Surging Giants Continue Road Trip in Lake Elsinore
May 21, 2024 - California League (CalL)
San Jose Giants News Release
SERIES SCHEDULE & PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Tuesday, May 21 6:05 PM SJ - Ubert Mejias (1-2, 4.75) vs. LE - Fernando Sanchez (1-1, 3.06)
Wednesday, May 22 6:05 PM SJ - Will Bednar (1-0, 1.50) vs. LE - Jose Luis Reyes (2-3, 7.61)
Thursday, May 23 6:05 PM SJ - Josh Bostick (0-4, 6.15) vs. LE - TBA
Friday, May 24 6:45 PM SJ - Cale Lansville (1-3, 4.55) vs. LE - Eric Yost (0-1, 7.24)
Saturday, May 25 5:15 PM SJ - Joe Whitman (0-3, 4.60) vs. LE - Isaiah Lowe (1-1, 2.78)
Sunday, May 26 1:15 PM SJ - Ubert Mejias (1-2, 4.75) vs. LE - Miguel Mendez (0-0, 5.74)
ROAD TRIP CONTINUES IN LAKE ELSINORE: The San Jose Giants continue their road trip in Southern California this week with a six-game series against the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres affiliate) at The Diamond. The Giants opened the 12-game trip by winning five of six contests against North Division-leading Modesto last week. This series against the Storm marks San Jose's only visit to Lake Elsinore this season. The Giants claimed four of six games from the Storm in a series earlier this year at Excite Ballpark (April 30-May 5).
MODESTO SERIES REVIEW: The Giants won the final five games of their series in Modesto last week outscoring the Nuts by a 44-14 margin. Prior to the five-game win streak, the Nuts had boasted the best record in all of Minor League Baseball and hadn't dropped consecutive contests this season. The impressive series win for San Jose included a pair of double-digit run outputs: a 16-5 victory on May 15 (season-high in runs scored) and a 12-1 triumph on May 18. The Giants allowed a total of only four runs over the final three games in the series. The current five-game win streak is San Jose's second-longest winning streak of the season (eight games, April 25-May 3).
SURGING IN THE STANDINGS: With five straight wins over the first-place team in the division last week, the Giants have moved from 8.5 games back of the top spot in the North to only 3.5 games out of first. It's the closest San Jose has been to first place in the North Division since April 19. The Giants have 27 games remaining in the first half.
APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS: After a slow start to the season offensively, the Giants have turned things around in the month of May. Through their first 17 games in May (11-6 record), San Jose is first in the California League in runs scored (6.1 per game), second in batting average (.256), second in OPS (.737), third in doubles (29) and fourth in home runs (9). The Giants hit only .231 as a team (sixth in league) and averaged 4.0 runs per contest (seventh in league) during April.
HITTING STREAKS: Jonah Cox and Bryce Eldridge enter the week with hitting streaks of 11 games and 10 games respectively. They are the two longest hitting streaks of the season for the Giants. During his 11-game hit streak, Cox is batting at a .429 clip (21-for-49) with one double, two triples and 10 RBI's. Cox has driven in at least one run in his last five games. In addition to his current hitting streak, Cox has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games dating back to April 24. Meanwhile, Eldridge boasts a .372 batting average (16-for-43) with three doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI's during his hit streak. Over his final four games in last week's Modesto series, Eldridge homered three times and collected 12 RBI's, including the club's first grand slam of the season last Saturday.
ROAD WARRIORS: At 13-4, the Giants own the top road record in the California League this season. San Jose has won their first three road series' of the year: 4-1 at Visalia (April 9-12), 4-2 at Fresno (April 23-28) and 5-1 at Modesto (May 14-19). The Giants have a 2.65 ERA on the road compared to a 4.84 ERA at home this season (8-13 record).
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: Several Giants players rank among the California League leaders in various statistical categories. Jonah Cox is first in the league in batting average (.349), runs scored (31) and stolen bases (24) while also ranking second in hits (45) and fifth in on-base percentage (.451). Bryce Eldridge is third in RBI's (25) and fifth in home runs (5) while Cole Foster ranks fifth in doubles (9). On the pitching side, Dylan Carmouche is third in ERA (2.93).
CATCH US IF YOU CAN: The Giants have 49 stolen bases and have been caught only five times through their first 38 games of the season. The 49 steals rank third in the California League while the 91% success rate leads the league.
GIANT TURNAROUND: Since starting the season 5-11, the Giants have posted a 16-6 record dating back to April 25. San Jose hasn't lost a series since dropping five of six games to the Modesto Nuts from April 16-21. The Giants are 3-0-1 in their last four series' overall.
STARTING STRONG: During the current five-game winning streak, Giants starting pitchers own a sparkling 1.83 ERA. Ubert Mejias has a 2.57 ERA over three starts in May (4 ER/14 IP). In his seven starts this year, Dylan Carmouche has logged a 1.88 ERA (6 ER/28.2 IP) while limiting the opposition to a .196 AVG. In his last three starts, Cale Lansville has pitched 13 innings and allowed only six hits and one earned run (0.69 ERA). Joe Whitman has fashioned a 3.06 ERA in four May starts after a logging a 6.59 ERA in his four April starts.
ON DECK: Following the current series in Lake Elsinore, the Giants return home for a six-game set against the Fresno Grizzlies that will begin on the Memorial Day holiday (Monday, May 27).
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California League Stories from May 21, 2024
- Storm Lose Power, Lose to Giants in First Game of Homestand Presented by the Valley News - Lake Elsinore Storm
- Bullpen impresses in Fresno's 7-1 loss to Visalia - Fresno Grizzlies
- Surging Giants Continue Road Trip in Lake Elsinore - San Jose Giants
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