allowed a league-high 51 unearned runs this year. The Giants are 8-9 in one-run games this season.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Giants are an excellent 13-5 at home entering this week's series against Inland Empire. The 18 home games to date are the fewest of any team in the California League. The Giants are averaging a whopping 7.6 runs per game at home compared to 4.9 runs per game on the road (12-15 record).

HIT PARADE: The Giants feature three of the top 10 players in the California League in hits this season.

Carlos Gutierrez's 53 hits entering the week are second in the league while he also ranks third with a .338 batting average. Gutierrez is hitting .400 in May (18 games) and has a .391 AVG in home games this season (16 games).

Dakota Jordan is fifth in the Cal League with 48 hits and was 8-for-21 (.381 AVG) during last week's series in Fresno. He's also fourth in RBI's (32). Finally, Lisbel Diaz

ranks 10th in the league in hits (45). As a team, the Giants have scored the third-most runs in the California League this season (6.0 runs per game) trailing only Rancho Cucamonga and Modesto.

POWER SURGE: The Giants have been one of the top power-hitting teams in the California League this season. At the start of the week, San Jose has connected for 31 home runs over their first 45 games to rank second in the league.

Walker Martin's seven homers are just one off the league lead. Martin hit a remarkable six home runs over a seven-game span from May 9-16.

A second round draft pick two years ago, Martin led the country with 20 home runs (in 29 games) at Eaton High School (CO) in 2023.

Jakob Christian has also hit six home runs this season and is second in the Cal League with 38 RBI's in 39 games played. The Giants also welcomed back Drew Cavanaugh from Triple-A Sacramento during the road trip. Cavanaugh has hit five homers in only 20 games with San Jose this season and leads the club with 1.001 OPS.

CATCH US IF YOU CAN: The Giants have been very successful in stealing bases this season. Entering the week, San Jose is 79-for-87 in stolen base attempts through their first 45 games. The 91 percent success rate leads the league and the club's 79 overall steals rank third. Individually, Carlos Gutierrez is tops on the club with 17 stolen bases (in 19 attempts) while Dakota Jordan is next with 15 steals (in 16 attempts).

DON'T FORGET SUNSCREEN: The Giants are scheduled to play four day games in this week's series versus the 66ers. The games on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday will all begin at 1:00 PM here at Excite Ballpark. The Giants are only 5-9 (.357) in day games this season compared to a 20-11 (.645) mark at night.

ON DECK: Following the current series against Inland Empire, the Giants head back out on the road for a six-game set at South Division-leading Rancho Cucamonga. San Jose returns to Excite Ballpark on June 10 for a series versus the Stockton Ports.

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